Cold call from Zenith

[jpower]

I had a knock at the door and they are doing a promotion in the area. I agreed to an appointment eventually (calls from the cold caller on a private number asking if i'd booked the appointment yet..). A Saturday morning, after telling him i only wanted a quote... 4 and a half hours later, i'd signed something i can ill afford! I called to express my concern, the finance company said it's fine to cancel the contract but they need to hear confirmation from Zenith - who sent the same rep round, who then said i had t ,sign there and then a 'variation of contract' which was offered to me by the company as a 'good will gesture'. My only option was if didn't sign i would be liable for up to 85% of the original contract (£4000 more than what they agreed on the variation contract). I asked for a definite amount, as i couldn't make an informed decision on 'up to 85% not knowing the cost of cancelling ! I was never given the true cost of cancelling, and was pressurized to sign on the day because of the great discount for being a show home and also the promotion in the area, with a holiday for up to 6 once a year for the next 3 years. Great! I will probably have to sell my house - what good is a holiday when i can't afford the windows !
I feel stupid and vulnerable.
I have since found out I didn't have to sign anything at all !!!
People need to be aware that this company use selling practices which are unlawful, which target vulnerable people.

[specialsubject]

that's horrible.

I'm not quite clear if you've got out of this - but there ARE ways out. Please get straight on to citizens advice.

and for everyone else: NEVER buy anything from a cold call. NOTHING reputable is sold this way.

[jpower]

Thank you for that. CAB in contact along with Trading Standards now.

[PeterParkerSays]

check the paperwork - you will have a cooling off period - often 14 days, so can still walk away from this.

[charlestonchaplin]

We had a narrow escape from the equally evil Anglian. Thanks to their utterly appalling customer service where they basically do things at their own (very slow) pace once you have signed on the dotted line, we were able to to walk away from the contract.

Sensing we were getting cold feet, they refused to give us the information they should have, they just ignored us, hoping we would just go along with their process. Thanks to advice from Which? Legal we eventually got our substantial deposit back, though we had to endure their threats of court action when they suspected we didn't know the correct legal basis for our claim.

Once we demonstrated that we knew the correct legal arguments and how to use the small claims court they immediately refunded our money and said they would not be taking any further action. It really demonstrated to me how knowledge is power.

[charlestonchaplin]

jpower can you clarify when this happened? As Peter says, if recently you can still cancel the contract.

[jpower]

Hi - Thank you all for your comments. The appt was on a Saturday, the surveyor was round on Monday, and a call from Zenith approx 4 - 5 days later to advise that the order had gone to the manufacturers. I thought OMG, I can't cancel now - Stupid mistake! I was 2 days out of the cooling off period by the time i'd got advice from friends about what to do, although had called the finance company with my concerns! The contract stated i have 7 days to cancel the contract.
I'm waiting for another call from Trading Standards.

[jpower]

To be fair - I didn't see the 7 day cooling off period small print - even the Money Advise service didn't see it !

[charlestonchaplin]

Which Saturday? Can you give us the exact date? Was it last Saturday or are you talking three months ago? Did they tell you (and especially did they write down anywhere) that they would be processing your order straight away?

[jpower]

End of April the appointment - this has been going on since then! Letter writing, calls, emails ....