to tell you to cancel Next Directory or pay £3.75

[greencatseyes]

Just got email from Next saying they are 'delighted' to tell me that hey have 'reserved' me a copy of their directory.

Buried three paragraphs down it says

"However, if you would like to cancel your Directory order, which is only £3.75 for both Fashion and Home, please let us know by calling 0800 107 8978 quoting your SelfServe PIN xxxxxxxxx before 29th November 2013. "

So you have to actually telephone them and key in an ELEVEN digit pin to not be charged £3.75

UNLIKE

thank you - i had this email and had skimmed it, now re-read it and cancelled the directory

Has anyone contacted trading standards? This looks suspiciously like inertia selling to me, which is illegal - sending someone unsolicited goods and charging them unless they take steps to refuse.

Lurcio.. that's a really good term - inertia marketing. I don't have the time to do the trading standards thing - I've wasted enough ringing them. I never ring companies unless I absolutely have to ;-)

I cancelled mine six months ago and still got the email

I cancelled mine a while ago. I don't want a catalogue that goes straight in recycling bin and took god knows how many trees to make.
I don't want an account. I want to pay upfront.

Im fuming to have received this email today too. Just rang them to be told 'its because you are a new customer' (ive had my account for about 5 years!)

Told them I wanted it raised as a complaint as they obviously arent in control of their data. Am sure I wont get a response!

They have charged £3.75 (previously £3) for years - I used to have a catalogue many years ago pre-internet shopping and I didn't mind paying as it was the cost of a glossy mag every 6 months and you could see the whole range (even feel fabric swatches in the very old days!). They always send notification before the new catalogue of the charge, so not exactly an unfair charge, although I can't see whay anyone actually buys the catalogue these days unless they don't have web access or have v slow/unreliable connection

I ordered online from them once and got landed with the stupid book I hadn't asked for. Managed to get the cost waived, but it was such a faff I demanded to be removed from their mailing lists and I won't be ordering from them again.

Surely if a customer places their first order online, that's a pretty good indication of the way they like to do their shopping. Someone should inform them it's not 1983.

Thanks for the heads up as I probably wouldn't have read the e-mail properly otherwise. I've also cancelled the catalogue - cheeky buggers!

Housemum you have always been able to opt out of receiving the directory though, which I did when I set up my account and have never received one or been charged for one until I got this email today. Its a new sneaky marketing tactic dressed up as something that has always happened, when this is definitely not the case.

Ah, I get it - that is damn sneaky as I frequently see emails from companies I have shopped with and delete them straight away if I am not ordering anything

Same here. I opted out of receiving the Directory but still got the e-mail today. If it hadn't have been for this thread, I wouldn't have bothered reading the email they sent as I have recently been through the rigmarole of paying off the account I never wanted but had to have just to order online so figured it was just advertising.

Thanks for this thread - I had moved & the new tenants at my old address have been enjoying a catalogue I paid for!

I went online, got them to do a call back & cancelled any further books. Many thanks OP!