Hi, Thank you. I do not agree with their interpretation, you cannot contract out of cooling off period just because you have incurred costs with a "lead generator". That is tough on them. I would write to them as follows:
- Say you were completely misled by this company and at no point were you informed that you were giving up your consumer rights;
- Say that if they did not inform you that the deposit was non refundable, or even highlight to you that they were incurring costs on acceptance of the service, they cannot use this as a means of subverting your consumer rights. This is distance selling of a consumer service and you are entitled to a cooling off period;
- Say that if they do not refund your money in full within 7 days you reserve the right to either:
(i) Complain to Trading Standards
https://www.gov.uk/find-local-trading-standards-office
(ii) Commence a claim in the county court to recover your money.
For clarity here is the Citizen Advice on the cooling off period. https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/changed-your-mind/cancelling-a-service-youve-arranged/
The fact that they have spend money on the service is not grounds to deny you your rights. The service the would have to be bespoke in nature or fall within the other exceptions to justify ignoring your rights.
Kind regards
AJ