A GLASGOW-based company has denied claims that it is profiting from customers who fail to cancel renewals to its business services.

BiP Solutions, which was formerly known as Business Information Publications, offers public and private sector clients here and abroad procurement support and intelligence services, including a tracking system that alerts subscribers to contract opportunities. But they have been criticised by clients who experienced difficulties when they tried to cancel subscriptions.

One such complaint came from Crown Media, based at Brockenhurst, Hampshire.

David Bennet, a company partner, said they registered with BiP some years ago, specifically for its tracking of Government and other contracts being put out to tender. It cost Crown around £3,000 a year, but they had never been alerted to any opportunities. He admitted that Crown’s work – much of which is with the Ministry of Defence – was specialised, but the tracker had alerted them to nothing in their field, so when the renewal arrived they decided to cancel.

Bennet, who was abroad at the time, called BiP, but was told it had to be cancelled in writing.

He told The National: “When I said I’d rather do it over the phone as I was in the middle of another job, the lady said they needed it in writing, and if not and we didn’t pay, they’d simply refer us to a debt collection agency.”

He then emailed BiP, but received another payment demand, and rang them again: “I was now told that because we’d not cancelled before the renewal, we’d been renewed automatically and now would need to pay a cancellation fee . . . the suggestion is £1,000. This is extreme even in rip-off Britain. It’s hard to remember anniversaries without a warning or if you’ve not had any benefit from the product. It’s a bit like the TV Licence reminder coming and deciding not to renew. But they then say, ‘that’s fine, but we want a £800 termination fee – it’s in the small print you saw all those years ago’.”

Muhammad Sajid, who used BiP for one year, took to social media in September to vent his frustration with a similar experience.

He wrote: “I was really shocked that you put me on automatic renewal when I never wanted that in first place. They never mentioned this automatic renewal thing when I took this service. A few days later they sent me an email with a pdf letter dated June 1 that they claim to have sent me a month prior to renewal. I never got such a letter . . . only an invoice asking for payment.”

Other former customers noted their grievances on an online complaints site. One said: “I have asked for them to cancel, but they are insisting that we pay. This is at the very least sharp practice and at worst fraud, as it appears that they are catching many businesses with this small print.”

Graham Steed, BiP’s sales and marketing director, denied they engaged in sharp practices. He said: “Our terms and conditions are very specific about the need to cancel in writing. Due to the value of the intelligence that our services deliver, we need unambiguous confirmation from a client that they no longer wish to have access. Over recent years we have made significant investment into our customer engagement and sales processes with high levels of satisfaction and positive feedback overall.

“We have been in business for well over 30 years, and have many thousands of customers . . . We also work very closely with government agencies in the UK and abroad; and this would simply not be possible if we were engaged in the sharp practices to which you have alluded.”

He added that BiP and Crown Media had reached an amicable settlement. “Misunderstandings and some communication issues have been resolved,” he said.

However, Bennet said: “They reduced the £890 to £201.67 plus VAT, one month’s fee they say, for nothing, which they claimed was fair. Not that I have any choice and frankly it’s still ludicrous. So no, it’s not amicable, but it is a settlement.”