Mark L.

We signed up to QSL Tenders in October 2011 on their 'free trial'. Having had a quick look at their site there didn't appear to be anything on offer that you couldn't get for free elsewhere.

One of my colleagues emailed QSL to cancel the subscription but the email was ignored. No response was received.

QSL then invoiced our company once the trial period had expired, charging us for a full years subscription at £695 (inc VAT). We objected to this as we had put in writing that we wished to cancel.

QSL continued to request payment, we continued to object and they eventually called in a debt collection agency called Debtco One Ltd, (registered office: Tiverton Road, Loughborough, Leicestershire) who added on a further £169 ($265) in fees making the total £864.

Through negotiation with Debtco we managed to get this down to £216 and paid off QSL/Debtco without taking it to court.

Having spoken to other QSL 'Customers'/victims it seems that the case has been thrown out of court (it goes to a County Court/Small Claims Court) in the past. One I spoke to said: 'the judge passed the case in our favour saying that the terms and conditions on their website were confusing and therefore not legally binding.'

So the lessons - don't get caught by this scam. It is probably just about legal but worth challenging hard and taking to court if you have the time and inclination. This is my opinion though and you should make your own decision!