I am posting this on behalf of my friend Bex, who worked for Ann Summers briefly last year, as I think it needs reporting:

Hello all

As some of you know, I worked for Ann Summers very briefly last year as a party organiser, and it has turned out to be the biggest mistake of my adult life so far...

The basic situation is that Ann Summers are accusing me of owing them money which I do NOT.

On finishing my employment with the company, I was asked to send the demonstration kit back - For those that don't know, this is basically a sample of the catalogue products, valued at around £500, that organisers "rent" from the company to use at parties.

I sent the kit back after a delay (my life revolved around dissertations at the time) when a credit agency became involved threatening legal action for ignoring "repeated" requests for the kit - This is a lie. There was only ONE request for the kit in November 2005.

I sent the kit back in April 2006, expecting this to be the last I would hear from either Ann Summers or the credit agency. I was completely wrong.

Last week I recieved a text message - and I AM being serious - from the credit agency, requesting I call the litigation department. On checking my account on their (extremely shoddy) website, Ann Summers claim that I still owe them £131 which is UNTRUE.

Here's some maths for you - organisers recieve a 30% discount on all merchandise, including the kit. Therefore, whilst the kit's value is actually £500, the organiser only pays £320. On returning the kit, you would assume that the FACE value of the products would be taken into account, NOT the discounted value. You would be wrong. The products have not depreciated 30% in value whilst in my possession. The products I returned were worth £500. Ann Summers claim that this is not the case. Ann Summers could then be accused of committing FRAUD.

The £131 "debt" owed is apparently an extortionate £62 administration fee, plus several months of kit rental payments. This should not be the case.


And now I put this to all of you (or, those of you in the UK):

I know I am not the only ex-organiser to be in this situation. I have asked for advice on another forum, where I have been told that other ex-organisers have been in similar situations, in some cases escalating to baliffs and debt collectors taking their posessions to repay an imaginary "debt". If you know ANYONE who may also be in this situation, PLEASE repost this and help draw people's attention to it.

If an ex-organiser reads this, and wants to get in contact, please add Dominatrix_Bex as a friend, or send her a message, or email Rebecca via:  beautyfiend666@hotmail.com

This situation cannot go unreported. My aim is to get as many similar cases as possible and take this directly to the managers of Ann Summers, and also to alert workers unions and trading standards of their unfair practices.

Please repost this if you know you have an abundance of female friends on your list, some or most of whom live in the UK and may have experience with Ann Summers. I need your help.


Thankyou,

Bex