Charges not specified prior to service

GemH416

Good afternoon all,

Firstly, I hope I'm posting in the right forum (first time poster!) and secondly, I'm really hoping someone can help me.

Recently, I contacted a learning provider to find out more about their services and if they could help our business. After some to'ing and fro'ing I was invited to attend a webinar to learn more about the company. At the start of the webinar I was sent a number to call and a PIN to enter so we would have audio connection.

I've since been landed with a £47 phone bill :mad:

When I contacted the company to enquire about this I was told that they couldn't do anything about it and I would need to take up a dispute with the company they use (Powwownow). Now, I'm fairly green on consumer rights but surely I should have been made aware of any potential charges prior to the webinar and this should be dealt with by the company I was having correspondence with - not the third party they employ?

Any feedback or further advice on how to approach this situation would be welcomed and very much appreciated.
Thank you, Gemma

cono1717

Was the number 0844 4 73 73 73? 0844 is never free.

Did they use the powwownow site to host the webinar? If so the terms and cost of the numbers are on there?

GemH416

Hi,
Thanks for your response.

At the time I wasn't aware it was Powwownow they were using. They simply sent me a number and a PIN via instant message on the webinar/screen share. Only when I contacted them to query the charge did they mention the name of the host service.

JJ_Egan

Its business to business and that's a bit different to Consumer Rights .

Ian011

{Delete: Consumer rights also} [Insert: Ofcom regulations] cover {Delete: purchases} [Insert: calls] made by sole traders and small businesses. Ofcom requires the call costs to be mentioned alongside the number so that the caller is fully aware of the call costs before making the call.

See https://www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-telecoms-and-internet/advice-for-consumers/advice/uk-calling/uk-calling-for-businesses
and https://www.cap.org.uk/Advice-Training-on-the-rules/Advice-Online-Database/Chargeable-08-numbers-General.aspx for details.

All 084, 087, 09 & 118 numbers are premium rate. PowWowNow uses premium rate 0844 numbers. Another service, called WhyPay.net uses inclusive 03 numbers for conference calling with no additional charges.

cookie365

If this company uses Powwownow for its conference calls, and only remembers to send you the audio details for its webinars once you've actually joined, then £47 is chickenfeed in comparison to what you'll save by realising what a shoddy bunch they are and not doing business with them

wealdroam

Ian011 wrote: »

Consumer rights also cover purchases made by sole traders and small businesses.

Are you sure about that?

I understand that there is something in the Consumer Credit Act like this, but a 'consumer' is defined in Section 2 of The Consumer Rights Act as:

(3) “Consumer” means an individual acting for purposes that are wholly or mainly outside that individual's trade, business, craft or profession.

...which seems to exclude sole traders and small businesses.

Of course, your post may be referring to some entirely different legislation.

unholyangel

Ian011 wrote: »

Consumer rights also cover purchases made by sole traders and small businesses. Ofcom requires the call costs to be mentioned alongside the number so that the caller is fully aware of the call costs before making the call.

See https://www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-telecoms-and-internet/advice-for-consumers/advice/uk-calling/uk-calling-for-businesses
and https://www.cap.org.uk/Advice-Training-on-the-rules/Advice-Online-Database/Chargeable-08-numbers-General.aspx for details.

All 084, 087, 09 & 118 numbers are premium rate. PowWowNow uses premium rate 0844 numbers. Another service, called WhyPay.net uses inclusive 03 numbers for conference calling with no additional charges.

Not sure where you've pulled that from (the bit in bold) but its entirely wrong.

The two main pieces of consumer legislation (consumer rights act & consumer contract regulations) define consumer and trader as the following:

(2)“Trader” means a person acting for purposes relating to that person’s trade, business, craft or profession, whether acting personally or through another person acting in the trader’s name or on the trader’s behalf.

(3)“Consumer” means an individual acting for purposes that are wholly or mainly outside that individual’s trade, business, craft or profession.

What you may be thinking of is that the consumer credit act applies where credit has been supplied to individuals (which includes sole traders, small partnerships - not small businesses - and unincorporated businesses). However that alone isn't going to help since it only gives you a like for like claim against the creditor - meaning if you don't have a claim in law against the supplier, you dont have one against the creditor.

GemH416

Agreed, think I've had a lucky early escape!
Still a tad annoying though

Ian011

Ah, in place of "consumer rights" I should have made clear I was talking about Ofcom's regulations requiring call costs to be declared. This applies where customers calling in are consumers or small businesses.

agrinnall

How long was the webinar, and did you call from a landline or a mobile? I use powwownow for conference calls and the UK call cost is 4.3p per minute for landline and 12.5p for mobile, so it would take a long time to get up to £47 at those rates.