I've just looked up B2B contracts and you're right there is no cooling off period as far as I can tell. I have found this on a website though: In some situations where a B2B contract has been called into question, court may take into account, amongst other factors: the strength of the bargaining positions of the parties relative to each other whether an inducement was offered to the customer the opportunity for the customer to obtain similar goods or services with other persons, without having to accept the term of contract in question, and whether the term was brought to the party's notice. The test of reasonableness also imports an element of good faith into the contract. “Good faith” in the context of the Unfair Contract Terms Act requires that customers are dealt with fairly and openly. When standard terms are drafted to protect commercial objectives, those standard terms may not go further than necessary to protect those legitimate commercial interests. When looking at that then there was definately an inducement offered because they wanted to reduce the cost by 50% from £2000 to £1000, but only if I returned confirmation that working day. I kind of have proof that I was pressured as the email came through at 16:57 and my reply went back at 17:02 without reading the T&C's properly because I just checked the prices. The sales woman also didn't mention anything about a cancellation fee, it was just in the T&C's at the bottom of the letter. I'm starting to think that I might be on a losing arguement now... which is a shame, because as a B2C contract it would have been simple. Any more thoughts?

I see your point... But I do have proof of cancellation within 7 working days because I have the emails from them. On the 22nd Feb I have an email from them which states: "It has been bought to my attention that you have instructed cancellation of the above invoice." Is that going to help?

Thanks AndyDD, I will be an LiP representing my small company (Or is that not an LiP?). I guess they have employed solicitors as it came from a Litigation Assistant at a legal services firm... Is that what you meant? The problem is actually that I accepted the terms before talking to the other director to make sure the offer was available... after speaking I then cancelled the order. Anybody with more advice on the Distance Selling Regs or their non compliance with Pre-Action Conduct?... Or how to write a defence based on those?

This seems to make my point quite well as I definately cancelled and have confirmation that they knew about it within 7 working days: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2000/2334/regulation/12/made

The phone call with the offer was recieved around 16:45 with the pressure sales speil and I was told that it needed to be agreed that day to get the special offer. I got the T&C email at 16:57 so without reading the T&C's about cancellation fees I returned it at 17:02... So yeah... a stupid thing to do, but like everything else I assumed I would have a right to cancel. In the T&C's: Point 3 seems to have allowed the publisher to apply a cancellation fee without allowing for any cancellation period Point 9 allows them to withdraw or refuse and advert without incurring liability... Which is what I have done, but now find myself liable!

Thanks for that, I didn't request a read reciept for the email and can't find my copy anywhere!... Looks like I'm relying on T&C's then, so I've copied and pasted them out as the file upload keeps reducing the size to unreadable! TERMS AND CONDITION OF ORDER:- 1. Publisher means Public Sector Information Ltd. Advertiser means the person, firm or company named above and/or their agent. This document contains the whole Contract. Alterations can only be made with the written consent of the Publisher. This Contract is made under the laws of England & Wales. 2a. ACCOUNTS ARE STRICTLY NET UNLESS OTHERWISE STATED AND ARE SUBJECT TO SETTLEMENT ON PUBLICATION. 2b. All classified advertising must be pre paid at the time of booking. 3. A Cancellation Fee is payable at the time of cancellation. This fee is equal to 50% of the advertisement cost plus VAT. Cancellation must be notified to the Publisher by the latest copy date above, in writing and sent Recorded Delivery to the Publisher. Failure to do so will result in the Publisher publishing the advertisement as originally offered and the Advertiser will become liable for the full rate per insertion plus VAT. 4. The Advertiser shall provide suitable legible copy and is liable for the full cost of the advertisement plus VAT if they fail to do so by the latest copy date above. 5a. The Publisher will be entitled to publish the advertisement as proofed to the Advertiser in the absence of any instructions to the contrary within 24 hours of dispatch to the Advertiser. Proofs will only be provided in circumstances where the Publisher has undertaken to provide a design service. No author's corrections will be accepted only one set of changes may be made to proofs. 5b. No Proof shall be provided for classified advertising. The advertiser is responsible for the provision of legible copy inline with the PSi specification sheet. 6. The Advertiser will indemnify the Publisher against any claim for damages in respect of the publication of the advertisement copy or editorial. No liability shall accrue to the Publisher in respect of any delay, error or omission of publication or in any advertisement copy or editorial whether due to the negligence of the Publisher its agents or other circumstance. 7. The Publisher accepts no responsibility for loss, damage, destruction or unauthorised use of the Advertiser's property whether due to the negligence of the Publisher or otherwise. 8. The Advertiser warrants and undertakes that the contents of any advertisement copy or editorial submitted to the Publisher do not in any way violate any existing copyright, nor do they contain anything of a libelous, illegal, indecent, dishonest or untruthful nature. 9. The Publisher reserves the right in its absolute discretion to refuse, omit, or withdraw any advertisement without incurring any liability towards the Advertiser and without explanation. 10. Where the Publisher provides data to the Advertiser this will be subject to the prior settlement of account and the Data Protection Act. The data may not be passed to a third party, or processed on behalf of a third party. No guarantee is made for the accuracy of the information. Not everybody on the database is sent a copy of the publication. 11. The Publisher reserves the right to publish a free listing service/index of advertisers/products/ services and or buyers guide or, but is not responsible for any errors or omissions. 12. In the event of a "Force Majeure Event" [which means any event beyond the control of the Publisher] that prevents or hinders the Publisher in the discharge of responsibilities under this contract, the Publisher may at his discretion suspend or terminate the contract by giving notice accordingly to the Advertiser. 13. It is hereby agreed any disputes arising out of the above terms and conditions which falls within the jurisdiction of the County Court shall be heard in the Chelmsford County Court, London House, New London Road, Chelmsford, Essex CM2 0QR

Hi all, I have today recieved a Claim Form photocopy from County Court Money Claims Centre. They are claiming for cancellaction of a magazine advertisment. I was wondering what my best defence is to the claim if anybody can help? The Story So Far: Thu16th Feb, pressure sales phone call says "If you order in the next 10 minutes it'll be half price as I've just managed to speak to my financial director for you!". My reply "Well I really need to check with my business partner, but send over the information anyway". It turned out that to potentially get the deal I sent back an email specifically quoting the words "I DO agree to your terms and conditions" when they said i should reply with "‘I agree to your terms and conditions’ to confirm your space allocation". I know it's only one little word, but I hoped it may make the sentence not the same as what they asked for incase I needed to cancel... is that a possible defence? As it turns out I did decide to cancel and sent an email (which they can't find) on the very next day. On Wed 22nd Feb I get an email saying they need my copy for print and I remind them that it was cancelled and that the sales woman knew I was waiting for the other director to come back to me. The date for the finalised copy to be sent was the 1st of March so they haven't even printed anything. Next thing I know on the 22nd I've got an email saying they will pass the matter to the legal team if payment is not recieved within 7 days. On the 29th I then get a letter saying it has been passed to the legal team for recovery. They still haven't reached their copy deadline! Now I've got a claim form come through the door which says I owe them money. They interestingly say "The claimant has complied with Sections III and IV of the Practice Direction on Pre-Action Conduct."... which I'm pretty sure they haven't as this is the first thing I know about it. The only letter I have recieved was an invoice. I have also attached a copy of the Terms & Conditions which I think might come under the 'Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977', but I'm not a lawyer so am not really sure. There seems to be a lot of provisions for them... not me! Also I'm pretty sure there is a 'cooling off' period afforded by 'The Consumer Protection (Disctance Selling) Regulations 2000', but again I need advice as to if this applies to my case. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

I have now recieved another threatening letter from 'Wescot Credit Services' saying that they are going to issue a Claim in a County Court using exactly the same Card Number as my reference. I have just phoned the court again and the Bryan Carter claim is still 'stayed' and apparently they have to either discontinue this claim or respond to my defense. When explaining the situation to the woman at the court she said "They are a law unto themselves I'm afraid" which didn't fill me with great confidence. What do people think I should be doing? Phoning Wescot and telling them that if BC have sold this on then there is already a defense standing in another court? Phoning BC to get them to make a decision? I'm not overly concerned as I have a great defense filed, but would like to help save the environment and stop this frivolous use of ink and paper that is coming through my door! Consumer Action Group - "Helping DCA's Protect the Environment" Suggestions welcome

Yey... The court have set aside the statuatory demand and despite not filing a costs claim I was awarded £52 to cover Travel and Parking which Capquest now have 14 days to pay. The judge really didn't seem impressed with the use of the statutory demand to get money back and ignored their request not to award costs. Thanks to all who helped on this... Look out for the next exciting installment when they try and sue me for the money that I don't owe! Thanks again

OK... It's the morning of the court hearing and I'm getting ready to go. Due to work commitments last week I didn't get around to posting the application for costs to the court unfortunately. Does that now mean I can't claim when I'm there this morning? (Not a massive concern as it is more about getting the statutory demand set aside than the money). Any last bits of advice before I turn up?

I contacted the court and they say they have not recieved a reply from BC stating whether they wish to reply to my defence or not. The woman says it has therefore been 'stayed' and BC will need to apply for that to be lifted before proceeding any further... at which point I would apparently be reffered to my local court instead of the Bulk Centre. They also confirmed that BC have not discontinued the case. Which begs the question.... who are the other company now chasing me for the same debt? Can they actually do this? What should my next course of action be?

no... but will do now.

OK... this is getting silly. I have now recieved a threatening letter from another debt collection agency saying they are going to send the baliffs round or take court action. I have heard nothing from the court so presumably this new company can't do anything until somebody applies for the 'stay' to be lifted. Who should I be contacting next? or do I just wait for another set of court proceedings to come through?

I have now recieved a copy of a letter that CapQuest sent to the court. It basically says they want the set aside to be approved, but with no awards as to costs. One of the reasons they state is that I didn't attach the letter from Nat West which I referenced in my affadavit due to having to redo the 6.5 form on the day and ended up not handing it over the counter. The other reason is they say that due to the time pressures they will be unable to get the evidence in time for the court. They have said that they will review the situation and apply through the county court when they get this information. What should I do now? Is it likely that I'll still have to attend the court date and what is the normal response to costs in this situation? Can I still stop them from pursuing this with an application to the court? Thanks for your help everybody!

Quick update for those following along: I'm still waiting for a response from BC. The court sent me a letter saying my defence was being served on BC on 23/01/09. Without a reply in 28 days they say the claim will be stayed and the next course of action will be for the claimant to apply to a judge to lift the stay. In that case is it RBS who would need to apply to lift the stay or can BC then pass the buck to somebody else to chase the whole thing all over again?

Quick update... I'm currently waiting for the words of 42Man (with minor edits from myself) to filter through the court system to CapQuest. I must say the lady at the court was really helpful when completing the 6.4 form which even she admitted was hard to understand! Anyway... I now await a court date apparently. Does this mean I will actually have to go to court now? Is there anything else I should be doing like putting in a CPR request? Cheers all for your help

I was just thinking of filling in these forms for the court when it has occured to me looking at the other posts about SD's that is it necessary? The reason I ask is that it only arrived in a 1st class envelope (not signed) and that by filling in these forms I'm acknowledging recieving it. Therefore if further action was taken they would be in dodgy waters with regards not giving me notice of the intended action. Any thoughts? Also as it was suggested that I shouldn't worry too much until something came through the post I haven't sent a recorded request for the agreement yet, which most of the defences seem to state as a reason for the SD being in dispute. Is there a simpler defence I can use that basically says "this is a load of rubbish". Interestingly I have recently recieved a letter (23rd Jan) from NatWest with a nice 'can we help with your finances?' question which states in it: "Whilst we appreciate your accounts are up to date and no payments or commitments have been missed..."

The Particulars of Debt say: The debt relates to the unpaid balance of sums due under Credit Agreement dated 01 JUL 03 made between xxxxxxxxx and Nat West in respect of a Flat Rate Loan number xxxxxxxxx. The agreement terminated upon the failure of xxxxxxxxx to comply with the terms of the agreement and/or a statutory notic of default served by Nat West. The rights and duties of Nat West passed to the Creditor pursuant to an assignment dated 30 Oct 07. The total amount due as at the date of this demand is xxxxx which includes interest of xxxxx which has accrued since the assignment of the debt.

Oooo.... I've just recieved a letter via First Class post with what appears to be a statuatory demand. It's not very official looking as it looks like it's just been printed from MS Word., no special paper. Is that normal? I assume I have to now do something within 18 days to set it aside then? Any thoughts?

Thanks SH... With the addition of the extra paragraphs it amusingly came to exactly 122 lines... the online submission limit! Will see what happens next.

Any Thoughts?

Still not heard anything...should I be worried?

I have compiled a defence based on the advice given so far and would appreciate any comments before submitting it. Hopefully it is short enough to be accepted online! Thanks to all who are keeping an eye on this for me.

Still no reply from BC or RBS. Any suggestions on what to be preparing next? A reminder letter, defence form etc?

Oh... and I've done the online 'Acknowledgement of Service' with intent to contest the whole claim.