08443573311

have you contacted trading standards

Did you ever fill in any details on their website before you got the invoice?

Hi all! I have just started a new thread on MSE stating the FACTS as they have happened to me. The only way this thread will be closed down is if people are abusive and make defamatory remarks about TAPA. So if you want to post, please can you make sure  you keep to the facts so we can perhaps help people in similar situations to go to the right places for help. Ta - I'll get off me soap box now!

Well done Lizzie. Interesting to see if they close it down or not!!!

Thanks Bill - time will tell. Watch this - or that - space!

or even the other one.....!!!!

i did fill in the form on their website, but that was before they put costs anywhere visible. and i contacted trading standards when i first received a call from mr irvine - they told me to ignore them

Same in my case. Did you write a letter of cancellation sent by recorded delivery/email cancellation quoting the distance Selling regulations which give you 7 working days (after receipt of the printed documents)? TAPA will claim that it is 7 days after you complete their online form which is incorrect.
That is what TS checked that I had done.

no i didn't - i was told just to ignore them. wish i took the blokes name now because it was months ago and i can't remember much about it at all

i don't think i ever received any printed documents from them at all until i asked him to send me any paperwork he had on me, which was a very suspect looking invoice and nothing else

When did you receive the invoice? If that's the only paperwork you've had then you've had nothing about terms and conditions in a durable form, unless you had an email from them detailing the terms and conditions.

In my initial threatening phone conversation from Irvine, he claimed that I had received an email with details of the contract but I didn't. I only ever got an auto mail to say that they had received my online form. I had no notification of charges until the printed contract arrived by post with a payment form.

they should be added to this list
http://www.mpsonline.org.uk/tps/news1.html

Quite right Mike. Perhaps if we all emailed the address given, they will take some notice.

received the invoice a couple of months ago with the t's & c's attached but didn't do anything with it because it was just so badly composed - i didn't and still don't believe any professional outfit would want to print something so shoddy, even if it is just a bill.

like phil142 - i received an email saying 'welcome to the club' when i first filled the online form in (still have it - dated June), but it didn't mention any fees, it was purely a generic 'welcome' email.

received a letter from them yesterday afternoon (15th, postmarked the 12th with a 2nd class stamp), saying they're going to take me to court if i haven't paid them by the 14th!

so we'll see... the whole thing just stinks of scam, from the very first phone call demanding payment

keep us posted. Seems to be their common tactic of sending things late so it arrives after their so called cut of date. I should imagine that TAPA would never want to go anywhere near a court of law as they would just be ripped apart

will do - it's not like i'm losing sleep over it. my timeline of events:

June: signed up to a website where there is no mention of payment. received an email saying 'welcome', again no mention of payment.

August: first phone call from Chris Irvine. Conversation as follows:

i remember being told 'you should have received our welcome pack with a page for payment details'

'no'

'well payment is overdue'

'i didn't sign up for anything'

'you ticked a box on our website agreeing to pay, we're taking you to court if you don't' (pretty much threatened straight away with court!)

'there was no mention of payment on your website or the email i received once i signed up'

'well its there in black and white if you look now'

'i deal with the website at the firm i work for - takes 5 minutes to upload a little change like adding a cost to something. good bye mr irvine'

checked their address out - 27 old gloucester is a remailing address in London. their VAT number is valid but the guy on the phone who told me it was valid said 'doesn't mean the business is legit'. Contacted TS just in case, they said they have received loads of calls about TAPA recently and they are just advising people to ignore them. i warned my accounts dept about this shady business and they said if he calls again pass him through to them who should be able to pick holes in his story

next call in Sept: 'i'll put you through to accounts'

'i can only speak to you about it'

i said 'well strange as it may seem, my accounts department deal with payments'

'well i'm afraid you signed up so i can only speak to you about it or you could sue me for breach of confidentiality. oh and by the way - we only accept credit card payment'

'well that's us sh*t out of luck isn't it - i don't hold a company credit card'

'you have to pay'

'send me anything you have with me agreeing to pay you anything'.

late Sept/early Oct received very shoddy invoice and badly photocopied t's and c's with a little ticked box saying 'i agree to the terms'.

ignored all other calls from hidden numbers since this call.

7 Nov: received email to a name i don't know for a different amount to what they are trying to scam me with threatening court if i don't pay by 14th

10 minutes later - received email (claiming sent by email and post) addressed to me for the correct amount they are trying to scam me out of threatening court if i don't pay by 14th. SAME reference number as the previous email.

15th Nov: received the letter through the post (postmarked 12th Nov, so there was no rush in sending it) backing up the email claim - 'take you to court if you don't pay by 14th'


Does ANY of the above sound how a legitimate company would act??

Absolutely not - but very reminiscent of the 2 conversations I had with Mr Irvine! He seems to mention court right at the beginning of the conversation - even before you've said you're not paying! Your situation is a little different from some of ours, in that we wrote cancellation letters within 7 days after receiving the pack, so we had the Distance Selling Regulations supporting us. (In my case I cancelled even though I don't remember ever filling in a registration form!) It will be interesting to see what happens next with you as it seems to be your word against theirs as to whether or not you received the 'welcome' pack. Keep us posted!

I was fooled by the TAPA website, so I signed up to what I thought was a free service. No where did it state that I would be charged for their service. I received their pack about 2 weeks after I signed up. To be honest what made me suspicious was the daft certificate of instruction that was in there, like if I receive a tele-marketing call I can show them that? And the shoddy invoice saying I owed them £39.95. I decided there and then I was not paying. A couple of days later a man from Tapa left a message on my answer machine saying that my payment was over-due and could I ring him back on a mobile number and pay them. I ignored them again but had a lot of messages left from mobile, with-held, unavailable and the 08443573311. I just did not answer my phone if any of those numbers popped up. On the 3/11/11 I was caught unawares and answered a with-held number. It was Tapa, the man said I had to pay £39.95 over the phone and I could use a valid visa or debit card. I told him I was not in the habit of giving my bank details over the phone to someone I didnt know. I also told him I was mis-led into thinking the service was free and that I had cancelled the agreement as soon as the paperwork came through. And that I had registered with TPS for free. He then asked had I done it with-in 7 days and I said I had as my 7 days started as soon as I received their paperwork. I told him I was sick of being harassed by them that I was not paying them a single penny. He said I still owed them because of the costs they had incurred. I just put the phone down. I since have had 4 more phone calls and I am just ignoring them. I have had no e-mails or invoices  through the post demanding payment as you would expect to get from a legitimate company. I have informed Trading Standards, TPS and OFT. I am not worried in the slightest about being threatened with court action by these cowboys, because I have done nothing wrong. I am however annoyed that this company thinks it can intimidate and harass people into paying for a service that you can get for free. They should be stopped!

"Costs that they had incurred" is a new one. You could simply point out that if they had followed the law and made their charges clear on their online form, they would not have incurred any costs. They have brought it upon themselves. My local TS has rung me today. They are going to contact Cheshire TS to find out if an investigation is still in process.