Your Which? membership The following terms apply to anyone becoming an online member of Which?.

They apply in addition to our general terms. If you are purchasing access to consumer advice from Which? Legal Services as part of your Which? membership bundle, then please make sure you have also read and understood the Which? Legal Service terms (below) that apply to this service.

If you have any questions, then please give our Customer Services Team a call and they will be happy to help you.

Which? Membership Terms

1. Your membership

Different membership bundles: We will often offer you the opportunity to purchase a bundle of Which? products and services at a discount to their standard price. As you’d expect, these offers will change from time to time, and we have no obligation to keep any offer open for a certain length of time.

Trial or special offer periods: We will often offer you a trial period at the start of your membership or a longer term special offer subscription rate. The length and cost of any trial or offer will vary from time to time, but full details will always be made available at the time of your application. However, please be aware that we will only offer you one trial or special offer subscription in any 12 month period.

At the end of your trial or offer period, your membership will continue automatically at the standard rate unless you tell us otherwise during your trial. Soon after you register with us, we will write to you to confirm when your trial or offer period starts and ends, and that if we don’t hear that you want to cancel by the end of this period, your subscription will continue at the standard rate previously notified to you. You may cancel your subscription at any time during your trial or offer period by emailing which@which.co.uk or calling us on 01992 822800.

Paying for your membership: If you are taking advantage of one of our trials or special offers, you will pay in full for the relevant trial or offer period in advance. Similarly, when your trial/offer period ends and your membership continues as a monthly subscription, we will collect your payments each month in advance. Full details of the cost and your payment dates will be provided to you during the registration process.

You can pay using most credit and debit cards (including Amex) and all such payments will be subject to validation checks and authorisation by the card issuer. If the issuer of your card refuses to authorise payment to us, then we will not be able to confirm your order and no contract will exist between us. We will usually collect your monthly subscriptions by setting up a direct debit or continuous payment authority.

You may change your membership at any time, but please be aware that the full monthly cost of a bundle is less than the aggregate cost of some or all the individual goods and services. If you are thinking of cancelling one or more elements of your bundle, then please contact us to discuss the most appropriate option for you.

Your membership details: We will try and provide your membership details (username, password and user ID code) as soon as possible after your application has been received. Where you have chosen a specific username, we will try to honour your choice, but this won’t always be possible, and sometimes we may offer you an alternative.

2. Cancellation

You may cancel your membership at any time by emailing which@which.co.uk or calling us on 01992 822800. Your cancellation will take effect from the day before your next payment would have been due, unless you request an earlier date. Please be aware that for monthly subscriptions we are unable to provide refunds in respect of periods of less than 1 month and, where you are taking advantage of a longer term special subscription rate, we are unable to provide refunds in respect of your initial payment (either in whole or in part).

Please be aware that because your membership can be used immediately, you do not have the statutory cooling off period during which you may cancel your membership without charge.

3. Other important things you need to know

Please keep your membership details confidential to help us maintain the security of our websites. You should not allow any other person to obtain access to Which? Online using your membership details.

Re-instating your membership. If you’ve had a Which? subscription within the last 12 months, please remember that you will not be entitled to another trial subscription, although you are of course welcome to re-instate your subscription at the standard rate.

If we need to change the price of your membership, we will always provide you with at least 6 weeks notice. If, as a result, you decide to change or cancel your membership, please let us know so we can amend your records accordingly.

What happens if you don’t comply with these terms? We will treat any non-compliance as a serious issue, and if we think you have breached any of these terms, we may take any action that we consider appropriate. This may include the temporary or permanent suspension of your access to our websites.

If we don’t comply with these Terms we will be happy to compensate you for any loss you suffer as a direct result of up to £100 each time.

Which? Legal Service Bundle Terms

1. What we will do for you

Consumer Law Advice: Our team of qualified lawyers will provide telephone legal advice to individuals relating to general consumer issues (excluding holiday or travel related issues) arising within the UK, for example: disputes with utility companies, mobile phone contracts or problems with faulty goods.

Availability: Our qualified lawyers will be able to advise you Monday to Friday (excluding public holidays) between 8.30am and 6pm. We will always try to connect you directly with a lawyer, but if they are all busy when you call, we will arrange for you to be called back. We will always let you know when to expect your call back.

Our lawyers are only able to advise you (or a permanent member of your household). We are unable to advise someone who telephones us on your behalf unless you have previously given us permission to do so.

Professional Conduct: Our lawyers must comply with the Law Society’s Rules and Principles of Professional Conduct of Solicitors and the Bar Code of Conduct. If we think responding to your request may cause us to break these rules (for example, it may cause a conflict of interest), our lawyers will be unable to advise you. If such a situation arises, we will always explain the position to you.

2. What we cannot do for you

• Large-value disputes: We are only able to advise you in relation to civil disputes that would fall within the small claims court system. In England & Wales, this means the value of your dispute must be less than £5,000 for us to help you. In Scotland the maximum value is £3,000 and in Northern Ireland it is £2,000.
• Advice on other legal advice: We cannot advise you on any aspect of another solicitor’s advice, or where another solicitor is already advising you on that issue.
• Written advice: Our lawyers are only permitted to provide telephone legal advice and will not respond to written requests for advice.
• Try and settle disputes directly: We are unable to intervene directly with a third party to try and settle your dispute.
• Guarantee you always speak to the same lawyer: We try and connect you directly to a lawyer when you call us.
• Assist you to recover sums to which you are not legally entitled. For us to advise you, you must have a genuine legal case.

3. Other important things you need to know

Complaints: If you are unhappy about any aspect of Which? Legal Service, then please let us know by contacting the Manager of Which? Legal Service at:

• Address: Which? Legal Service, Gascoyne Way, Hertford, SG14 1LH;
• Email: wls@which.co.uk
• Phone: 01992 822828

We will respond to your complaint fairly and usually within 5 working days. If we are unable to resolve your complaint and it relates to the legal advice you have received, we will explain how you can make a complaint about a particular lawyer to their professional body.

What happens if you don’t comply with these terms? We will treat any non-compliance as a serious issue, and if we think you have breached any of these terms, we may take any action that we consider appropriate. This may include the temporary or permanent suspension of your use of Which? Legal Service.