Steps to take if you have been ripped-off by a copy-cat government website

Blackbeard_of_Perranporth

annas1974 wrote: »

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.

And we knw how much post #1 has been edited, so for the record. And if the post is genuine, seems the service provider thinks there is a case to answer, hPuseless, what is your opinion on this and how is that vast army of google engineers dealing with this?

Mar2505

They sent me the exact same email word for word on Thursday. They are registered as a travel agency and their license is due to expire at the end of December. So I am thinking they are trying to get as much money as possible beforehand

hpuse

Tip for buying online is to use a credit card, not a debit card. Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act means that if anything goes wrong and you lose your money, your credit-card company will repay you, even with fake websites. That law’s been around since 1974 but many people still don’t understand it. It was designed as an insurance policy so if you don’t get what you paid for or are a victim of fraud, your credit card company pays you back and they pursue the rogue operator.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/technology-science/technology/online-fraud-websites-posing-government-4526943

powerful_Rogue

hpuse wrote: »

Tip for buying online is to use a credit card, not a debit card. Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act means that if anything goes wrong and you lose your money, your credit-card company will repay you, even with fake websites. That law’s been around since 1974 but many people still don’t understand it. It was designed as an insurance policy so if you don’t get what you paid for or are a victim of fraud, your credit card company pays you back and they pursue the rogue operator.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/technology-science/technology/online-fraud-websites-posing-government-4526943

Only if you spend over £100.

keyser666

powerful_Rogue wrote: »

Only if you spend over £100.

and most fees are under £100 for this very purpose more drivel from that !!!! hpuse

wealdroam

hpuse wrote: »

Tip for buying online is to use a credit card, not a debit card. Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act means that if anything goes wrong and you lose your money, your credit-card company will repay you, even with fake websites. That law’s been around since 1974 but many people still don’t understand it. It was designed as an insurance policy so if you don’t get what you paid for or are a victim of fraud, your credit card company pays you back and they pursue the rogue operator.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/technology-science/technology/online-fraud-websites-posing-government-4526943

I thought you had given up quoting newspapers.

You might want to read MSE's own article on Section 75 of The Consumer Credit Act 1974:

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/shopping/section75-protect-your-purchases

As Powerful_Rogue says, the minimum value of any single item purchase must be over £100 for Section 75 to apply.
That's clearly stated in the MSE document:

Pay for something costing between £100 and £30,000 on credit and the provider's equally liable if something goes wrong.
...
The law is plain; the £100 is for the cash value of a 'single item' (so excluding any fees, and charges such as delivery).

...but sadly that newspaper didn't think it worth mentioning.
Could that be because these rogue sites usually charge under £100 per item? I don't know, but it seems sad for The Mirror to raise false hopes of many unfortunate people.

Pollycat

hpuse wrote: »

Tip for buying online is to use a credit card, not a debit card. Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act means that if anything goes wrong and you lose your money, your credit-card company will repay you, even with fake websites. That law’s been around since 1974 but many people still don’t understand it. It was designed as an insurance policy so if you don’t get what you paid for or are a victim of fraud, your credit card company pays you back and they pursue the rogue operator.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/technology-science/technology/online-fraud-websites-posing-government-4526943

Yep, many people still don't understand that law that's been around since 1974 - especially hpuse! :rotfl:

Blackbeard_of_Perranporth

Oh dear. Soon be Christmas again on this thread

meer53

Blackbeard_of_Perranporth wrote: »

Oh dear. Soon be Christmas again on this thread

Ho Ho Ho. And nothing has changed Poor Hpuseless.

bod1467

Blackbeard_of_Perranporth wrote: »

Oh dear. Soon be Christmas again on this thread

No again about it .... this thread was started Jan 15 2014.