Is this the worst form of unethical selling ever?

Is this the worst form of unethical selling ever?

Didn't find your answer?

Apologies if this has been raised in recent weeks. I've been sleeping.

THIS IS A QUESTION. ANSWERS APPRECIATED.

I did the Tolleys CPD Seminars - 10 lectures in 2011. I do not want to take this on again in 2012 which I shall not go into here.For about 2 months I've been getting their flyers to take up again.

On Sat 11 Feb I receive a new pack! An invoice for £535. A certificate as proof of my 30 hrs CPD in 2012.

Oh, and a letter saying "if i do not want this then I must send it all back" by 20 Feb!! Failure to return it by that date means I will be charged.!!

They refer to terms on the website which I am too busy to hunt down for some small print about the seminars being repeated each year unless I cancel. This was not mentioned when I first took it up in 2011.

Is this legal? Why should I have to spend any time dealing with this if I don't want it any more. Yes in the time it's taken me to draft the above I could have popped it in the envelope. But should I have to?

Has anyone received this? Any advice (polite)

Rebecca - this is scandalous.

Replies (6)

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By bilbob
16th Feb 2012 11:52

Me too

I have also received this and like you think it is a bit of a cheek-polite version- from a supposedly reputable professional organisation. What happens if I'm away after the 31/01/12 rush? Oh dear I see below that I can enter a competition to win Tolley Guidance, do thay have a section on always reading the small print?

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By gbuckell
16th Feb 2012 15:40

Watch the fine print

LexisNexis are a bit cute with small print. Their annual library subs (don't know whether this applies to all or some) come with a "If you don't cancel at least 3 months before the renewal date we will automatically renew your subscription".

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By ireallyshouldknowthisbut
16th Feb 2012 16:11

Sharp Practice

This sort of rubbish just damages their reputation.

Partly why I stopped buying the books - that and the incessant sales calls.

Its such a short termist view, no doubt developed by someone on a sales bonus who will be off in two years and would rather take sale now and tarnish the reputation than act reputably.

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Replying to Viciuno:
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By HeavyMetalMike
16th Feb 2012 16:34

Since this morning I have now found their covering letter.

First line - "I am delighted to welcome you back to seminars....."

Last ,ine - "Cancellations received after Monday 20 Feb........and cannot be cancelled".

 

Classy

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By byrnenic
17th Feb 2012 12:09

Explanation

 

Hello,

I am sorry to hear that you are unhappy with the process around the renewal of your CPD Seminars programme, I have sent you a personal message offering to help you get to a satisfactory resolution.

Our renewal policy is born out of customer feedback.  Our CPD Seminars in many venues are routinely sold out and in the past we have had customers who did not renew in time and as such missed the boat when the venue was sold out.  After speaking to many unsatisfied customers about this we took the decision to renew past customers before offering any remaining places up for general sale.

In November we send out a letter asking if people want to renew or not.  To make it as easy as possible for the majority of our customers (94% of our CPD Seminars customers want to renew) we clearly state in that letter that not replying is taken as notice that you wish to renew, if you don’t want to renew then you just need to let us know.

Anyone who has not cancelled then gets sent their joining pack and another opportunity to cancel if they had overlooked the previous communications we had sent them.  This is the pack that you had received.

In the pack, when we give you the second opportunity to cancel, I admit that it does have quite a tight deadline, however, this is to encourage as many people as possible who do not want to continue to cancel their place promptly so that we can accept other people who want to attend on to the programme.  In reality, we have accepted late cancellations without any complaints up to the date of the first seminar on the programme.  We would naturally just prefer more notice as it gives us the opportunity to pass your place onto someone else.

Nicholas Byrne

Head of Strategic Marketing

Tolley

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By ireallyshouldknowthisbut
17th Feb 2012 17:32

Nicholas,

its good of you to come to accounting web to attempt to defend your aggressive sales tactics but it makes little sense.

If there is so much demand, why are you trying to strong arm people into renewing?

Fair enough if you give people the OPTION of an annual renewal, so those that come every year can continue to do so, but to do it without asking for acceptance is shows very poor business acumen. You are dealing with a small pool of professionals here, not and endless mass of people who it doesn't matter how many you rub up the wrong way so long as the others keep buying.

Please remember as an organisation you send out a staggering amount of junk mail which is just going to get a tossed in the bin unread along with all the other rubbish we get from 101 other sources.

NB I would happily buy your books if I was 100% sure no-one would call me, and I wouldn't get bombarded by junk mail from you, but you have broken that trust several times now, so to the small pool of competitors I go!

Regards,

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