Advertising [TEXT DELETED BY FORUM TEAM]

Norton_Blade

We've just had a call like this at work, anonymous number and no mention of who they actually are, but the modus operandi is the same.

A call from the "Police" thanking us for advertising with their magazine for the past five years and advising us that our advertising was about to run out, asking if we wanted to renew it.

"Erm... but we've never actually advertised in a magazine ever."

... click. The phone went dead.

We had a call from yellowpages24 the other week as well... that was just as amusing

Stay safe people!

TBirdNeil

Despite repeatedly hanging up on them they rung back 8 or 9 times. Even when I read out postings about judgements against them they persisted in hassling me. Politeness does not work with these people so I recommend EXTREME rudeness, i.e. tell them to F*** Off. (Then they will try to make you feel guilty; don't - just do it again. You have to be as hard faced as they are.) Eventually we had them on speakerphone laughing at them and telling them what a bunch of crooks we knew they were. The name usually given by the caller is Tom Harrison but I've had the same call from half a dozen nobheads a the same outfit. Now I try to keep them on the phone as long as possible to waste their phone bill. They need to be exterminated.

underlay_guru

pjb2u wrote: »

OK Wow, right, this will be interesting for you to read...

About an hour I recieved a company from ESM? Telling me he was someone from the Police and wanting me to advertise in 'Streetwatch' without being disrespectful Liverpudlians dont sound convincing anyway but the 'sales' person trying to get me hooked was 'over dramatic' always laughing at everything! I have set up my own business within the past month as a website designer (digiaut) and was called today from this company, Yes I seemed interested it sounded good....going to be alongside the police and fire service, supporting them etc.

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/general-consumer-issues/42695-advertising-scam-small-companies.html

Granted, this link is to a 3 year old thread. It sounds like most publishers of these ridiculous police/fire safety booklets are based in the Manc/Liverpool areas. I am quite certain this was featured on BBC Watchdog around 18 months ago, and pinpointed virtually all of the publishing companies to one small group of scamsters in the North West.

ajfrancis

i got a phone call from some (scouse) man [TEXT DELETED BY FORUM TEAM] he asked would i be interested in advertising in a bcs publication, i was like yeah maybe send me some details and il have a look,
Then 5 mins later was called up on a different number from what i assume was the same man by his (voice) saying he was someone else and to process payment for the advert i had just agreed to take out with them.
I swiftly said i havent agreed anything and that if i (had?) im cancelling it and am not giving my card details, so was given a very short ok bye from that person. to cut it short i recieved art work etc and an invoice all none approved by me to go ahead with, plus numerous calls asking to pay when i have cancelled it! then later on followed with notice of legal action from [TEXT DELETED BY FORUM TEAM] CFL DEBT COLLECTION [TEXT DELETED BY FORUM TEAM] stating we have a voice recording of you agreeing to taking out an ad and we are taking action to recover the debt you have with the bcs publication you took out. bla bla bla. they dont have the one of me saying no 5mins later though haha. so there you go they want to take me to court well we can all go! dont pay em. and if you get a call from these or anyone else asking about similar things my advice is to just say NO or hang up

princesskeely090

i cant believe i've found this information! we've had exactly the same ajfrancis! [TEXT DELETED BY FORUM TEAM] but unfortunately my partner didn't realise [TEXT DELETED BY FORUM TEAM] and was bullied into being taken to court so forked out £200!!! double the original amount of the advert!! They say they have recorded messages of him agreeing but they didn't. The recorded message is just him saying yes ok he will see a sample? no agreeing to payment terms or anything? im so cross about it i'm trying to find a way to get our money back asap. But now they have my partners card details we can't so anythign until this card has been cancelled (just to be safe). BCS Multimedia need to be shut down right now!!

flemingscarpets

I too have been approached by similar companies in the past & have found them to be pushy & rude. So I never actually used the services offered, although I did requet some info & never had any. I found if you request proof of offer & compay status yo can usually see who is who they say they are. After reading this I'm glad to of never tried any of the offers.

MothballsWallet

slogger wrote: »

l had a call today from ESM today, and get this, now the booklets are to be left in Supermarkets for customers to pick, Ha Ha if you believe that will work you must live in cloud cuckoo land, l smelt a rat immediately, and told them where to go, they were quite persistant though, l had to hang up in the end, and they record what you say so be very careful what you say on the telephone.
Please Please do not give these scamsters anymore money.

Do they actually say that they are recording the call? If not, then it would be inadmissable in a court of law anyway because it's an illegal recording.

maninthestreet

MothballsWallet wrote: »

Do they actually say that they are recording the call? If not, then it would be inadmissable in a court of law anyway because it's an illegal recording.

Not illegal, just not admissable as evidence in a court, but a transcript of the recording would be admissable.

houseofcharacter

Hi everyone, I got home this evening to find I had a call from someone at the Press Office of Emergency Services asking if I would like to do reflexology for the emergency services in my immediate area. I think the guy said his name was Andy Shelton or Sheldon and the return number begins 0700. After finding this link I will not be returning his call but just to let everyone know they are obviously widening the scam!

robertleeder

princesskeely090 wrote: »

i cant believe i've found this information! we've had exactly the same ajfrancis! to the point where they were claiming to be from the police! but unfortunately my partner didn't realise this was a scam and was bullied into being taken to court so forked out £200!!! double the original amount of the advert!! They say they have recorded messages of him agreeing but they didn't. The recorded message is just him saying yes ok he will see a sample? no agreeing to payment terms or anything? im so cross about it i'm trying to find a way to get our money back asap. But now they have my partners card details we can't so anythign until this card has been cancelled (just to be safe). BCS Multimedia need to be shut down right now!!

i have had the same problem, after phoning trading standards and talking to the police i managed to find out the police have had loads of complaints about them.
i have found a web site about them and there is a list of local companies on their advertising page, after phoning several of the companies every one of them had said they don't advertise with them or never heard of them,
bcs also claim that they have sent out several letters to me but surprise surprise not one reached my doormat. I did find a phone number and spoke to someone who was very ignorant and would not let me say my piece because he said whatever i said now was of no importance!!! he did however promise to send me copies of the paperwork that i never recieved and copies of our phone calls but refused to send me a copy of the advert that i didnt want, as i am typing this my wife is now speaking on the phone to another victim, who has just informed us that they have tried to contact him and bill him, As he told them his wife was a sollicitor and they are willing to go to court, he has since not heard from them!!! wonder why??