Letter to the OFT/Trading Standards - If you knowingly accessed a site

Here is a suggested format:*

(*Be sure to make the necessary amendments as indicated!)

Dear Sirs,

I wish to make a formal complaint about the behaviour of a company
known as Platte International who are the parent company of [a website
known as] /[the following websites:].

While doing an online search for [adult sites]/[online films] I came
across [this site]/[these sites] and was tempted by the offer of a
free three day trial of the content. As I was not required to provide any form of ID or debit/credit card details it was not immediately obvious
to me that, if I did not wish to proceed to full membership, I needed to actively cancel that free trial within the three day period. I did not receive any reminder from the website in question before the end of the trial that I needed to take any action or would otherwise find myself liable for
a substantial payment.

In the event, I only [here you should set out the extent of your
viewing of the website(s), which may have been very minimal]

[Alternatively]

I admit that I did visit the website(s) to view some films, but was
not sufficiently impressed to feel that I wanted to commit to a period
of subscription.

The next I became aware of the matter was when pop up windows began to
appear unsolicited on my computer screen requesting payment of the sum
of [Â£ ] for a subscription to the site(s).

I do not deny that I visited this/these website(s), but I feel most
strongly that my interests as a consumer are not being sufficiently
protected by this irregular and highly unusual business model. I do
not feel that it operates in the interests of the consumer, since it
is not what I, or any other consumer, expect to find in the usual
course of commerce.

I am also extremely angry to discover that this company has used my trial visit as an opportunity to install on my computer software which they have made deliberately difficult to uninstall and which has been hindering the use of my equipment. I am surprised that any company is allowed to do this.

I have now found out more about this company, and gather that these
points are set out somewhere in their lengthy terms and conditions. I
also gather that they justify their business model by the claim that they are
providing anonymity to the user of pornographic material. I cannot,
however, see how it works to the real benefit of any consumer since,
once the trial period has ceased, the activities of the computer user
are evident for all to see on the computer screen. As this is the
case, I regard as spurious their claims to be acting in the interests
of the users of their sites. I would suggest, however, that it works
very much to their advantage since others, like me, will have found
themselves trapped by default into a position of having to pay a
significant sum for a visit to their sites.

I request that this complaint is formally logged. I would ask you
please to contact me to let me know what action you intend to take.
I would also like to know if you have received other complaints about this company (also known as Platte Media), and, if so, an indication
of the number of complaints received thus far.

Yours faithfully,