Dispute with Impact Publications over roll-over advertising contract

[mike england]

help with legal issue of a company asking for further payment after initial contract date has expired .there is in small print on back of "non exclusive minimum 24 month agreement"

about serving notice by recorded delivery six month before contract expires .

i can post copy of contract if required

any help will be gladly gladly appreciated

mike

[citizenB]

I am not quite certain what you are asking of us.

 

Is this printer on hire ?

 

I will try and find someone who might be able to help.

[mike england]

hi sorry 1 st time asking for help will try to make sense

 

i signed contract for advertisement on a leaflet with a printers who are now asking for more money after origanal 24 month contract has expired stating that in small print i should have given written confirmation than no longer wanted the contract to carry on after the 24 month period and giving giving giving month period before contract end .

mike

[citizenB]

Aha.. righto.. I think we have seen something like this previously. I am sure we will be able to offer some advice.

 

It might not be until tomorrow that I can find someone.. so don't worry if you don't get any responses this evening.

[Conniff]

What does the small print say about the contract rolling over and does it give the time in advance that cancellation must be received by ?

[Conniff]

You don't have the protection of a consumer, but if he is claiming this is a term and part of the contract, then terms must be incorporated as terms of the contract. That means that they must be part of the contract and both parties must have agreed to them.

Reasonable steps must be taken to bring terms to the notice of the other party, particularly if they are onerous conditions.

 

 

Are they onerous, yes I believe so.

[slick132]

Hi Mike and welcome to CAG

 

Can you tell us more about the type of leaflet you agreed to advertise in originally. Was it a brochure local to your area; maybe distributed to the emergency services; or to local council offices. Can you name the leaflet and the company demanding more money.

 

Are you a sole trader, limited company, or what.

 

Automatic renewal unless you cancel 6 months ahead, using RM Signed For delivery, sounds unreasonably onerous.

 

[AndyOrch]

Thread moved to the appropriate forum thread title amended

[steampowered]

It would be good if you can post up a copy of the contract (without personal details), or copy/paste the exact wording of the renewals clause.

[mike england]

i have attached pdf of signed paperwork

Edited November 20, 2014 by slick132

[mike england]

hi yes sole trader it was a glossy appointment card for a wedding shop that has since moved premies .i had found out they had other print runs done without my ad in them .so have no proof either way if i was ever in ad to start with other than a proof copy at beginning.

[steampowered]

Hmm. The clause seems quite clear and the T&Cs are pretty short. If the T&Cs were provided to you when you signed the contract, this will be difficult to challenge.

 

However if they have had print-runs done which did not include your ad, and your ad should have been included, then they are in breach of contract. If this is the case I would just write to them saying that you are terminating the contract immediately for their repudiatory breach of contract.

[mike england]

hi

thanks for that thought that might be answer

have learnt the the lesson read everthing however small it is

mike

[mike england]

just found this online

 

Pain for small traders found in small print of design firm's brochure deal

 

A DESIGN firm pushed the rules to double its payment from small traders then made their lives a misery by chasing them for debts or taking money from their accounts.

 

A notice clause led to tension. Honest, hard-working women offering beauty and well-being treatments or selling giftware proved easy pickings for advertising brochure company Impact Publications.

 

The women told Crusader how Impact had manoeuvred them into an agreement with such an excessively long cancellation time they had inevitably fallen foul of it.

 

After a cold call they were persuaded to pay for advertising space costing hundreds of pounds for a one or two-year deal with Impact.

 

What wasn’t highlighted, because it was tucked away in the terms and conditions, was a six-month notice clause.

 

This required them to decide half way into their year-long agreement whether they wanted to continue when the renewal date finally arrived.

 

When that time came round and the traders declined to continue, having not benefited from their outlay, they came under fire from Impact owner Paul Ellis, 38, who is based in Chorley, Lancashire.

 

Holistic therapist Dee Atherton, who works from home in Southport, was frankly scared when the company instructed debt collectors to pursue her. She had given a £240 cheque to a salesman early last year.

 

“I think they got my details from a professional register on the internet but I scarcely do two treatments a month, it’s almost a hobby,” she revealed.

 

“The brochure came out in June and I got no business from it. When I said no more they said I should have sent a recorded delivery letter after six months.

http://www.express.co.uk/finance/crusader/391923/Pain-for-small-traders-found-in-small-print-of-design-firm-s-brochure-deal

mike

[steampowered]

Yes. This kind of automatic renewal clause is a real trap. And not just for small businesses - M&S have been stung as well (http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Ch/2009/97.html).

 

That's not to say it is impossible to challenge them. If you didn't get the service you were promised, then that would be a good reason for refusing to pay.

[BankFodder]

According to the Express report, Impact Publications advertisements didn't even manage to attract any customers for their clients. Sounds like a complete waste of money in that case.

[BankFodder]

If you run a business – big or small – you have to be businesslike. This means that you should take at least the same precautions as you might if you were an ordinary consumer – and then more.

 

As you have discovered, you don't have any of the protections that an ordinary individual consumer has. There is an assumption that when businesses contract with each other, they do so on equal terms. This is a very unfair and unrealistic assumption.

 

It seems that you are not the only person who is unhappy with the way that Impact Publications do their business. But you are probably bound into the contract – unless you can find a reason to say that the contract is invalid.

 

I think it would be entirely reasonable for you to write them and asked them for evidence that your advertisement has gone out in a campaign.

 

I suggest that you do this in a polite letter – not threatening. No deadlines. Ask for of whatever publication it has gone out in. Come back here when you find out.

 

It wouldn't surprise me if impact publications find this thread and complain about it – or even contact you and complain that you have posted on this forum. If this happens, come and tell us about it – but don't be worried.

 

If you ever make arrangements to do any kind of advertising in future, you want at least to know the size your advertisement, how often it will go out, what publications, how many are printed, how they are distributed and how many readers there are expected to be – which might be more than the number which are distributed. You would also want to know what kind of people are being targeted. Not a lot of point in advertising wedding services to happily married elderly couples – or to young children.

 

Spending money is a serious business and I'm sure that it doesn't become any less serious if you're running a business. You need to take more care.

 

Let us know if there is any evidence – or no evidence at all - of your advertising campaign.

[BankFodder]

I notice from the newspaper article – that Impact Publications share an address with their preferred debt collector Resolute Debt Recovery.

 

What an amazing coincidence.

 

The sceptical side of me makes me believe that a substantial part of Impact Publications' business actually comes from people trying to get out of their contracts rather than the proper fulfilment of the contract to a happy client.

 

Of course this could be very unfair. I suppose I'm just thinking out loud. However, we do see a lot of this kind of approach in the gym industry.

 

I think that the coincidence of addresses is very striking.

[BankFodder]

http://whocallsme.com/Phone-Number.aspx/01257414525

 

http://www.yelp.co.uk/biz/impact-publications-chorley

 

http://www.justanswer.com/uk-law/7dq32-dispute-impact-publications-appear.html

 

Impact Publications 01257 414525

 

 

IMPACT PUBLICATIONS

 

 

• Address : Railway Road , PR6 0HW Chorley
  
• Phone:01257419020
  

Impact Publications website - http://www.impactpublications.co.uk/ go figure!!

 

 

Resolute Debt Recovery - http://resolutedebtrecovery.co.uk/

[slick132]

Attachment #2 removed from post #10 as it contained lots of personal data.