*WARNING: northern counties roll-out, Survey UK/Matters Consulting *

Parallex_2

Hi folks.

Received this scam mail today. Extremely bad form on the part of this company, they should be shut down, fined (and im my view, imprisoned).

I think it's positively disgusting.

To anyone else who lives in Kettering, or the surrounding area, BE CAREFUL! Don't fall for this scam. Contact the ASA for advice if you have unfortunately fallen for this.

Regards,
The Parallex.

mjoyeux

Received another one, I rang them again and asked them about the scam...

Really grilled the poor bloke, he couldn't explain why I had been sent it, other than some one in my postcode might have once completed a survey. I asked him why they were charging admin on free prizes, he just stuttered away... then hung up

Bubblez_3

... thanks for the warning

ellie940

I have just arrived home (northamptonshire) to find one of these. Almost rang, but thought would check it out first. I will contact local trading standards on monday. A Big thanks to this site.

Keef

Received the compliments slip and congratulations slip this morning. I live in East Yorkshire.

I have reported the letter to consumerdirect.go.uk (via email under the 'contact us' link). Suggest others do like wise to try and highlight the magnitude of the problem to Trading Standards.

Keep up the good work!

RachyB_2

I got one today , Im in Kent ,Do I just shred it in ??

Hefty6

Thanks for the advice Codger, the scam is now operating in the London area, apprently I have won "gifts" with total value exceeding over £32,500. And I can't win on a raffle! I shall be informing Trading Standards asap. Thanks.

codger

RachyB wrote: »

I got one today , Im in Kent ,Do I just shred it in ??

If time's pressing, then yes: the only time scammers like Survey UK /
Matters Consulting deserve is a period spent within prison.

Whether such is ever likely to happen depends on the extent to which Trading Standards can act. And in an isolated case, of course, it's unlikely to be able to achieve much.

Where a persistent and ongoing nationwide scam is concerned, however, the situation is likely to be different, though only if TS's in various parts of the country are made aware (they pool their information.)

Hence, if you do have the time, then reporting to your own TS is a good idea, and better than merely shredding the fraudulent nonsense you've received.

The problem Survey UK / Matters Consulting has is its inability to defend its own ostensible cleverness: the fact that it has taken so much trouble, semantically and presentationally, to mask the true purpose of its mail-outs is as near to self-indictment as it gets. In answer to the obvious and inevitable question: "why aren't you up-front in what you're doing?" it has no answer. At all.

Caerleon

Another one here who "Googled" Matters consulting Ltd. after receiving a congratulations...prize...ring this number etc. For everyones information this has come to a GL12 postcode, South Gloucester area There is a little pressure applied now in the form of a red ink stamp with a short expiry date i.e. 3 days from recieving it.
I note these have been going on since a post dated 2005, why haven't they been brought to book?
Great to have this forum, good device for scam sharing knowledge. Thanks everyone.

Now written to South Glos Trading Standards 16/9/08

codger

Caerleon wrote: »

Another one here who "Googled" Matters consulting Ltd. after receiving a congratulations...prize...ring this number etc.

Now written to South Glos Trading Standards 16/9/08

Thanks for the latest update Caerleon. And for taking the trouble to contact your own local TS.

The good thing about adding to this thread is that it keeps the execrable Matters Consulting / Survey UK firmly on the main search engine search pages. And the good thing about reporting to TS is that it's more than mere search engine notoriety alone that Matters Consulting / Survey UK must contend with (like, running out of road, and running out of time, hence the incorporation of the new 'limited duration' clause in hope of pressurising potential victims to embrace this scam.)


:j