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

Pollycat

hpuse wrote: »

These copycats are misleading.

If you believe that any of these websites are misleading, please report them:
http://www.oft.gov.uk/contactus#.UvNppilFBjp

You may also wish to contact your MP.
I believe I also gave you the link for that several days ago.

hpuse wrote: »

My view is that almost no one would use these sites if they knew what they were doing.

'your view' is not important.
It's what is legal that matters.

powerful_Rogue

hpuse,

Have you contacted your local MP yet?
Have you contacted the OFT yet?
Have you contacted the ASA yet?

powerful_Rogue

Thought this post below from another section of the forum was very interesting.

My son got caught with I-Visa as well. He rang them up and they said they only give refunds on receipt of an email. He sent an email, but they kept insisting that it hadn't been received. He sent several emails and strangely none of them were received and they kept putting the phone down on him. Contacted his bank who initially refunded the £23.99, but today received a letter from them stating that I-Visa had acted legitimately and they debited the £23.99.

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.php?p=63833024&postcount=42

imoneyop

powerful_Rogue wrote: »

Thought this post below from another section of the forum was very interesting.



http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.php?p=63833024&postcount=42

hpuse would probably consider that post as irrelevant - the poster has only made 5 posts. So despite the fact he is proving that hpuse's advice to raise a dispute with your bank does not work, we should ignore what he says and go with hpuse's misleading waffle.

hpuse

misleading = attempt of fraud !

If anyone paid money without knowing what you were buying:

Contact the bank, with ASA & Trading standards rulings against these websites, they will look into the case, that will further strengthen your chances of a full refund..


PS : Not only you will get money refunded back the dodgy website will lose money as a result of charge back. They deserve it...hahahah :rotfl:

imoneyop

hpuse wrote: »

If anyone paid money without knowing what you were buying:

Had the "victims" of this "scam" bothered to READ the clear warnings on the website then they would know exactly what they were buying.

Customer lazyness ≠ misleading
Customer lazyness ≠ fraud attempt

There are also numerous examples of people contacting their bank (one of them 2 posts above yours - did you not manage to read that?) and either not getting a refund or getting one and then having it reversed when the website in question provided evidence that the customer got the service they signed up for.

DID YOU GET A REFUND FROM YOUR BANK WHEN YOU RAISED A DISPUTE WITH THEM HPUSE?

Pollycat

hpuse wrote: »

misleading = attempt of fraud !

If anyone paid money without knowing what you were buying:

Contact the bank, with ASA & Trading standards rulings against these websites, they will look into the case, that will further strengthen your chances of a full refund..


PS : Not only you will get money refunded back the dodgy website will lose money as a result of charge back. They deserve it...hahahah :rotfl:

Hpuse
Have you stopped reading the posts above yours before you post?
I'm sure you must have because otherwise you wouldn't have posted the text in bold above as valid advice if you had read post # 588 which contains this quote from a similar thread:

My son got caught with I-Visa as well. He rang them up and they said they only give refunds on receipt of an email. He sent an email, but they kept insisting that it hadn't been received. He sent several emails and strangely none of them were received and they kept putting the phone down on him. Contacted his bank who initially refunded the £23.99, but today received a letter from them stating that I-Visa had acted legitimately and they debited the £23.99.

So, that poster took your advice (dodgy as it is), contacted his bank who refunded then took the money back after determining that the company had acted legitimately.

I think that just shows that the very first post on this thread - designed to give advice - is a total nonsense and does not work.

BTW - posting in large font and bold text does not make a statement true.

Valli

To anyone who has been 'caught out' by these websites -

You need to be aware that these websites are, indeed, designed to trap the unwary.

For this reason they purport to have 'started the service' you have purchased IMMEDIATELY on receipt of your order/instructions.

They do this because otherwise the DSRs (Distance Selling Regulations) would oblige them to offer a refund if a purchaser cancelled.

So, to clarify, they are constructed in such a way as to avoid giving a refund.

Some companies (you will need to read the T&Cs of the company with which you have dealt) will offer a refund less a specified cancellation charge.

You need to follow the cancellation procedures as set out in the T&Cs in the first instance.

Valli

To anyone who has come to this thread for advice -

The only certain way to get these websites closed down would be through legislation.

So, if you feel strongly about this, contact your Member of Parliament and ask your MP what, if anything, is being done about these 'clone' websites with a view to banning them.

All MPs are contactable by email; screenshots of 'official' and 'clone' websites will help to prove your point!

powerful_Rogue

hpuse wrote: »

misleading = attempt of fraud !

If anyone paid money without knowing what you were buying:

Contact the bank, with ASA & Trading standards rulings against these websites, they will look into the case, that will further strengthen your chances of a full refund..


PS : Not only you will get money refunded back the dodgy website will lose money as a result of charge back. They deserve it...hahahah :rotfl:

Now everyone knows your on the wind up! By that very definition, your classing yourself as a fraud as your advice is very misleading!

hpuse, will you answer the two posts I made just above yours that you seemed to have ignored?

Have you contacted your local MP yet?
Have you contacted the OFT yet?
Have you contacted the ASA yet?

And whats your view on this:

My son got caught with I-Visa as well. He rang them up and they said they only give refunds on receipt of an email. He sent an email, but they kept insisting that it hadn't been received. He sent several emails and strangely none of them were received and they kept putting the phone down on him. Contacted his bank who initially refunded the £23.99, but today received a letter from them stating that I-Visa had acted legitimately and they debited the £23.99.