Advice required

[mark27uk3]

Hi Guy,

 

A couple of years back I took out a 'Lifetime' subscription to a wholesale site which includes wholesalers and dropship companies throughout the UK & USA

 

They have now changed that subscription packages and also there pricing and now my account is unaccessible because I have to pay another fee.

 

My question is that legally standing do I have a leg to stand on if I complain to them that I purchased a lifetime subscription and find it very unfair that I have to pay again.

 

Are they breaking any kind of rules regarding trading standards?

 

This company is based in London so there must be something I can throw at them.

 

I should also add that this is a line from their terms and conditions:

 

Once complete payment has been made, customers are fully guaranteed and warranted to have complete access to resources in the members area. This warranty does not affect your statutory rights as a customer.

 

Thanks for any advice

 

Mark

[♥Vger]

Well, for anyone to think that a "Lifetime Subscription" actually means anything on the Internet is a mistake to begin with. I shall be very surprised if there isn't a 'get-out' clause somewhere in the small print of their T's and C's. But if there isn't such a 'get-out' clause and if they haven't changed their company name or similar then you should be able to do something.

 

Provided that you have an original copy of their T's and C's with no 'get out' clause then try approaching them first (in writing) and if you get no joy then try approaching your local Trading Standards office.

 

Vger

[mark27uk3]

Hi Rhea,

 

Thanks for the advice, even though I am not as green as grass in business I do expect certain things such as if they advertise a product/service as 'Lifetime Membership' then this is what is should mean, surely this is the very basis of the trade descriptions act.

 

Maybe I am missing something but these are their latest t&c's which seem pretty straight forward with no get out clause as such (mind you I am not a lawyer so they could have something there which I dont understand).

 

General

i. The Contract made by you on-line with *****, (hereafter referred to as 'The Company') incorporates these terms and conditions which will prevail over any and all terms and conditions, proposed by the customer.

 

ii. Do not proceed with your purchase until you have read and accepted the terms and conditions.

 

iii. The contract/membership will not be concluded until we have received your order details and in case of improper verification we reserve the right to terminate your account.

 

iv. ***** unlike other directories operates under the supervision of dedicated and devoted staff ensuring the growth and development of the portal and expanding the scope of services offered.

 

v. Payment will be taken in full at the time of order.

 

vi. Every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of our website, however some details on the site may change from time to time. We will use our best endeavors to rectify any errors, but we cannot be responsible for any losses incurred.

 

vii. All prices are temporary and can be changed as per the need of the company.

 

viii. Offer on our offers page are directly related to various wholesalers in our directory and are available at the time of entry. The company cannot be held responsible for any offers that are not available at the time of signing up with us.

 

ix. Although we have ensured that all companies listed in our directory are wholesalers and suppliers, however it is possible that some of companies are bulk discount stores or cheap retail outlets. Therefore we encourage our members to check each company thoroughly as some wholesalers also have retail fronts and may appear as retailers on first impression.

 

x. The Company may change the terms & conditions without prior notice to you in relation to future sales and prospects.

 

xi. If any customer is discovered misusing the site in any way which is deemed by us as improper or if a customer owns a website which is in direct competition to ours then the account of the customer will be suspended/terminated immediately. Any breach of copyrights would also result in prosecution.

 

xii. The company would be delivering services to the customers within 24 hours, however at times due to unforeseen circumstances the company will only be held accountable if the service has not been provided for up to a period of one week.

 

Price

 

i. All prices are in £ Sterling or $ US Dollars.

 

ii. Different methods of payments will be made available to the customers, however the company reserves the right to alter payment methods, reject payments or accounts and in such cases full refunds will be provided to the customers.

 

iii. After the provision of the service purchased by the customer, any monies paid will be non-refundable.

 

Payment

 

i. The Company reserves the right to change its prices from time-to-time. All reasonable efforts will be made to update the website of any price changes as they occur. The prices will not be altered once we have received and accepted the customer's subscription order.

 

ii. Payment for services and other charges can be made by any method shown on the website at the time you place your order.

 

iii. Membership details will be delivered only after cleared funds are received for the order.

 

Delivery & Account Set-up

 

i. Order placed through alternative payment methods such as cheque or postal orders will be processed within 24 hours, however there could be delay of up to a week in case of any unforeseen circumstances, which the customer would be made aware of.

 

ii. Every effort will be made to deliver the service as soon as possible after your order has been accepted.

 

iii. If your email address is out of order and no other contact information has been provided then without prejudice to any other right or remedy available to it , the Company may keep your payment until actual delivery.

 

iv. If you have not received your membership details and request a refund prior to using any of the services in the members area, in such circumstances it will be the Company's discretion to issue any refunds. The company does keep track of all access logs to verify such situations and requests.

 

v. Upon receipt of your service you might or might not be asked to send confirmation of the membership details. In any case you would have to act on the request or your account could be suspended for a week.

 

vi. Accounts for which payment has been made using one of the online payment processors will normally be set-up instantly by our system, however at times due to unforeseen circumstances including server problems, the accounts would be set-up manually and login details will be mailed as soon as possible.

 

vii. None of the membership packages are down-gradable, however you may upgrade your package by contacting us directly. Payment for any upgrades are required prior to making the upgrade.

 

Liability

 

i. Membership details will pass to the purchaser only when payment in full has been received.

 

ii. The Company will not be liable for incidental, consequential or special damages arising from, or as a result of, any electronic transmission or the accuracy of the information contained in the website.

 

iii. The Company cannot be held responsible for misleading any of the customers in any kind of financial activity. Your investment in any venture is entirely your business and the Company is or will not be associated with any such instance.

 

Refunds

 

i. In accordance with sections 6.1 and 13.1 (a) of the Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations Act 2000, once a member has paid for their subscription and logged into member's area, they will only be issued refunds solely at the discretion of the management.

 

ii. If a member has signed up to our services and has not been able to login, then a complete refund will be issued to the member. In all other circumstances or refund requests, refunds will be given at the discretion of the management.

 

Warranties

 

i. Once complete payment has been made, customers are fully guaranteed and warranted to have complete access to resources in the members area. This warranty does not affect your statutory rights as a customer.

 

ii. This warranty does not apply to downtime during site maintenance or due to other circumstances within reason and the Company holds the sole right to pass judgment and take action in any such scenario.

 

Disclaimers and Site Content

 

i. The Company has used reasonable care and skill in compiling the content of its website but makes no warranty, express or implied, as to the nature or accuracy of any material on the website and cannot accept liability for any particular material on the website or as a result of any use of or reliance placed upon information contained within its website.

 

ii. Every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the website, however some prices/details on the site may change from time to time. The Company will use its best endeavors to rectify any errors, but we cannot be responsible for any losses incurred.

 

iii. The Company has a policy of continuous service enhancements and updates and reserves the rights to amend the specifications of services. Services supplied may differ as a consequence from those on display or advertised.

 

This is the only bit I would say gives them the get out clause

 

iv. Any material downloaded or otherwise obtained through the use of our service is done at your own discretion and risk and you will be solely responsible for any damage to your own computer system or loss of data that results from the download of any such material.

 

v. ***** is owned by *****, UAE based company specializing in development and promotion of information and trade portals, and caters to customers all over the world.

 

 

Also this bit states they are not based in this country although they do have offices in London, so surely accountable under English Law

 

Copyright

 

All content of this web site is Copyright © ***** under the International Copyright laws.

 

Except where explicitly stated, all rights are reserved, and content should not be copied, adapted, redistributed, used to aid websites/businesses similar to ours, or otherwise used without the prior written permission of *****. Copyright infringement would result in immediate termination of your account and the infringing party will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. This could result in heavy financial penalties.

 

 

These sorts of things are my pet peev and I dont like letting them getting away with it.

 

Mark

[walkman]

My guess is that you are entitiled to be grandfathered into the old pricing structure. It's certainly worth putting up a fight by complaining up the chain.

 

Whether you can get them to change without getting a lawyer is another matter, and whether the amount of money involved would justify the lawyer fees (It might only take a letter from a lawyer to get them to come around).

 

In California, this is the kind of thing lawyers salivate over because it's so easy to file a class action lawsuit there -- in those cases, the injured parties get about 23 cents each and the lawyers make millions.