PC World Rentsmart conned me!!!

Stoffy

Thanks to everyone for advice given on here. Unfortuntely I am one of the unlucky people who was conned into rentsmart.

I made a purchase from PC World (Aintree Retail Park) on 12/07/2009 for an Apple MacBook Pro13 (£899rrp). I don't or never have had my own business so was completely lied to by the sales advisor. When I purchased this item I was wrongly advised that I would have the option to pay £42.49 a month for 2 years then would have the option to purchase the item outright for an additional monthly charge. Obviously this wasn't the case.

I did try to cancel this contract in January 2011 but was told I cannot cancel by Rentsmart and PC World in Aintree. I have not pursued any further until now!

Having read all of the information above I will actively pursue this until the contract is cancelled. I have now had the item for 2 years and have paid a lot more than expected already so I'll be requesting a refund too for any over payments.

All of the evidence I have is being sent to PC World Head Office & Aintree Store, CAB, Watchdog and trading standards in Herts. I don't care how many companies I inform I want to let everyone know how shoddy these companies are.

I will let you all know how I get on soon

ukbud

yes yes i was conned into connsmart paying £74.06 for 24 on a hp pavilion elite epe-590uk (£949) not good, i should have gone to best buy there do
Up to 12 Months Interest Free Payments f**k pc world & f**k currys best buy here i come.

Stoffy

Hi guys,

Quick update from PC World after nearly a month waiting for a response. I received this letter basically saying the contract isn't going to be cancelled.

Dear XXXXXXXX,

I am writing in response to the complaint you have made in relation to your Rentsmart Agreement.

I was concerned to learn that you felt the agreement has been miss-sold to you, however after speaking to Smartplan I am unable to cancel this. The contract has very specific terms and conditions, which do state that the contact cannot be cancelled. This is confirmed by the sales person in store and, as previously advised by Rentsmart, by telephone prior to the agreement being set up.

Although you state you have never claimed to be part of a business, nor require the goods for business purposes, I must draw your attention to the Terms & conditions of the agreement, the hire agreement contract signed by you and the following terms within this paperwork:

Document entitled “Hire Agreement Regulated By The Consumer Credit Act 1974”

Key Information: In this section it is detailed that the agreement cannot be cancelled. In the sub headed section “Important – read this carefully before signing” it states that you acknowledge that a copy of the T’s & C’s have been provided to you. It also states that you are a body corporate or a partnership of 4 or more partners, or that you are a sole trader.

In the signature box of this document it states that you must only sign if you agree to the Terms and conditions. You have signed this document in store and have therefore agreed to these terms.

May I also kindly draw your attention to the following paragraphs within the document.

Hire Agreement Terms & Conditions:
Definitions:

Customer, you, your: Means the sole trader, partnership, limited liability partnership or company named as the business name under the hire agreement.

Business Purposes:
You confirm that you require the equipment for the purposes of a business carried on by you, and that you selected the equipment and requested us to acquire it for the purposes of this hire agreement.

Based on your agreement to these Terms & Conditions, both verbally and in writing, we are declining your request to cancel this agreement. Please rest assured that all queries are dealt with individually and should any of the customers included in your letter wish to contact us they can do so on 0844 561 6789.

Yours Sincerely

Laura Clark
PC World Business

I will be taking this further as I'm not getting conned anymore. Yes fair enough I was stupid and naive enough to believe everything the conman sales rep told me and silly enough to sign an absolutely ludicrous agreement on the basis of his lies but this can't be the end of it. Surely Rentsmart have a duty to properly check if anyone applies for a business rental scheme, they must have a business. Their neglectful tactics obviously ensure they gain more business.PC World cannot lie to consumers and get away with it either.

I am taking this to trading standards and CAB and numerous others now but any further advice would be appreciated also.

Lemon_Labs

First of all there is no reason why a residential customer cannot sign up to SmartPlan. Yes it's geared for business but there is no law to say you cannot sign up without owning a business.

I have no sympathy for you Mazy and I cannot see how you can come crying and stamping your feet becuase the fact is that by signing the lease agreement you acknowledge that you have read and agree to the terms of the lease which you clearly didn't agree to them, yet you still signed it which would mean you failed to read what was put in front of you.

There is nothing trading standards will do because you willingly signed and accepted what was put in front of you without fully reading and understanding what it was you were signing. It's your own fault.

TheEngineeress

Lemon_Labs wrote: »

First of all there is no reason why a residential customer cannot sign up to SmartPlan. Yes it's geared for business but there is no law to say you cannot sign up without owning a business.

I have no sympathy for you Mazy and I cannot see how you can come crying and stamping your feet becuase the fact is that by signing the lease agreement you acknowledge that you have read and agree to the terms of the lease which you clearly didn't agree to them, yet you still signed it which would mean you failed to read what was put in front of you.

There is nothing trading standards will do because you willingly signed and accepted what was put in front of you without fully reading and understanding what it was you were signing. It's your own fault.

Not helpful.

It appears that the salespeople in these situations have deliberately misled customers into signing an agreement that is completely unsuitable for them by bamboozling people with figures and blatantly lying about things such as the length of the contract and the final payment. Please take your judgemental comments elsewhere unless you have something constructive to add to the discussion.

Lemon_Labs

You say blatantly lying but neither you nor I were there so we cannot say what the convosation actually was. If they wish to make a compaint then send it to Dixons Retail HQ. The fact is that the term of the service and everything else is clearly stated in the lease agreement, if he was lied to then by reading the terms of the lease he could of declined to sign as he would have found out the real lease period. In this case the OP ignored what was put in front of him or didn't fully read and understand what he was signing, there for it's his own fault. RentSmart are correct in saying what they did.

Stoffy

Take it Lemon Labs works for PC world then (or has something to do with them)? :rotfl:

I agree with Engineeress, the fact that different people have commented on here claiming to have been miss-sold the rentsmart scheme is not purely coincidental, especially when we were all told pretty much exactly the same bull ie, 2yr payment plan, can buy at the end of the 2yrs for 1 more months payment ect.

There is a serious issue with the way this was sold.

BTW I totally agree with what you are saying in regards to the fact that we signed the contract and should have read and checked the T's & C's further but people (including myself 2 years ago when I was sold this) put their trust into what the advisors have said (why wouldn't we). How many people can say they sit and read the entirity of a 3-4 page small printed contract after being advised by a PC World rep (for over an hour in my case) before signing the agreement?

Naive, I know but his is why places like trading standards exist, to help consumers and businesses alike when things may not be seem so straight forward and to give advise to people who have signed a ridiculous contract.

Timeau

another "idiot" here
we have also been sold this rentsmart package as what we believed at the time was a 3 year SUPPORT peace of mind contract should something happen to the laptop only 12 days ago. We needed a replacement laptop ugently - screen broke on the one we had and it was needed for a presentation the next day. Along comes a salesman with the pitch we all probably know by now. turns out that the support package (£11) runs only for 12 months (this you can only see AFTER the whole bamboozle is set up and the first payment made) and the "leasing" is for 36 months @ £17.35.
Like people before NO we did not read the contract but actually it was not HANDED over to us BEFORE signing but it was just pushed over (held by the salesman who pointed to the bits that needed signing) nor was it pointed out at all that this was two separate contracts and that it shows in the small print (and it is very small print) that it was not cancellable!! This we found out when we took the laptop back (in its original packaging - restored to factory settings) 11 days later because it is not performing to the specs printed on the display - I am not going to repeat the rude and patronising speach from the business manager - no point.
Worse - you cannot even return the product despite their printed info on the back of the receipt should you change your mind within 21 days.
So YES this is a con as we are now lumped with a laptop that is NOT doing what it said on the sales info and having been told by RentSmart they only way to get out is to pay upfront the remaining 35 payments + cost of the laptop.
I have spoken with consumer direct who advised to send a letter to RentSmart & PC World HQ, saying that the laptop is not as described under the supply of goods and services act, give them 10 working days to respond. If we still have problems after that call back (got a reference). The will also report this to Trading Standards.

not holding out much hope but you never know.

BTW I did repair the original laptop thanks to google and a you-tube vid on how to do it (replacement screen cost around £51 incl VAT and express delivery) and took 10 minutes to fit - AND no - I am not a techie but just a woman on a mission with a screwdriver. ;-)

Lemon_Labs

The support package you have is Whatever Happens and it is actually PAYG so it will be £11 p/m. Your paper work will say it expires in a year but it doesn't, it's on going for as long as you want it. Just note that Whatever Happens can be cancelled at any time without charge. Your freephone number and reference number is detailed on your coverplan paperwork.

As for returning your item. Yes you can take it back within 21 days but it HAS to be unopened. There are many BIG notices around the store that detail this information.

Stoffy

Hi all,

Just thought I'd give an update, not a very promising one, but an update. Received this letter from Trading standards:

Dear *********,

Your correspondence has been forwarded to this Authority from Hertfordshire Trading Standards.

In the circumstances detailed, as the item was bought on 12/7/2009, it would be very difficult to argue now that the item was missold to you. In consumer law, it is taken that you have read, understood, and agreed to any terms of the contract before signing it. I note that PC World state that the contract contains key information stating you have had a copy of the terms and conditions, and that you are a body corporate or a partnership of 4 or more partners, or a sole trader. If the signature box of the document states to sign it only if you agree to the terms and conditions, then legally by signing, you have agreed to these terms. I also note that in a letter from Rentsmart to yourself on 24 January 2011, the Customer Service Manager, Matthew Baxter, states he took your call personally and asked if you were a limited company, partnership, sole trader or self employed, and that it was a business to business contract you were taking out. He states that at no point did you refute this.

I would state that if you are adamant that the contract was missold to you by either party, your only option would be to pursue a civil claim via the small claims track of your local County Court. It would therefore be up to the District Judge to make a ruling as to whether you have a vaild claim or not. For your information the court website can be found at www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk

Yours sincerely,


I thought Matthew Baxter must have an excellent memory. I took out this contract in July 2009 yet when I wrote to them in January 2011, he personally remembers taking my call a year and a half later!! Best memory I've ever heard of considering the call was literally just saying yes to the repetative standard call centre-esque questions he asked me (advice given by the PC World rep).

Also had a nice postcard from Watchdog who are looking into this and also awaiting responses from other authorities.

Anyone ever had any dealings with civil claims?? I haven't yet!!

Thanks as always :beer: