Advice needed: how do I cancel credit agreement over a month old?

Helena62

Hi,
I'm hoping someone can help me with this problem:........

My elderly mother (aged 80), who has been diagnosed with Dementia of Alzheimers type, has purchased a Wave pad Topper from a company called Dreamwell Limited and the total she will have to pay for this is £2381.28!! :shocked::mad: I have seen Dreamwell Limited have been discussed on this forum in the past and already have an ASA action taken against them which was upheld so realise that I'm possibly dealing with a 'dodgy' company.

The problem I have is that the purchase was made on 27/3/13 but I did not know about until 11/5/13 when I received a phone call from my mother saying she had received a credit agreement letter that she knew nothing about and she was extremely distressed about it. I have told her I will sort it out but so far haven't managed to get very far other than contacting the relevant companies....I want to cancel the contract and send the Topper back.

Dreamwell Ltd have said it's nothing to do with them now as they have been paid, I have to talk to the finance company. The finance company will not talk to me because of Data Protection Act which I understand, they have said to email them a copy of a letter signed by my mother giving them permission to talk to me then they can discuss it with me, which I intend to do as soon as I can get to my mother's to get the letter signed but being disabled myself travelling isn't possible at the drop of a hat and she lives nearly 20 miles away.

What I need to know is what rights does she have, what are the correct steps to take and any other advice anyone can give me to bring this matter to a close?? :huh:

unholyangel

If your mums mental state is deteriorating, you may be best looking into power of attorney options so that you can deal with everything for her without having to get a letter from her each time.

The only way i can think of that you might be able to cancel the agreement is if her doctor says shes no longer mentally competent.

I dont mean any of this as offensive btw (some people are touchy when discussing these kind of matters). Just that if your mum isnt fully aware of what she's signing,it would be a good idea to take steps to protect her in future.

Helena62

Thank you Unholyangel, I am considering asking my mum for power of attorney but as you say, it can be a minefield when dealing with dementia sufferers and I'm not sure she will be ready to give it to me at this point in time. She certainly isn't in advanced stages of it but is easily persuaded into things and certainly didn't realise it was going to cost her over £2000!

Dogger69

Helena62 wrote: »

Thank you Unholyangel, I am considering asking my mum for power of attorney but as you say, it can be a minefield when dealing with dementia sufferers and I'm not sure she will be ready to give it to me at this point in time. She certainly isn't in advanced stages of it but is easily persuaded into things and certainly didn't realise it was going to cost her over £2000!

Unfortunately being easily persuaded is not sufficient to be deemed not to have mental capacity. What was her understanding of what she was agreeing to? There may be a mis-selling argument if the credit agreement was not sufficiently explained.

It is a difficult situation. My dad is starting to go the same way and he knows he has to run any big purchases past me first. We have to try to get to the phone before him also - he is a nightmare for allowing cold callers to book home visits

wealdroam

Helena62 wrote: »

Thank you Unholyangel, I am considering asking my mum for power of attorney but as you say, it can be a minefield when dealing with dementia sufferers and I'm not sure she will be ready to give it to me at this point in time. She certainly isn't in advanced stages of it but is easily persuaded into things and certainly didn't realise it was going to cost her over £2000!

An important point about Power of Attorney is that it must be setup while the 'donor' is capable of understanding what they are agreeing to.

It is some time later when the powers are actually to be used.

arcon5

Sorry but I think you'll struggle to win this.... 2 months later and having received the goods.

Dogger69

arcon5 wrote: »

Sorry but I think you'll struggle to win this.... 2 months later and having received the goods.

I would disagree. The courts do not like companies that take advantage of vulnerable people, and this seems a prime case. Even if the OP's mother has used the topper, the court may decide on a fair price for the product, rather than the ridiculous amount she has been charged.

arcon5

Dogger69 wrote: »

I would disagree. The courts do not like companies that take advantage of vulnerable people, and this seems a prime case. Even if the OP's mother has used the topper, the court may decide on a fair price for the product, rather than the ridiculous amount she has been charged.

Except op cannot demonstrate she was in fact taken advantage off. And the massive time lapse between receiving the goods and making a complaint certainly acts in their favour.

As for price, the laws protects consumers where no price was pre-agreed. If the price was clear then I see no reason a judge would dispute or get involved in this.

As the claimant a judge would be looking for something from ops side to demonstrate their case to be valid.

Helena62

Dogger69 wrote: »

Unfortunately being easily persuaded is not sufficient to be deemed not to have mental capacity. What was her understanding of what she was agreeing to? There may be a mis-selling argument if the credit agreement was not sufficiently explained.

It is a difficult situation. My dad is starting to go the same way and he knows he has to run any big purchases past me first. We have to try to get to the phone before him also - he is a nightmare for allowing cold callers to book home visits

Thanks for your reply Dogger69. My mum has been diagnosed with Dementia of Alzhiemer's type and whilst still able to maintain her independence in most aspects of life she cannot understand official letters that she receives and has to call me for me to explain them to her. She certainly didn't realise that the item she bought was going to cost her so much!

Ref your father....sorry to hear he is showing signs of Dementia but don't count on him running things by you. I worked with people with Dementia for many years and whilst they say they will do things they usually forget to do them :undecided

Helena62

arcon5 wrote: »

Except op cannot demonstrate she was in fact taken advantage off. And the massive time lapse between receiving the goods and making a complaint certainly acts in their favour.

As for price, the laws protects consumers where no price was pre-agreed. If the price was clear then I see no reason a judge would dispute or get involved in this.

As the claimant a judge would be looking for something from ops side to demonstrate their case to be valid.

I am hoping it will not come to going to court. The company rang my mum and was told she did not want anything but they carried on trying to persuade her to have a salesman come round just to see her, in the end she gave in just to get them off the phone (I've told her that in future just hang the phone up on them). Once the salesman turned up it was hard sell all the way with the salesman playing on my disability (mum would do anything she could if she thought it would benefit me) to get mum to buy something she didnt need.

On this site is a post of where the company were taken to court for claiming their products did something that could not be proven and it was upheld by the court. They were told to re-word their brochures but when I read this I checked the brochure they had given to my mum and it is STILL claiming to do the same things....maybe I could go down this route too??

Helena62

wealdroam wrote: »

An important point about Power of Attorney is that it must be setup while the 'donor' is capable of understanding what they are agreeing to.

It is some time later when the powers are actually to be used.

Thank you Wealdroam...I do understand that and am in the process of getting it done in the next week or so