Books for children please please help

lindseykim13

After joining this club the agreement was to buy 4 more books from them, so as i didn't want to be tied in for long i went online and bought 4 books totalling £26.00
The blurb on the site at checkout states that books under £4 don't count towards the agreement, great so i made sure they were all over £4.
Few weeks later i get the books and pay up, contact bfc to cancel and told that i have only bought 1 book towards the agreement!
Apparantly you have to purchase from the magazine (i have never recieved one) meaning i either buy another 3 over priced books or pay £10 per book that i havn't bought towards the agreement ie £30!
I have asked to send all books back unused (xmas pressies) for a refund, where do i stand with this as i have had no responce to this question from them?
I am gutted as i only bought the extra 4 books to get out of it quick. They wern't really what i would have chosen normally and don't have the money to buy yet more over priced books.
Where do i stand as i followed all the conditions on the website i couldn't have done anything more. The terms say that items that don't count towards the agreement will be clearly marked. This is only the case in the mag not the website which they didn't make clear.

dougk_2

All these book, cd etc clubs are a pip off... while you will get a free gift of some kind, you then pay more for the rest of the books than you can get them for elsewhere... and have to pay P&P too.

I know its not much help now, but stick to places like "The works" or use "The book people" who give excellent service and good prices and free delivery on orders over £20 (I think).

lindseykim13

hmm thanks i won't use one of these companies again, it looks as though i'm going to have to buy another 3 books and p&p but they could just keep on saying forever that they wern't books that count towards the deal.
Does anyone know what does or doesn't count towards it? i think they are just making me spend more money seems a bit of a scam. I didn't mind buying 4 more books of them as it was still good books for a good price when averaged out but they never state only certain books count!

ButtonF1Fan

Hiya, same thing! i bought 4 books over 4 pounds each, but online. reading carefully. I remember reading the same over 4pounds bit in one of the mags.... please please, does anyone happen to have a mag or a screen print of the online mag, so i can prove they've changed their rules after i've purchased please?

nasty nasty company!!!!

lindseykim13 wrote: »

After joining this club the agreement was to buy 4 more books from them, so as i didn't want to be tied in for long i went online and bought 4 books totalling £26.00
The blurb on the site at checkout states that books under £4 don't count towards the agreement, great so i made sure they were all over £4.
Few weeks later i get the books and pay up, contact bfc to cancel and told that i have only bought 1 book towards the agreement!
Apparantly you have to purchase from the magazine (i have never recieved one) meaning i either buy another 3 over priced books or pay £10 per book that i havn't bought towards the agreement ie £30!
I have asked to send all books back unused (xmas pressies) for a refund, where do i stand with this as i have had no responce to this question from them?
I am gutted as i only bought the extra 4 books to get out of it quick. They wern't really what i would have chosen normally and don't have the money to buy yet more over priced books.
Where do i stand as i followed all the conditions on the website i couldn't have done anything more. The terms say that items that don't count towards the agreement will be clearly marked. This is only the case in the mag not the website which they didn't make clear.

[Deleted User]

I don't know a great deal about this sort of thing, so hopefully someone more experienced will come along to advise ... but I think the 'Distance Selling Rules' might apply in this situation. (I found out about these rules via ebay ... I'll be back when I've found the link!)

Bestest,
ZED

[Deleted User]

I found this para. (para. no.5) on the ebay 'help' site. Note the bit I've underlined:

"The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2007, which replaced the Trade Descriptions Act in April 2008, implements the EU's Unfair Commercial Practices Directive and prohibits businesses from treating consumers unfairly. It obliges businesses not to use:

<LI class=unorderedList>aggressive practices (such as pressure selling); or
• misleading practices (includes both acts and omissions).
  

One of the key tests in the regulations is whether the unfair commercial practice in question materially distorts the consumer's economic behaviour (e.g. was the consumer persuaded to make a purchase they wouldn't otherwise have made because of the commercial practice?).
A breach of the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2007 is, in most cases, a criminal offence. Find out more from BERR about the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive.
For further information on fair trading, please visit Business Link's guide to fair trading, trade descriptions and Trading Standards and fair trading advice leaflets from Trading Standards. "

I'd certainly be inclined to enter into battle with this firm, anyhow.
Good luck!
ZED.