Your "Free Sample" from Silkies (not really)

dozer_3

hi
after a firm e mail to them stating the laws and thier acctions they replied with this e mail, i hope this the end of these people

As per your request I have cancelled your mother’s account.

Please return the item free of charge using the following freepost address:
Silkies returns department
HCI freepost
NWW 3111
PO Box 1021
Liverpool
L70 8BE

Yours sincerely,
Mrs V ////////

dozer_3

hi
guess what these idiots sent anoter letter demanding money
after sending the previous post one
what joke these people really are and prey on old people
they are going in the bin and so are any more thes send

the sad person demanding money is albert jones i wonder if we can name and shame these kind people billing supervisor suppost to be lol

ParadiseKidd

After being hounded for months I rang silkies and asked them what on earth they were on about (wanted this £13.58 off me) - I hadn't received anything from them, and I suggested that if they wanted any money they would have to prove that I had received the goods they sent. A couple of minutes on hold later, the whole account was cancelled. Bingo!:T

Horace

This Company is a complete pain they did the same to me - needless to say they got nowt and as I refused to send their unsolicited goods back, I told them that they could come and collect them within 7 days or the goods would be disposed of. I never heard anything from them ever again and their 'free' tights were used as stuffing in a draught excluder.

roses

I bought 5 pairs of control tights from Ebay for £4.50 inc postage and I am really impressed. They are very strong and I haven't had a single one ladder unlike the £12 Dupont tights I bought which laddered after 3 wears!

Is there a cheaper place to get them than Ebay? I want to buy 10 pairs (£1 each inc postage from Ebay)! I see so many people selling them that I wonder if they get them cheap then sell them on.

Mrsct_2

My Mum a few months ago rec'd a package of 7 tights, that she didnt order. She did not know where silkys got her details from and she has never made an order for a special offer on tights or signed up for a free sample. The package contained 7 pairs of black tights and came with a letter saying that she had been selected to get a free pair, and there was a bill for 6pairs! She phoned up and said that she did not order anything and will not be paying the bill or for postage to return them. She heard nothing since and gave me the tights as she dont wear black.

claire1973

I am so glad I found this thread. I work with the elderly and two have been hounded by Silkies, neither one asked for any freebies. They have been hounded for money and keep receiving demands for payment. I tried to return them but the post office said I would have to pay. Today I have used the freepost address on here and have proof of posting, also writing close this account on the invoices.

These people dont care about the stress and upset they are causing to vunerable people! :mad::mad::mad::mad:

mama2

I too received some free samples of moisturising cream two months ago and today I received a 25ml enriche anti-ageing moisturiser for £11.99 and a request for a payment of £11.99 + £1.99 postage and packing = 13.98.

I phoned trading standard, a very grumpy man told me to send them a recorded delivery letter stating that I didn't want the goods and asking them to phone me to arrange a collection.........I was fuming, why should I go through all this trouble for something that I didn't ask for?

Luckily I checked this web site so now i am a lot wiser.
Thanks

chopper602

Send an e-mail to their customers services : [EMAIL="customerservice@silkiesenriche.co.uk"]customerservice@silkiesenriche.co.uk[/EMAIL]

I wrote this to them :
Dear Sir,

Today I received some unsolicited goods from yourselves (Moisturiser & Eye-stick), they were not requested and are not required. They are awaiting collection, if not collected within 30 days or you provide the means to return them, I will consider them my property and will dispose of them.

Reference on the 'Payment Slip' is XXXXXXXXXXXX etc

I quote a brief outline of the legislation covering this practice :
The Unsolicited Goods and Services Act 1971 makes it an offence for a company to send you goods you have not ordered. The legislation is intended to discourage companies from sending customers unordered goods in the hope that they will be induced by lethargy or ignorance to pay for them. Companies who send out unordered goods in this way do so at great risk since once you receive the goods you do not have to pay for them and they are yours to keep.
I regard this e-mail as an end to this matter - please remove my name & address from your mailing list.


I hope this will end their harassment . . . . :mad:

Walker_Moore

Freebie_Hunter wrote: »

[snip]
Small print is put there to cover the company - if you choose not to read it then it's not their fault. Maybe they use it to exploit the people who don't bother to read it - again, not the companys fault.

LOL. So when a company chooses to deliberately exploit people, it's not their fault. You have a slight logic problem there; not to mention ethical.

Anyway, I've just registered here because my mother (a pensioner, like many of this company's victims) has just got caught up in this whole Silkies mess, and I've had to sort it out. I figured I'd offer some pointers to others.

Firstly, some company background. Silkies was setup in Liverpool by a company in the United States called HCI Direct, and they have quite a history of deceptive marketing practises. For example:

HCI Direct settles consumer protection case

Hosiery company HCI Direct Inc. has agreed to pay $455,000 to settle allegations of consumer protection law violations, Pennsylvania Attorney General Tom Corbett said Thursday.

Don't Be Fooled By Free Gift Scam

Nan Holliman's reaction was similar to Jane's. She received an invoice for £13.98 from a company called Silkies. It said: "On October 15, 2007, we sent you the delivery of Silkies enriche anti-ageing moisturiser you requested. Yet, as of today, our records show that we still have not received your payment of £13.98."
Nan didn't remember placing an order and was worried the company might take action if she delayed paying the invoice.
She asked her daughter to look into the matter. She was told that a free sample of the cream had been sent to her, along with a leaflet explaining what would happen next.
If customers fail to get back in touch to say they don't want any more cream, the company acts as if "a request" has been made.
It then sends a bigger tube of the cream, along with an invoice for £13.68. If nothing happens after that, the company sends an even bigger tube along with an invoice for £19.98.
The goods are despatched not because the customer has said yes, but because the customer has failed to say no.

Suffice to say that given the well documented history of this company, it is a black mark on IPC magazines that they continue to allow them to advertise. It beggars belief that "HCI Direct" weren't blacklisted by all major newspapers and magazines in this country right after that Daily Record expos!!

**Anyway, in my case, my mother sent off for a free sample, and was wise enough to photocopy the form she filled in before sending it off. Nowhere does it state that she was entering a contract and would be sent further goods for which she would be charged. It seems that was printed on one of many leaflets that came with the free sample some three weeks later. The leaflet in question (in my opinion) was cleverly disguised as advertising another free item, which one would assume you'd have to send off for, but the tiny, confusing small print at the bottom indicates you'll get this freebie automatically with goods that they intend charging you for.

This is against the law, and Consumer Direct (who you should now call instead of Trading Standards) confirmed this for me yesterday. They have referred the matter to my local Trading Standards department.

My advice to anybody getting caught up in this is:

#1: Contact HCI on 0845 026 2013. The only way you'll get to speak to a real life person is by pressing 3 (to make a payment), followed by 3 (to pay by credit card now). When you get through, tell them you didn't order this stuff, and to delete (1) your account with them, (2) the balance, and (3) your entry from the Silkies' marketing list. Step 3 is particularly important if you don't want to receive further products. They *will* cooperate. They will give you a freepost address to which to return the goods. It is up to you whether you return the goods, but for a speedy resolution, it's probably advisable. I've returned them by recorded delivery.

#2: Call Consumer Direct. HCI Direct *are* breaking the law with regards the moisturiser offer (I'm not sure about the legality of other campaigns they've run), and CD will recommend Trading Standards take legal action. The more people bringing this to Consumer Directs' attention, the better! Tel: 08454 04 05 06.

Most importantly, don't let HCI Direct bully you into any kind of compromise. They are engaging in deceptive, illegal marketing practises, and you don't owe them anything. (Indeed, you could, technically claim the goods as a gift, but my fear is that they will eventually develop a strategy to deal with this response... because they *know* people generally don't want the whole matter to drag on, even though the company is in the wrong.)