Hire Agreements

[PainInTheNeck]

Hi

Looking for some advice on a number of issues.

 

1) Hire Agreements, can you cancel then at any time and return goods and then pay balance off.

2) Misleading information, what section of the consumer credit act would this be under.

3) DATA PROTECTION ACT 1998 SUBJECT ACCESS REQUEST, do i need to send anything before this, or can i just sent it. Also would i need to send 2 for both accounts, or would 1 be enough.

4) Do call centres log all out going and incoming calls.

 

Hopefully i'm not asking toooooo much:-)

 

Thanks in advance

Edited January 20, 2009 by PainInTheNeck

[buzby]

1) You need to see what is stipulted within the contract

 

2) Misleading information? Pertaining to what? The goods, the hire service, the contract?

 

3) Nothing, just request it - and you need to enclose the fee of £10. This is a maximum, they may charge less or give the information for free, so if you're not in a rush ASK first, and see if they make a charge.

 

4) Usually, it is part of the software used that runs the contact-centre system, but this information is theirs and not yours so whilst you may request it, there is no guarantee you will get it as invariably it will have been 'deleted'.

[patdavies]

1)

4) Usually, it is part of the software used that runs the contact-centre system, but this information is theirs and not yours so whilst you may request it, there is no guarantee you will get it as invariably it will have been 'deleted'.

 

Any particular software that 'runs the call centre'?

 

The switch, dialler, call logging, voice recording and work flow are all separate systems usually running on separate boxes.

 

If the call relates to selling of a financial package then there is a requirement to record the call and hold the recording for 7 years. However, it can be argued that due to the method of storing/retrieval, the recordings are not held in a relevant filing system and thus exempt from the Data Protection Act 1998.

 

As an aside, there is also an ongoing debate about CVV recording. No company may retain a copy of the CVV when they make a credit card sale, beyond completion of the transaction. Whilst it is easily deleted from databases, etc. it is impossibe to delete from a digital call recording without deleting the whole recording.

[buzby]

Any particular software that 'runs the call centre'?.

 

None of them, and possibly all of them. The days of non-integrated systems are long gone, with turnkey software IT packages providing a call centre with everything from VOIP to predictive outbound dialling, It was nice being reminded of how it all used to be, but the answer remains just as valid.

 

The OP also talks of Hiring and 'goods' so I think the mention of financial packages is irrelevant in this regard.

[PainInTheNeck]

Hi All

Thanks for the reply, reason i ask the questions is as follows, i'm currently in dispute with another company, when i was debating about purchasing the goods, i was told if my business went out of business, i could sell the goods.

 

But when i went ceased trading i asked about selling the goods and i was told i could not, i have found on the contract in small print "This agreement is not cancelable under UK consumer credit legistration".

 

Misleading information i believe, but because it my word against theirs, i emailed the sales account manager and asked the same question, and received the same answer, you can sell the equipment.

 

Not sure how well it will stack up in court, but i now have written proof.

 

Also in 1 telephone conversation i was told i could return the goods and they would close my account with nothing to pay, now they are saying they never said that, hence the question about the 'DATA PROTECTION ACT 1998 SUBJECT ACCESS REQUEST', they may not give me the info, but could a court force them to hand the conversations over, or transripts.

 

Thanks

[buzby]

The misleading information you refer to appears to be verbal - unless you have someone independent who can corroborate the facts that you could sell the goods, the written contract will prevail, unless it also contains a clause which states that the T&C cannot be varied unless by a duly authorised officer of the company (and it usually adds this has to be in writing).

 

Centainly a court could force disclosure of the calls, but be relalistic, no firms is going to ensure they lose by providing information that proves your version of events. They couls easily assert no recording was made, of if there was it has now been routinely erased.

 

What does strike me as unusual, is that in asking the question could you sell the goods if your business went down, the point is any HIRE arrangement will always specifically exclude this by the nature of the arrangement.

[PainInTheNeck]

Hi Busby

 

"Centainly a court could force disclosure of the calls, but be relalistic, no firms is going to ensure they lose by providing information that proves your version of events. They couls easily assert no recording was made, of if there was it has now been routinely erased"

 

I later got a new phone which allowed me to record conversations, in one conversation i recorded the lady i was talking to, she said they had a record of that conversation logged on the system, now if they try and deny it, i'll just play the phone call to the judge with what she said.

 

Regards

[buzby]

Pity you hadn't recorded the whole thing from the start! The issue remains the same, as the employee could have said that but (a) been mistaken (b) said this to unsettle you © didn't mark it as wanted and it's now been deleted... incompetence is one of the best defences around!

[PainInTheNeck]

Thanks everyone