ADVFN warning about auto-renewal of account.
daddy_bro
Posts: 42 Forumite
Hi guys
Been a while since I posted here but I was recently burned by a company called ADVFN and thought I would post a warning for anyone else considering purchasing one of their offerings.
This warning is not about the quality of their products which as far as I am aware are good enough but the way their payments system works and how they enforce their T & C's.
Last year (Nov 17) I decided to take up a special offer and bought the silver account which gave me access to real time share prices and various other stuff. I used it for 6 or 7 months before deciding that share dealing was not for me so I sold most of my remaining shares and more or less forgot about ADVFN expecting my access to their services to stop in Nov this year.
That was a major mistake!
While checking my bank account in Dec I noticed a payment to ADVFN for over £220. I thought there must have been a mistake so I contacted them by private messaging. After a day or two I go no reply so phoned them to be told by a very aggressive agent that to stop auto renewal of my account I should have contacted them not less than 30 days before the renewal date. He said this was all clearly stated in their terms and conditions and there was nothing I could do about it. They have no policy for refunding payments once made regardless of the circumstances.
I've written to them several times since and only received one equally aggressive reply stating the same as the agent said on the phone. Now they are ignoring my messages.
I even spoke to my bank about it but apparently this is all totally legal but at least they were able to block any further payments.
So the warning is for this company AND any other company where you are buying a service with auto-renewal.
If you don't really need it DON'T DO IT.
If you do make a purchase make sure you check the terms and conditions for exiting the contract and unless you are happy to continue make sure you follow them.
Good luck all and Happy Christmas.
Been a while since I posted here but I was recently burned by a company called ADVFN and thought I would post a warning for anyone else considering purchasing one of their offerings.
This warning is not about the quality of their products which as far as I am aware are good enough but the way their payments system works and how they enforce their T & C's.
Last year (Nov 17) I decided to take up a special offer and bought the silver account which gave me access to real time share prices and various other stuff. I used it for 6 or 7 months before deciding that share dealing was not for me so I sold most of my remaining shares and more or less forgot about ADVFN expecting my access to their services to stop in Nov this year.
That was a major mistake!
While checking my bank account in Dec I noticed a payment to ADVFN for over £220. I thought there must have been a mistake so I contacted them by private messaging. After a day or two I go no reply so phoned them to be told by a very aggressive agent that to stop auto renewal of my account I should have contacted them not less than 30 days before the renewal date. He said this was all clearly stated in their terms and conditions and there was nothing I could do about it. They have no policy for refunding payments once made regardless of the circumstances.
I've written to them several times since and only received one equally aggressive reply stating the same as the agent said on the phone. Now they are ignoring my messages.
I even spoke to my bank about it but apparently this is all totally legal but at least they were able to block any further payments.
So the warning is for this company AND any other company where you are buying a service with auto-renewal.
If you don't really need it DON'T DO IT.
If you do make a purchase make sure you check the terms and conditions for exiting the contract and unless you are happy to continue make sure you follow them.
Good luck all and Happy Christmas.
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Comments
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Since writing the previous post I did a bit more research on this company and found they have been doing this for years and getting away with it.
Trustpilot had several reviews and I added one myself stating the same as above. Funnily enough all of them have been taken down this morning. Maybe because I allowed my review to be sent to advfn.
I then found lots of similar reviews dating back to 2011 in reviewcentre.com all with folk having payments taken from their account without any warning.
You have been warned.0 -
So you set up a direct debit or recurring credit card authority and then are surprised when you get charged for the "service"?
Sounds like a standard first month / quarter / year free and then £??? per year payable in advance.
Don't do it again!0 -
FWIW I subscribed to Bronze for a while as I wanted the ability to export historic daily stock prices. After paying for it for a while I decided not to carry on with it, but conveniently my card expired - so they automatically stopped giving me the premium element of the service until I pay them for it.
So, whenever I log in from time to time it tells me there's a problem with my subscription and I can call them or click through to fix my card details which are now about five years expired. Needless to say, I ignore it as I don't want the extra service, and keep using the free bits, but I can't be bothered deleting my free account and re registering.
Even back then though, it was clear that you agree to pay £x now and then £y every month or year or whatever until you cancel it.0 -
LOL, Hindsight gives you 20 20 vision.
Yes I agreed to the recurring payment. Just the same as I do when paying for car insurance.
Do you read the small print of everything you agree to? The BIG difference is your insurance company reminds you about the contract coming to an end and gives you the option to stop or let it renew automatically. I guess when I signed up for this I must have thought ADVFN would work in the same way but I was very much mistaken.
I can't remember exactly what was in my mind at the time because it was over a year ago.
That was the point of this thread, it is a warning to anyone else who decides to take up the Bronze, Silver or Gold service from this company to be VERY careful. They are ruthless in how they deal with their customers and from what I have read have been like that for years.0 -
bowlhead99 wrote: »FWIW I subscribed to Bronze for a while as I wanted the ability to export historic daily stock prices. After paying for it for a while I decided not to carry on with it, but conveniently my card expired - so they automatically stopped giving me the premium element of the service until I pay them for it.
So, whenever I log in from time to time it tells me there's a problem with my subscription and I can call them or click through to fix my card details which are now about five years expired. Needless to say, I ignore it as I don't want the extra service, and keep using the free bits, but I can't be bothered deleting my free account and re registering.
Even back then though, it was clear that you agree to pay £x now and then £y every month or year or whatever until you cancel it.
That's very interesting
I had a contract with Credit Card Sentinal around 30 years ago which renewed every 2 or three years. At some time between renewals I cancelled the card and forgot about CCS. At least 15 to 20 years later I got a call from the bank to tell me the money for CCS had continued to be paid by the bank even though the card was cancelled. They said once you start a credit card payment to a company like that you cannot cancel it nor can the bank, only the company receiving the payments can cancel it.
I had to pay the bank the entire outstanding amount to avoid having dodgy debts on my record.
Thankfully I got it all back a few years ago as Credit Card Sentinal was a scam anyway but it made me wary of paying for any service type product by Credit Card.0 -
While there may have been some truth in that 10-15 years ago, it isn't the case anymore - the FCA clarified back in 2013 that consumers can cancel via their card issuers:They said once you start a credit card payment to a company like that you cannot cancel it nor can the bank, only the company receiving the payments can cancel it.REMEMBER: IT IS YOUR RIGHT TO CANCEL CONTINUOUS PAYMENT AUTHORITIES DIRECTLY WITH YOUR CARD ISSUER0 -
That's good to know. As I said earlier my bank is able to block any further payments to ADVFN but can't help me recover any payment once made.While there may have been some truth in that 10-15 years ago, it isn't the case anymore - the FCA clarified back in 2013 that consumers can cancel via their card issuers:
I know it is entirely my own fault that I didn't cancel the payment to them but I was a bit shocked by their attitude and point blank refusal to refund anything even though I no longer use their services. I'm not used to dealing with supposedly reputable companies who deal with their customers in that way.0 -
There's a very long thread on the current accounts board about continuous payment authorities and the companies who (ab)use them. This isn't an isolated case unfortunately.0
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