UNWANTED ITEMS NOW THEY WANT THEIR CASH

[Rainbow]

I will start at the beginning.

Around March 2004 a company came to our daughter´s school selling a set of books and DVD´s. We had only been in Spain a short time and didn´t really speak much Spanish.

A salesman from the company came to our home to sell their items. There were quite expensive but they told us they would help our daughter with her Spanish plus in those days we could afford them.

We were told by the salesman if we didn´t want them when they arrived we could phone him up and he would come back and take them away so we agreed to have a look at them. We had to give our bank details etc.

A week later the books and DVD´s arrived we and our daughter had a look at them but they were much too young for her.

Surprise surprise when we looked at what paperwork we had been left there was no phone number for the salesman. We went to our daughter´s school but there weren´t interested.

We couldn´t contact the salesman who said he would take them away if we didn´t want them.

We thought if we cancelled the direct debit with the bank them someone might contact us. Well sure enough they did but not the salesman the head office. Someone kept ringing up and speaking to us in Spanish (managed to speak to us in English when they were selling to us) My husband told them as best he could that he didn´t understand could they get someone to speak to us in English.

They did get someone to call us who spoke English but he just said we had to pay.

Next a lawyer phoned up and wanted to send us some papers to sign and send back to them but they still wanted their money. We didn´t sign anything else.

Over the next couple of years various people phoned up but we told them we had not wanted these items and had been told we could return them.

Well today 11 years later our daughter went to our mail box to find court papers saying we have to go to court and we have to pay for the items. Today was the last day to appeal but we have been away and only just got back home.

One part of the paperwork states that they meaning us only speak English and don´t speak Spanish, hopefully this will be in our favour.

So what should we do now do we go to court and have to pay the money.

If we don´t go to court what will happen.

Do we have to pay for a lawyer to go with us and why should we.

We still have the box of books and DVD´s and only two of the items were ever opened everything is still wrapped in the cellophone.

Should we turn up at court with the box of items and show the court that we didn´t want as we have only opened one or two of them.

Do companies only have a set amount of time to take us to court.

Any advice please.

[Chica56]

I suggest you contact Citizens Advice Spain dot org . You can sign up for free and then get advice from them.

Presumably after eleven years your daughter is fluent in spanish so she can translate the document you signed to you and then you create your action plan from that.

You dont need a solicitor to go to Court but you do need to contact the Court office and tell them you will need a translator and they will arrange one for you

[costakid]

I know things take forever in Spain but 11 years is a joke. Tell them to foxtrot oscar. Cant see they can have a case but Beach may know different.

[elusive]

Statue of limitations?

[knowal]

FACUA may be some help:
http://www.facua.org/english

[Laslomas]

Statue of limitations?

I believe the Statute of Limitations in Spain is something ridiculous like 15 years! So that will possibly not be much help in this matter. I believe in UK it is 6 years in most cases.

[Rainbow]

Thank you for all the replies. I have checked the dates and it was actually Aug. 2005 on the contract, I thought it was earlier. A photo copy of the companies contract actually has a contact phone number on it which was obviously added at some future date. On our original contract there is no contact phone number. Well I suppose we will see them in court complete with the box of unopened books and dvd´s that we didn´t want and never even opened.

[El Cid]

Statue of limitations?

On most things it is four years, but that only means that if they don't send you a bill you don't have to pay after 4 years. However, if they sent you a bill, then I think they can chase you forever - what they can't do is issue a bill (or fine) after 4 years have elapsed.

Sid

[Rainbow]

Hi El Cid, it isn´t that we didn´t want to pay for the itmes we didn´t want the items. We were told we could receive the items and have a look at them if we didn´t want them we had seven days to contact the salesman and he would come to our house and take them away. It was only after he had delivered them and left that we realised that we didn´t have any contact details for him. Once we looked at the itmes we knew straight away that we didn´t want them. We only opened one book and one dvd all the others are still wrapped in their cellephane wrappers. We will have to see what happens when we have to go to court. Apparently in the paperwork we have just received we should have attended court in 2008 but nobody ever contacted us to let us know.

[knowal]

Next a lawyer phoned up and wanted to send us some papers to sign and send back to them but they still wanted their money. We didn´t sign anything else.

When you say you didn't sign anything else, do you mean you had signed up for the supply of the articles in the first place?
Did you contact the head office of the company to cancel the order when you realised it was unsuitable / unwanted?

[El Cid]

Yes, I appreciate that and you almost certainly have a good case if you choose to pursue it through the courts.

My point was that the statute of limitations didn't seem to apply in this case.

I hope you sort it out as it obviously a scam.

Sid