handbag rental company gone bust still taking membership dd

peachschnappes

Trying to save money, I joined a designer handbag rental agency online. In June, I cancelled the membership with them over the phone and sent a written confirmation. They have since been taking the membership money from June until now of £24.99 a month, but I think the company has gone bust? Emails are bouncing back, customer services number has been re-directed to an elderly gentleman and I have no way of contacting them - the website is also not there!

I have cancelled the dd with my bank, but is there any way of claiming back 7 months of membership money?? if so who do I contact?

young_victor_meldrew

Call your bank and cancel the Direct Debit and ask for an indemnity claim for the payments. Remember, if you are telling lies and you didnt cancel the contract - the rental company can send your account to debt collectors for the amount you claim back.

Who rents handbags anyway? If you cant afford the real thing then stick to TopShop.

bingo_bango

Since Vic has missed that you have already cancelled the DD, you should try a chargeback with your bank. You will likely need to provide them with a copy of your letter of cancellation to the company.

peachschnappes

I'm not really sure I understand why they would send it to the debt collectors, when they have had the money anyway after I cancelled - which I did do, on their website back in June, however the website is now no longer operational etc.

It was actually a tip from Martin Lewis on gmtv to rent designer handbags; if you like nice quality but can't afford a real designer handbag (rather than a topshop take off) renting was suggested as a cost effective way of having a different designer handbag to use each month.

deanos

Handbag rental is this a wind up :rotfl:

young_victor_meldrew

peachschnappes wrote: »

I'm not really sure I understand why they would send it to the debt collectors, when they have had the money anyway after I cancelled - which I did do, on their website back in June, however the website is now no longer operational etc.

It was actually a tip from Martin Lewis on gmtv to rent designer handbags; if you like nice quality but can't afford a real designer handbag (rather than a topshop take off) renting was suggested as a cost effective way of having a different designer handbag to use each month.

MMM... designer handbag from Ebay - £250

You own the bag.

A year of "Renting" a designer handbag at £24.99 a month - £299.88

You own sod all.

Cost Effective?

Ivory_Tinkler

Victor - you don't understand! Styles change so rapidly with handbags that you'd need thousands of pounds to wear the most up-to-the-minute style on your arm. Besides, who'd buy a designer handbag off ebay...most likely to be a fake anyway.

Hintza

Hope you have a strong constitution OP you are going to need it.

nuttyp

how many bags did you actually rent?? and are you sure you returned them all, maybe thats why they are still collecting?

pitkin2020

peachschnappes wrote: »

Trying to save money, I joined a designer handbag rental agency online. In June, I cancelled the membership with them over the phone and sent a written confirmation. They have since been taking the membership money from June until now of £24.99 a month, but I think the company has gone bust? Emails are bouncing back, customer services number has been re-directed to an elderly gentleman and I have no way of contacting them - the website is also not there!

I have cancelled the dd with my bank, but is there any way of claiming back 7 months of membership money?? if so who do I contact?

Are you saying you cancelled the DD but for 7 months after they continued to take payments? If so why didn't you notice after month 1 and stop the DD via your bank?

bigpat

Am I the only one who thinks these forums are going to the dogs? People post legitimate questions asking for advice and increasingly they seem to be insulted and ridiculed and find themselves having to justify their actions. If peachschnappes wants to spend her money on rental handbags, that's her decision and whether or not we agree with it should have NO bearing on how she is treated.

Peachschnapps: if you have any sort of confirmation from the website (an automated email even) that you cancelled your memebership I would get in touch with your bank and try and claim your money back under the Direct Debit guarantee. It's a long shot though - don't get your hopes up too much.

Lesson to learn: ALWAYS cancel your own direct debits. NEVER rely on the merchant to do so. If you bank online, you can do it in a couple of clicks. Otherwise you'll have to navigate your bank's phone menus but it's worth it.

Good luck.