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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

in thinking 'Justfab' is a con?

38 replies

hellsbells99 · 30/04/2013 11:58

Not sure if I should be posting this in legal. DD now 16 but was 15 when she ordered some boots through this site a couple of months ago. Everything fine. But she clicked on some more boots a couple of weeks ago, these arrived. She says she didn't understand that she'd actually ordered them as she didn't put in any payment details. I have just phoned to return these - website says good can be returned for refund. BUT apparently not! Apparently by her putting her detaisl in initially to purchase 1st pairs of boots, she has signed up to be a member and they are taking £35 out of her account every month - these are called member credits and can be used to purchase items. She is now apparently £70 in credit (next payment having just been taken out) - that is £70 that has been taken out of her account without her realising. We cannot have a refund. Do I phone trading standards....or just strangle my daughter? Is this the biggest con out? She has as a debit card for an account where she puts in birthday.Xmas money and her very low part-time earnings (£10 per week). AIBU in thinking this is a con??? - please don't be too harsh on me as this is my 1st AIBU. Any advice gratefully received

OP posts:
Original poster
hellsbells99 · 30/04/2013 11:59

sorry for the typos - I am very angry

OP posts:
RooneyMara · 30/04/2013 12:01

contact the bank. I'm not sure what else to suggest but it sounds as dodgy as fuck and they will be happy to cancel any direct debit agreement.

sounds like she was underage anyway for dd to be set up?

ChasingStaplers · 30/04/2013 12:01

Pretty sure if she signed up when she was 15 they can't legally have a contract with her anyway?

Please check this as something similar happened to me (my mum was furious!) and was the case but this was about 20 years ago.

Aside from that, surely distance selling rules apply too?

QuintessentialOHara · 30/04/2013 12:02

It says quite clearly on the website:

GET A PERSONALISED BOUTIQUE ON THE 1ST OF EVERY MONTH
Receive new styles handpicked just for you by our stylist each month
VISIT YOUR BOUTIQUE BY THE 5TH OF THE MONTH
Log into your Boutique and check out your new selections by the 5th of the month. Browse and buy your favourite style. Each JustFab style is only £35.
NO OBLIGATION TO BUY. SKIP ANY MONTH.
If you're not ready to make a purchase, simply Skip The Month by the 5th and you will not be charged. Skip as many months as you'd like. If you do not take action by the 5th, you will be charged £35 for a member credit on the 6th. Each credit can be redeemed for 1 JustFab style, so use it to shop later.

QuintessentialOHara · 30/04/2013 12:04

Your dd has basically signed up to subscribe for new shoes every month, in the same way as other people sign up for magazine subscriptions, or for a graze box.

How old was she when she became a member?

RooneyMara · 30/04/2013 12:04

I just looked it up and their T&C is a mile long.

MumfordandDaughter · 30/04/2013 12:04

Hello.

I used to work as a cashier in a bank years and years ago.

I've forgotten almost everything i was taught, but i'm sure you can go to your bank, give them the name of this debitor and ask them to put a stop to all future payments. Then write to the company JustFab and tell them you've done this.

Because it's card details and not bank details they have, it might be trickier though. Ask your bank for advice. I'm sure you'll have to cancel your card and then get a new one.

I don't think there's much chance of getting that £70 refunded though if it was all in small print about the membership fees.

Ask for the shoes back if she's paid them already!

Also, if she's under 18, i'm certain that a parent's permission would have been needed. If you can say you didn't give permission, there's a chance she could get the money back...

RooneyMara · 30/04/2013 12:05

Bank will deal with it. I am sure the bank will cancel any further payments if you ask them to. Explain that dd is a minor and signed up by mistake.

Original poster
hellsbells99 · 30/04/2013 12:11

Thank you for your advice. She obviously hadn't a clue what she was signing up for. I have just googled this company and there are loads of complaints saying this is a scam. She honestly thought she had signed up to buy a pair of boots not to have £35 taken out of her account every month. We will phone up the bank once she gets home from school - or may go straight into the local branch to ensure it is cancelled straight away.

OP posts:
RooneyMara · 30/04/2013 12:13

yes go in asap. good luck.

MumfordandDaughter · 30/04/2013 12:15

Hellsbells - this is called a recurring payment instead of a direct debit. They can be tricker to put a stop to, but you still have the legal right to do so. Definitely get to the bank and ask for a new card.

Reading their small print, it says that you must be 18+ to buy from JustFab. So long as your dd didn't wrongly input her age, you should be entitled to a full refund.

Original poster
hellsbells99 · 30/04/2013 12:17

Thanks Mumford - I will grill daughter as soon as she gets home from school......and then go to the bank....

OP posts:
NeoMaxiZoomDweebie · 30/04/2013 12:20

It's not a scam it's a marketing trick. A very effective one but one which will garner huge amounts of complaints for exactly the same reason as you are complaining. Teens won't read the small print.

freddiemisagreatshag · 30/04/2013 12:23

She's under 18. She can't legally enter into a contract except for necessaries. Tell them and make them cancel.

Original poster
hellsbells99 · 30/04/2013 12:27

I have just emailed them explaining she is under 18 and asking for a full refund, but I am not holding my breath! The boots that I was arranging to send me are horrible and cheap looking too - just to add to the insult!

OP posts:
freddiemisagreatshag · 30/04/2013 12:30

Hellsbells you have mail Smile

Original poster
hellsbells99 · 30/04/2013 12:32

Thank you freddie - much appreciated! :)

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SlumberingDormouse · 30/04/2013 12:37

I had exactly the same thing with a wine company. I believed (and I like to think I'm an intelligent adult!) that I'd bought a case of wine but in fact I'd signed up for a recurring payment exactly like this one. If I didn't order any wine each month it took money out of my account anyway! Thankfully, I discovered that the money was just sitting in the online account and I could get it back. Leaving wasn't easy (lots of trick screens, emotional blackmail, etc) but I managed it and they did refund my 'subscription' costs in full. Good luck.

ATJabberwocky · 30/04/2013 12:43

In there Terms of Service agreement:

"By placing an order through our Site or using the JustFab VIP Membership Programme, you warrant that:
0.you are legally capable of entering into binding contracts;
0.you are at least 18 years old; and
0.you are the authorised user of the credit or debit card used to access the Services."

"If you are contracting as a consumer, you may cancel a Contract at any time within seven working days, beginning on the day after you received the Products or, in the case of JustFab VIP Membership Programme, beginning on the day we send you a Confirmation Receipt. In this case, you will receive a full refund of the price paid for the Products or the subscription fee in accordance with our Refunds and Exchange Policy below.

To cancel a Contract, you must inform us in writing. You must also return the Products to us immediately, in the same condition in which you received them, and at your own cost and risk. You have a legal obligation to take reasonable care of the Products while they are in your possession. If you fail to comply with this obligation, we may have a right of action against you for compensation"

Sorry for the copy and pasting, but you should be able to cancel her subscription, but I don't think you will be able to claim back the money; however, I would remind them that she wasn't old enough to join/sign a contract and did not have parental permission, and that as a good faith gesture they should return the money, otherwise you will take it further.

Original poster
hellsbells99 · 30/04/2013 12:51

Thanks ATJ - On the phone, they said they would cancel her subscription but not entitled to her money back :(
I am waiting to see if they reply to my email otherwise I will take it further ....and strangle my daughter, although I know she honestly didn't understand this at all.....

OP posts:
Original poster
hellsbells99 · 30/04/2013 12:51

I will also ban her from buying anything online again without supervision!

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HDEE · 30/04/2013 12:54

Why do you keep saying you are going to strangle your daughter? Why are you so cross with her? She's still a child, it was a mistake.

HDEE · 30/04/2013 12:55

You can't ban her from buying online for one mistake! If she is spending her own money, at 16 she can do as she likes. No doubt she will learn from this. Making mistakes is how we all know how to do better in the future.

Original poster
hellsbells99 · 30/04/2013 12:59

didn't say I was going to ban her online - just that it would only be under supervision!!!
I know she has been conned and it is not her fault - but if she had read the conditions at all, she would have noticed the bit about being 'over 18'. ......and this she should have taken notice of! She is not daft but she is a typical teenager. I won't really strangle her - she needs to do her gcses first!

OP posts:
borninastorm · 30/04/2013 13:11

Here is Martin Lewis' (moneysaving expert) tips on how to fight and win re recurring payments on your card:

how to fight recurrent payments

Hopefully this should have some really good advice for you he's normally spot on with his help.

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