madbid

thebullsback

Hi all,been a big fool this morning and after getting carried away by an online article about an online auction site called madbid.
In a nutshell I joined madbid and using paypal bought £99 worth of bids then I find out that each time I bid I am charged 50p win or lose .
After discovering this I cancel my membership then discover I get NO refund of unused monies.
Help need please .

bris

What did you think you were buying for £99?

thebullsback

I thought it was money that would be held in my madbid account to pay for any winning bids .
I admit iv been foolish .

visidigi

You thought it was free to bid and you only paid the total it sells for at the end?

Unfortunately they will be fully covered by the terms and conditions, I doubt much of which isn't fully legal as they have been investigated that many times...

Live and learn I am afraid, nothing much you can do now otherwise.

Enfieldian

This "Online Article" wouldn't happen to have been an ambiguously worded "advert" that can be clicked through to from somewhere like Daily Mail online, by any chance?

thebullsback

yes it was Enfieldian

unholyangel

thebullsback wrote: »

yes it was Enfieldian

Linky? To both the advert and the T&C's supplied before you became legally bound (you can only be bound by terms you were aware of prior to being bound by them).

Not saying you are entitled to a refund or that you're not. Just want to have a look to see if theres anything we could possibly suggest to help you get some money back if possible

I wonder if its classed as prepayment for services. May be able to argue its a retention of prepayment amounting to financial penalty.

HelsBells1975

I wish I'd looked at this before I did the same thing last week- as soon as I'd registered and understood more about what the site is about, I tried to cancel my membership but I have had no reply to email, live chat helpline or telephone. Did you get any joy, thebullsback??

bradders55

Yes I got caught by that company too. They are a rip off unfortunately. The bid costs vary but they don't make that clear, nor do they make anything very clear. I am reporting them to the Fraud office, as I also saw an article that was now clearly an advert leading me to the site and sign up before I had chance to read the conditions and terms. Fortunately I have been given a refund of half the money. But none the less I have lost a hard earned £50.

They are crooks however you dress it up. But live and learn, just buy stuff from regular shops like John Lewis, they never stitch you up.

bradders55

Also look at this blog stating according to their research the site is a scam..........

madbidisscam.blogspot I cannot post the link but if you google this I am sure it will come up.

Hermione_Granger

bradders55 wrote: »

Yes I got caught by that company too. They are a rip off unfortunately. The bid costs vary but they don't make that clear, nor do they make anything very clear.

Before signing up, did you read any of their terms and conditions? or did you simply tick the box stating that you agreed to them?

5.3 Credits Deducted

Each Auction will inform the Registered User how many Credits will be deducted per Bid. The number of Credits deducted per Bid ranges from 1 Credit to 8 Credits. After a Bid is processed by the Web Site, the number of Credits is deducted from the Registered User's account.!

I can understand not reading everything, but why not read up on the important parts such as how much it will cost you? The bit above took a few seconds to find.