CPA - The Credit Protection Association 3 Month Auto renewal!!

jo-bob

OK, this is the venting thread yeah?, I see you're venting off about Creditsafe, now what about CPA!!!www.cpa.co.uk/

This company wants to know three months prior to renewal whether you want to stay with them for another year! THREE MONTHS!!! Idf you don't let them know, you're stuck with them for another year at the same cost (over £1,400 per year for very very basic reports and a letter sending system that my customers have told me they ignore any way)

They don't tell you that when you sign up - you have to read the t&c's to see this, but if you're one day over your third month - you can't get out of the contract!
Also, if you send them a letter stating that you wont want to renew with them the next year, they will say they haven't recieved the letter so you have to send it recorded delivery

So before one company is slagged off, please look at all the others around.

And if you're with CPA, read your T&C's ioncase you amy want to leave them for another company with more information for a much lesser cost.

Mehl_2

Hi there

Delighted to come across this!

I was approached by the CPA, met with one of their sales agents and had signed the contract 20 mins later. Should I decide not to renew the following year, I was told to send a letter 3 months prior to the renewal date and that I should note this date in my diary - I did duly! At no point during this conversation was I told to send this letter "RECORDED DELIVERY", nor was I given time to read the contract prior to signing it.

I sent the letter on-time, RM Ist class, and they claim they have not received it - SURPRISE! SURPRISE! I had a total of 6 calls from both the sales and customer service agents. The former touted for sales leads from our client base - the latter, called to ask how I was finding the service. I informed both on two seperate occasions that I would not be renewing, I was asked why and gave my reasons. In fact, I received complaints from our clients and stopped using the service 7 months into the contract, nor did it live up to the reputation sold to me. Again, I was told to send the letter as instructed from the outset - again, there was no mention of "RECORDED DELIVERY"

Surely, it is their duty to explain the entire contents, and not part, of clause 6.3 of the contract to both prospective and current clients, particularly, if at any time renewal becomes an issue. Why (in as they see it), omit the most relevant detail - who does this serve best?

We paid £3525 for 300 units - used just half! Now they want this amount for another year - a service we certainly won't be using.

We are acting on this and what you have said is very valuable. They deny omitting to tell me that I should have registered the letter and are also claiming that at no point did I express a dissatisfaction with their service - I did!

I would be very grateful if you would consider contacting me by email (cannot supply my business one, for obvious reasons!), [EMAIL="sharon.mehlhorn@homecall.co.uk"]sharon.mehlhorn@homecall.co.uk[/EMAIL]

I do not wish to post any more detail, however, if anyone else out there who has something to say, or that has been affected by this is welcome to contact me on the email address above.

Many thanks

Rugrich

I am so glad that this subject has been brought up. I too got "caught" in the CPA 3-month net. I only (only)! paid £1600 for their services. It did not work for me so during month 11 cancelled the direct debit. It was only then that I got a letter telling me that I was in breach of contract - which I duly got out and read (for the first time).

The way they get you is to send a sales man around who needs you to sign there and then. They are working for you trying to get money so you feel they are on your side and like insurance you think you can just stop it and thats it. Oh no its not! :rolleyes:

I knew that I was not the first just from the reaction of the staff and the sales man. They "offered" me a solution of just paying half for half the units - so just (just)! £800! :mad:

It has taught me to ALWAYS read the tiny print.
In my opinion, if they are as good as they say, their clients will come back to them without the need for this 3 month thingy they catch them with.
I KNOW there will be more who will read this and admit to getting caught.

There, Therapy over! - Be careful out there.:T

marleyboy

Mehl wrote: »

Hi there

Delighted to come across this!

I was approached by the CPA, met with one of their sales agents and had signed the contract 20 mins later. Should I decide not to renew the following year, I was told to send a letter 3 months prior to the renewal date and that I should note this date in my diary - I did duly!

That would be enough for me to say a firm "No thank you!"

DazHughes

Our £1600 subscription with the credit pro has recovered ten times that amount in dodgy business debts in the last twelve months, so we've very few complaints. Auto-rolling contracts always need care if you need to terminate but I think you'll find that a "contract" is surprisingly common with most business-to-business services. If you really need to cancel, don't rely on Royal mail! Don't you have a fax machine?

Having recently come back to using this company after using their manual system years ago (we left - successfully I add, because we wanted something integrated with Sage that they couldn't offer at the time) their online service is much improved on the manual systems - and I'd also argue that a detailed 10 page credit report on a prospective customer is hardly a "very very basic report".

Yorkshire_Credit_Rose

I had a meeting with these people about 10 months ago and read the comments that had been posted previously. I was very interested in their services so googled them. That's how I ended up at this forum. Having read the threads I checked the contract very carefully. To be honest I needn't have bothered! The cancellation clause isn't hidden away at all, it's been taken out of the small print and put on the front of the contract, so it can hardly be described as being hidden away! I also had to initial that I had read and understood it as well as the other salient clauses which had been put on the front. This seems to me to be very upfront and should be praised not criticised. To be honest any business person who signs a legal contract without reading it first desrves everything they get. I've waited to add my comments because I wanted to see how the product worked for me, and it's done everything I was told it would. I'd recommend it to anybody who has a business and invoices on monthly terms. I've not taken advantage of the cancellation option, because quite simply it works!:T

PhylPho

To be fair, it isn't down to a third party to advise anyone to contact them by Signed For or Next Day trackable delivery. Where correspondence is of a contractual nature, then both the above should be axiomatic: Royal Mail's price for both these services is actually a pittance when weighed against the cost of risk.

Freddie_Snowbits

I saved my £40 whatso and allowed Brenda and Debs in the Dog and Duck to liquidate for me!

Funny two new posterd boasting sabout some numptie cumpnee service?

dinglebert

Always love how brand new posters come along to praise companies such as these. However for the OP. If your paying £1400 and want not to renew the contract that I would at least send it in a trackable way. I won't send a £2 ebay auction in anything other than trackable.