Yell.com

[Seren83]

i feel sick to the bone right now...

I have started up a new company, brand new to all this and probably a but naive.

I registered online to put up a free ad on yell.com, they called this morning and spent 40minutes on the phone selling me a better ad at £75 a month, gave me all the facts and figures of how this could help my business and i sucked in well. I handed over my account number and sort code and address (she said this was to verify that i wasnt a rogue trader).

She has now emailed me a copy of the contract in which states i have to enter my password (which was agreed on the phone) and email it back to them thus making a contract with them.

However after reading so many awful reviews about them i have decided 1000000000000000% i do not want to do any business with them at all. I have not sent the contract back, she is ringing constantly and texted me saying my advert is due to go live tomorrow and that she need to talk to me to finalise things.

I am very worried that they are going to go ahead with my advert even though i have not sent the contract back. We are talking about a £750 bill here - money i dont have if it goes to a debt agency!

any advice, i feel sick!!

[saintly_1]

Hi and welcome to CAG

 

Will move your post to a Forum where it will get answered better

[JimmySpangle]

E-mail them a cancellation. Phone and cancel. Write and cancel. They are the absolute pits.

[Guest wino]

Telephone agreements come under distance selling regulations giving you a 7 day 'cooling off' period.

[ashmk]

E-mail them a cancellation. Phone and cancel. Write and cancel. They are the absolute pits.

 

As Jimmy says. Do all 3. Send recorded. Yell are well known for continuing and charging you after you cancel.

 

besides, who the hell uses Yell.com anyway. Thats what google is for. ie plumber in northampton, search, found.

 

You would be better of using google adwords to advertise. You only pay when your ad gets clicked.

[Kraken1]

Telephone agreements come under distance selling regulations giving you a 7 day 'cooling off' period.

 

although this seems like a business to business sale and might therefore fall outside of the regs.

[JimmySpangle]

No it doesn't.

 

No contract has been signed. How do they know who they actually spoke with?

[Kraken1]

Sorry, Jim, don't follow. Are you saying that the dsr's do apply? I ask because the OP said he was a business advertising?

[pedross]

She has now emailed me a copy of the contract in which states i have to enter my password (which was agreed on the phone) and email it back to them thus making a contract with them.

 

If you have not done this you do not have a contract with them. Talk to them on the phone straight away and say that having had time to think about it you cannot possibly afford it and do not wish to contiinue with the contract.

 

Do not take no for an answer and make it clear you have no intention of paying whatever they say. If they push the issue ask to talk to a senior manager so that you can make a complaint about the selling tactics they are using.

 

Next...this is just the start...you have started a new company and you will get calls from dozens of online directories, phone companies, utility companies and anything else you might need. If you spend 40 minutes talking to each one you will spend all night on here and get no work done.

 

Get rid of them, say you have no time to talk. So you don't want to save money? ...No I don't I want to earn money and I can't do that by taking unsolicited phone calls.

 

Register for the telephone preference service to avoid as many as possible.

 

Thats about it really:)

 

Pedross

[JimmySpangle]

Sorry, Jim, don't follow. Are you saying that the dsr's do apply? I ask because the OP said he was a business advertising?

 

You can only cool off from a signed or agreed contract. The contract hasn't been agreed, so it is irrelevant.

[buzby]

Only consumer contracts have 'cooling off', As for no signature = no contract, this is misleading as the contract is usually made verbally, the T&Cs and confirmation are sent afterwards are for the advertisers reference

 

Next, the password - does not confirm the contract, it gives access to the advertisers control panel, where the number if advert viewers to the web service can be checked and the page updated (if the user wishes). If this was business advertising - forget all you know about consumer protection, it does not apply here.

 

Depending on the package, whether print & web or web only, the web element is invariably the cheapest, but depending on the directory cut-off, it can often be too late to cancel if the ad has gone to press so cancellation (even with a fee) is not possible. It is no mistake that they target areas where the directory is about to close for printing - not only does this have the sales cachet of being out within weeks, cancelling an agreed ad is impossible. They're not daft.

 

However, the OP just changed his mind - which is a foolish thing to do - as the business will be held liable if not paid (if incorporated) or personally (if not).

[JimmySpangle]

Not if he didn't make that call! Could have been ME impersonating him. In fact it was. There. Sorted.

[pedross]

In view of the post above by Buzby I will comment further on the dubious selling tactics of online directories.

 

I do not believe that Yell has a cut off. They can put you on it and take you off again with very little effort.

 

So I stick to my original opinion. Phone & email straight away and say that you booked it under duress, which it appears to me you were and you wish to cancel.Then do as I said before.

 

If they still say you cannot cancel, then post on here exactly what they told you on the telephone that you would get when you were on there. I will then examine what they have told you and suggest what you do next.

 

Pedross

[ashmk]

Im with Jim on this one.

 

What call ? Yell who ? I know nothing!

[buzby]

If Yell has no 'cut off' please explain why you think this. Yell are a publisher of paper directories (the main business) with online access thrown in as a bonus (often free) with enhancement packages as a a bonus. They are published (usually in 14 month cycles) regularly but campaign call-outs are based on the pbliushing schedule.

 

As for the subsequent comments it could have been anyone calling to book. Infantile nonsense. As if someone with no connection to a business arranges advertising for no other purpose than to be a PITA...? Since the calls are recorded, go down this route if you like, but even back when BT owned it, the system also logged the CLI and recorded the call.

 

Seems pointless being known as a liar, that trying to resolve the matter.

[JimmySpangle]

Well pardon me for fecking breathing!

 

Yell are the people who are trying to crook here, not the OP or me.

[buzby]

You've a very simplistic view of commerce. You get treated in much the same way if you start being dishonest - and it can work against you in the long run.

 

If you're in the wrong then you negotiate out of it if you can, you don't lie or misrepresent.

[Kraken1]

You can only cool off from a signed or agreed contract. The contract hasn't been agreed, so it is irrelevant.

 

 

agreed, I was only correcting an earlier point about the dsrs applying.

 

There may well be no contract here, i'd need to see the paperwork to be sure. This said i'd agree with buz, lying is a very risky strategy and if you get caught out some how, you are absolutely screwed.

[pedross]

If Yell has no 'cut off' please explain why you think this. Yell are a publisher of paper directories (the main business) with online access thrown in as a bonus (often free) with enhancement packages as a a bonus. They are published (usually in 14 month cycles) regularly but campaign call-outs are based on the pbliushing schedule.

 

My comments were not a personal attack on your opinion Buzby, I was trying to help the original poster who appears to have vanished.

 

My understanding of the matter is that Seren put a free ad on Yell.com which is an online directory. It appears that it was a sprat to catch a mackerel and the next thing they knew someone from Yell.com was on the phone for 40 minutes talking them into upgrading the online advert for an extra £75 a month.

 

I did not see any mention of a paper based advert or directory so if I have missed something I may be on the wrong track.

 

Yell.com is an online directory so the idea and main selling point is that you can obtain business by advertising on it. Why then when they have your phone number, website probably and email address do they telephone you to sell you a more expensive advert.

 

If Yell.com works so well, why do they not send you an email explaining the benefits of a better advert. Because it does not work in the way that they would have you believe, so they use high pressure telephone sales tactics to get the sale.

 

I do agree that lying is a risky tactic. Thats why I invited Seren to post what they were told to get the sale so we could consider the situation.

 

If I was the suspicious type I would think you worked for Yell.

 

Pedross

Without Prejudice:)

[bedlington83]

I've just realised: The OP says that he started a company. Assuming that he means a limited company, he personally will have no liability for the payments even if there is a contract.

[pedross]

I've just realised: The OP says that he started a company. Assuming that he means a limited company, he personally will have no liability for the payments even if there is a contract.

 

In theory you are correct bed,

 

But the company would be liable for debts and you would not want to close a company you have just started to avoid a Yell.com debt.

 

But where is the OP anyway?

[buzby]

It's a long shot - even Ltd companies require directors, and credit reporting exists for them too - so whilst there may be no direct liability (as the Co is a legal entity in its own right), frying your credit file - even as a corporate entity - is not something to be undertaken lightly.

 

As you Yell themselves, see here;

 

Yell.com Packages >> Yell Direct » Yell Direct

 

They've evolved from simply directory publishers (Yellow Pages) to inclue their online and DQ services, but the foundatin is always the physical YP, which remains the most profitable division - for obvious reasons.

[Guest wino]

I have looked at complaints against yell.com on here and other forums. One thing that keeps popping up is that yell.com claim once you reply to them using the password you agree on then the contract becomes binding. The op in this case has not replied using the password yet.

[mimi-n]

i feel sick to the bone right now...

I have started up a new company, brand new to all this and probably a but naive.

I registered online to put up a free ad on yell.com, they called this morning and spent 40minutes on the phone selling me a better ad at £75 a month, gave me all the facts and figures of how this could help my business and i sucked in well. I handed over my account number and sort code and address (she said this was to verify that i wasnt a rogue trader).

She has now emailed me a copy of the contract in which states i have to enter my password (which was agreed on the phone) and email it back to them thus making a contract with them.

However after reading so many awful reviews about them i have decided 1000000000000000% i do not want to do any business with them at all. I have not sent the contract back, she is ringing constantly and texted me saying my advert is due to go live tomorrow and that she need to talk to me to finalise things.

I am very worried that they are going to go ahead with my advert even though i have not sent the contract back. We are talking about a £750 bill here - money i dont have if it goes to a debt agency!

any advice, i feel sick!!

 

Hi all,

quite same thing has happened to me last October (2009).

The small difference was that I was miss-leaded all the way 'till the confirmation e-mail. I was thinking of starting a cleaning company and I've set-up a trial website as well.

When I've agreed on the price which the consultant told me over the phone (around £500) for one year he asked me to replay on his e-mail saying that this is to confirm identity. I asked him is I should read the email first and he said that there is no need and it is the same that he told me already so I stupidly believed and confirmed.

Straight after that I have got an e-mail with all details including the full price which was higher than the originally quoted by the salesman. He just forgot to mention about the VAT. You can imagine how that small detail makes all the difference. I called him straight away and ask about why I was miss leaded. And so on and so on. Finally I told him that I don't want the service any more.(and I didn't even start to use it, never log in). He promised to get back to me with solution but never did so.

Next week I've decided not to proceed with the company (I have never register such a company really) so I've cancelled the website (that includes the e-mail accounts) and just for the record they do not have my real tel. number as I gave them (by mistake) lucky me, my old number which does not exists any more.

After I have got the first paper pack from them asking for my signature I ignored it because I was thinking that if I don't sign there won't be a contract.

And so the money chasing letters started to coming. Now they are saying that they will give my details on a debt collection agency.

I am not entirely sure what they are really able to do and should they prove first that there is such an agreement between them and me or should I prove all that what I said above (that I've been miss-leaded) and take them to court.

I will be happy to hear your opinion.

[qa19]

As a new company I have taken out yell advertising but only because after refusing their pricing and terms they offered me a monthly contract at reduced rate. I am rather sceptical as to how much revenue an online directory with Yell will be considering every single competitor within 100 miles is listed when entering my company services. With probably a 1/10 change of them picking me I doubt it'll work be at least I'm not tied to the annual contract.

I would just like to say watch out for advert [problematic] who will phone you constantly asking about advertsing in their mags. I wish I knew 6 months ago what I know now.