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Steps to take if you have been ripped-off by a copy-cat government website
Comments
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TfL is consulting on a proposal that it should refuse to accept payments from copycat websites or other unauthorised third-parties. Hope DVLA does it too....0
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Hpuse - I've got another one to add to your campaign.
What about all the sites purporting to be Tiffany and Co, selling cheap silver plate copies?0 -
Are you talking about Congestion Charge payments?TfL is consulting on a proposal that it should refuse to accept payments from copycat websites or other unauthorised third-parties. Hope DVLA does it too....
If so, you might like to know that that consultation closed on 12 September 2014.
See here for details:
Of course, if you are talking about something completely different then please forgive me, and perhaps make your pronouncements a bit clearer.0 -
Of course, if you are talking about something completely different then please forgive me, and perhaps make your pronouncements a bit clearer.
wealdroam, I know its been over 10 months - but the title of this thread has not changed, only the contents of post#1; of course that made up a lot of folks in PPR'd situation as well...0 -
My question was: are you telling us that TfL are consulting on Congestion Charging payments via third parties or something else?
wealdroam, I know its been over 10 months - but the title of this thread has not changed, only the contents of post#1; of course that made up a lot of folks in PPR'd situation as well...
Are you talking about Congestion Charge payments?TfL is consulting on a proposal that it should refuse to accept payments from copycat websites or other unauthorised third-parties. Hope DVLA does it too....
If so, you might like to know that that consultation closed on 12 September 2014.
See here for details:
Of course, if you are talking about something completely different then please forgive me, and perhaps make your pronouncements a bit clearer.
Sorry, but I don't understand how your response answered that.
You also appeared to have overlooked my main reason for posting.
That was to point out to you, and anyone else that wanted to take part in that particular consultation process, that that consultation closed over a month ago.
It is good that TfL are treating the matter seriously, but unfortunately in this instance you have made a mistake.
Be a man and admit it, or at least acknowledge it.
Why have you mentioned people being PPR'd?0 -
Today they send me this e mail:
I understand that you are about to or have already commissioned solicitors to look into this matter, therefore please kindly confirm (1) the firm that you have instructed, (2) the name of the solicitor representing you and (3) their contact email and phone number so that we can begin liaising with them.
As discussed previously we have performed the service based on the Terms that both parties agreed to: XXXXX we make it abundantly clear on the website and in the agreement that we are an independent service, fees we charge are not for the passport fee itself and all charges are non-refundable as we begin work soon as the form is submitted from our website. We are sorry to hear that circumstances have changed and you wish to cancel the service however as we have already performed the service we are unable to undo the work and services already provided along with the time spend on your account.
We are somewhat confused as to why you are threatening legal action against us and why you believe that the promised fee is not due for the work we have done on your account. You seem to be claiming that we have misrepresented ourselves in some manner and presumably believe that we are in breach of the Misrepresentation Act 1967 however this is by no means the case. A misrepresentation claim would hinge on us having made a false statement of fact. We did not do this. We make it clear on our website, contract and in all communication with consumers who we are, that we are not Her Majesty's Passport Office and that fee's paid to us are separate to passport fee's.
In addition to this encase you were not already aware your solicitor will confirm that our contract with the Consumer Contract Regulations 2013 which were introduced in June 2014. This new EU legislation requires the consumers express consent if the cancellation period / "cooling off period" varies from the 14 day cancellation period provided as standard. We made it clear in the contract that by using our service the "cooling off" and cancellation period would end as soon as we began work on the contract and you gave us "express permission" for this (see here). It was also made clear that you could cancel the contract at any time before we began work at no charge, that should the contract could be cancelled part way though with only a partial fee due however if we completed the contract in full then full payment for the service would be required as it would not be possible to undo the time spent on your account or services provided.
And finally as your solicitor will also be able to confirm that the contract is compliant with the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999 legislation that requires contractual terms to be clear and fair for both parties. We cannot be responsible if you did not sufficiently read our website or contract to understand what services we provide and our terms of business. The information is easily accessible for you to review. You may be familiar in case law with Judge Briggs 2011 High Court statement where he ruled that consumers do have to be responsible for the decisions they make and that this legislation is not be used to penalize company's for the actions of over-hasty consumers. See below...
Office of Fair Trading v Purely Creative Ltd in the High Court, where Justice Briggs held:
"The requirement to assume that the consumer is reasonably well informed, observant and circumspect reflects the commonsense proposition that the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive exists to protect from being misled consumers who take reasonable care of themselves, rather than the ignorant, the careless or the over-hasty consumer."
Office of Fair Trading v Purely Creative Ltd [2011] EWHC 106 (Ch)
Should you doubt any of the above you are welcome to forward the contract to your solicitor for review. Should you or they believe that we have breached our contract with you that warrants a refund or the charge being written off we ask that you reply to this email with specifics of this claim. As soon as we receive this evidence we will conduct an investigation into your claim that if found to be accurate will lead to a full refund / the charge being written off and an update to our internal policies to ensure future compliance.
I look forward to hearing from you.0 -
my mother in law have not contact any lawyer, and they did not book any appointment for her (we call the British Passport office)
I dont know why they have contact her again because the last timewe hear from them was in May.0 -
my mother in law have not contact any lawyer, and they did not book any appointment for her (we call the British Passport office)
I dont know why they have contact her again because the last timewe hear from them was in May.
Personally I would just ignore them. If they are serious then yhey would correspond via letter rather then email and secondly they will issue a claim in the small claims court against your mother in law. If that happens, you can just say that no appointment was made and get this confirmed by Her Majesty's Passport Agency - that will blow their case out of the water.
Looks like a fishing trip to try and scare the probably many of hundreds of people that are in the same situation as yourself.0 -
Today they send me this e mail:
I understand that you are about to or have already commissioned solicitors to look into this matter, therefore please kindly confirm......
That is indeed a great level of understanding ... :rotfl: for someone writing a letter or email while sitting in a remote office...0
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