Over the phone mis-selling

[Swirly]

Hi,

 

I don't know if this is the right forum to start with but it is related to sales of internet services. Here's my problem:

 

My mother rents out half her house as a holiday let. It's a completely seperate part of the house and has its own exit/entry door. For this I've designed a very simple website with its own domain name.

 

She recently received a call from Telecom Domains Ltd selling her a different domain name which would be redirected to the domain that is currently used for the website. For this she was charged £115. I know that this service is currently available for just under £7 (yes, £7!).

 

She's obviously a little miffed at being ripped off because she was sold it by the salesman using terms such as "top level domain" and "you'll get a ranking in Google", both of which terms I know are meaningless in terms of website popularity status. She also stated that she knew nothing about computers or the internet in general (she's mid-60s and a retired pensioner).

 

Unfortunately she allowed the salesman to bill her to the assumed trading name of the 'business' she runs, although she has not registered her income from the letting as a 'formal' business (Ltd, etc).

 

Obviously, this is totally exploitative and I've investigated how the distance selling regulations could be used to attempt to gain a refund but they only seem concerned with sales to comsumers, not traders (which I assume she has become since the invoice, etc went to the 'business').

 

Does she have a leg to stand upon?

 

I realise that this may be outside the remit of this particular forum but any advice or direction would be particularly appreciated.

 

Many thanks,

 

John

[dx100uk]

how did she pay?

if by CC do a chargeback

 

dx

[Swirly]

Yes. She paid by personal credit card.

 

How does a chargeback work if the transaction was for a payment for a 'trading as' person?

 

Sorry to ask but how does she initiate a chargeback?

 

Thanks for the help.

 

John

[dx100uk]

shouldn't matter

give the CC a ring and ask about a chargeback

should work, i think the limit is 60days though

hth

 

dx

[locutus]

I'm not even sure if the "Distance selling regulations" apply. Maybe someone with more knowledge on that can post an opinion

[Swirly]

From what I've gathered the DSR only apply to 'trader to consumer' transactions, not 'trader to trader'.

 

However, my mother paid by personal credit card and can't be sure that she didn't buy the domain name in a 'personal' manner.

 

It's true that the invoice and the domain registration are in different names though so it might be argued that it wasn't entirely clear who the seller was selling to; I'll have to clear that up with my mother.

 

What is clear is that she was totally conned by Telecom Domains Ltd and their despicable behaviour is one to be warned against.

[oraclenet]

The exact same thing has just happened to my mother-in-law when she received a cold call from Telecom Domains Ltd

 

I wish I was with her at the time when she received the call from Telecom Domains Ltd. The sales guy was very very pushy and sold her 2 .co.uk domains totalling £200!!!!! My mother in law doesn't even know what a domain name is, let alone what its used for and why she needs a new one.

 

The way Telecom Domains Ltd sell their terrible service is by saying that they have some very good domains for sale which have just become available for sale eg. bedandbreakfastmanchester.co.uk etc. They say that these are premium domains which can't be purchased normally by people like you and me, and can only be purchased by domain companies like themselves and if they don't sell them to you, they will call the next person on their list who will definately buy them. This is just complete rubbish, as you can go to 123-reg.co.uk and pick up any .co.uk domain of your choice for £5.99 for 2 years!!

 

They simply prey on naive, computer illiterate people who just don't know any better. I don't don't how they can sleep at night.

 

Be warned and stay well away from Telecom Domains Ltd. If you want a domain, go to 123-reg.

[Swirly]

I would love to know just how many other uninformed people that telecomdomains.co.uk have ripped off. Unfortunately I suspect that they prey upon the people who wouldn't browse internet forums such as the elderly and generally people who only have a passing interest in the internet.

 

They seem to rely upon conning people who will say yes to their high-pressure sales techniques which is an evil way to do business. I would put these people in the same class as a parasite which moves from host to host, killing each one with no sense of care.

 

The other thing to bear in mind is that they will automatically attempt to resubmit your domain name (in their name as agents) when the two years is up and you'll be billed again! However, if you have a right to the domain they've sold you then you can ask for it to be transferred to another registrar and stop them from doing this.

 

I detest these people since they are absolute thieves and shysters.

 

The following is their Nominet details:

 

Domain name:

telecomdomains.co.uk

 

Registrant:

Telecom Domains Ltd

 

Trading as:

Telecom Domains Ltd

 

Registrant type:

UK Limited Company, (Company number: 06415800)

 

Registrant's address:

1-2 Universal House

88-94 Wentworth Street

London

England

E17SA

United Kingdom

 

Registrar:

Fasthosts Internet Ltd [Tag = FASTHOSTS]

URL: Web and email hosting, domain names and dedicated servers - Fasthosts

 

Relevant dates:

Registered on: 30-Oct-2007

Renewal date: 30-Oct-2011

Last updated: 02-Dec-2009

 

Registration status:

Registered until renewal date.

 

Name servers:

ns1.servage.net

ns2.servage.net

ns3.servage.net

ns4.servage.net

And this is their registered info with Companies House:

 

 

Name & Registered Office:

TELECOM DOMAINS LIMITED

40 THOMAS STREET

LLANELLI

CARMS

SA15 3JA

Company No. 06415800

 

 

Status: Active

Date of Incorporation: 02/11/2007

 

Country of Origin: United Kingdom

Company Type: Private Limited Company

Nature of Business (SIC(03)):

7260 - Other computer related activities

Accounting Reference Date: 30/06

Last Accounts Made Up To: 30/06/2008 (DORMANT)

[Mark_Blackpool]

Yes, she was ripped off, and yes, this company does appear to be rather despicable.

 

However, if you will buy over the phone from unsolicited callers...

 

The garden centre near us sells basic sets of wicker garden furniture for £3,500 which can be had elsewhere for a fraction of the price, but nobody was ever forced buy from them.

 

I'd check the WHOIS records and see if the domain is registered to the customer, or to that company selling the domain name.

 

If the latter, the rip-off may well repeat itself on expiry of that domain name as there is nothing to prove ownership. Though of course you do not need to renew it. Check there's nothing in any agreement which entitles the company to rebill the payment card used automatically on expiry.

 

Put the domain name (if a .co.uk) into the Nominet website (Nominet UK) and see what you get back. If it's not in your name, you may well be able to raise a dispute with Nominet and you can have the registrar tag forcibly changed to another one to gain ownership - but that's made more difficult if the domain does not, from the WHOIS records, belong to you. Nominet are very good, and will doubtless of heard of the company of which you speak and will be able to advise.

 

ALWAYS register your own domain names. Enom.com is a good place to go.