Barclays Business Essentials Plus - Query

Cinders2001

Hi everyone.
Really not sure if I have chosen the right board for this, so please move it if it is wrong.

Hubby was sold a Barclays Business Essentials Plus when he started up his own small 'one man band' web design business in January.

He also paid to go on the day banking training course which was informative (but little else!)

He was told he had to do invoicing and accounts in this as the tax people would not like it etc.
He was told that the software would do certain things, but it does not.
He was told he needed it all.

There are other things which I cant remember off the top of my head.

He would have rather have used a spread sheet for all his accounts and when he asked his accountant she said that that's all he really needs too and that he does not need all the package stuff.
His business is too small to really cope with losing the money each month.
It's costing about £21 per month for the privalidge.
The seminar/lesson he attended cost another £45 ish

He went and spoke to them about it and see if he could stop it and what would the penalty be for pulling out and they said either use it and keep paying for the whole year or stop using it and we'll still charge you for the whole year so - 'tough'!
When he said he thinks he was mis-sold this he was told to take it up with the seminar people as that was not a Barclays problem..... except they arranged it all.

They only gave a 7 day 'cooling off period'..... how are you supposed to use it and see if it works in 7 days when invoices are usually on a month by month basis?

My query is, was he mis-sold this?
And is there anything he can do or try?
Thanks people.

dunstonh

My query is, was he mis-sold this?

doesnt appear to be mis-sold anything. Not liking what they offer and choosing to do something different is a personal choice and that doesnt make it a mis-sale. Banks will try and sell their products. If you say yes to them then you cant complain if you should have said no.

As he is self employed he really needs to start acting like it. I don't mean that as harsh as it reads but he is going to get bombarded by firms wanting to sell him their services. He either needs to say no to what he doesnt want or yes to what he does but realise that if he says yes and they provide a service, then they should be paid for it. Just as he would expect to be paid for services he provides.

He is basically reliant on the bank giving a refund as a goodwill gesture. They wont with the seminar as he got the service he bought. If its a software licence he has bought that has a 12 month tie in then the bank may not be in a position to refund it.

Cinders2001

dunstonh wrote: »

If you say yes to them then you cant complain if you should have said no.

He either needs to say no to what he doesnt want or yes to what he does but realise that if he says yes and they provide a service, then they should be paid for it.

But how do you know you should have said no when you are new to the business world and they tell you you need this and then it doesn't do what you were told it would do? ie, He was told that the software would do certain things, but it does not.
Isn't that a kind of mis-selling?

Premier_2

Cinders2001 wrote: »

...They only gave a 7 day 'cooling off period'..... how are you supposed to use it and see if it works in 7 days when invoices are usually on a month by month basis?...

Its a cooling off period, e.g. he wakes up the following morning and realises he didn't actually want or need the product/service he agreed to.

It's not a try before you buy offer.

lucypia

I believe that the pack of Business Essentials (QuickBooks) program was mis-sold to me.
I was given this pack from my Business Manager from BarclaysBank branch. I thought that this pack is free, but as I later discovered I wasbeing charge for it. After discovering this charges I have contact my BusinessManager and inform him, that I am not using it and I would like to cancel thosepayments. I also stated that I do not need and never needed Quick Books programand if I knew that I was being charge for it I would not take it. There were nofurther steps taken by this manager in my case.


After a while (I do not remember exact dates) I contactedBarclays Bank again with intention to return Business Essential pack and askfor cancelation of my charges, but I was inform that I cannot cancel thischarges, because I could have already downloaded Quick Books program on to mycomputer and therefore I probably used it already.


From recent phone conversation with Barclays Bank Idiscovered that I have signed contract not with Barclays Bank but with ClearlyBusiness for first 12 months of Business Essentials program and that I shouldhave contact them , not Barclays Bank, in order to cancel those charges.


I think I should request repayment of those charges fromBarclays Bank because:

· I have signed this contract (allegedly) withall other papers to commence my new account in the Barclays Bank with BarclaysBank employee and believing that I am signing only paper needed to start mybusiness account.

· I was being sold this pack with belief thatit is free of charge (otherwise I would not have taken it)

· Until recently nobody inform me that I shouldhave contact Clearly Business in order to cancel those charges, even though Ihave contacted Barclays Bank on two occasion with this query earlier .