Conning the elderly with scams

NorfolkNman

Hello, i am at my wits end here and could really do with some help from people with some clout behind them.

My Mother noticed an advert in Whats on TV magazine about 55% off these automatic riser recliners, it had a freephone number to ring for a brochure, so she did. The fact of the matter is that they never send out brochures, or they are out of stock BUT they have a salesman in your area over the next few days who can explain things for you, so 2 days later they turned up.....
The salesman came 2 days after telephoning, and brought in a whole chair to demonstrate what they can do, brought in fabric swatches, and designs, i think in the end they whole van was in the front room!
Mother kept asking about the price during his sales patter, but he said that he can talk about it at the end after the demo. Cutting a long story short, she got the 50% discount and the chair that she was to choose got knocked down to £3380, so the original price would be £6760 for one chair! After 2 hours of listening to his patter, she got sucked in and agreed to the purchase, and accepted the fact that they will take a £600 deposit today and fast track her order, and manufacture it really quickly so it wont take as long to wait. Signing of contracts took place, card details given over the phone to their admin, and finally he left, and this is where i come into it!
The "£600" deposit was infact £1690 and they managed to get Mother to sign a 7 day waiver agreement so they could crack on and manufacture her chair really quickly. She was never made aware of this when she signed up, the guy was too good at giving the smooth talk. So i looked at all the documents, and it said you can cancel either in writing or email, so 2 hours after the guy left Mother i sent an email to that effect, and i also sent a recorded delivery letter with the same wordings. The salesman called Mother the same day and offered to sell the chair for £1900! They were not willing to converse with us, so i got trading standards involved, and they told them they will cancel the contract and refund within 5 working days. We received a letter from them stating the contract has been cancelled, and the refund would be within 30 days, 6 week later and still no refund. Inbetween all this happening she has also had complications with HSBC, with raising a chargeback as it was on Visa debit. Going in the branch is great and they couldn't do enough to help, but when you ring and try to get information regarding things, u get thru to India and they have no idea what you are talking about. Last week we received a letter from Westminster Recliners stating that they have done a refund of the deposit, and enclosed the refund slip to show that effect, this is where it gets strange. The "refund" was done on a card that HSBC cancelled for Mother, and issued a brand new one with new numbers, but how have they managed to store all her card details, i was under the impression that its illegal now? After getting through to someone i could understand at HSBC they explained that the refund may of happened, but they could of taken all the money out of that account, so it would bounce, and there are no pending debits to come in to the account, so they have either doctored a refund slip, or emptied the account. They have been to court on numerous occasions for similar sorts of things, The father and son outfit have had so many company names in the past, and they just run them to the ground and start again! The 50 years of experience is invalid, and they do not make the chairs themselves, and only send the order thru after a few weeks have past.
Mother has COPD, Arthritis, and very reduced mobility, so she really needed that chair to help her, but all she has managed to do is make herself sick with worry, and its affecting her health as the days continue. The horror stories i have read about these are disgusting, and i just dont know who to turn to next

hollydays

You need to get back to trading standards.

This company known previously as mobility uk ltd

What is your biggest concern right now?

Westminster recliners fraud scam Suffolk

margaretclare

Try HSL Chairs. An old-established English manufacturer. http://www.hslchairs.com/

NorfolkNman

I am constantly getting in contact with Ipswich trading standards, but its just so difficult to get anywhere

NorfolkNman

She finally got a chair, identical to the one she ordered, for 800 from a local company!

NorfolkNman

My biggest concern is getting that money back in her account. And then i can go hell for leather and claim consequential losses

spacey2012

I think I would be speaking with the police fraud squad.
Having a crime reference number will also make the bank sit up and listen.

NorfolkNman

spacey2012 wrote: »

I think I would be speaking with the police fraud squad.
Having a crime reference number will also make the bank sit up and listen.

Do you think they could help?

bod1467

How did she pay?

Look at the Section 75 and Chargeback articles.

NorfolkNman

Visa Debit, so the section 75 doesnt apply Visa have had all copies of things sent to them, as HSBC raised a chargeback, but thats nigh on 6 weeks ago now?

spacey2012

They have taken money by deception, quoting one price then helping themselves to much more.
Selling a vulnerable old lady a chair that can be bought elsewhere for £900 for nearly £7000 and then issuing false refund letters.
I would say the police would look forward to having a word with these two very much indeed.