To not pay out, and let them take me to court?

[peeved123]

Not sure if I am just being stubborn, or if I should just let it go and move on.

Long story short; I used Lookiero (an online personal shopper service) who send out several items at an agreed interval and you can pay for what you want to keep and send the rest back.

I chose to keep 3 out of 8 items and paid for them. the return label provided was an Evri drop off one, and unfortunately I don't have a drop off point within 3 hours of me (yes, really). I emailed them 3 times asking what I should do and if they could provide and alternative return option. They initially ignored my emails and then I got one saying I had to return by the following day or I would be charge for the full amount (nearly £300!!). I decided I would have to just fork out on a Royal Mail tracked service and posted it the next day.

I have Royal Mail proof it was delivered, and even got an email from Lookiero to say they had received it.

Not long after, however, they said my return was invalid as I didn't use Evri, and that they hadn't receive the parcel. They have been trying to charge my account £278 every week for the last few months despite my attempts at trying to speak to someone to discuss the problem (I've only had generic AI responses). I have blocked the payments through my bank account.

Lookiero have since escalated it to a debt collector. I have gathered all my evidence, which took a long time, and sent it to them. They are continuing to say I owe Lookiero £278 and have added on a £25 fee taking it to over £300. My latest email from the debt collector has said Lookiero will now be starting formal court proceedings because I have not paid. This has been going on since the end of June.

I'm at the point now I just want it to go away, it's really stressing me out and I don't want to go through the court or have it affect my credit score. On the other hand, £300 is a huge amount to me and at this time of year will have a big impact.

What would you do?

YABU - just pay the £300 and consider it a lesson learned
YANBU - keep fighting them and don't let them get away with it

I have already contacted Citizen's advice, Resolver UK and Watchdog.

Sorry that ended up long after me saying I would keep it short.

I'd say keep fighting. You have evidence you sent it so they shouldn't really have a leg to stand on

This is a cautionary tale never to use Lookiero. They received the item back and are still trying to charge you? Fraud.

Keep on fighting, at every point send in a copy of the evidence and timeline. It will be chucked out pretty quickly.

Absolutely don’t let it go. Have you emailed their legal department?

Review them on TrustPilot and anywhere else you can and explain your experience. I think the PR / legal side of this company might reverse direction when they realise how sales have screwed up.

Contact Alice Beer at This Morning! She has an Instagram account. She helps in these kind of situations.

I agree that you'd likely win. I think I'd stick it out. Courts don't generally look favourably on these types of businesses because they are anti-consumer, and they rely on people chickening out at the threat of court.

If you look at Trustpilot reviews you'll see this particular ship sailed some time ago for them!

Honestly, I'm just baffled that anyone thinks this is a service that is missing from their lives.

They have both (Lookiero and the debt collector) basically said they'll no longer engage with me back and forth.....so do I just have to wait for court papers?? It does say in their T&Cs that it MUST be Evri and I have since learned it's because it goes to an Evri returns centre so other couriers can't be processed ...but then why did they send me an email to say they had received it? Why didn't they give me alternative options? Annoyingly, after I had sent it and after they had threatened me with charging me the whole lot if I didn't send it back by the following day, they THEN said they would organise an EVRI collection instead but of course it was too late at that point. The photo as proof of delivery is just in an open door.

I agree you should continue resisting this, It's a basic legal principle that they can only claim for loss that has actually been incurred. As they have their goods back, they have not sustained the damage they claim. Point out to them that, if they take you to court, you will be claiming costs against them when they lose.

I suspect they are bluffing and trying to bully you into paying up. If they do take this to court they will get nowhere.

Yes I've already left a review on Trustpilot and on their socials.

Where I live there are no clothes shops, and I am 3 hours away from the nearest city, so the service sounded appealing and I did like some of the clothes (hence why I kept them) If this incident hadn't occurred with the returns, I daresay I would have used them again.

I’d take this all yhd way. They are chancers.

But they have acknowledged receipt, so all of that is irrelevant. They wanted their goods to be returned to them by a specified date, they acknowledge that they have been returned.

They are saying they didn't actually receive them back though (despite the email....). The debt collector has said that it was just an automated email (but on thier website it says you will be emailed once the return has been processed, so....)

By pass the debt collector and go back to the company, tell them you have proof the items were delivered back to them and escalate as a complaint, if you haven't already. Perhaps you should have used Evri collect to send the parcel back, but nothing wrong with using Royal Mail and if you have their notice of receiving it back they surely have no leg to stand on in court.

Thank you, I'll do that!

The debt collectors are trying to intimidate you into paying. You have evidence they received the returned items, so I don't see how you can possibly be liable for the cost!

I have emailed them all evidence, they just ignore it and just keep coming back to the fact I should have used their specified courier.

We don't have an Evri service here so I don't even know how I would have gone about arranging a collection. They did eventually say they would organise one but of course at that point it was too late.

How do I get the details of their legal department? I have emailed an official complaint but it's just not been taken seriously. I have left a review on Trustpilot, and on their socials.

Ask them for their policy where they say they will not accept returns unless those returns are via Evri.

Agreed. These people are crooks, they won't get anywhere!

I'd wait for the court date for the sheer sport of it. They're just trying it on.

It does say on their website that returns are only accepted through Evri. However it also says that you receive an email when the return has been processed (which I did) suggesting they did receive it and process it.

You could also try Consumer Champions in the Guardian

Thank you I will look into that too

Have you tried Resolver? I believe it should let you email your complaint to the right department within Lookiero. I think Resolver is backed by Martin Lewis.