By accepting the terms of a website, I have unwittingly agreed to their contract of business. Is there any way out of this? The firm is Platte International Ltd, and their trap is getfilmsnow.com. Or should I just pay the £30 and walk away? Name withheld
I've looked at the site. It tells you what the deal is up front, and you can cancel during the trial period. You are not billed until day four of your monthly subscription, which seems fair -- always assuming cancellation works properly and the site's invasive software is removed. The terms and conditions are explicit, and they are spelled out here, so it's up to the buyer to beware.
Some readers may already know that Platte Media has taken over our old "friends" at MBS (What MBS did after popups for porn: films ... with popup bills, March 27). MBS took a very unpleasant approach to making sure it got paid, by repeatedly putting intrusive popups on the user's screen. This approach has been reviewed by the Office of Fair Trading, which has not done anything to stop it (OFT accepts undertakings from Micro Bill Systems Ltd).
This reader responded: "I have paid Platte their £30 and they have removed their software, but I have to say that I found reading their terms so disquieting and downright sinister that I will not be able to relax for months."
There is an MBS Victims Forum, but the best approach is not to become a victim. Remember, clicking a download button can be hazardous to your wealth.
