Caught by a cowboy online

Fatcat1974

My girlfriend was browsing body art websites, looking for inspiration for some work she's doing. A certain tattoo website asked her to register, which she did. First mistake - there are so many about that I wouldn't have bothered.

She provided part of an old address (enough to trace her) and her DOB - second mistake! She failed to read the terms and conditions fully - third mistake (although to be fair, we're probably all guilty of this at times and she only thought she was registering to use a site).

Anyway, hidden in the corner of the front page was some small print explaining that it was a subscription service costing £8 a month, so £96 a year (written as "96 pounds" in the wording) and that by registering she was signing up to an annual subscription. Presumably the Ts and Cs explained the same and also that she had a 7-day cooling off period in line with distance selling regs. She was not asked for any payment info at the time.

The owner of the site emailed her for payment after about 13 days. Thinking it was a bona fide firm, she wrote back and explained she'd made a mistake and asked them to just cancel the service. But the guy hassled her again, so she said she had no intention of paying and asked him to leave her alone.

He's continued to email her demanding payment. She'd ignored his latest messages but the most recent threatens to appoint solicitors and escalate costs.

The content of the website itself is rubbish. No-one in their right mind would pay for it. Normally with things like this, you're asked to provide payment details up front to protect the provider, and this obviously highlights to you that you're signing up for a subscription service. The whole thing's a con and I'm inclined to just ignore any further correspondence. But the guy appears to know what he's doing and I have a niggling worry that a court summons might find us in a few month's time with far higher costs than the original bill.

Can anybody put my mind at rest?

Freddie_Snowbits

I would not worry too much, as you have not given any payment details, then i am afraid, they cannot chase you. Always wise to use false names etc if you are unsure, to see if a payment screen comes up.

Just a word of caustion though, on sites where the service begins on joining, DSR does not apply.

4743hudsonj

If he is threatened to appoint solicitors then ye doesn't know what he is doing. What are the cancelation terms?

Fatcat1974

Thanks for your reply Freddie, and while I'm grateful I do disagree slightly. I don't think he needs bank details to chase us - he's doing it already. I even think that he may have a legitimate claim. My question really is, what avenues are open to him and how worried should I be about any of them? Oh, and as I think his website is designed to catch people out, is there a body or group that I can report him to?

Fatcat1974

4743hudsonj wrote: »

If he is threatened to appoint solicitors then ye doesn't know what he is doing. What are the cancelation terms?

The original cancellation terms were 7 days, in line with distance selling regs. Once the 7 days are up the Ts and Cs say that the £96 is payable in full with no option for a refund if you cancel mid-term. Some of the wording on the website is ambiguous, i.e. it stipulates that you have to pay in advance, but then fails to take payment details and doesn't actually insist on payment until 5 days after invoicing, which happens 14 days after you register.

If my girlfriend had read the terms fully, she'd have known all this, of course!

Freddie_Snowbits

Then we are down really to did the GF agree to the terms, and the chaser has a copy of this.

One suspects that beacuse they did not take payment up front, or alllowq payment to be taken before commencement of service, I doubt if they would enforce payment.

omen666

website address?

Fatcat1974

www.besttattoodesigns.co.uk

pimento

I'd have said "I didn't sign up to your site, someone must have used my details."

Fatcat1974

pimento wrote: »

I'd have said "I didn't sign up to your site, someone must have used my details."

Yes, I have got this on the back burner if he persists. It's tricky because my GF, thinking it was a bona fide company admitted she'd misunderstood the terms and asked them to cancel it immeidately, albeit after the 7 day cooling off period (she didnt' realise what she'd done until they emailed her). But I reckon we can dig her out of that particular hole if we need to.

bingo_bango

I especially like this term:

3. The service is designed and offered as a general purpose product, and is not designed or offered for specific User purposes; Users accept that no software platform, website or data processing service is free from errors or imperfections.

Could I consider that as a libellous statement, as my websites all conform with current W3C requirements, along with government guidelines on accessibility. I also know that there are no errors in grammar, punctuation or spelling on my sites.

Perhaps we should get all the MSE users who are site owners to write to Vincenzo Salvia (MD) at the address on their site and request that he removes such an improbable statement from his site or legal action could ensue?