Portsmouth Trading Company Warning!!!

Paul_Varjak

Grimsby Trading Standards are now looking into this matter.

RobertG27

I received a leaflet from C. Ash and Sons. I was sceptical, but when he called he was pleasant and well presented, and we negotiated a fair price for the goods.
So no problem after all. In fact when I get to empty my loft, I will call him again!

Alan_the_Anonymous

We received one today (North Lincolnshire) and I did have some sympathy for the polite and presentable chap trudging the streets on a hot day like today. At least he's working for a living. However, we don't buy on the door as a policy, and unfortunately I felt the leaflet didn't pass the sniff test. Door to door, mobile phone, from Portsmouth? Mmmm.

Having read through this thread though, personally I'd be happy to accept the assurances about the firm's legitimacy. People are grown up enough to make up their own minds anyway. However the leaflet's address (it appears to be a cafe, according to Google Street View) & mobile phone image impact badly on credibility, and a rethink would be a good idea :-)

Paul_Varjak

I am in North Lincolnshire too. I never did see anyone from Portsmouth Trading Company so I cannot comment on how presentable they are at the door.

I personally made contact with the occupants of the address in Portsmouth and they were somewhat horrified to learn that someone was using their address!

Legitimate businesses do NOT use false addresses.

Alan_the_Anonymous

Taking a balanced view, I don’t think the firm is ‘illegitimate’ as you state, though if everything in this thread is true then they clearly goofed about the address and it gives a self-defeating bad impression. A client of mine sells valuable jewellery online as a kitchen-table industry and they have the same worries about publishing their address due to major personal security worries (robbers being aided and abetted by Google Street View). Actually under the E-Commerce Regulations 2002, in theory it’s illegal for (online) traders to even hide behind a PO Box address, which makes every such company illegitimate too.

Legitimate firms make mess-ups, big ones sometimes, and the address issue shouldn’t have been allowed to happen. I don’t really know why I’m defending them, as I wouldn’t sell/ buy (based purely on the strengths of the leaflet) either. However I met the chap briefly and he seemed very polite and reasonable and knowing what I do now, I would give them an opportunity if I were in the market. Which is unlikely. (We got the best local prices from Cash Converters.)

It seems to me that a genuine sincere explanation has been posted in this thread, including the full Grimsby address of someone closely connected (which they were advised to withhold!). We’re told no complaints have been substantiated and there are several happy testimonials posted here.

Part of my work involves online reputation management and damage repair, and it's always unfortunate to see shriek-stop dire warnings appearing as #1 in Google that can be fatally damaging to a genuine, legitimate firm that made a foul-up and aren’t ever forgiven. Only my opinion. B-)

Paul_Varjak

We each have our own views based on our experiences. My view may have been different if I had met anyone in person but my experience of the false address on the leaflet, the conflicting reasons why the leaflet had a false address and the phone calls I had with the business owner and his son were certainly enough to raise suspicions in my mind.

I did not know that it was illegal for on-line retailers to hide behind a P.O. box address but Portsmouth Trading Company does not appear to have an on-line presence anyway. At least a P.O. Box address would be better than using an address they have no connection with. I am sure there can be no problems (even for on-line retailers) in using a genuine mail-drop address.

I understand there are concerns about advertising a street address if you operate such a business from your home (which they probably do) but there is no excuse in using someone else's real address, possibly subjecting those people to a burglary, robbery or a Police/Trading Standards investigation.

Alan_the_Anonymous

Only for info, under the E-commerce Regulations 2002 website owners must give recipients of their online services the following:

• your business' name, geographic address and other contact details including your email address
• details of any publicly available register in which you are entered, together with your registration number or equivalent
• the particulars of the supervisory body if the service is subject to an authorisation scheme
• details of any professional body with which you are registered
• your VAT registration number

Limited companies also have to show their Reg'd No and Reg'd Office (Companies Act, updated). It's always been a moot point whether a PO Box is acceptable and AFAIK this hasn't been tested, but by rights an online seller should give a proper geographical address. In my experience it tends to be glossed over.

All of this is required by the EU ECommerce Directive. (Article 5, here [the forum won't let me post the EU Commission link :-( ] which is enshrined in the UK E-Commerce Regulations 2002.

hth

Paul_Varjak

That is very useful information Alan. Interesting that the requirements to display all that information on a website do not apparently extend to other forms of advertising. I think companies are always obliged to provide their registered office address though.

I don't think the Portsmouth Trading is a registered company, so there would be any requirement for any registered office details on any advertising literature.

Whether there is any requirement for a business (that is not a company) to provide any sort of geographical address in advertising material, I am not sure but, like you say, providing a wholly incorrect address is self-defeating. I do see numerous adverts in Yellow Pages that have no identifiable address even though I believe Yellow Pages actually require it!

jamesallen

Call me a cynic, but several brand new forum users turning up just to defend this company?

Alan_the_Anonymous

Why shouldn't I post what I think here? What do you have against them that hasn't already been posted here?