E-commerce platform sellers. Who regulates them?

quizzling

I have been ripped off 3 times now by 3 different e-commerce platform sellers.
Can anyone help?

They say (free support) but then they keep you in a queue for ages on an 0871 or 0845 number which ends up costing more than they charge you monthly. There's Search engine optimization, email accounts, product amounts, templates, web space to consider. Anyone can start a company up & say they are the best but who is it that regulates them all? As far as my research show the answer is Nobody! Business link is closing down & citizens advice couldn't help, Trading standards couldn't help either!

Setting up has been a nightmare. 2 weeks I was told. It's now been 7 weeks & I am still having to wait 48hrs for them to reply to my emails! There are hundreds of companies doing this & they are getting away with it hand over fist.

Is anyone policing this part of the market or any way of finding out who is good & who is bad. Is there an overseer of this selling practice> I'm not even sure what it's called. I'm not talking about hosting. I am talking about companies that rent you a website with a template & you pay them monthly. I'm told it's ecommerce selling platforms but I'm not sure.


At the moment it's pot luck & I have been very unlucky to the sum of approx £500 in the last two years.

Starting a business with an online ecommerce platform should be transparent but the pitfalls are many.

Does anyone know of any research done on who is to be trusted in this field?

At the moment it is Russian roulette. I am now looking at trying freestart but they want payment for a whole year upfront. Anyone familiar with them?

Regards,
Jon

somethingcorporate

There are sharks all over the internet unfortunately and even if they were policed as soon as they get shut down a new one springs up.

Do research before parting with your cash. Google them, call them, do all the digging you can find to see if they have happy customers or are scammers. I am sure there are plenty of reputable examples out there.

Edit: head over to the small business forum (link: http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.php?f=27) and ask around at which companies are used by some of MSEs members, I am sure you could get some decent recommendations.

paddyrg

Nobody 'regulates' them, by definition, e-commerce platforms are B2B, so it's caveat emptor.

quizzling

I have been told today that if I pay £149 I will get their upgrade package which is £199 but if I don't like it there is no cooling off period & no money back if unhappy with the service. So I lose my £149 if I am unhappy with them. Is this legal? I know things are slightly different with online sales bbut I thought a buyer had more rights....not less right when buying online. Distance selling regulations do not apply to the purchase of an online service maybe? I'm confused.

quizzling

How do you research if there is nothing on google but their own website's forum singing praises from customers that could be completely bogus. There is nowhere to find any reviews because nobody has thought of such a forum or website. All I can do is call them & listen to them go on about how great they are which is not unbiased so therefore completely pointless. How can I find an honest opinion on the web?

wealdroam

quizzling wrote: »

I have been told today that if I pay £149 I will get their upgrade package which is £199 but if I don't like it there is no cooling off period & no money back if unhappy with the service. So I lose my £149 if I am unhappy with them. Is this legal? I know things are slightly different with online sales bbut I thought a buyer had more rights....not less right when buying online. Distance selling regulations do not apply to the purchase of an online service maybe? I'm confused.

Business to business transactions do not have the same protection as business to consumer transactions.

You really should not be parting with money until you are sure that the product you are buying is the one you want.
This is particularly important in the B2B world.

Regulation?
Small Claims court is your answer if they are not supplying what has been agreed.

quizzling

So are you saying I have rights? It will cost a lot more than £149 to go to a small claims court. It's not worth it.

bod1467

No it doesn't - not really. £35 ? to file and then £55 hearing fee, both of which are added to the judgement if found in your favour.

quizzling

Thats £85 costs. I have to get there & have an unpaid day off work. It takes time & effort. It's not worth it for £149. They say I have no rights as well. They may be right.

wealdroam

quizzling wrote: »

Thats £85 costs. I have to get there & have an unpaid day off work. It takes time & effort. It's not worth it for £149. They say I have no rights as well. They may be right.

What rubbish.

What do you want?

You want a 'regulator'? Why?

You have made a mistake.
If you don't think it is worth trying to enforce your rights, then why should a regulator do it?

Just try and avoid making the same mistake again.

And £35 plus £55 is £90.

quizzling

My dear Weldroam....I am not specifically asking for a regulator to do anything about it. Read my original post.

I asked "Does anyone know of any research done on who is to be trusted in this field"

Maybe you are loaded with cash or maybe you just like conflict. Or probably both. You certainly sound like you do. It's not unreasonable to ask for some guidance on here is it? I don't want to buy something & then rely on going to court all day if I get ripped off again for the 3rd time this year. I can earn more than that at work. It's the time I don't have. I'm on here looking for positive advice from someone who might actually care to help out.

Not very money saving expert of you. Also your not taking notice of the Newbie Alert to the left of your screen. I think you should read carefully before you reply to posts to save yourself any more hassle.

You are asking me to take a chance for the fourth time. Sorry but that is very bad advice in my opinion.

I thank you for your negative input but please don't bother again. You are clearly out for an argument for the sake on an argument.