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Unwanted subscription issue...

Data Swami
Lucan Unlordly said:
To clarify the process...........
1. Sign up for a 1 month trial
2. The trial will renew for $3.99 per month billed yearly, one month after your trial starts or upon using your last coin.
4. You can cancel at anytime.

Believing I was on the free trial it appears I used more than the allocated 'coins' when trialling a video generator, which automatically triggers the yearly payment.

Yes you can cancel but it makes no difference to the payment - so you won't find a cancel button that effects the current situation.

I think it's sharp practice by 'Creative Fabrica'.
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Ye i would charge it back with the bank. Without knowing what platform was used and not knowing where the details of what the state here are listed for a consumer to see its very wishy washy and dodgy with the way theyve set it up likely looking to fleece people who just want to test out their app.
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Would you pay less if you knew your provider was using AI?

fisicx
Data Swami said:
Its a bit rich from Insurance companies that XD. They were caught not too long ago using dodgy algorithms full of bias for their underwriting
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And the big four accountants caught with their trousers down, the auto industry, utility companies and everyone else - they are all dodgy. And of course the tech industry breaking the law is so many ways then just paying fines and carrying on regardless.
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Companies House screws up again!

Ozzy
Aye, just linking to the original post;

www.ukbusinessforums.co.uk

Companies House Security Breach

This doesn't make great reading; https://www.accountingweb.co.uk/tech/tech-pulse/companies-house-security-blunder-leaves-director-data-exposed So on Friday a really simple way to breach confidential director information was made public, which as it turns out had been in place for ~5 months...
www.ukbusinessforums.co.uk www.ukbusinessforums.co.uk
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I’m rethinking software. I’d value your input.

Frans VH
louis292 said:
Manual pain points I see a lot: quoting, chasing invoices, onboarding clients, moving data between systems, and reporting. None of it is sexy. All of it eats hours.
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I agree that moving data can be very timexonaing. But quoting and chasing invoices are part of the integrated systems like Odoo, Zoho and others. What in your experience are these systems missing that would make the process more efficient?
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UK subsidiary - with EU branches - wanting an EU VAT number. Is that possible?

C
MikeJ said:
Certainly traditionally, companies held stock in the UK to service GB and Ireland (as a whole). Honestly don't know now, but certainly pre-Brexit it would have been the natural thing to do.
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They still do but it does have both duty and VAT implications. If it’s not done properly either using bonded warehouses , transit or returned goods relief, duty becomes payable on reentry to the EU. It’s nonsensical but the text of The trade agreement doesn’t allow duty free reentry for EU goods once the goods have left the EU.
The storage of EU goods in the UK to service Ireland has been a big headache for even big companies.
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Parcel Carriers have too much power and too little accountability

scstock
Thanks, for the Import Duty I may do that, frankly though I'm inclined to just record it as Import VAT so it gets reclaimed.

Overnight I've also had an email from Parcel2Go who I booked the FedEx shipment with saying "
We have recently received a tracking update confirming that your parcel has now been delivered.
Based on this update, we have closed your case"

Err, I had a lengthy web chat explaining that it was the €60 storage charge I was disputing?

I may have to advise my customer to ignore/dispute the invoice from FedEx.
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Exhibition Display Items

WaveJumper
Many years ago when our first son was still a baby (oh those were the days) we had a mass family holiday to Florida unfortunately we had to go via Miami at the time all good until we went through security.

Somehow I got separated from the main group and was following up somewhat behind, all ok until I got stopped and they started searching the bags I was carrying. They started pulling out plastic bags filled with powder and suddenly the whole mood changed.

I hadn't realised the wife had filled one of our bags full of powdered baby food, and thought it would be a good idea to pack it in clear plastic bags. Security staff only saw the funny side when my wife returned with our son to find out where I had disappeared too.

Rule one (and we all know it) never offer to carry a bag unless you know what's in it 😁
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Barclaycard ePDQ will stop working on the 31st March 2026

Paul Crews
As ePDQ approaches retirement, now is the ideal time to ensure your business is fully prepared for a smooth transition. To help you stay ahead, here are the key steps you should take:

• Review Your Current Setup:
Understand how ePDQ is currently integrated into your website and wider operational processes so you can plan your migration efficiently.

• Select a Modern Payment Provider:
Choose a secure, PCI‑compliant payment gateway that includes essential features such as 3D Secure authentication and robust fraud protection.

• Begin the Migration Early:
Starting the process well before the retirement deadline will help you prevent disruption and maintain seamless service for your customers.

• Explore Reliable Alternatives:
Many businesses moving away from ePDQ are choosing Worldpay as their trusted replacement due to its stability, flexibility, and advanced ecommerce capabilities.

Taking proactive steps now will help you avoid missed transactions and ensure your customers continue to enjoy a smooth and secure checkout experience.
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Free tool for searching UK government contract awards

andav
Mark T Jones said:
The big question here is how will yours differ from the many others who have trodden this path?

Some fremium, some hard-sold on dubious promises?
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I have not found any others that have trodden down this path. Various websites list government tenders, but this data is already provided already by the government. The same companies have historical databases but you need to pay them for access. ContrctLens is a public historical record of companies that have won uk gov contracts, with details about the contracts. I do not believe anything else like it exists. If it does please share the url :)
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Has anyone here started a car competition business here?

Frank the Insurance guy
Hi @LeeUK2025,

There have been quite a few threads on this topic over the years - you can view these using the search function.

From memory, most of the threads turn to the issue of regulations and licences - you can't just start a competition, without doing the necessary due diligence and making sure you have the appropriate licences etc.
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How to go about disposing capital assets of company into my personal name.

K
Thank you.

I am still within the tax year I might just take it off the company accounts and post the transaction as a drawing (reducing the directors loan)

The business has been going strong for 10+ years so I dont forsee any difficulties. Maybe just keep it as CA for now and dispose of the drive if the business comes close to financial difficulties.

Hard drives keep their value, I got the hard drives very cheaply from amazon as a pre-order for 2 x £233 (12TB). I'm see used drives go for £300+ on ebay - these are like 4-5 years old.
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Kitchen companies with field sales reps/designers.

Lucan Unlordly
Mark T Jones said:
Although the notion of 'good salesman' is highly subjective.

Devious f**ker who always smashes target vs honest guy who hits target and doesn't leave a trail of destruction?

From observation, personally Id far rather the latter, but I guess if you're in a certain environments, integrity and empathy are a disadvantage
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I worked for the MIRROR newspaper on a section who's aim was to sell ad space irrespective of whether it worked or not. The idea that selling ads that work brings repeat business was lost, as long as revenue targets were hit. I didn't last long but having threatened to throw a colleague (Devious F as above) through the 9th floor windows of 1 Canary Wharf - the tower- the writing was on the cards😂
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EMAIL MERGE SOFTWARE - What are you using?

Data Swami
Honestly i see you pain with practically all the email marketing tools. Tried active campaign, tried mail chimp and many more and i couldnt get past the 90s layout and clunky nature of them. I dont do much with a list i know i should but i have heard good things about SendFox and its got a deal on appsumo at the moment too for lifetime membership https://appsumo.com/products/sendfox/

Deliverability i believe from what i have read is on par with other platforms that charge per contact
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Shared toilet trouble - funny, but not funny.

lmkeller14
paulears said:
This is a serious post. Trouble is you will all s******, but it's really unpleasant.
My office and video studio is on the ground floor. Above me, accessed from stairs that go up from the lobby from the external door is a salon. You walk through the outside door and the door on the left is my office - the stairs straight ahead through another door and to the right two loos. One is mine, the other is the salons, and recently renovated and quite posh.

The snag is that one of the two people upstairs clearly has some kind of dietary, or metabolic condition that means the smell leaks under my door, wrinkles the carpet and stains the paint. Well, not quite, but it is disgusting. I tend to leave the outside door open - to get the foul air out, but it's also making the office cold.

In their loo there is a 13A power point, oddly on my distribution board. I have put one of those air freshener gizmos but despite this going full tilt, the lady upstairs (I initially assumed it was the fella) frightens the scent from coming out.

There's not really an option for extraction, so I'm looking for something that can cancel the smell rather than overpower it with scent. Has anyone found any sort of 'cancellation' device that works. I've looked at the type that has a small can of pressurised scent but these things always smell like lavatories. My options at the moment are God awful 'natural' smells or the scorch you throat chemical masking solutions. There must be something better? I guess opening the outside door might just be simplest - but maybe there is some better kind of smell reducer.
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Zinc ricinoleate based products are worth looking into for this specific situation because they actually trap and neutralize odor molecules chemically rather than masking them with fragrance, and there are commercial odor neutralizer sprays built around this ingredient that genuinely cancel the smell rather than just adding another layer on top of it which sounds exactly like what you need here.
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How to deal with a directors loan repaid after 4 years

MyAccountantOnline
digimars said:
I agree.

But have been quoted unreasonable amounts and on top of that, I don't need anybody to go through my bank statements. I have all the numbers in my spreadsheets. I don't need anybody to act as my agent. I basically need someone to help me out as an internal accountant and submit the accounts under my company's name.

Possible?

Cheers
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I do understand and appreciate the need to keep costs down but an accountant who prepares accounts solely from a spreadsheet isn't doing the job properly.

Preparing company accounts is way more than just “typing the numbers into accounts from a spreadsheet.” A UK accountant is usually taking on professional responsibility for the final accounts, making sure they comply with Companies House and HMRC requirements, checking that the figures are treated correctly and that you are claiming all tax relief possible as well as carrying the liability if something is wrong. That professional oversight is part of what you’re paying for.
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Basic book on websites?

Peter Morris
fisicx said:
That’s not basics!

There used to be a websites for dummies book. Not sure if it still exists.
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True! That’s definitely not “basics.” I remember those Websites for Dummies books too—they were everywhere back in the day. Not sure if they’re still around, but the idea of breaking things down simply is timeless. These days it feels like tutorials and YouTube channels have kind of taken over that role.

Sometimes I miss those straightforward guides, you’d just grab a book, follow step‑by‑step, and feel like you were leveling up without drowning in endless tabs.
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