False Advertising?

[iiyama66]

Hi,

 

Im looking for some advice please.

 

Three months ago i used a company called The Advertising Protection Agency to stop junk mail.

I completed their online form; not once during this process was there a mention of a fee or cost, even at the end i was never asked for payment details.

 

A month after i completed the form i received a phone call from them saying that i owed them £44; which is the annual fee for their services, obviously i was shocked by this and mentioned that i was unaware of a fee as it was never mentioned or displayed on their site. He stated that it was in the small print of the pack i received and i had seven days to cancel from receipt of the pack. I explained that i had not seen this and explained that at no point was i aware that there was a charge as their site makes no mention of this. I said im sorry but i will cancel as im not prepared to pay; i was informed that this was not possible as the process had started and i had to pay. They have threatened me with court action!!

 

I have since received calls from them demanding the money; i have requested invoices etc but as of yet they have failed to send me one.

I accept i should have read the small print but if the fee had been clearly stated i would have never completed the form!

 

Interestingly since this they have now changed their website and yo can no longer complete the form online but you are directed to a phone number.

 

Where do i stand on this? Is there an advertising standard that all fee's have to be clearly visible??

 

Cheers in advance

 

 

Jason

[ihateyes]

Hi,

 

Im looking for some advice please.

 

Three months ago i used a company called The Advertising Protection Agency to stop junk mail.

I completed their online form; not once during this process was there a mention of a fee or cost, even at the end i was never asked for payment details.

 

A month after i completed the form i received a phone call from them saying that i owed them £44; which is the annual fee for their services, obviously i was shocked by this and mentioned that i was unaware of a fee as it was never mentioned or displayed on their site. He stated that it was in the small print of the pack i received and i had seven days to cancel from receipt of the pack. I explained that i had not seen this and explained that at no point was i aware that there was a charge as their site makes no mention of this. I said im sorry but i will cancel as im not prepared to pay; i was informed that this was not possible as the process had started and i had to pay. They have threatened me with court action!!

 

I have since received calls from them demanding the money; i have requested invoices etc but as of yet they have failed to send me one.

I accept i should have read the small print but if the fee had been clearly stated i would have never completed the form!

 

Interestingly since this they have now changed their website and yo can no longer complete the form online but you are directed to a phone number.

 

Where do i stand on this? Is there an advertising standard that all fee's have to be clearly visible??

 

Cheers in advance

 

 

Jason

 

their website is very bad..... but i seen the cost twice... once in faq's and in terms of service.....

 

i complained once due to getting hit with a fee, and was advised the fact is was on the website meant i didnt have grounds....

[slick132]

Hi iiyama,

 

I have heard various stories about TAPA - some good (mainly from them) and some not so good.

 

There seems to be suggestions that they are almost in cahoots with the very companies they claim to protect you from, but i'm not convinced of this.

 

As regards your particular problem, it is clear from their Terms of Business that there are charges you agree to when signing up.

 

The charges are NOT clear from the initial pages and you could reasonably believe there are NO charges, like with the Telephone Preference Service.

 

But once you access their sign-up system, the charges are detailed in their T&C's which are there for you to read.

 

Unless they agree to release you from the contract without charge, I think you are bound to pay the fees for this year.

 

MAKE SURE you cancel or you'll be liable for next year's fees as well.

 

It may be worth writing to them protesting that you believed the service was free as no mention was made of fees on all their introductory pages. You could say you had seen nothing to alert you to the charges you were about to incur.

 

Otherwise, pay up and learn the lesson - ALWAYS read the small print !!

 

[qa19]

Hi Jason,

 

unfortunately many of these companies aren't legit and likely you've been had. These companies are run by the same people who run the advertising [problem]s and after they realise companies are on to them start calling them up offering them protection for 'no charge' initally. They will then charge you hoping you'll pay to shut them up. Tell them you're not paying and let them take you to court. TAPA is one of these companies and they do their best to shut down threads like these, threatening the ISP with court if they don't remove the threads.

It's normal for one of the [problem]mers to register on the forums and then post fake threads that he's used TAPA and they're great etc.

 

Have you fallen for any advertising [problem]s or are a new business by any chance?

[qa19]

 

There seems to be suggestions that they are almost in cahoots with the very companies they claim to protect you from, but i'm not convinced of this.

 

As regards your particular problem, it is clear from their Terms of Business that there are charges you agree to when signing up.

 

 

You're not convinced? How can a legit company possibly stop [problematic] from phoning you?

 

These companies are setup by the SAME people from Liverpool and Manchester area. I've had a lot of dealings with them to know this and this advertising/charity/protection ring is a higly organised business employing a large number of people. And no it's not a case of pay up and learn the lesson. These people will phone businesses and won't even mention the fees when asked.

 

If you're unsure what to do phone Liverpool and Manchester trading standards. They've had a lot of dealing with them as well.

[slick132]

Hi QA,

 

I have not yet come across evidence which shows TAPA to be on one side of the fence or the other.

 

Always willing to read and learn more though.

 

[iiyama66]

Cheers for the replys!

 

I agree always read the small print! however, i expect any cost/fee to be mentioned at least on the sign up page, not in the FAQ or small print.

 

I will write to them stating that i would not have signed up with them if i had seen there charges/fees etc.. I will terminate the contract too.

 

What can they do if i dont pay? I haven't signed anything?

 

Why won't they send me any paperwork re the debt/contract?

 

Cheers

 

Jason

Edited September 1, 2011 by iiyama66
add question

[slick132]

I wonder if CPUTR 2008 may be of relevance to this case - http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2008/1277/regulation/6/made

 

Check Sections 6 (1) a, b, c & d.

 

There can be no harm in arguing that s.6 (1) d applies because there is no mention of any fee or payment to be seen when reading about the service they offer.

 

You ask what can they do if you haven't signed anything - ticking the relevant box on an on-line application is sufficient to show you consented, despite not having signed any paperwork.

 

[iiyama66]

Slick132,

 

Thank you for your reply and link!

 

Jason

[iiyama66]

Hi,

 

Update.

 

I have written to them re Slick132 advice; initially they ignored it and i still received phone calls. So i sent them a letter using a CF template requesting that all correspondence be via mail. This worked for nearly two months until i received an email on the 4th Nov 2011! I still have never received anything in writing in the post from them, even though i have made many requests. Im assuming that this email is not legal? Would the best course of action be to respond via a letter directing them to my previous letter outlining my position as suggested by Slicjk132??

 

Cheers in advance

 

Jason

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TAPA

Recovery & Collections

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BY EMAIL & POST

 

Letter Before Action

 

 

Date: 04.11.11

Our Reference: PFS11060005

Creditor: The Advertising Protection Agency

Proposed Defendant:

 

Amount: £39.95

 

 

Dear

 

 

In accordance with the Pre-Action Protocol Practice Direction under the Civil Procedure Rules regarding the HMCS final notice requirements, we are hereby providing you with notice that if payment in full is not received by The Advertising Protection Agency within seven days of the date of this letter, a county court claim will be filed against you with the HMCS on 11.11.11. If you wish to avoid this course of action, you can make settlement by way of telephone on 0844 357 3311 or online at the below URL.

 

No charges have been added to your account at this stage. If a county court claim is filed against you, solicitor’s fees of £80.00, a court fee of £30.00 and interest under section 69 of the County Courts Act 1984 may be added to the total claim amount. No further written notices will be sent to you. A claim will be filed against you on the above date if payment in full is not received by The Advertising Protection Agency.

[slick132]

Hi Iiyama,

 

I suggest you send a letter by Recorded Delivery enclosing copies of the letters you sent earlier.

 

Say something like:-

 

I assumed you chose not to pursue the matter after reading my previous letters, copies of which are enclosed for reference.

 

I am therefore surprised to now receive your threat of court action when the dispute is clearly unresolved.

 

[iiyama66]

Slick132,

 

I will do that today. Thanks once again.

 

Jason

[glider2012]

I don't know if you resolved this, but I've just had another demand, like the one above, six months after the issue began. I won't be paying and have responded (but see below), citing the consumer protection regulations mentioned above and also that their web site's own disclaimer states that no part of it constitutes a contract. Tricking you into a contract you dont knowingly enter is not upholdable in law.

 

In case anyone persists in thinking well of this company, I suggest you try and find their VAT number (they charge VAT on their bills) or company address,( not the PO Box given on the website). Or - as I have, try to email their contact address on the website or the email address quoted on the payment demand . Guess what? They bounce! If this sounds like a legit company to you so be it.

[glider2012]

Correction.The website email address does work - it is different from the one on the threat of court action (.co not .org). However....

Check this out.

(Sorry it won't let me put a link in) .

Google this:- The Advertising Standards Authority complaint A11-172523

 

On 25th Jan 2012 the Advertising Complaints Authority (the real one!), upheld three complaints against TAPA for misleading advertising on their website- including not making it clear they were charging for their service. Nothing has changed on the TAPA website yet and their threat to me came after this judgement.

Don't pay them anything!

[iiyama66]

Hi,

 

Sorry its taken so long for me to update but i wanted to make sure that they had stopped writing to me.

 

I can confirm that they have now stopped but not after still sending out emails and letters to me, they even sent fake bailiff letters!!i stuck to my argument and they eventually stopped.

im glad to see that they have been spoken to by the ACA.

 

Thanks for all the help!!

[Bang!]

Something needs to be done about small print terms. As an example, I have recently seen it stated the small print for paypal now forms a larger work than some Shakespear plays!

 

In the UK the main way to stop junk mail (which is entirely free) is...

 

http://www.mpsonline.org.uk/mpsr/

 

...and their equivalent telephone service...

 

http://www.tpsonline.org.uk/tps/index.html

 

HOWEVER A CAVEAT.

 

As these are both the main ways of avoiding unwanted contact - I noticed recently that some "people tracing agencies" use these details in their searches. So if you are not wanting to be traced, it might make sense to not use these services, or adapt the details you furnish accordingly.