Advice required for possible action against Cashback company

[krakan]

Afternoon folks.

 

First off, I can only assume that this is the most sensible place to be posting this thread, but do pleae move it if I'm wrong. Secondly, I'm only going to be quite vague initially because I don't want to be giving anything away I shouldn't be.

 

Anyway, here's the story.

 

Last year I signed up with a cashback website. Since then, I have earned quite a lot of cashback through them, to the point where the total of my 'pending' and 'confirmed' transactions had passed £2500. This was done via a multitude of merchants, including but not limited to a ringtone offer which was rather popular accross the cashback sites at the time, many Computer component purchases, and assorted gambling sites too (plenty of others too, but they were the major ones)

 

In April this year I found myself unable to log on to the website. I sent a query, and was told:

 

We've actually had a complaint from a merchant that they have been

experiencing abuse through your ******** account where large transactions

have been made and then cancelled solely in order to gain cashback.

 

We're waiting on further details and in the meantime your account has

been blocked.

 

Regards,

 

Basically, that's utter rubbish. I have returned ONE order that I placed through this site, because I'd ordered it in error. It was a computer game, it cost about twenty quid and would've earned me a few pennies in cashback.

 

Additional to this, I had placed a few large-ish orders through the cashback site, but I hadn't cancelled any of them, nor do I (did I) have any intention of cancelling them. In fact, my account was frozen months before the cashback was due anyway, so it wasn't even possible for me to do what they've accused me of.

 

I have tried communicating with them but to no avail. The company who complained, have been less than helpful. I contacted them (on the advice of the cashback site) asking if they could clarify their complaint. The simply said that because my account was with ***** they could not comment.

 

What should my next steps be? Clearly this cashback site is now witholding cashback of over £2,500 based on a ludicrous claim by a merchant that I had commited fraud. Despite repeated attempts and requests for details of what I am accused of doing, none has been forthcoming. Cynical though it may appear, I am concerned that the site in question has decided that they'll get a good deal more money by freezing my account and keeping the cash than by paying up.

 

My current train of though leads me to the following chain of events:

 

DPA SAR letter to the merchant who complained about me, in order to get details of what was said to the cashback company.

 

DPA SAR letter to the cashback company, in order to get some idea what the basis for their position is.

 

Possible claim against them in court, for breach of contract (They promised to pay me cashback received and are refusing to do so.) As it's under £5000 and is a contrat dispute, am I right in thinking that this would be allocated to the small claims track?

 

Posible claim for Libel against retailer if they have made accusations of Fraud when none has been commited?

 

I don't really know the best course of action, this is a lot of money to me and all the transactions are genuine. It is only because I made some large DVD purchases that it has been assumed I'm a fraudster, but there is NO evidence for this! (because it isn't true, but also because my account was frozen before I'd received cashback and I haven't to this day cancelled any orders.)

 

Thank you so much for any useful advice guys!

 

Chris

[krakan]

*bump*

 

Anyone? Anyone at all?