Regus Abuse of Contract Nationwide

I followed exactly the contract - and there is no "Fine Print".  Its a one page contract and is very clear.  The issue they will try to get you on is the "auto-renewal" and 90 day prior and 90 day before section.

I ended up hiring a lawyer to take care of the issue for me, even though I did everything right.  I cancelled on the first of the month, 90 days after signing the contract and 90 days before the contract ended.  A very tight window, but I complied.

After reading some reviews, sure enough they said I did not meet the first of the month stipulation - which was incorrect, I had proof.  What corporate argued was they didn't receive the notice until the middle of the month.  Serious?  My lawyer argued that any "reasonable person" would believe that their local office - who received the letter on the first - would believe they are a representative of Regus.  Paperwork shows I signed an agreement with the local office, so by that fact, they a a representative of Regus Nationa/International.  Unethical behavior.

The more they argued with such nonsense, the more clear it because they were wrong and were trying to scam more money out of me.  They then said the contract was renewed for three more months, but if I paid just one more month I would be done.  I refused.  I owed them nothing.  They kept arguing and my lawyer rebutted all their claims - we started looking into filing Fair Credit Reporting Act violations.  Once Regus found out we were doing that, they backed off and then sent a letter saying they would honor the original contract (as a nice gesture of customer service).

Nice offices, and as others have said, its really nice while you're there but when you tried to terminate the contract the unethical behavior starts - actually probably a good business model for them.

Anyway, be persistent, polite, and have patience and keep responding to their accusations and requests and ask them for documentation.  They'll keep throwing silly argumens at you that will make you upset, but don't let them get to you - they're just trying to squeeze out every last dime they can from you.

I'm not like their regular customers, as I have money and hired a lawyer.  This was worth it for ease of mind and getting this resolved. 

Don't do business with Regus and avoid the headaches.

I spoke with Regus and they handled the situation very well. The problem is resolved and I'm very happy with their customer service.

I see your point. But this is not the difference between 7 days and 14 days. This is between 0 days and 90, or maybe 30 and 90. In fact returns/refunds are not a good example in this case. We're talking about cancellations of a service.

This is a matter of them losing nothing by canceling the contract, but putting in a 90 day notice anyway on top of asking for a security deposit. They have nothing to protect in this case. This company has so many complaints from both customers and employees that everything they do that charges the customer extra needs to be brought under the microscope.

I'm arguing that the #1 reason they put 90 days in place instead of 0-30 is to make an extra dime from customers. They understand that things change rapidly and people don't need a mailbox sometimes, but they still lock you in for 3 months. If somebody from Regus can explain why 90 days is necessary, I would be willing to hear them out, but so far they tend to avoid the answer in favor of pointing the finger at me. They defend the company that writes them checks instinctually, rather than actually questioning it (which is understandable).

You say that "there is going to be something in there that a customer could be seen as you "screwing" them", but my question for you is at what point does it go from the perception of being screwed to actually being screwed? What is the dividing line? Should we just not protect consumers because the line might be blurry?

In a sense, with your point of view, the company can say whatever they want in a T&C, and if you missed it you're screwed. Isn't that the type of thing we're trying to get rid of in business? Isn't that a favored tactic of swindlers since the beginning of time? I believe this all comes down to ethics, and this is poor ethics by Regus.

In my opinion, we can blame me all day for not reading the fine print, but I have a firm belief that if something is written on paper with the primary purpose of squeezing extra money out of the customer from the backdoor, that is the sign of a company of tremendously low charactrer and something should be done about it. 

Here is a thread from Indeed of former Regus employees who will agree with me 100%. If you read through it you will get the sense that this is not just a few disgruntled employees but an unusually large percentage. The thread stinks of a company that is rotting from within, but tries to put lipstick on themselves and act respectable.

http://www.indeed.com/forum/cmp/Regus/s-company-culture-at-Regus/t10786

 I would never point to my T&C to screw one of my customers over. I use my T&C to protect myself, not to milk an extra 3 months of payments out of my clients.

- Interesting how you fail to see the simularities.  Unless your T&C's say something like "The customer can do what ever they want", there is going to be something in there that a customer could be seen as you "screwing" them.  It may not be an extra 3 months of payments(after all I have no idea what you do).  But it could be something else you have put in them to "protect" you.

Let me give you an example...Say you sell widgets(what is a widget..doesn't matter).  Now, you sell 1000 widgets a day and have a 7-Day return policy.  Now, you have a customer who buy's a widget and 9 days later they say they want to return the unused widget.  Now, you say no because your policy is 7 days.  What if the customer came here and wrote a RipOff report because every other business they buy widgets from has a 14 day return policy and they think it is unfair that you only have a 7-Day policy?

If you say "well I will take care of the customer"..then the question is why do you even have that 7-Day policy in your terms?  Didn't you put in the terms to "protect" you?  

Now, you say well I wouldn't make a 7-Day policy..I would make it N days.  Well what if a customer comes and wants to return an item N+7 days later? 

One more thing.

I would never point to my T&C to screw one of my customers over. I use my T&C to protect myself, not to milk an extra 3 months of payments out of my clients. I fail to see how this is protecting Regus. That's what I assumed the security deposit was for. 

I don't know if I agree that it's obvious to everyone online.

It's true, they got me on some fine print. But if the fine print is an abuse of contract, does it make it right? If the fine print is written (and this is an inference) in order to squeeze 3 months of payments out of a customer based on the knowledge that most people don't read all the fine print, is it right? I have a feeling the courts would agree with me.

The Regus style seems to be to hide behind the fine print, then blame the customer when push comes to shove, even if the fine print is outrageous. The manager actually told me I should be grateful it was only 90 days. Unbelievable.

Here is what another customer said on a different report about a similar issue with Regus:

"This is exuberant and unnecessary since member do not use any one office for more that one day. You are in and out of the office within 24 hours. Therefore, 90 day notification is unnecessary and can be construed as a ploy for getting more money out of member who are not aware of the exuberant 90 day notice policy and are therefore required to pay for three full months past their contract.

On top of that, Regus has not replied to two emails that I have sent requesting an explanation for a 90 day notice for office space that is used for only 24 hours. Although Regus provides a valuable service, this 90 day notice is a rip-off and an abuse of contract (that you are forced to sign to enter the relationship) as well as an abuse of its members. For them to argue that members signed a contract agreeing to the 90 day notice is placing the fault on the consumer. The 90 day notice is excessive and should not be a part of the contract in the first place."

http://www.ripoffreport.com/r/Regus/nationwide/Regus-HQ-90-Day-Notice-Required-To-Cancel-Contracts-Beyond-Reasonable-Limits-Internet-Nat-929540

 No what this is, is that YOU did not READ the contract and NOW that they are holding YOU to the terms and conditions YOU agreed to, its a ripoff in YOUR eyes. perhaps YOU could save yourself the trouble in the future and READ WHAT YOU ARE SIGNING!!!!!!! Its NOT a ripoff when YOU do this to YOURSELF. YOUR inability to READ or even CARE about what YOU are signing is what has YOU in this position. It ALWAYS amazes me at the sheer stupidity of people like YOU. YOU have done this to yourself by YOUR own admission, yet SOMEHOW and SOMEWAY this is THEIR fault and THEY are abusing the contract. None of what YOU are whining about is NEW INFORMATION!!! If it was then I would agree with you that this is a ripoff. BUT!!!!! It IS information that was given to YOU at the time YOU setup YOUR mailbox, its just that YOU failed to read what YOU were signing. YOU agreed to EVERYTHING in the contract without doing even the smallest thing, like READING!!!!! So who do YOU wish to blame now?? Its OBVIOUS to everyone online that YOU either CANNOT or WILL NOT take responsibility for YOUR actions. Yeah, YOU are a responsible business person....RIIIIIIIIGGGHTTT!!! Until YOU are willing to not only admit that YOU were the one at fault and that YOU are just lashing out because they are holding YOU to the T&C, YOU have no place or right to point the finger at ANYONE. YOU are a lying hypocrite and SOMEONE needs to show this to YOU. You KNOW that YOU would do the same thing as a business. YOU would hold an individual to the T&C of whatever contract that person signed, WHY is it so reprehensible when it happens to YOU. Oh...THATS RIGHT!!!!! You are a self entitled jerk and DO NOT see others as "real" people. That's why.........