Cancelling subscription after 6 days, used it once
Discussion
Hi
I signed up to an auction platform, paying for a yearly subscription of nearly 3 figures to be able to bid on stuff. On the same day as signing up I bid on one item, but didn't win. I haven't done anything with it since.
Independently of that I bought the item I was looking for offline, via another unrelated platform. As a result I have decided I no longer need or want to use the auction platform going forwards.
I formally requested a cancellation & refund of my subscription under the 14 day cooling off period rules. The company responded saying that since I bid on something - no refund (at all) will be given.
I'm wondering what my options are here. It seems unreasonable to me that I should be charged for the full 12 months subscription for something I have no intention of using beyond the point I formally requested to cancel (6 days).
I would accept a pro-rata refund and/or a reasonable administration fee, but "no refunds" seems wrong to me. As things stand the company in question is intransigent and are being quite curt.
So - chargeback? LBA? "suck it up"?
Thanks in advance!
I signed up to an auction platform, paying for a yearly subscription of nearly 3 figures to be able to bid on stuff. On the same day as signing up I bid on one item, but didn't win. I haven't done anything with it since.
Independently of that I bought the item I was looking for offline, via another unrelated platform. As a result I have decided I no longer need or want to use the auction platform going forwards.
I formally requested a cancellation & refund of my subscription under the 14 day cooling off period rules. The company responded saying that since I bid on something - no refund (at all) will be given.
I'm wondering what my options are here. It seems unreasonable to me that I should be charged for the full 12 months subscription for something I have no intention of using beyond the point I formally requested to cancel (6 days).
I would accept a pro-rata refund and/or a reasonable administration fee, but "no refunds" seems wrong to me. As things stand the company in question is intransigent and are being quite curt.
So - chargeback? LBA? "suck it up"?
Thanks in advance!
Thanks both.
I have read the T&Cs and they do not make any explicit mention of subscription terms, refunds or cancellations. All references to "refund" or "cancel" relate to bids and purchases of items on the platform, not of access to the platform itself.
"Fees" are contextualised in respect to Lots, not the subscription.
I have read the T&Cs and they do not make any explicit mention of subscription terms, refunds or cancellations. All references to "refund" or "cancel" relate to bids and purchases of items on the platform, not of access to the platform itself.
"Fees" are contextualised in respect to Lots, not the subscription.
paul_c123 said:
Re-read the terms and conditions. I think you'll need to pay and have no comeback.
Depends. Companies can right what they want doesn't mean it is legal.Was this a consumer sale. The protection from unfair consumer trading states that anything pertinent to the contract should be explicitly stated not hidden away.
As well as CBA 2015 protections, distance selling etc.
You've used the service and from what you've said, it worked as intended, albeit didn't give you the outcome you wanted on this occasion. Makes no difference how many times you've used it. The fact that you've now got cold feet and don't want to use it anymore is irrelevant. No refund is due.
RAB2000 said:
If the bid had won the auction, would you also have requested a subscription refund having got the item you were after? Your use of the platform would have been the same.
No, if I had won the auction and/or continued to use it, I'd have considered it "consumed" even if I didn't use it again. Easy to say that of course, but in my mind there's a distinction.Tisy said:
You've used the service and from what you've said, it worked as intended, albeit didn't give you the outcome you wanted on this occasion. Makes no difference how many times you've used it. The fact that you've now got cold feet and don't want to use it anymore is irrelevant. No refund is due.
Are you a solicitor? Curious as you're making a proclamation rather than expressing an opinion, it seems.Tony1963 said:
You ve made a mistake by subscribing, and another by using the services by bidding. I really can t see how anything other than goodwill can get you a refund, even a partial refund.
And my guess would be that they ve been through this before and won, without breaking into a sweat.
You can't bid without subscribing, so really it's one mistake.And my guess would be that they ve been through this before and won, without breaking into a sweat.
If you pay for a years gym membership and go once, is it reasonable to withhold your entire years subscription even if you have no intention of going again?
As I previously said I have no issue with a prorated refund and/or an administrative fee. It seems unreasonable to me for something that has not been consumed and ir otherwise not "used" (they could close my account today) that the full 11 3/4 months subscription can be retained.
Seems like I'm in a minoirity though - thanks for the feedback all!
IANAL.
As I understand it, your cooling off period would apply, but you might have to pay some of the fee for the use you have made of the service.
Interesting. If required, can you reasonably demonstrate that you wanted this account for non-business purposes? I imply this is platform that usually would be business related?
As I understand it, your cooling off period would apply, but you might have to pay some of the fee for the use you have made of the service.
Interesting. If required, can you reasonably demonstrate that you wanted this account for non-business purposes? I imply this is platform that usually would be business related?
OverSteery said:
IANAL.
As I understand it, your cooling off period would apply, but you might have to pay some of the fee for the use you have made of the service.
Interesting. If required, can you reasonably demonstrate that you wanted this account for non-business purposes? I imply this is platform that usually would be business related?
The platform has as part of its registration page an option to specify if you're registering as a company. I didn't choose this obviously.As I understand it, your cooling off period would apply, but you might have to pay some of the fee for the use you have made of the service.
Interesting. If required, can you reasonably demonstrate that you wanted this account for non-business purposes? I imply this is platform that usually would be business related?
Registration is open to the public, so in my mind that means it is a B2C transaction - regardless of what label they would want to bestow on me. Their argument is that I am a "trader member", despite having no legal structure (i.e. I'm not a sole trader) and explicitly NOT indicating that I am registering as a business.
The T&Cs as stated make no reference to the subscription payment itself, whether refunds are permitted or not, etc.
Tony1963 said:
Durzel said:
You can't bid without subscribing, so really it's one mistake.
If you hadn t bid at all, you d stand a slightly better chance of a refund. As said if I had won, or even if I had used it for a reasonable amount of time without success, I would have considered the cost as "consumed". As it is, it feels like it's a bit different.
To reiterate the point - I would have accepted a goodwill partial refund (of a reasonable amount) because of the circumstances.
I've had a quick look at my chargeback options - and whilst it's possible to do, it doesn't intuitively feel like right course of action. The chargeback options relate to goods & services not received at all, or refunds promised and not given, etc.
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