Have I been scammed? - Registration not been cancelled trick

Hi all,

I've looked around a few tattoo websites recently looking to get a new tattoo. I signed up to one website, http://www.besttattoodesigns.co.uk, which asks for your name, address, DOB, which u have to do in order to look at any pix. I did this, and can't actually remember going on their website afterwards, let alone logging in. (Honestly)

Last Friday I get an email from this company, which is an invoice. It says that basically, my trial period of 7 days has run out, therefore I must like what I see (words to that effect), and to pay up an annual fee of £96 for the service!! This is the only email from the company I have in my inbox, deleted, or junk mail folders! This came as such a complete suprise to me, it was the 1st time I realised Id have to spend ANY money, let alone £96 for something I don't want/require!!

I have emailed them since stating I didn't know there was a fee, that I don't want the service, can't even remember logging into the site after registration, and that I don't have any email from them in my account until now!! Obviously I must have registered as they have my details, but this was the 1st time I honestly knew anything about a fee!! If I had to enter any bank details, payment details etc at the point of registration, I would have known they'd want money at some point and I would've clicked on the X and never returned to the site!!

They've emailed back saying it states clearly on the website about the fee - I have since been back on and would disagree it states clearly there would be a fee...do u guys agree? I made another account so I could get this original registration email from them to look at it and there is no mention of the fee, or that u need to cancel the subscription otherwise u get charged...they send u a PDF with all the details on but they don't mention that in the email and I wouldn't have noticed it either unless they hadn't said about it in one of their emails to me...

So they don't have my bank account details, and I haven't made a payment - Im trying to dispute it, unsuccessfully. What do u guys think, is it my own fault? Or have I been scammed?

I might not be the best one to advise on this, so this is only my opinion. They mention the annual fees here
http://besttattoodesigns.co.uk/terms.php

2. Access to the Online database shall be provided for a term of 12 months, not automatically renewed, upon payment of 96 pounds (including VAT) by the User.

Over 10,000 Tattoo flashes
We have about 10,000 Flash and Motives in our database, in more than 15 different categories, such as Celtic, Tribal, Names, Asian, Biomechanical, Flowers, Chinese Names, Chinese letters, Comic, Cover Up, Dragons, Angel and Devil, Fantasy, Flashes, Photos, Girls, Sacred, Hearts, Indian Spirit, Intimate, Japanese, Monster, Ornaments, Religion, Animals, Skulls, Weapons und many more. You also have the chance to win a 4GB Ed Hardy flash drive!

Terms and Conditions

TERMS AND CONDITIONS BESTTATTOODESEGNS.CO.UK

Whereas

1. NetMedia Systems LTD can be contacted at the following addresses: NetMedia Systems Ltd, 1A Pope Street, London, SE1 3PH, and [email protected]. FAX: +44 203 151 07 16. This email address is protected from spambots and Javascript must be enabled in order to see it.

2. Customer Service is available from Monday to Friday from 9.00 a.m. to 8.00 p.m.

3. The information set out here can be printed via your web browser or copied and pasted into a word processing application at any time, or saved in electronic form on your computer.

4. The contractual conditions set out below are those accepted at the time of signing the subscription service via electronic means.

1. Agreement

1. This document represents the General Conditions of the agreement governing relations between NetMedia Systems LTD (hereinafter "Administrator") and the natural or legal persons (hereinafter: "Participants" or "Users" or “Customers”, both singular and plural having an identical meaning) that use the Internet offers or electronic data transmission services of the Administrator, whose personal data is recorded in the registration form. Such General Conditions (hereinafter “Agreement”) also govern, in addition to use of the website http://www.besttattoodesigns.co.uk, any other domains belonging to such domain that make this offer available. With this Agreement the Administrator offers the subscription service on its site to adult Users only.

2. The preamble and information stated above form an integral part of this Agreement.

2. Service features

1. The service is described in direct correlation with the product offered on the home page of the website http://www.besttattoodesigns.co.uk; it involves online access to a database of over 10,000 tattoo designs found on the aforementioned site. Said designs fall into different categories, forms and sizes and can be viewed using a normal graphic browser compatible with Windows Explorer 5.0 or subsequent versions. The Administrator reserves the right to amend the minimum requirements on the basis of technological and data processing progress without the need to provide Users with an express warning.

2. Access to the Online database shall be provided for a term of 12 months, not automatically renewed, upon payment of 96 pounds (including VAT) by the User.

3. The service is designed and offered as a general purpose product, and is not designed or offered for specific User purposes; Users accept that no software platform, website or data processing service is free from errors or imperfections.

4. The Administrator reserves the right to suspend the supply of the service due to planned or extraordinary maintenance requirements without this representing a breach.

3. Service subscription method

1. The agreement may only be signed in the English language by Adult Users.

2. The Administrator’s Internet offer represents a binding invitation, aimed at the User, to join the subscription service offered on the website http://www.besttattoodesigns.co.uk. By means of due notification, the User shall inform the Administrator of his/her interest in registering on the website http://www.besttattoodesigns.co.uk, providing a declaration that s/he shall adhere to the contractual clauses.

3. The agreement shall become valid once the Administrator has sent a confirmation email following express acceptance of these general conditions.

4. The agreement between the User and the Administrator shall be enforced by carrying out the following (technical) actions:

a.)with a click of the mouse, the User opens the home page, for example, to access a category or link. A data entry window appears in which the User must enter his/her true e-mail address, name, surname, residential address, province, city, post code and date of birth (aware that those who provide false declarations shall be punished according to the penal code and relevant special laws);

b.)the User confirms, by checking a box with the mouse, that s/he has read and accepts the conditions of this agreement and participation in the website http://www.besttattoodesigns.co.uk, with express reference to the unconscionable clauses which are approved separately. The conditions of this agreement can be consulted at any time by clicking on the hypertext link “General Conditions” found on the registration form;

c.)a subsequent click with the mouse on "Register Now" will display the data entered by the User on the screen;

d.)the User now has the possibility to check that his/her details have been entered correctly, answering "Yes" or "No" to the question of whether or not the data entered is accurate. If the answer is "No", the User is sent back to the data entry window page. Changes can be made using both the mouse and the keyboard. Left-clicking on the incorrect data enables the User to overwrite the information provided, or delete it by clicking on the "Delete" button. If data entry is interrupted during this phase the agreement is cancelled;

e.)clicking the button "Register Now" makes the agreement effective from the moment a confirmation e-mail is sent to the address entered by the User in the data entry window. Such communication shall contain, in addition to the general conditions of the agreement and participation and other important information, a unique reference that shall grant the User access to the website http://www.besttattoodesigns.co.uk.

f.) The signing of the agreement with the User is documented electronically. The information hereto, as well as the participation conditions, can be printed directly from the website via the web browser or copied and pasted into a word processing application at any time. A Rich Text Format version of these conditions can also be downloaded from the "RTF" link.

g.) Finally, upon signing the agreement, the User shall receive all the information and participation conditions in text format.

4. Prices and conditions of payment

1. Annual subscription to the website http://www.besttattoodesigns.co.uk costs 96 pounds (including VAT) as specified and advertised at the time of the order.

2. Payment must be made within 5 days from expiry of the trial period of 7 working days from the time of registration, by bank transfer or via Paypal. The methods of payment are specified in the registration confirmation e-mail sent by the Administrator.

3. Once payment has been made a standard invoice shall be issued.

I tried to register, and there was no mentioning whatsoever to the fees or any legal contract , agreement or subscription. Only a small blue link (Terms and Privacy polities).

If I were you, I will ignore them totally. If they continue to send these emails, I will threaten to take a legal action since they haven't send you any confirmation email.

These are the whois details

Domain name:
besttattoodesigns.co.uk

Registrant:
Netmedia Systems Ltd

Registrant type:
Unknown

Registrant's address:
1A Pope Street
London
SE1 3PH
United Kingdom

Registrar:
Key-Systems GmbH [Tag = KEY-SYSTEMS-DE]
URL: http://www.Key-Systems.net

Relevant dates:
Registered on: 13-May-2010
Renewal date: 13-May-2012
Last updated: 13-May-2010

Hope someone with more experience will help you on this

Welcome to Scamwarners by the way

Hi buddy,

Thanks for the welcome, and the reply!

When u say u tried to sign up, did u get a confirmation email to ur email address? This is a copy of the email (as mentioned before I don't think I received one, but I signed up as a different user to get hold of this)

Welcome to Besttattoodesigns.
You can login immediately by going to the following web site:

http://besttattoodesigns.co.uk/activate ... ----------

If necessary, copy the address manually into the address bar of your internet browser.

Your login details are as follows:

User name: ---------------
Password: --------
Important:
Take particular care when entering your user name and password
to ensure sure that there are no spaces and that the password is entered using
the correct upper and lower case characters as shown.

Write down your login information and keep it in a safe place.
**************************************************************
The details supplied to us by you with your registration are as follows:
Name: --------
Street Name and number: ----------
Zip/Postcode City/Town: --------
Email: -------
Date of birth: ---------
**************************************************************
If you have any questions concerning our offer, problems logging in
or if the details provided are incorrect, please email us at:

[email protected]

making sure you remember to quote your client number --------------
**************************************************************
We hope you enjoy using the service provided by Besttattoodesigns.co.uk

Yours sincerely
The Team at besttattoodesign
http://www.besttattoodesigns.co.uk

Absolutely no mention of a fee there, and the next email u receive from them is the invoice saying u owe £96!! I said to them in an email, that if they were an honest company they would send out an email at least a day before stating that unless some sort of action is performed then the fee would take place.

To me this just sounds like an easy way to make money from people.

I have spoken to MSN regarding trying to locate an old/deleted email from them, such as the one I have just quoted, in case I didn't receive one. The fact I don't have one in my inbox means I didn't have the access to their automated password so I couldn't have logged in to cancel my subscription if I wanted to!

After logging in with this new ID, from what I can gather (will copy and paste tomorrow) in order to cancel the subscription with them u need to fax them!! Why can't I do it via email?!

They don't have my bank details, but have my home address. They say in order to stop fake detail abuse (because let's face it I could type in any details and just ignore the emails and never reply) they have logged my IP address.

Getting slightly worried about this, been scammed from something similar before. If I ignore them, surely they can take legal action?

Thanks for the response

Hi V-Dubstar
I'm not a legal expert, so I'm afraid I can't be of a much help in this area.
But from what I read, you don't owe them anything since they didn't mention any fees in their emails. I didn't register, just pretended to be interested and tried to join to see if their so-called agreement obvious to normal customers.
It wasn't, so if it were me I will just forget about them. The headache of hiring a debt collection agency to collect the hidden, not clear 96 pounds will be too much hassle for them. Also, if you try to use a proxy and register with them, how they're going to reach you? a court order to the obtain your ip from the proxy server? I doubt it considering their unclear practises to have your money in the first place.

In my opinion , they are just a new company who follow aggressive and devious methods to trick vulnerable customers into paying them. I don't think these practises will last long though

Again, it's just my opinion, hope it helps

To add...

The domain registration points to a company registered in the UK as follows:-

NETMEDIA SYSTEMS LIMITED
1A POPE STREET
LONDON
UNITED KINGDOM
SE1 3PR
Company No. 06980123

Status: Active
Date of Incorporation: 04/08/2009

Country of Origin: United Kingdom
Company Type: Private Limited Company
Nature of Business (SIC(03)):
7487 - Other business activities
Accounting Reference Date: 31/08
Last Accounts Made Up To: (NO ACCOUNTS FILED)
Next Accounts Due: 04/05/2011
Last Return Made Up To: 04/08/2010
Next Return Due: 01/09/2011

There are a number of things wrong here:-

The website does not contain any details of the company behind it. No postal address, no phone numbers, nothing. This is not how British businesses operate. They do NOT hide their details. [RED FLAG]

The website was registered 13-May-2010 for the minimum allowed perod for a .co.uk (2 years). [RED FLAG]

The site was registered through a GERMAN registrar. One would expect a UK Limited company to register using a BRITISH registrar. [RED FLAG]

The website nameservers point to the following domain: best-hosting.ru, hosted on IP 85.192.33.16 by Best Hosting Llc in Moscow, Russian Federation. [HUGE HONKING ALARM BELLS]

Look at the registration page:-
http://besttattoodesigns.co.uk/register/register.php

By registering you take out a paid subscription at the cost per end-user of only 8.- pounds, including vat, for a duration of 12 months and with an advance annual charge. The annual contribution of 96.- pounds shall be charged once a year in advance, and must be settled within 5 days from receipt of invoice.

Without postal address verification there is nothing that there perpetrators can do.

Opinion? RUSSIAN FAKE WEBSITE USING THREAT TACTICS TO OBTAIN MONEY.

It is a scam. 100% Guaranteed.

Yes this is defo a scam - I have also been stung by this as well - not actually paid mind - but I have managed to find a bit more detail about who's behind this.

They guy's name is Vincenzo Salvia and his address is:

Via Gravina N73
Trappeto
Italy
900400

and his facebook page if you'd like to contact the man is:

http://www.facebook.com/people/Vincenzo ... 1588470360

and if you'd like to leave feedback on Norton Safesearch about the scam you can do so at:

http://safeweb.norton.com/report/show?u ... s.co.uk%2F

Good Luck

We don't normally educate scammers but when it involves teaching them the law, we make an exception.

Tell him to go and .............. download this

http://www.oft.gov.uk/shared_oft/business_leaflets/general/oft698.pdf

If you sell goods or services to consumers by:

* the internet
* digital television
* mail order, including catalogue shopping
* phone
* fax

then you need to know about the Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000.

The key features of the regulations are:

* you must give consumers clear information including details of the goods or services offered, delivery arrangements and payment, the supplier's details and the consumer's cancellation right before they buy (known as prior information)
* you must also provide this information in writing
* the consumer has a cooling-off period of seven working days.

He hasn't completed his legal obligations, and you can point out that when he does, you'll cancel as you have the legal right to do so under UK law. If he bothers you, you can just tell him that you are taking advantage of your right under UK Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000 to cancel your registration and that you are retaining a copy of your mail for the record.

He cannot enforce his claim under UK law. It's a try on because he knows that no one would pay up front, so what he can't get honestly he's trying to get by deception.

but I have managed to find a bit more detail about who's behind this.

How did you link the scam to this person in Italy?

Because it's registered as a Limited Company so I paid £1 to get the details of the owner of the company at Companies House online - it's his name and address as registered and the same name mentioned on the website.

One note mind I wouldn't be getting to balshy with him as the address is Sicilian!!

EJ

Sicilians are no match for angry mobs of internet users.

Nice move on the Company details, I hadn't even considered looking in there. Now I have there's an entry in the list of documents...
"Document CH01 22/10/2010 DIRECTOR'S CHANGE OF PARTICULARS / VINCENZO SALVIA / 01/08/2010"

I like.

I'm so glad I found this thread! I've been having exactly the same problem since i registered on the 23rd thinking it was some sort of mailing list. Icame to the same conclusion that it was a scam pretty quickly after I got the random phantom Invoice for £96.
I've had quite a fiesty email exchange with this guy since then but haven't been able to get anywhere at all. He just ends every email with, "please pay the invoice within 5 days"!
So I think now I'm just going to leave it after what all of you have said...Don't see that there's anything he can do.

I wonder how many people actually paid up!

I know what you mean with wondering how many people have paid up - I work in teh finance industry and if I get money troubles it's a black marj against me for getting a job - so there's staright away a temptation to pay it just to get it off my back but I'm not gonna let someone take advantage ofthat - anyhow I think we could get them undrthe trade description act - it's say's there's 1,000's of designs - whereas theres only about a a dozen pretty rubbish designs for each category...

I think that mentioning it on Norton safe search has made matter worse mind, since I lodged a comment about the site norton's obviously scanned it and has given it a clean bill of health as there's no viruses on it - so anyone with norton will think it's a bona fide site!!

EJ

Guys thanks so much for all the replies and help!! So glad I found this site!!

I haven't had an email back from him in 2 days now, and as u say jkw268, all he ends with is "Please pay the invoice within 5 days" - just don't get anywhere with him!!

The only thing I am worried about slightly though, is that I didn't use any false information when signing up - I mean I doubt he's gonna come over from Italy and bust me up for £96, but I just feel a bit uneasy about it as my GF lives here too...

GomerPyle, u quoted this:

* you must give consumers clear information including details of the goods or services offered, delivery arrangements and payment, the supplier's details and the consumer's cancellation right before they buy (known as prior information)
* you must also provide this information in writing
* the consumer has a cooling-off period of seven working days.

But would u guys say he has given us clear information regarding the payment from the website? If u go to it, click on 'members', there's a little box with very small writing compared to the rest of the text on that page saying that:

By registering you take out a paid subscription at the cost per end-user of only 8.- pounds, including vat, for a duration of 12 months and with an advance annual charge. The annual contribution of 96.- pounds shall be charged once a year in advance, and must be settled within 5 days from receipt of invoice.

But is it ok because he hasn't stated about cancelling it? That's what Im worried about...

BTW, nice avatar GomerPyle!!

10. Administrator’s Rights and Duties

3. The Administrator shall maintain a database with no fewer than 10,000 (ten thousand) tattoo designs or a number stated in the website offer.

theres only about a a dozen pretty rubbish designs for each category...

I'm not from the UK and no legal expert but based on what GomerPyle linked and the above I'd say he hasn't got a leg to stand on if he wants to demand money. As I see it he just wants to scare people into paying.

Yeh I've just been on to count the number of pix in each category, and they range from 50-100 in each, and there's about 20 categories maybe...ha!