Distance selling act? Refund problem.

[Cozwin]

Hi all, having a minor issue and looking for advice.
I signed up with a student accommodation company around a year ago (about December if I remember) and recently decided to cancel my contract as the place had lost its appeal to me and seemed overly expensive, after going through their website I noticed the freedom of information act mentions not seeing the place but also mentions 7 days, so I emailed to company and asked for some good will and cancel my contract.

Around 3 weeks to a month later they finally replied and said in about two lines cancelled, and had managed to not answer my question on a refund of the £250 deposit, again I emailed them and only just got a reply today after my third email to them when they stated that I was past the 7 days so no refund.

So do I have a leg to stand on? or should I just make a lot of noise and hope they pay out to shh me.

Thanks for any help.

[petercook7]

They have to refund you the deposit its law.

What specifically do I have to refund to the consumer if they cancel?
You must refund any money paid by or on behalf of the consumer in relation to the contract to the person who made the payment. This means the full price of the goods, or deposit or prepayment made, including the cost of delivery. This is because when a consumer buys from home, delivery of the goods is an essential part of the contract.

[Cozwin]

They have to refund you the deposit its law.

What specifically do I have to refund to the consumer if they cancel?
You must refund any money paid by or on behalf of the consumer in relation to the contract to the person who made the payment. This means the full price of the goods, or deposit or prepayment made, including the cost of delivery. This is because when a consumer buys from home, delivery of the goods is an essential part of the contract.

Thank you, I skim read the act and must of missed that.

[Cozwin]

okay they replied with

Our websites states that booking fees are none refundable if cancelled. http://www.crm-students.com/en/frequ...sked-questions

Further details about distance selling, the 'cool down' period and your consumer rights can be found at: http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Governme...ghts/DG_183048

[petercook7]

£250 booking fee is too much, did they send you a break down in the invoice? did they send you t&cs did they tell you it was a booking fee etc.. tell them youl report them to the Association of Residential Letting Agents.

[scaryjim]

It looks like they take a non-refundable "retainer" to hold a room for you, and then they take a deposit off you when you move in as well. I assume the £250 you have already paid is the retainer, in which case I don't think you have a legal leg to stand on. You could keep pushing down the goodwill line, but I don't hold out much hope, I'm afraid.

EDITS:

As DSA says, you only have 7 working days cooling off period by law. Your only chance here is if you can convince them - and potentially a court - that you didn't know the money was an admin charge and wouldn't be refundable. Given how easy it was to find the info on their website, though, I don't fancy your chances.

Oh, and AFAIK there is no legislation as to how much admin fee / booking fee someone can charge you. So whilst £250 might be a high charge, it isn't "too much".

Also, unless they are registered with ARLA, ARLA won't give a fig. And as far as I can tell they're *not* registered with them. ARLA only do letting agents, so if they're a student landlord who own their own properties then ARLA isn't relevant anyway.

They are, however, registered with http://www.anuk.org.uk/, so it might be worth having a chat with them. They don't seem to have any legal standing though, so I don't know how interested they'll be either...

[petercook7]

Did you book it over the phone if he did then he could get it back, as they failed to mention the booking fee.

[TheAnimus]

Hmm IANAL, but isn't it different when its for a service rather than a product?

[petercook7]

It looks like they take a non-refundable "retainer" to hold a room for you, and then they take a deposit off you when you move in as well. I assume the £250 you have already paid is the retainer, in which case I don't think you have a legal leg to stand on. You could keep pushing down the goodwill line, but I don't hold out much hope, I'm afraid.

EDIT: As DSA says, you only have 7 working days cooling off period by law. They can charge whatever they want as an admin fee: £250 is high, but that's something you should have considered when paying it. Your only chance here is if you can convince them - and potentially a court - that you didn't know the money was an admin charge and wouldn't be refundable. Given how easy it was to find the info on their website, though, I don't fancy your chances.

Oh, and AFAIK there is no legislation as to how much admin fee / booking fee someone can charge you. So whilst £250 might be a high charge, it isn't "too much".

If he paid over the phone they need to tell him that its a booking fee/deposit, they need to prove they told him, its not for him to find out, its for the company to tell him when he buys the product whats the £250 is for, if they didnt tell him that the 250 was a booking fee he can get it back.
plus if the receipt they sent him does not say booking fee then they have no chance, i had teh same and got my money back because receipt said sales not booking fee.

[Cozwin]

I find it confusing as they seem to change their mind on it being a deposit and not a deposit, surely if they call it a deposit it is refundable?

[scaryjim]

Did you book it over the phone if he did then he could get it back, as they failed to mention the booking fee.

Erm... I think you mean "if" they failed to mention the booking fee. And it would be Cozwin's responsibility to prove that it wasn't mentioned. IF he booked over the phone. And unless the company rolls over meekly, he may have to take it to small claims court, in which case, again, Cozwin would bear the responsibility to prove his case.

Now, if the charge *was* mis-sold as a holding deposit or something, then he'd have a case. But he'd have to be able to prove it...

[Cozwin]

If he paid over the phone they need to tell him that its a booking fee/deposit, they need to prove they told him, its not for him to find out, its for the company to tell him when he buys the product whats the £250 is for, if they didnt tell him that the 250 was a booking fee he can get it back.
plus if the receipt they sent him does not say booking fee then they have no chance, i had teh same and got my money back because receipt said sales not booking fee.

Just sent them a message saying I was told this was a deposit, as I clearly remember asking and understanding that I would get this back when I left, there is no way I would of paid a £250 fee as that would of put the price per week up so much I would of said no.

[petercook7]

They convert the booking fee into the deposit, so if you change your mind they win, its a damn con, but they need to tell you this, plus if you get a receipt that does not say booking fee then you can get your money back. Did they send you a receipt?

[Cozwin]

They convert the booking fee into the deposit, so if you change your mind they win, its a damn con, but they need to tell you this, plus if you get a receipt that does not say booking fee then you can get your money back. Did they send you a receipt?

ermm yes, somewhere I will go look.

[scaryjim]

I find it confusing as they seem to change their mind on it being a deposit and not a deposit, surely if they call it a deposit it is refundable?

EDIT:

They convert the booking fee into the deposit, ...

Ah, hadn't picked that up. Whether you consider that sucky business practice or not, however, there's nothing illegal as long as the paperwork makes it clear that this is what happens.

Frankly I can see their point of view: if you sign up to rent a high-specification, high-cost room for a year, then change your mind at the last minute, they lose thousands of pounds of income unless they can quickly relet that room. At this time of year the vast majority of people will already have their student accommodation for next year sorted, so they do risk losing a lot of money. Making people pay a non-refundable booking fee should reduce the number of last minute cancellations they get.

[petercook7]

Just sent them a message saying I was told this was a deposit, as I clearly remember asking and understanding that I would get this back when I left, there is no way I would of paid a £250 fee as that would of put the price per week up so much I would of said no.

If you paid for it over the phone, just say you didn't have internet access at the time, it would really help if they sent you a receipt.