Regarding Lawyers. Why waste your time when you can get every penny back through small claims online for as little as  £70? If you want to try and coordinate a complicated class action across multiple counties over the internet by all means give it a try. But by the time you get to court, Alpha will probably have folded and disappeared with your money. Personally I'd just pay the £70, have a Judge rule on it, and get my money back all from the comfort of my computer desk. But its up to you.