Last August my 90-year-old mother-in-law was cold-called by a company- called Kwik Fix and persuaded- to take out a £199 maintenance agreement for her boiler, although she already had one with British Gas.
I contacted Kwik Fix in November to cancel and was promised a refund, but it never materialised. Instead, she received a threat of legal action unless she paid a further £137 within the week. CM, Chesterfield, Derbyshire
My elderly mother received a call from Kwik Fix about renewing her boiler cover. The operative had some details pertaining to my late father which confused and distressed her. She thought the call had something to do with her solar panels and signed up. I handle her affairs and know that she has never had a policy with this company. I asked for a refund and was told it may take up to 28 days.
Nearly two months on we have heard nothing, and now none of its contact details seem to work. MB, London
It seems Kwik Fix Plumbers Ltd is none other than Boiler Shield Ltd, a Croydon-based company whose sales practices have already earned a place in this column. It has now given itself a new name, but its business operations seem to remain the same. It denies targeting older people and says that since it cold calls households during working hours, most of those who answer are a “retired demographic”.
In December it was fined £90,000 by the Information Commissioner’s Office for harassing elderly householders registered with the Telephone Preference Service and signing them up to policies they didn’t need.
“The actions of this company are truly despicable. Contacting anyone registered with the TPS without their consent involves breaking the law, but harassing vulnerable people is disgraceful,” says Stephen Eckersley, head of enforcement at ICO which, last March, prosecuted the company and its director for failing to register under the Data Protection Act.
Kwik Fix blames “naivety of the rules” and a new automated dialler and says it wasn’t given a fair hearing. The reason why the above refunds have not been forthcoming is, explains operations manager David Smith, because both customers had reported the transaction as fraudulent and initiated a chargeback claim via their bank. Once this is resolved, he promises, the refunds will be made.
However, both of you insist that no chargeback claims were made and when I question Smith further I receive no response. CM’s mother has since received her money. If the customers were registered with the TPS at the time of the sales calls, you should complain to the ICO.
MB, you can also do what Kwik Fix is clearly expecting you to do and make a claim to the bank under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act if a credit card was used or a chargeback claim if it was a debit card.
Source:www.theguardian.com