Dear Mr Chatfield Following our telephone conversation earlier with reference to Investors in Time here are the details of my father, Mr R W Bootman's, dealings with this company.
Fairly soon after receipt of your journal in mid January my father ordered 3 coins, at £285. When ordering these coins he offered his credit card number, but was asked for his debit card number, with the result that the money was taken directly from his current account. Before he received these coins the company contacted him on the telephone and encouraged him to buy a further coin for £250, which he did on 17.1.05. He received these four coins and says he had no further contact with Investors in Time before 12 coins arrived with a bill for £1200, on 12.2.05.
After the 12 coins arrived my father decided to buy 3 of them and returned 9 to the company, using Recorded Delivery, ensuring next day delivery, this was on 15.2.05. In this package he included a request for reimbursement of the outstanding £900. This payment arrived in the form of a cheque on
11.3.05, that is almost 1 month later.Meanwhile my father had no further contact with Investors in Time until, on receiving his bank statement for February he noticed a withdrawal by them from his current account of a further £900. After this he contacted the company requesting that they return this money in addition to the £900 for the returned coins. He has spoken to them on the telephone on several occasions since, and has indeed been told that the cheque for the second sum of £900 was ready to post. Unfortunately that cheque did not arrive, and no payment for the second £900 has been received.
This afternoon I contacted Investors in Time on behalf of my father, and they claim that he agreed to buy £900 worth of coins which were not available at that time. My father has no recollection at all of any such agreement, and has been unable to get the company to send back his money, which they have had for 6 weeks.
On contacting the company this afternoon I have spoken to 3 different people, and finally spoke to the Accounts Director who assures me that a cheque for £900 will be with my father tomorrow morning.
We await events!
Thank you for your interest and help, and I hope that you manage to get to the bottom of this.
Christine Scantlebury