Regus

Latest exchange on 8 Sep:

Let’s revisit what you said first to see how Regus has constantly shifted its position upon scrutiny.

On 4 Sept at 9:06 AM, you told us the indexation rate for July was >10.5% because:

“54. Annual indexation:: For all agreements with a term greater than 12 months, or a month-to-month agreement not terminated within 12 months, the indexation applied is 8.7%. In high-inflation countries, indexation may be applied on a quarterly basis based on the start date of the agreement. The indexation rate that is applied is based on the current inflation rate at the time of it being applied (not at the time of signing the agreement). Please speak to your Community Team at any time to request the current indexation rate.

Please note that the indexation applied to your account is the current rate as per the last section of the paragraph.”

Then on 4 Sept at 3:10 PM, you told us that 8.7% was the indexation rate for July because it was “the prevailing rate of indexation”:

“8.7% is the prevailing rate of indexation currently for the UK. 10.5% was the prevailing rate for February to May this year. The indexation on your account was processed in July but using the 10.5% which was valid up until the end of May. In this instance we can change the indexation rate to the current rate of 8.7% and refund the difference.”

Then on 8 Sep at 9:35 AM, you admitted that 8.7% was not the correct rate for July after all after I showed you the ONS figures. Regus failed to honour its own provision to apply the “current inflation rate”. No reason is provided as to why Regus does not apply the current inflation rate that its own provision requires.

“8.7% was the inflation rate when indexation was set. We review and set the rates every three months, not monthly.”

To conclude, the rate should be 6.8%, not 8.7% (and we deny you can adjust the rent in any event because we fixed the price till 31 Mar 2024) because:

1. Regus’ own clause provides that “The indexation rate that is applied is based on the current inflation rate at the time of it being applied” and the current rate is conclusively 6.8% based on the ONS figures. You cited this as the basis for the indexation.

2. Regus last updated the House Rules in July 2023 (see the attached with the “July 2023” dates) but failed to update the indexation rate within those House Rules. Thus, contrary to what you said, Regus did review the House Rules in July already. It just did not change the inflation rate because it was lower and did not suit it.

3. You claim that Regus reviews the rate quarterly. That is demonstrably false as you also said that Regus applied 10.5% from February to May (which does not make sense as the inflation rate as shown below was only 10.5% back in December 2022). The next quarter is June to August and by June, the inflation rate fell to 7.9%.

***

Hi John,

Please accept my apologies, I don’t think my answer was very clear.

8.7% was the inflation rate when indexation was set. We review and set the rates every three months, not monthly. Therefore, the rate that was processed on your account previously was the last quarter’s and not this one. This was the reason for the change, we incorrectly set this for a previous quarter, not the current one, and apologise for it.

The rate of the next indexation is due to be reviewed and set again this month. The paragraph stating the current indexation rates is meant to communicate that the rate used is not the rate when a customer signs an agreement but the current rate (set that quarter, not month).

Again, sorry for the confusion. I can let you know that I have communicated this to the highest levels in order to consider re-wording the house rules in order to improve the clarity of this section.

Best regards,

Jan C.

Customer Care Specialist

By email dated 4 September, Regus acknowledged that it applied the wrong indexation rate (they applied a December 2022 rate at 10.5% even though the inflation rate is 6.8% in July 2023) and said it would update the invoice.

It is 7 September and Regus still has not issued the updated invoice despite my repeated promptings.

(This is another example why no one should give Regus authority to just dip into their bank account. If Regus made a mistake and overcharges you, it will takeover to correct its own mistake.)

***

Regus 4 Sept email:

Hi John,

8.7% is the prevailing rate of indexation currently for the UK. 10.5% was the prevailing rate for February to May this year. The indexation on your account was processed in July but using the 10.5% which was valid up until the end of May. In this instance we can change the indexation rate to the current rate of 8.7% and refund the difference.

I have sent this to the finance team to calculate and adjust your account and will advise once they have completed this.

Best regards,

Jan C.

Customer Care Specialist

***

My response of 5 Sep

This is exactly why we refused to give you general access to our bank account. Regus can’t be trusted to get basic calculations right. You said below: “In this instance we can change the indexation rate to the current rate of 8.7% and refund the difference.” First, as noted below, the indexation rate from July is 6.8%, not 8.7%. And definitely not the 10.5% you wrongly applied at the outset. As you can see in the table below, it already dropped to 10.1% by January 2023.

We are very glad not to have allowed you to just dip into our account as it would have taken us forever to get the refund.

In our case, you just need to withdraw the attached invoice and issue a new one with no rent increase. Or, if you continue to claim you have the right to increase rent mid-way through the contract despite the agreed fixed price, reduce the increase to 6.8%, which is, in your words, “the prevailing rate of indexation currently in the UK”, which your own clause says should apply. Please issue the new invoice now to avoid delay.

Regus’ customers have over the years reported a host of issues, including the imposition of charges without agreement, unilateral changes to contractual terms, and other misleading practices.

Here is a guide on how to deal with Regus: https://medium.com/the-rival-blog/guide-to-effective-actions-against-regus-209373cc9f93

Regus claims the right to increase your rent based on the official inflation rates. If this clause applies to you, be very vigilant about the rate Regus applies and do not take their word for what the official inflation rates are. (NB: If you agreed with Regus a price for a fixed period, Regus has no basis to increase your rent midway through your contract as discussed above.)

Regus claims that it applies the prevailing inflation rate at the time of adjustment. In our experience, it doesn’t. It will try to cherry-pick the month in the last 12 months that has the highest inflation rate. In one case, they sought to apply a rate of 10.5% from December 2022 even though the adjustment took place in September 2023. By July 2023, the official inflation rate had fallen to 6.8%. When challenged, Regus still sought to apply 8.7%, arguing that this was the prevailing rate in July 2023. It wasn’t.

Painfully, one has to fight them tooth and nail even on objective facts, which is draining and unnecessary. And Regus never apologises.

Based on our correspondence with them, we have established that Regus, by its own admission, applied 10.5% to adjustments for UK customers between January and July 2023.

If your rent adjustments took place during that period, you have the right to claim back the differences from Regus for up to six years from when they applied the wrong inflation rates. According to the ONS, inflation rate dropped to 10.1% by January, 8.7% by April, and 6.8% by July 2023. The differences (from the 10.5% Regus applied) therefore can be substantial.

Further evidence on Regus failing to apply its own provision that any indexation should be done on the prevailing inflation rate. They falsely claimed that the prevailing rate is 8.7% but it is in fact only 6.8% on the Government website.

This was their false statement: "8.7% is the prevailing rate of indexation currently for the UK. 10.5% was the prevailing rate for February to May this year. The indexation on your account was processed in July but using the 10.5% which was valid up until the end of May. In this instance we can change the indexation rate to the current rate of 8.7% and refund the difference. "

Regus has since admitted that they messed up the calculation (even assuming they can change the rent despite fixing it for 18 months, which we continue to deny):

***

The clause you cited itself says: “The indexation rate that is applied is based on the current inflation rate at the time of it being applied (not at the time of signing the agreement).” Clearly you did not even follow your own provisions then. Where is the apology?

As for 8.7%, this is different from the rate on the Government website, which is 6.4% in July 2023 (https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/inflationandpriceindices/bulletins/consumerpriceinflation/july2023#:~:text=The%20Consumer%20Prices%20Index%20(CPI)%20annual%20inflation%20rate%20for%20housing,price%20cap%20in%20July%202023.). Where do you get your 8.7% figure?

• The Consumer Prices Index including owner occupiers' housing costs (CPIH) rose by 6.4% in the 12 months to July 2023, down from 7.3% in June.

• On a monthly basis, CPIH fell by 0.3% in July 2023, whereas it rose by 0.6% in July 2022.

• The Consumer Prices Index (CPI) rose by 6.8% in the 12 months to July 2023, down from 7.9% in June.

• On a monthly basis, CPI fell by 0.4% in July 2023, compared with a rise of 0.6% in July 2022.

This is all without prejudice to our primary position that we fixed a price of £683 for 18 months.

From: Customer Service

Sent: Monday, September 4, 2023 3:10 PM

To: John Kwan

Subject: RE: Escalation CRM:[protected]

Hi John,

8.7% is the prevailing rate of indexation currently for the UK. 10.5% was the prevailing rate for February to May this year. The indexation on your account was processed in July but using the 10.5% which was valid up until the end of May. In this instance we can change the indexation rate to the current rate of 8.7% and refund the difference.

I have sent this to the finance team to calculate and adjust your account and will advise once they have completed this.

Best regards,

Jan C.

Customer Care Specialist

I got the location transferred lower rate and 26 months contract as final solution. Melanie helped me out with detail explanation and efficient work. Thank you, Melanie!

Further exchange with Regus:

Hi,

Three points:

1. First, even based on your own clauses below, the rate is 8.7% but you in fact applied an over 10% increase, from £685 to £754.72. This breaches your own terms even if they apply (quod non).

2. Second, when we agree to a fixed price of £683, that was for a period of 18 months. There is no contractual basis for you to breach that agreement. There was no mention of the possibility of changing the prices during that period.

3. Third, under relevant legislation, Regus cannot unilaterally change the terms of contract as such terms are unfair and therefore unenforceable (your T&Cs apply to all customers, including many consumers). See the Guidance of the Competition and Markets Authority: “If a term could be used to force the consumer to accept unanticipated costs or penalties, new requirements, or reduced benefits, it is likely to be considered unfair whether or not it is meant to be used in that way.”

John

From: Customer Service

Sent: Monday, September 4, 2023 9:06 AM

To: John Kwan

Subject: RE: Escalation CRM:[protected]

Hi John,

When you agree to an extension (or any other type of agreement) this involves you confirming that you have read and understood the terms and conditions and house rules.

We have applied indexation to your agreement, it is not an arbitrary increase in monthly fee.

The house rules you quoted are not the house rules showing in your online account for account [protected]. These are updated on a regular basis and the latest can be found in your online account. There are certain countries that have a high fluctuation in market values where the indexation is applied on a quarterly basis, but for agreements in the UK it is applied yearly. The house rules state the following:

54. Annual indexation:: For all agreements with a term greater than 12 months, or a month-to-month agreement not terminated within 12 months, the indexation applied is 8.7%. In high-inflation countries, indexation may be applied on a quarterly basis based on the start date of the agreement. The indexation rate that is applied is based on the current inflation rate at the time of it being applied (not at the time of signing the agreement). Please speak to your Community Team at any time to request the current indexation rate.

Please note that the indexation applied to your account is the current rate as per the last section of the paragraph.

It is also mentioned in the terms and conditions:

4.7. Indexation: If an agreement is for a term of more than 12 months, we will increase the monthly fee on each anniversary of the start date in line with the relevant inflation index detailed in the House Rules. If a country experiences high levels of inflation, indexation could be applied more frequently and is detailed in the House Rules.

Best regards,

Customer Care Specialist

Public service announcement - here is a guide on how to deal with Regus: https://medium.com/the-rival-blog/guide-to-effective-actions-against-regus-209373cc9f93#:~:text=2.-,Sue%20Regus,also%20victims%20of%20Regus'%20conduct.

Here is a public service guide on how to deal with Regus: https://medium.com/the-rival-blog/guide-to-effective-actions-against-regus-209373cc9f93

There was a clear and obvious billing mistake. My membership should have switched to a private office on July 20th, however you breached our agreement by continuing to charge me for August and September membership.

When I notified our original sales lady (Jessica) of the billing error on July 24th, she said she would have her manager look into it. I never heard back from anyone, and after several weeks and multiple attempts to reach someone at Regus, I finally had to discover **myself** that a credit had been applied.

However this lack of communication resulted in late fees which you refused to waive. Further delays in getting these late fees waived resulted in more late fees, and more time passed when we couldn't access said office space.

This was all a direct result of your delays and negligence handling an obvious billing error which you fully admit to.

In summary, billing error leads to delays and breached agreement. Delays lead to late fees. Late fees lead to services never being rendered. Regus caused the problem, and now expects to be paid to clean it up, despite the customer (me) never receiving any services whatsoever.

I have never stepped foot in a Regus office even once, **ever**, and you expect me to pay $5919 for this privilege.

Many thanks for replying

Infact the Regus lies mentioned well within their reply.

Yes, the refund was processed on 3rd of Aug 23 after I've chased the Bath Road support team multiple times and was instructed the money will be into my account by 14th of Aug (definitely more than a month after my refund request was submitted) today is 17th of August and still no refund :) an email screenshot has been attached to prove the point.

About the late charges, I've provided my debit card information when setup my account with Regus and I've an email confirming Regus all setup. Will share the screenshot if need be.

Thanks

Dear Regus Customer Support,

Following are more details on the case for better clarity.

Mobile App Transaction Date: 26 July 2023

Amount Advertised: QAR 297

Actual Deducted Amount: QAR 412

I subscribed to your membership through the mobile app on 26 July 2023, which displayed a fee of QAR 297 and a validity period until 31 August, with a renewal scheduled for 1 September. However, upon reviewing my bank statement, I noticed that an amount of QAR 412 (after refunding duplicate charge) was deducted instead of the advertised QAR 297.

In response to this discrepancy, I promptly raised a complaint, detailing the situation and expressing my concern over the unexpected higher charge. Unfortunately, I received a response that did not provide a satisfactory explanation or resolution for this matter. I would like to reiterate my disappointment in the handling of my complaint, as the additional charges were not clearly communicated or justified.

Due to this unexpected and unexplained charge, I chose not to utilize your services during the validity period and subsequently canceled my membership before August. It is important to note that the primary reason for the cancellation was the discrepancy in charges, which led to my decision not to avail of the services offered under the membership.

To my surprise, I have now received a request for an additional payment of QAR 466, which I firmly believe I am not obligated to pay. As I mentioned earlier, the increased charge was not communicated transparently, and the lack of a satisfactory response to my initial complaint further underscores my reluctance to pay the extra amount.

I value the services provided by Regus and that is why I opted for lounge membership. However, I find myself in a difficult position due to the unresolved situation surrounding my recent membership experience. I kindly request that this matter be investigated thoroughly, and I am hoping for a prompt resolution that reflects the originally advertised terms and the initial payment of QAR 297.

I appreciate your attention to this matter and look forward to a resolution that is fair. Please do not hesitate to reach out to me for any further clarification or information you may require.

Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

New Update: 15/08/2023

Unfortunately, I didn't receive my deposit until now. Why does your company do this?

I would never recommend this company, after 77 days and a lot of correspondence they are still unable to pay their debt and return the deposit.

Sign a contract with Regus if you want to wait months for the deposit to be returned after the delivery of the office.

Update 15/08/2023

Unfortunately, I didn't receive my deposit till now why do your company do this way?

New Update: 11/08/2023

I appreciate your response, and I received an email from your colleague today, and she said we are trying to solve it, but this issue persists. I will let you know on Monday, August 14, at noon whether the problem has been resolved or not.

Your solution is to sucking money but not resolving my concern. How disgusting.