'chelle
Well-Known Member
Ok I know this is re my business loan, but I'm putting this in chit chat because it's not really the business aspect of this I want to talk about. Please can you geeks give me an honest opinion as to whether you think I'm being reasonable with the following dispute:
I'll condense this as much as I can:
I have a business loan from the Chamber of Commerce. As a condition of this loan I have to participate in a mentoring programme, this consists of a business advisor coming to see me once a month, I get 2 hours per month and for this I pay £50 plus VAT per month (in addition to the loan repayment).
Basically, the business advisors are slack. I have to constantly ring them and chase them to find out when they are coming to see me, when they do come they are worse than useless, they have no specific knowledge of the nail industry, and in all they are a waste of space.
Last month, a business advisor did not contact me or arrange to see me, yet their bill for mentoring in November still arrived with me promptly. This bill was due out of my account by direct debit at the end of this week. I've tried to contact them by phone to discuss this but no one called me back. I went to the bank today to cancel the direct debit and rang them to tell them what I've done and why.
Miraculously, someone called me back within the hour. I was told that the loan contract states that I must participate in the mentoring programme and that as such if I cancel the direct debit I'm in default on the loan (I'm not - the loan is up to date and that direct debit is still in place). He said that whether I get mentoring or not, I still have to pay the bill, and that is purely based on the contract saying I have to participate in the mentoring programme.
Here's my view: participating means receiving and paying for mentoring. By them not delivering the mentoring they are in breach of the agreement anyway, and they cannot reasonably expect me to pay for their breach of agreement. I notice that in the contract, if I receive more than 2 hours mentoring a month, they can charge me for it, but they are telling me that if I receive any less than 2 hours it's tough I still have to pay for it.
Thing is, I used to be a legal executive, employment law was my area and this ties very closely in with contract law and I feel very confident that I have a good case. I'm very tempted to stick to my guns, let them default the agreement and let it go to court so that I can get this resolved legally. Of course, if in the meantime they agree that I shouldnt pay for what I dont receive that would be great, but they havent exactly played fair so far so I dont expect them to start doing.
What does everyone think? Am I being reasonable? What would you do?
I'll condense this as much as I can:
I have a business loan from the Chamber of Commerce. As a condition of this loan I have to participate in a mentoring programme, this consists of a business advisor coming to see me once a month, I get 2 hours per month and for this I pay £50 plus VAT per month (in addition to the loan repayment).
Basically, the business advisors are slack. I have to constantly ring them and chase them to find out when they are coming to see me, when they do come they are worse than useless, they have no specific knowledge of the nail industry, and in all they are a waste of space.
Last month, a business advisor did not contact me or arrange to see me, yet their bill for mentoring in November still arrived with me promptly. This bill was due out of my account by direct debit at the end of this week. I've tried to contact them by phone to discuss this but no one called me back. I went to the bank today to cancel the direct debit and rang them to tell them what I've done and why.
Miraculously, someone called me back within the hour. I was told that the loan contract states that I must participate in the mentoring programme and that as such if I cancel the direct debit I'm in default on the loan (I'm not - the loan is up to date and that direct debit is still in place). He said that whether I get mentoring or not, I still have to pay the bill, and that is purely based on the contract saying I have to participate in the mentoring programme.
Here's my view: participating means receiving and paying for mentoring. By them not delivering the mentoring they are in breach of the agreement anyway, and they cannot reasonably expect me to pay for their breach of agreement. I notice that in the contract, if I receive more than 2 hours mentoring a month, they can charge me for it, but they are telling me that if I receive any less than 2 hours it's tough I still have to pay for it.
Thing is, I used to be a legal executive, employment law was my area and this ties very closely in with contract law and I feel very confident that I have a good case. I'm very tempted to stick to my guns, let them default the agreement and let it go to court so that I can get this resolved legally. Of course, if in the meantime they agree that I shouldnt pay for what I dont receive that would be great, but they havent exactly played fair so far so I dont expect them to start doing.
What does everyone think? Am I being reasonable? What would you do?