Virtual office service company ignoring all emails for months - unable to cancel

Grumpy_chap

I have verified details via Trust ID and the verification was instant with the success confirmed on screen. There was no further approval.

I know this doesn't help, but I did snigger when I saw the company name that has been ghosting the OP is Ghost Mail Ltd. They seem to be living up to their name.

gamg

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81874552#Comment_81874552

Yes, the irony wasn't lost on me!

I believe in this case Trust ID stated that the submission had been successful, but I don't think it told me that it had been approved/verified otherwise I wouldn't have needed to email the company to ask if it had been.

Either way, they could have simply replied to my email to confirm that it was all fine. As far as I knew at that stage, it wasn't, and therefore I was unable to use the service.

When you are relying on a service to forward mail to you in a timely manner, prompt communication is important, so I quickly lost faith in them when they failed to reply at all to such a basic query.

This is why I decided to cancel.

Grumpy_chap

I think I would take the Trust ID response "successful" to mean "approved / verified". If that is the basis on which an argument is being structured, it would seem to be turning on a pin head.

gamg

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81874731#Comment_81874731

That's fair, I only mentioned it to provide a clearer timeline of events and to provide a bit of context as to why I first emailed them and why (due to their lack of response) I decided to cancel.

The main issue is the company's lack of response to my repeated cancellation requests.

Aylesbury_Duck

How much money is involved here? Enough to make legal action through small claims court viable? If so, a letter before action would be a good place to start.

gamg

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81874775#Comment_81874775

No, the service was only around £35, which is why I'm not too concerned about the cost at this point.

I'd be quite happy if the company simply acknowledged and confirmed that the service has been cancelled.

Grumpy_chap

I think, looking at the terms, while there is a 14-day return period in accordance with consumer rights, the exclusion for a service which starts before the 14-day period is in force in this case.

The website indicates that the company view the service to have been used as soon as the ID verification is complete ("successful" in Trust ID terms) and starts immediately on purchase. The exception is "Unless a different start date is expressly requested". Did you request that different start date?

I think, overall, the service did start and was available, even if you did not actually give the new address to anyone or any mail sent to you at the address.

I also think, maybe, for a service at £35 per year including VAT (plus a per item forwarding charge), your expectations with regard to the level of admin support is rather optimistic.

So long as you have not signed up to an auto-renew process, let the current year run out and it makes little difference whether the service has been cancelled or not. If you never share the address for anything to be sent, nothing will arrive with Ghost Mail to be forwarded, returned to sender or destroyed.

EDIT - As a comparator, I looked for alternative personal mail forwarding services and the internet search returned "UK Postbox" where the costs seems to be £24 per month / £240 per year including VAT plus a schedule of options for the actual mail forwarding service. That higher fee level probably allows them to provide some level of actual admin service.

gamg

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81874854#Comment_81874854

No I didn't specify a different start date.

While I agree that I shouldn't have expected too much for the price, I think two months of receiving no response whatsoever is still excessive - especially given the 5-working-day response time for cancellation requests stated in their terms, and considering that reviews on Trustpilot at the time of purchase praised their support and response times (although some more recent reviews echo my concerns).

I wouldn't have a problem just waiting out the service - I paid via Google Pay for one year and there's no ongoing subscription as far as I can tell in my Google Pay account.

Presumably they can’t automatically charge me for another year, and if they try to invoice me for a renewal later on, I can refuse or ignore it ?

born_again

I would cancel in google account if that is a option.

saajan_12

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81874435#Comment_81874435

If the service you purchased has not been used, you may cancel and receive a refund at any time from the moment you place your online order and up to 14 days from the day your service commences (the statutory cooling-off period).

If the service has been used in any way during that period, it becomes non-refundable, as do any mail forwarding, postage, or other service charges already incurred.

(Unless a different start date is expressly requested, services commence immediately upon purchase.)

Surely the snippet above acknowledges that the cooling off period extends to after the day the service starts. So "service starts" can't be the same as 'service used'. Debatable what "service used" was but the only things remaining are presumably receiving mail there?