Beware of .co.uk websites!

Dabbad

WARNING about assuming that a company which has a co.uk address is subject to conditions laid down by the UK authorities. This is NOT correct. I understand that there are no rules restricting your location when registering a domain. All one has to do is register it. If the website is aimed at people living in the UK then it would make perfect sense for them to have a co.uk domain.

Rather stupidly I ordered a Braun Electric Toothbrush which was advertised by a company called Pointshop.co.uk for £1.00. This offer seemed to be too good to be true and, indeed it was. I was charged £1.00 by my credit card company despite not receiving the goods and then was charged a further £45.00 the following month. On contacting the company I was told that the £45.00 was a membership fee. Apparently by accepting the terms and conditions I had agreed to such a charge. To my horror I found out that despite the co.uk address the company is actually based in Denmark and is, therefore, outside the jurisdiction of the UK authorities. I know that the UK Financial Ombudsman ruled a few years ago that any ‘material’ facts have to be included in the main advert and not just hidden away amongst terms and conditions. I wrongly assumed that I would have some redress for a rebate.

I have now accepted the fact that I have paid a total of £46.00 for receiving absolutely nothing. However I hope that relating my experience will result in a reduction in business for Pointshop.co.uk and some measure of personal satisfaction.

worried_jim

On the front page it list its phone number- in Denmark!
http://www.pointshop.co.uk/terms.asp
1. Who are we?
PointShop is a home page and a service, which offers its users to earn points by making use of announcers offer through PointShop. The accrued points may be subsequently used to ordering products from our suppliers in shoppen of PointShop.

These conditions explains how you must use PointShops service and home page (https://www.pointshop.dk ), and how we protect your personal information.

PointShop is a concept, which offered, developed and operated by:
PointShop A/S
Skibbrogade 3, 3. sal
DK-9000 aalborg
Denmark
cvr-no. 31576318
Tel. +45 88 820 628 (Monday – Friday, 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. )
-: info@cmnetwork.dk

Wayne3765

Dabbad wrote: »

WARNING about assuming that a company which has a co.uk address is subject to conditions laid down by the UK authorities. This is NOT correct. I understand that there are no rules restricting your location when registering a domain. All one has to do is register it. If the website is aimed at people living in the UK then it would make perfect sense for them to have a co.uk domain.

Rather stupidly I ordered a Braun Electric Toothbrush which was advertised by a company called Pointshop.co.uk for £1.00. This offer seemed to be too good to be true and, indeed it was. I was charged £1.00 by my credit card company despite not receiving the goods and then was charged a further £45.00 the following month. On contacting the company I was told that the £45.00 was a membership fee. Apparently by accepting the terms and conditions I had agreed to such a charge. To my horror I found out that despite the co.uk address the company is actually based in Denmark and is, therefore, outside the jurisdiction of the UK authorities. I know that the UK Financial Ombudsman ruled a few years ago that any ‘material’ facts have to be included in the main advert and not just hidden away amongst terms and conditions. I wrongly assumed that I would have some redress for a rebate.

I have now accepted the fact that I have paid a total of £46.00 for receiving absolutely nothing. However I hope that relating my experience will result in a reduction in business for Pointshop.co.uk and some measure of personal satisfaction.

If it seems too good to be true it usually is , either leave it well alone or do a few simple checks on the website ( google for pointshop complaints / problems etc ) before parting with your card info.
Obviously you never notice the telephone number on the home page - Telephone +45 88 820 628 and just by checking the about us page you would 've found it wasn't UK run -

PointShop.co.uk is your place on the web where you can earn points and shop in our shop.

PointShop.co.uk is run and maintained by.

PointShop A/S
Skibbrogade 3, 3. sal
9000 Aalborg Denmark
www.cmnetwork.dk
Phone. 0045 88 82 06 28 (Mon - Fri: 10.00 am.- 3.00 pm.)CVR-nr: 31576318

P.s. Second result in Google search was this thread -

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3386316

I'd take a look if I was you , it seems the £45 is a monthly recurring payment.

advanta

The url to the point shop site is listed in this thread. That means google will pick up the link and give it a higher ranking because, perversely, you chose to complain about it.
Edit your link to prevent this.

Azari

OP. I apologise for some of the stupid comments that you have received in response to your posts.

Unfortunately some people here get their kicks from pouncing on people who happen to know less than they do about something and ridiculing them. It's extremely childish and they should really feel rather ashamed of their puerile behaviour.

There's no particular reason why people should be born with the knowledge that a .uk address can be used by companies not operating in the UK even though it seems very obvious once it's been explained to you.

As to the matter in hand you should contact your credit card company and tell them that you did not authorise the £45 transaction. You may have to be persistent and quote the financial ombudsman to them - possibly even threaten to make a complaint if they don't refund your money.

Although the company in question may be outside the UK the CC company must conform the UK rules so they are jointly responsible for enforcing the "No material terms may be buried" rule.

Please let us know how you get on.

antrobus

Dabbad wrote: »

... I know that the UK Financial Ombudsman ruled a few years ago that any ‘material’ facts have to be included in the main advert and not just hidden away amongst terms and conditions. I wrongly assumed that I would have some redress for a rebate....

Assuming that's true, it wouldn't matter anyway, Pointshop wouldn't be subject to the FOS even if it was British.

Azari

antrobus wrote: »

Assuming that's true, it wouldn't matter anyway, Pointshop wouldn't be subject to the FOS even if it was British.

No, but the CC company are.

Which is rather more to the point.

antrobus

Azari wrote: »

No, but the CC company are.

Which is rather more to the point.

Well, not really. Any rulings made by the FOS regarding the disclosure of 'material facts' in advertising relate apply only to advertising by regulated financial firms and not to advertising in general. They don't apply to Pointshop any more than they apply to Tesco. So it's just not relevant to the OP's problem.

I suppose you could, at a stretch, claim that the credit card company was liable under s75 CCA 1974 in some way, but the transaction is too small to qualify, so s75 doesn't apply.

savemoney

I thought most people knew this or should do. I never use a site where money may be involved that I dont check out first

Azari

antrobus wrote: »

I suppose you could, at a stretch, claim that the credit card company was liable under s75 CCA 1974 in some way, but the transaction is too small to qualify, so s75 doesn't apply.

There is no need for s75 CCA 1974 if the terms are unfair.

Or indeed, as far as most CC companies are concerned, if the goods were not received.

antrobus

Azari wrote: »

There is no need for s75 CCA 1974 if the terms are unfair.

A credit card company can't be held liable unless s75 does apply. It's the suppliers terms which are (allegedly) unfair, not those of the credit card company.

Azari wrote: »

...
Or indeed, as far as most CC companies are concerned, if the goods were not received.

OP would be much better advised to pursue the goods-not-received chargeback route against their credit card provider rather than muddying the waters with references to FOS rulings that don't apply.