My story goes like this – I owned a small one person business, which was struggling and so when in November last year a cold caller arrived and proceeded to sell me some advertising on a plasma screen in the local post office I thought it was a good idea. I signed up with them and paid the deposit, the balance to be paid by direct debit on a monthly basis. The advert was to display for 20 seconds in each sequence. The company is the Community Network UK part of the MIS Group.

At the time of purchasing the advertising I was considering putting the business on the market and I asked if I sold the business and the new owners did not want the advertising would it be possible to cancel the contract and the salesman said in certain circumstances it would.

A few months later I was in the post office and noticed that my advertisement was a mere flash on the screen (less than the 20 seconds stated in the contract) in some of the sequences, but did not appear at all in others. I contacted the customer services and it was established that the advert had not been displaying correctly for 4 months, they acknowledged this and said it was due to human error. They said they would rectify this and add 4 months onto the contract. The advertisement would run until May 2012, but my payments would stop in November 2011.

In my letter to them I asked whether due to the fact that the product was faulty and I was in the throes of selling the business would they terminate the contract, cancel the direct debit, they could keep the deposit paid, and we would call it a day. They would not do this.

A while later I was again in the post office and this time the screens were not working at all, they remained like this for some 3 weeks. I monitored this on an almost daily basis.

After long protracted negotiations the business was not sold. I then decided the best thing was to close the business down as it was not generating sufficient income. It was decided to carry on until the end of the particular month and then close the doors.

Once again during that month I visited the post office and once again the screens were not working. When I enquired at the post office I was told that they had not been working for some time, and when I asked who was in charge they said no-one.

I have written to the company on several occasions and asked them due to the fact that their product had not been operating correctly and the fact that I had now closed the business down would they please cancel the contract, however they are adamant that the contract should continue to the end.

I visited one of the other advertisers and they were not even aware that the screens in the post office had not been working.

My thoughts on this are, am I the only one who is having a problem with this? How many other businesses out there are paying monthly for advertisements that are not actually happening? How does this company monitor whether their equipment is operating correctly and who in actual fact is in charge? Whose job is it to make sure that the screens are operating? And how does the company administer this? Because surely in my case all the companies who advertise at that particular post office are due time added onto the end of the contract.

Would they contact the business and say ... “err sorry but we have had technical problems and your advertisement has not been shown for x number of days we are therefore adding x number of days onto the end of your contract.” I somehow think not!

I would urge anyone thinking of advertising with this company to read the contract thoroughly, before committing their hard earned cash. And for those who are already signed up to monitor and actually see whether what they have paid for is actually happening.

The contract is an automatic renewable contract for 3 years, unless you give them 18 months notice that you do not want it to continue. There are no break clauses, and they state that should there be a problem they will add time onto the end of the contract. It seems they have well and truly sewn up the contract.

Could anyone out there advise me the best way forward with this issue, I do not have a business to advertise any longer, I do not want to advertise any other business and I do not wish to continue paying for something that does not work properly? Quite frankly this is a complete rip off and certainly did not do what it was supposed to do – bring customers to my business!

Sounds like they did not uphold the contract and so you could (and perhaps should) terminate it, stop the direct debits. What is the exact legal position of your company? I take it you are paying from a company account and not your personal one?

Have you complained to the Advertising Standards Authority? http://asa.org.uk/Complaints-and-ASA-action/How-to-complain.aspx

Thank you for your reply. I am a sole trader paying from a business account. According to the terms and conditions the contract cannot be terminated by me, and if I default they will add £25 on every time. I have been to the Trading Standards and they advised to write to them as they were in breach of contract, however they still maintain that the contract has to continue to the end.

If you or anyone has any ideas how this can be resolved without me having to default I really would appreciate it. I will have a look at the advertising standards.

I would suggest making notes of those dates and times you witnessed the screen not working. Ask the post office staff how many times someone from the advertising company comes in to check the screen, ask them if they are aware of it breaking down and how often does it occur, and take note of their names if you can. Even photograph the screen surreptitiously without anyone in the PO seeing when the links are down etc so you have some kind of evidence to support your claim if necessary.

In the terms and conditions, does it state what happens in the event the company are unable to supply the service for x amount of time - maybe there is something there about if unable to supply for x amount of days, refunds and what have you come into place? What about the maintenance of the screen, what does it say about that?

I think the Trading Standards must be sleeping, aren't they supposed to safeguard your interests as much as anyone else’s? How would it be if you were to write to Trading Standards, listing those occasions you have personally witnessed the screen not working or the advertisement you paid for not staying on for the correct length of time etc and making a formal complaint against the company for not providing the service paid for etc? Again this adds to evidence in case needed.

From OFT site:

The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) says a contract is considered unfair if it 'causes a significant imbalance in the parties' rights and obligations under the contract to the detriment of the consumer'

Have you also considered the small claims court if your costs for this service is under 5k?

They seem to have breached their contract and as such are not providing you with the service you were led to expect. Contract or no, if a service provider fails time and again to provide, then the contract becomes null and void, as far as I understand the law but I am a mere layperson.

My own personal feeling would be to suggest a stiff letter from your solicitor if all else fails detailing the times the service has broken down and despite all your communications with the company, detailing their constant refusal to honour their agreement of contract in providing you with the standard of service you were led to expect etc.

However I would wait for someone with legal know how to come along and answer your queries more fully.

Hi Jumlajo,

Firstly, if they add £25 charges to your a/c, these are unlawful penalties which are not enforceable in law. It's the same principles that apply to credit card penalty charges for example.

Secondly, you are bound by the terms of the contract that you signed, regardless of whether your business still trades or not. I assume you signed personally so it is you who remains responsible for payments.

However, it seems clear from all you've said that Commty Ntwk has failed to provide the services that you're paying for. You have contacted them repeatedly and they have failed repeatedly to resolve matters so your ad is not being displayed as agreed.

If this was me, I would write to them briefly outlining all the issues, with dates you saw the PO ads not working at all or only flashing up for xx seconds. Say they've failed to supply the service which you paid for and they've failed to rectify problems promptly when you reported the issues. Tell them you are cancelling the DD mandate on the basis of their breach of contract. Before you do this, you could seek advice from a free solicitor consultation (check locally to see who offers this), from the CAB or from Consumer Direct.

You should also report the matter to local Trading Standards.

Hopefully, you have copies of all letters about this matter. Monitor the situation for the next week at the PO and make notes of your findings if this backs up your case. You could also get together with other advertisers and exchange views and experiences.

Commty Ntwk will no doubt threaten to do all sorts of nasty things and may pass the matter on to a DCA who may threaten court action. If the matter went to court, you would have every opportunity to defend and your chances of success will be improved by having video evidence, copies of all letters and possibly using the Postmaster as a witness to confirm the equipment was not serviced when faulty.

Keep us posted please.

Hi PhillipF and welcome to CAG.

I'm certain you have a good case for seeking a full refund of any deposit that was paid in anticipation of your services being advertised locally as agreed.

I'd give them 14 days to refund in full due to their breach of contract.

Failing that, write a Letter Before Action giving them a final 14 days to refund, after which start a court claim via CCMCC Salford.

Send the Prelim and the LBA by Rec'd Del'y.