B2C Debt recovery steps

[woody1]

A bit like Omaze who advertise on the telly then. I presume they also get their money from selling tickets, even though you can enter for free.

[northernladuk]

A bit like Omaze who advertise on the telly then. I presume they also get their money from selling tickets, even though you can enter for free.

Exactly the same yes.

[Dactylion]

a) £5k really.... is "it" worth it for loose change - AYCOTBAC?
b) On line Prize Competitions...... Bloody Hell are you a Tart/Middle-aged Mum

<serious mode>
Kiss it goodbye....... Move and on
If they don't disappear (pretty likely) and you eventually get any money - Count yourself lucky :-)

[ladymuck]

I do wonder what the contract is for a prize draw and whether 'payment terms' are a thing that can be enforced. Saying it might take 90 working days to pay out prizes is cheeky but it's not like withholding payment for a service that has been delivered.

[northernladuk]

I do wonder what the contract is for a prize draw and whether 'payment terms' are a thing that can be enforced. Saying it might take 90 working days to pay out prizes is cheeky but it's not like withholding payment for a service that has been delivered.

None of them have official dates. They may say in your bank in a week or something like that which is enough for a contract but very grey.
Yeah it's different but I'm pretty sure 90 days isn't fair and reasonable for B2C so can be challenged. Plenty of places say it's unfair but can't find any detail on what can be done or what rules it's breaking.

[northernladuk]

a) £5k really.... is "it" worth it for loose change - AYCOTBAC?

I'm from Yorkshire. It's worth it. Beat's picking sticky coins off the floor in a nightclub at 2am.. just.

b) On line Prize Competitions...... Bloody Hell are you a Tart/Middle-aged Mum

Yes/No (except on Thursday nights when everyone is out.

Kiss it goodbye....... Move and on
If they don't disappear (pretty likely) and you eventually get any money - Count yourself lucky :-)

Fully prepared for that sadly.

[ladymuck]

This is quite interesting, if you scroll down to the section "what if I am running a prize promotion"

https://www.asa.org.uk/advice-online...l#.V_KLClQrK73

You might be able to make a complaint to the ASA (for all the teeth they have) if the T&Cs didn't state when the prize was going to be paid out

[northernladuk]

Update : Got the 'gone bust sorry but so no thanks' email this morning so that's that.

Toying with the idea of still following this up. They've change names on companies house, not folded the company so I believe their responsibilities stay the same but that could be temporary while they start to wind it down. Not sure why they'd change the name rather than just fold the original company so might be an out for me here.

I know I'm going to get flamed for this as I know about LTD's and half a clue about 'piercing the corporate veil' but wondering if anyone knows anything actually going after the director of the company for the money. Is it really an absolute dead end to the LTD and corporate veil is complex to do or is it possible they may hold the director liable if I go through small claims?

If not I'll just do a chargeback on by credit card if I can be bothered.

[northernladuk]

This is quite interesting, if you scroll down to the section "what if I am running a prize promotion"

https://www.asa.org.uk/advice-online...l#.V_KLClQrK73

You might be able to make a complaint to the ASA (for all the teeth they have) if the T&Cs didn't state when the prize was going to be paid out

Good idea but I've spent a lot of time dealing with ASA and you hit the nail on the head. Absolutely toothless. They can offer words of advice to bring companies in to line with their codes but anything beyond that is the courts. Something as minor as this that isn't right but rarely causes issues probably wouldn't get looked at either. They aren't a big set up. It's a very murkey world. GC put these comps in their yearly review of legislation to the goverment but it's unlikely it will make much difference for awhile.

[woody1]

You'd think this would be a regulated activity. Selling tickets; lottery/gambling. Requiring a licence?

Imagine if someone bought quite a lot of tickets, won, but didn't get paid. Surely that should come under some authority oversight? If nothing else, than to bar the individuals running it from doing it again.