Creditsafe.com - a word of warning and a bit of free advice DO NOT USE THEM!!!!!.

If you are minding your own business at your office - and a company called 'Creditsafe' from Caerphilly in Wales rings you - just tell them "no thanks" and put the phone down again. By doing so, it will save you well over a thousand pounds – as well as your sanity.

Creditsafe.com are a company that give out company ratings, assessing company risks etc. I don't have a problem with that - however, after the first year (which cost us around £150) I decided not to renew the subscription.

However, Creditsafe.com have just invoiced us for over £1,100 for another year’s subscription - virtually an 8 FOLD increase from year 1.

This morning, we received a bill for the princely sum of £1,128 - in spite of us telling them by phone 3 times, by letter and email that we longer want the 'service' and didn’t want to renew the subscription. Unfortunately, 'Robert', the guy who rang me a couple of months ago to ask if I wanted to renew failed to tell me that I had to 'opt out' otherwise I would be automatically signed up again. Robert also failed to tell me that the new charge would be 8 times what it cost last year. As I left it, Robert was happy with my decision not to renew – and gave me the impression that was an end of the matter. Don’t you just love people like Robert?

In our opinion, they are in business purely to bully people into giving them money. During my last and somewhat testy conversation with 'Julie’ from their 'retention staff' - she immediately offered to bring the year's bill down from £1,100 to 300 quid..... In my opinion, it was a clear bid to get me to re-sign up on the grounds that I was getting some sort of bargain – and of the relief of not paying over a thousand..

I told her it was all about principles and scruples - at that point she slammed the phone down on me. I guess she had a problem with those 2 words – maybe she didn’t know what they meant?…….

I can only speak from experience - and my experience with Creditsafe of Caerphilly has been a bloody awful one. It is a useful service, BUT there are plenty of others that provide that service as well - if I were you, I would choose anyone but Creditsafe.com of Caerphilly. You’ll keep your money – and your sanity as well.

Understandably, we are not happy - and are about to talk to the various authorities about the appalling business practices of Creditsafe.com from Caerphilly. It's time someone took a stand at this outrageous attempt to extort money out of unsuspecting companies.

Sorry to go on everyone, but I hate these cruddy companies that try every trick in the book to filch cash off you.

So be warned – ‘Creditsafe.com of Caerphilly’ - avoid them at all costs….. I wish we had never heard of them.