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AN online shopping company based in Poole is taking legal action against 16 internet posters and four consumer websites.

Redsave from Sterte Avenue West said it has been defamed by comments criticising its retail practices.

The company, the trading name for Nettex Media Limited, sells electronic products and gadgets.

Its headline product of the past few months have been £34.99 digital photoframes imported from China and they claim to have sold 80,000 before Christmas.

Redsave sells its products at a discounted Redsave Price' - and less prominently advertises them at a recommended retail price.

When you buy with the Redsave Price you also sign up to a subscription service that charges you £19.95 a month in exchange for more offers.

The website has links that explain The Redsave Price' - however, the Echo has been contacted by dozens of customers who felt the site was not explicit enough about the subscription charge.

Amanda Culley from Westminster, London, said: "I'm a regular internet shopper and I think I'm savvy but this company did not make it clear enough that shopping with them included an ongoing subscription."

Alison Jackson, a Channel 5 journalist from London, said: "I just assumed it was a standard contract you would have with Ebay or Amazon."

David Brown from Stockport, said: "Why would people want to sign up to something that costs £19.95 to gain what they call better pricing on items that people would only buy as gifts for birthdays and Christmas presents?"

Other people made stronger claims about the company using sites like unbeatable.co.uk and rip-off.co.uk.

Redsave has denied the stronger allegations, and has lodged court papers claims for legal costs ahead of a defamation case.

Callum McKeefrey, from Unbeatable, said: "We feel we are standing up for the UK shopper."

Paul Meyer, editor of Rip-Off Britain, said: "We resolved hundreds of complaints since 1998 to the satisfaction of customers and companies. We find the whole affair bizarre."

Poole trading standards has been monitoring complaints about Redsave for a year and the company said it has made a number of changes over the last 16 months'.

Max Walker, from Redsave, said: "The website is very clear and concise and has satisfied many thousands of customers.

"The internet is broadcasting a few customers who keep repeating posts under different names.

"If a person chooses to post defamatory statements we have the right to protect our company.

"Customers have their own responsibility to understand their contractual rights when signing up to a purchase.

"We have customers that shop via the retail price and others that shop with the Redsave price and continue to purchase many bargains via their subscription.

"Unfortunately, we have serviced a few customers that have not understood the contractual terms and as result of this, wish to blame the website for their own lack of attention during the purchasing process."

7:14pm Sunday 24th February 2008

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