World books... avoid them!!

tullula_2

Liz19 wrote:

I am having a similar problem with Mango. I signed up to join on the internet and it took 4 months for the introductory books to arrive (practically forgotten about them by then). I placed an order which didn't arrive so had to phone and fill out forms, etc. Re-ordered, waited 28 days and guess what? no books. Phoned and emailed again and getting no-where (it is now 8 months since I joined and I have not managed to buy a thing). Have asked to close account but have been told I have a commitment to fulfil - how do I do this when they don't send out the books???!!! aaarrhh!!

Hi liz19, I have got a number for you it's 01793548100 It's the parent company 'book club associates' good luck. I'm still trying to sort mine out- at least this is not a premium rate number. Apparently you can be on hold for up to 15 mins-don't hang up. Regards. Tullula

ManAtHome

Was with World Books many years ago - no problems and got some useful books very cheap. I cancelled when it ran for 8 or 9 months with nothing in the catalogue which interested me. Everything was wound up inside a month and although I used to get the occasional mailing from them they handled everything professionally.

However, I did respond to one of their 'come back please' mailings a couple of years ago (quite a lot of new+interesting stuff), but heard absolutely nothing although I have had a couple more mailings since. Perhaps they've gone down the tubes a bit recently...

Liz19

tullula wrote:

Hi liz19, I have got a number for you it's 01793548100 It's the parent company 'book club associates' good luck. I'm still trying to sort mine out- at least this is not a premium rate number. Apparently you can be on hold for up to 15 mins-don't hang up. Regards. Tullula

Thanks Tullula but unfortunately the number is unobtainable. Shouldn't surprise me as my orders don't arrive and my emails are not answered. Mango Book Club is the pits and should be avoided.

tullula_2

Liz19 wrote:

Thanks Tullula but unfortunately the number is unobtainable. Shouldn't surprise me as my orders don't arrive and my emails are not answered. Mango Book Club is the pits and should be avoided.

Hi I'm still having letters saying Iv'e had the books-very frustrating-sorry about number I have same problem. Only way to contact them is through the post-a very long drawn out process. Hope you have better luck than I'm having. Fingers crossed and good luck.

drpachu

Fell into the contractual obligation of buying 4 books and then forced myself to buy it.Now trying to cancel.This company has devious ways of ensuring that once signed up,people have to struggle to cancel.Particularly the editors choice is a blackhole,previously they had the optiobn to reject but now only "decide later"option!!

Seriously they need to be more proff or else to be repoorted to trading std

Trout69

I'm having a similar problem...i signed up over the net, the books took 3 months to arrive (and then were different to the ones i ordered), i have bought books since, but 2 years after joining they are telling me i have not fulfilled my commitment of 6 books in first year (but its been 2 anyway). I have asked them to stop sending me editors choice and close my account, then i will happily pay the balance...

As i know that as soon as i pay the balance, they will send me more books.

Anyway...my account has now gone to a collections agency (which appears to be the same company when i checked the address....a very clever way to scare people into paying).

However, i still have all the books they sent in the boxes they sent them in and will be sending them back as soon as i find the return payment slip they sent me (which they have paid postage on - although it took 3 attempts to get them to send me this).

This company does not appear on any of my credit reports...does that mean there is no official agreement in place? I have requested a written copy of the terms and conditions of my agreement, to which i have just been ignored, is this legal?

Any help would be most appreciated.

Regards

Donna

antsean

Hi All! Hope this will help anyone thats having a complete nightmare with this company. I have been in dispute with this disgrace of an organisation for almost three months now. It started when they wrote to remind me that I had not purchased the four books required within a year to fulfill my club commitment. Anyway I went onto there website, signed into my account and went shopping for the four books. I ordered them, sat back and waited...and waited...and waited! Eventually when they did arrive, it turned out that one of them did not count towards the commitment which meant I would have to buy another book. This confused me as when I had ordered the items online I had deliberately looked in their help section under the membership rules. It states quite clearly that 'Any book that does not count towards your club commitment will be clearly indicated'. This I presumed meant on their website as well as the magazine they publish. So I rang their 'customer service' (scuze me while I choke)! telephone line and when I did eventually get through had a very strange conversation with some 'advisor' who didn't speak english very well, had no interest in the fact that the book in question was not marked on the website as not counting towards the agreement, and seemed more intent on flogging me a jamie oliver cook book instead!!! After this I wrote, faxed and emailed them four times and thay have totally ignored my complaint. I have been telling them that it should have been clearly indicated on the website, that it is therefore their mistake and that I am not buying anymore books! I have now gone to Consumer Direct which has been so so- Its quite difficult to get through, but the breakthrough seems to have been finding out via search engines that they are members of the DMA (Direct Marketing Association). They have a code of conduct that their members have to adhere to and from what I have read, World Books have already been warned by them to sort out their appalling customer services. I have made a complaint through the DMA who are now investigating on my behalf and guess what-World Books have suddenly gone extremely quiet and taken off a number of charges they had slapped on my account! I would strongly recommend going to the DMA website https://www.dma.org.uk and make a complaint through them if they are giving you a major headache. hope this helps anyone else!! Ant

madauri

Thanks Ant, I'll keep that address near me. I quit Worldbooks in August and everything seem to go fine (which was a surprise, since they've given me several minor time- and patience wasting problems). Then recently I got tired of receiving their e-mails and went to their website to cancel the newsletter service - and surprise surprise, they had charged me with the last editor's choice, which of course they never sent.
I wrote them an e-mail warning them that I was not a member anymore, that those books were not with me, and that they should never be sent to me, and very expediently they answered explaining that they would send for the books (!). Why their grasp of English is so appallingly twisted I do not know, but this week I've received the visit of the couriers who supposedly have to take back the books - books that have never been dispatched by them! And if they did I would not accept the parcel. They didn't find me home, of course - I work full time. I sent them another e-mail telling them the situation clearly. And today they've had the nerve to respond saying that my account with them is live and they're sending me a statement to make it clear to me.
Well, I've made them clear to them where in their archives they can find the copy of the letter they sent me when my account was cancelled, and now I live in the hope that they have some notion of the concepts of "archives" and "copy". Next thing is the authorities and I have warned them so. I have wasted too much time and effort with this lot.

PurpleDuck

I agree - report them to the DMA. If a company is a member and you have a problem the DMA are great. I had problems for nearly a year with a company (not this one mind) before I found out about the DMA. I emailed them and the DMA sorted out my year long problem in less than a day! The Company in question did not give a rats **** about me but they listened when the DMA told them the same thing :rolleyes: All praise to the DMA :T :T


https://www.dma.org.uk

madauri

That's it, I've received another nonsensical message from them so I've reported them to the DMA. Next will be the Trading Standards and an invoice to WB for the administration expenses they have incurred by making me waste so much time and effort trying to have them understand the obvious and for the harassment and false invoice they have raised against me.