Conning the elderly with scams

NorfolkNman

Seriously? i was under the impression that i had explained that already.
Lies that they make the product, lies that the product never retails at £7000, fraudulently obtaining card information, lies about the deposit being £600, lies about the chair would be fast tracked so they sign a 7 day waiver contract unknowingly. Lies about the 7 day cool off period. lies about the refund that never happened. lies about over 50 years experience. Able to purchase the EXACT same chair with the same spec for only 900 when brought locally. I could write a lot more, but you get the bulk of it

NorfolkNman

THEY CAVED IN!!!
I checked the latest banking transactions at 4pm, and the refund has happened! It is not the one that i have a receipt for, as this transaction started today, not the 28th, but its still a flippin result! I can only presume it was the Action Fraud people at the Norfolk Police, as they were contacted yesterday along with Action Elder, and i received an email this morning saying they are now investigating. For my mother, its closure and she is happy with getting the money back. For me its my turn to kick off! I am going after HSBC for not doing what they should of done, and the poor communication between departments, and of course the scumbag conning Company have still committed many offences, and i have spent so much time on sorting this out, phone calls, recorded letters,emails etc, so i am looking for reasonable costs! But i owe a large amount of the thanks to you guys for giving the advice yesterday, i was getting so close to caving in and saying sod it, and i just needed that little slap in the face. So, thank you, and i mean that sincerely!

hollydays

So glad your mum doesn't have to worry any more.
Give yourself a pat on the back for being a good son.
Do update this thread every time you find out about any new companies they have started etc

hollydays

Scrootum wrote: »

What was the actual offence?
Being expensive is not illegal, otherwise most "designer" brands would be out of business.

........Last time they were taken to court in March this year, so clearly criminals....????

hollydays

Here's the press coverage of the march court case in case you still think there was no crime committed

Suffolk Mobility company plead guilty to criminal charges

MARCH 12, 2013 4 COMMENTS
AGGRESSIVE and misleading commercial practices were behind the 39 offences Mobility UK Limited and three men responsible for running the company pleaded guilty to – resulting in total fines and costs of nearly £50,000.
The pleas that were heard at Ipswich Magistrates Court yesterday follow a large scale investigation by Suffolk Trading Standards based on numerous consumer complaints recorded against the company, who were trading under the business name Westminster Recliners.
The company was fined a total of £3000 and ordered to pay costs of £10,000 and victim surcharge of £15.
The two sales managers of the company - name removed by me-x (24 years old) andx( name removed by me) (65 years old), father and son, both of Felixstowe, each pleaded guilty to consenting and conniving to aggressive and misleading commercial practices under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations.
X ( son) was also fined a total of £3000 and ordered to pay costs of £10,000 and victim surcharge of £15, whilst X ( father) was fined £1000 and was also ordered to pay costs of £10,000 and victim surcharge of £15.
X ( father) also pleaded guilty to an offence under the Company Directors Disqualification Act for managing the company whilst an undischarged bankrupt for which he received an additional fine of £1000. CS (34 years old), a company Director, also pleaded guilty to charges of neglect and was fined a total of £1000 and ordered to pay costs of £8500 plus a victim surcharge of £15.

Victims included elderly residents and people with mobility problems, who contacted the company after viewing the advertisements for discounted riser recliner chairs both in the national press and online. A visit by a salesman was then arranged at the victim’s home where large deposits were often paid.
When victims attempted to cancel an order or ask for a refund within the legal period of 7 days, the company kept the victim’s full deposit, falsely claiming that work had been carried out on the order.
These claims proved to be false, following evidence gathered by Suffolk Trading Standards from the company’s chair manufacturers – the order had not even been received by the manufacturer let alone started.
Sales representatives of the company used misleading sales tactics by falsely claiming to offer a reduced price as part of existing orders placed through BUPA. It was proved that the company had never had any contracts or orders with BUPA.
One 83 year old consumer agreed to a visit from a salesman of the company Mobility UK Limited trading after a sales pitch of over 3 hours, reluctantly agreed to sign up and paid a deposit of £2000.
He said; “It was only when the salesman left that I realised I had placed an order and paid such a large sum of money when I really had no intention of doing so. Fortunately for me an advocacy company and Trading Standards got involved and after a long battle with the company, lasting 10 months, I was finally paid back my £2000 deposit that I was legally entitled to receive. I was glad to put the nightmare behind me and would warn other people not to let companies like this into their home.”
Councillor Colin Spence, cabinet member for public protection said; “The managers of this company were not at all concerned for their vulnerable victims and were entirely motivated by their own greed. They manipulated their way into securing large deposits from victims in their homes with no intention of returning the deposit if the victim changed their mind.
”I am delighted that Suffolk Trading Standards’ long and detailed investigation has resulted in guilty pleas from all four defendants in this prosecution.”
Consumers looking at purchasing mobility aids and equipment are advised to do their research and seek personal recommendations. Checkatrade.com is a directory of local businesses and tradesmen who have been checked by Suffolk Trading Standards and have made a commitment to treat their customers fairly.
Anyone who thinks they may have been approached by a rogue trader, pressurised to buy something they don’t want, or who know of anyone who has been exploited by a rogue trader should contact the Citizens Advice consumer service on 08454 040506 for free advice and guidance.

Scrootum

hollydays wrote: »

........Last time they were taken to court in March this year, so clearly criminals....????

I was not disputing they were criminals, just wondering what offences they were commiting. As far as I know there is no offence of selling something at a higher price than someone else.

OP seemed to make quite a lot of the fact they could buy the item cheaper elsewhere.

NorfolkNman

I was under the impression i had explained all that in previous postings! The major issue with this company is deceptive advertising, eg start price of a chair at £8000 and then making it half price, and then even reducing it further if the customer does not get hooked straight away! They offer a no quibble 7 day cool off period, but they dont - on the back of the paperwork, it states that you have signed away the right to cancel. They told Mother that the deposit would be one price, but it was 3 times that amount! "over 50 years of experience" - try 2.5! "lovingly made in our English factories" They have a 2 window office, and they place orders for the chairs to a different company who source most of the items from Germany! When you dig deep in the the "Waters" family, you find that they have so many company names registered, in back up for when this one gets busted, they go on countless holidays a year ( Did Facebook stalking!) . Its just so so wrong of them, to con the most vulnerable people in the community like this, we were lucky, as in Mother had me go all through the information and realise what had happened But there are plenty of people out there that have been stung by them. Willowbrook recliners is incredibly similar too! All you need to do is google "recliners scam" and you will see a very long list!

zagfles

Scrootum wrote: »

I was not disputing they were criminals, just wondering what offences they were commiting. As far as I know there is no offence of selling something at a higher price than someone else.

OP seemed to make quite a lot of the fact they could buy the item cheaper elsewhere.

You really don't think it's an offence to charge £1690 to a card when only £600 was authorised? Do you think altering the amount on cheques is OK too?

Coopdivi

NorfolkNman wrote: »

Seriously? i was under the impression that i had explained that already.
Lies that they make the product, lies that the product never retails at £7000, fraudulently obtaining card information, lies about the deposit being £600, lies about the chair would be fast tracked so they sign a 7 day waiver contract unknowingly. Lies about the 7 day cool off period. lies about the refund that never happened. lies about over 50 years experience. Able to purchase the EXACT same chair with the same spec for only 900 when brought locally. I could write a lot more, but you get the bulk of it

Don't take any notice of Scrootum. He's had umpteen user names on Money Saving Expert and every one of them barring this one have been banned. He hates consumers with a passion and likes to make inflammatory remarks in the hope of getting a response. A typical troll in other words.

NorfolkNman

LOL i did think that, i had a browse through some of the comments he had written before, and came to the impression that he was the inspiration behind Victor Meldrew! Totally off point here, but do they have a forum regarding buying new washing machines or anything? I am just doing research on the best deals really, and seeing if it is worth waiting till boxing day sales!