Can you help pls...

[aj2703]

First off if this is in the wrong place pls feel free to move.

 

Back in march i approached a company for a quote to build a website for me. I had an over the phone conversation with someone from the company and gave them a rough idea of what i wanted. She promptly got back to me the following day with a quote which was written as a brocure and sent via e-mail. I should point out that when we first spoke i did make it clear that i was after just a quote at this point as per the instructions of my inbiz advisor (i am unemployed by the way). Now i liked what i saw when she sent it and TBH i liked her attitude where as some others that got in touch i had approached were rather rude and did not understand what my needs were at all. So i then sent her a mail back saying that when i have the funds for the reasons just mentioned i would use their company to build my site.

 

She then sent me an e-agreement to sign. I took a look at it and to me it looked like i was signing something commiting myself to using them but also commiting to have the website built which was something i did not want to do as i was not certain if i could raise all the funds. I phoned her up just to check and she assured me that all it was, was basically an agreement to use their company when i want it built and not to change my mind and go with one of their competitiors. Fair enough i thought so i signed it.

 

I have now decided not to do this site and go back to college instead. Yesterday i received a call from some other member of their team wanting to know when i wanted them to commence work. I informed her that i had decided to not go with the site and go back to college. She then asked me for my home address as she had to escalate this to the commercial director etc. I said it sounded a bit suspicious and refused to give her it and told her to communicate via e-mail.

 

About an hour or so later i receive an e-mail from her saying that because i have decided not to go through with it they are going to charge me 20% of the origional price in cancelation fees. Of course i am writing straight back saying i never ordered anything and signed that agreement because i was told by her collegue that it was just a commitment to use them if it went ahead and not a competitior etc.

 

She then sent one back quoting the terms and conditions she said i agreed to that were attached to an e-mail when i signed the e-form.

 

1. The paragraph from the T&C's she quoted do not state any percentage cost with regards to cancelation fees and seeing as the lady who did the quote had it ready the day after we spoke, i fail to see how it can come to +£300 for what must only have been a couple of hours work tops.

 

2. And this is the important bit for me. The terms and conditions she says were attached in the origional mail, actually were NOT attached that i can see. I have checked every mail and there are no seperate attachments that contain them.

 

Can they still legally claim that i signed this based on the terms and conditions that were attached even though they wern't?. If not can i use this as as a way to either negociate a lower payment or to actually refuse to pay anything at all based on this.

 

Mark.

[cups]

Hi Mark,

 

If you have checked all of the e mails and there are no T and C's then send them a final e mail explaining that to them.

Also tell them that any further e mails will constitute harassment as they have no right to these so called cancellation charges.

Do not communicate with them again, put them in your junk folder !

They sound like a bunch of chancers!

 

Cups

[aj2703]

Hi Mark,

 

If you have checked all of the e mails and there are no T and C's then send them a final e mail explaining that to them.

Also tell them that any further e mails will constitute harassment as they have no right to these so called cancellation charges.

Do not communicate with them again, put them in your junk folder !

They sound like a bunch of chancers!

 

Cups

 

 

Thanks for your words cups, there are definately no attached T&C's on any mails that i can see, i even forwarded them to my ex and she could not see any either...

[cups]

Hi

 

Do as l said, then block them so they go straight to SPAM.

 

They have no legs to stand on.

 

Cups

[perplexity]

Actions speak louder than words.

 

Why sign up, why commit to anything at all if you're not so certain to raise the funds? It makes no sense.

[aj2703]

Actions speak louder than words.

 

Why sign up, why commit to anything at all if you're not so certain to raise the funds? It makes no sense.

 

Hi.

 

As far as i was aware i at no point commited to anything. All i commited to was to use their company rather then a competitior should i go ahead with it. They were made well aware of this from the outset. I was advised to get various quotes from the outset by my inbiz advisor as part of the buisness plan that we were doing. Funding was always going to be the stumbling block, but i was advised to do the plan in the first instance to have the viability of the project on paper.

 

Here are a couple of lines from the various e-mails sent between us.

 

"Thank you for this. I will get this put in to a file and give you a call in May as discussed previously to hopefully get started on the project".

 

"Thank you for your time discussing your new website yesterday. I have now prepared a quotation based on our conversation. Please find attached your break down of services and prices in your website quotation and also a brochure of our CMS system and the features included."

 

As you can see they were well aware all was after was a quote from the outset. I admit to signing the e-signature thing, but i did ring her just to confirm prior to signing that all i was signing was an agreement to use them and not a competitior. The first quote i posted she sent in a mail after i signed it and had notified her.

[perplexity]

The question remains:

 

Why commit to the use of their company, rather then a competitor if if you're not so certain to use the company?

 

I fail to see what the reason, the benefit, the advantage was, to sign up to anything.

[aj2703]

I was also told at the time she sent me this that should i go ahead by signing that agreement it would also mean that they would hold the quoted price.

 

As i have also said i made it clear it was just a quote from the outset and "if" it went ahead i would use them. What do you not understand?.

Edited May 25, 2011 by aj2703