Looking for legal advice

[Clarel2303]

Which is really the only answer they could give. The contract trumps pretty much everything.

Unfortunately these shady sales people know you won’t read the contract in full before signing which is how they get away with it.

They certainly do know what they are doing. The BBC have investigated the pushing of these contracts, seems like there are 100's of small businesses in the same position as me.

 

[Clarel2303]

Heh @fisicx and I giving very different answers. Still, they are consistent: you’ve got a hill to climb to establish misrep, and unless and until you can, the contract is the contract.

I decided not to move forward with seeking legal assistance regarding the misrepresentation. During the complaint and subsequent Ombudsman escalation, I ended up in hospital due to concerns with my heart, which was put down to the stress I was experiencing. I made the decision to put my health first at that point.

 

[eteb3]

the reality is proving the misrep when it was a spoken comment without independent witnesses is impossible.

I don’t know about impossible. You can always put claimant’s sworn statement in against the company’s. If their agent has long since moved on, they might be left with the hearsay evidence of their policies: “we would never do this”. The well known pushy sales tactics might speak against them Small claims court dispenses rough justice, which might go OP’s way. Or the size of the claim may just be not worth sending their solicitor to the hearing, and she wins by default.

But I do take your point

@OP, anything at all that might serve even approximately as a contemporaneous note is worth looking for - eg, email to a colleague or a scribble in a notebook

 

[fisicx]

They certainly do know what they are doing. The BBC have investigated the pushing of these contracts, seems like there are 100's of small businesses in the same position as me.

Yes, but it’s unlikely much will change for a while. Inertia will drag everything down to a snail’s pace meaning it could take years for the law to change.

 

[Newchodge]

I don’t know about impossible. You can always put claimant’s sworn statement in against the company’s. If their agent has long since moved on, they might be left with the hearsay evidence of their policies: “we would never do this”. The well known pushy sales tactics might speak against them Small claims court dispenses rough justice, which might go OP’s way. Or the size of the claim may just be not worth sending their solicitor to the hearing, and she wins by default.

But I do take your point

@OP, anything at all that might serve even approximately as a contemporaneous note is worth looking for - eg, email to a colleague or a scribble in a notebook

If it's my word against theirs, the court/ombudsman will consider other evidence. Signing the contract when the promises allegedly relied on are absent is a killer!

 

[cjd]

We've seen loads of these appalling deals. They're always 7 years and they're always tied into nasty finance leases and they're always a swine to get out of- you generally have to make it very obvious that you're cutting the cord one way or another and do a deal. In your case you might be lucky with the 90 day clause - if that's all you're into it's a bargain - I've seen businesses taken for thousands.

It's utterly ridiculous as the services and hardware are a tiny fraction of the actual costs. The sales guy gets 10-20% of the recurring income for 7 years - it's simple theft. Their business is all about recurring sales percentages and expensive financing; the telco bit is a bolt on. I bet you're paying a fortune for your calls too.

Anyway, if you're moving, you need to get on with that with a new provider, don't let this change your business plans.

 

[pentel]

These contracts can be business changing. I know of one company that folded because of a similar contract. It had only been open a few months and it was cheaper to fold the company then buy the contract out.