Refund was devil of a job

THERE are many reasons to support Spender Books (SB), one of the UK’s small independent publishers enriching readers’ lives, and in its case, with engaging literary fiction and memoirs.

However, another small marketing business Street PR did it no favours when it failed to follow through on a promotional campaign that SB had paid for.

This left the solo venture, owned by George Spender, missing out both on the opportunity and struggling for a refund.

What turned out to be a horror show in several respects began when George booked an A4 poster campaign for record shops and gig venues last September, for the comic, horror/romance novella, I Saw Satan At The 7-Eleven by Christopher Brett Bailey.

George paid by bank transfer as there was a two per cent levy on credit and debit cards.

“I paid £390.48 upfront, but heard nothing more,” he told Crusader. “After contacting them several times I learned the salesperson I dealt with had left and my campaign had never been actioned and they would look into fixing the problem.

“But then again nothing, despite multiple chases. In

January I got a credit note but no payment.”

Crusader contacted the company to ask it to refund a fellow small enterprise, plus throw in a goodwill gesture for the hassle George had experienced. We heard no more, but George has now been paid, although with no welcome extra.

This spectre has been laid to rest, but for other small enterprises always do as many checks as you can before handing over any of your hardearned cash and make sure that you have a written agreement with full details about where, when and how your campaign will take place – or give them a miss.