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Foresters Fund for Children

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I was approached today by a representative of Foresters Fund for Children.

He made some wild claims about raising over £100'000 for children and that 100% would be going to the charity.

I made a point of taking down the charity number 327449 and told the caller that I would be checking with the charity. He was fine with this and seemed quite genuine.

However, scratching the surface I find that the web site is supported by Vision Publishing and there is a cached version of the page, still on server, that is a carbon copy of this which thanks the generous support of their official publishing partner Vardis.

I've heard that Vardis are/were selling advertising space in non-existent publications and now I have a carbon copy of this sharp practice template calling me twice from different numbers in the same day.

I'm not for one minute saying that Foresters Fund for Children are criminal but it strikes me as really suspicious that the organisation has partnered with not one, but two publishers listed on the TAPA web site.

Does anyone else know more?

David
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Comments

  • Not hard, I even beat our resident Google expert to it

    http://www.forestersfundforchildren.org.uk/index.html

    Domain name:
    forestersfundforchildren.org.uk

    Registrant:
    fffc

    Registrant type:
    UK Registered Charity

    Registrant's address:
    po box 29429
    cumbernauld
    glasgow
    cumbernauld
    G67 9AL
    United Kingdom

    Registrar:
    Easyspace Ltd t/a Easyspace Ltd [Tag = EASYSPACE]
    URL: http://www.easyspace.com

    Relevant dates:
    Registered on: 29-Jan-2004
    Renewal date: 29-Jan-2012
    Last updated: 04-Mar-2010

    Registration status:
    Registered until renewal date.

    Name servers:
    ns1.namecity.com
    ns2.namecity.com
  • kazzah60
    kazzah60 Posts: 752 Forumite
    dstanden wrote: »
    I was approached today by a representative of Foresters Fund for Children.

    He made some wild claims about raising over £100'000 for children and that 100% would be going to the charity.

    I made a point of taking down the charity number 327449 and told the caller that I would be checking with the charity. He was fine with this and seemed quite genuine.

    However, scratching the surface I find that the web site is supported by Vision Publishing and there is a cached version of the page, still on server, that is a carbon copy of this which thanks the generous support of their official publishing partner Vardis.

    I've heard that Vardis are/were selling advertising space in non-existent publications and now I have a carbon copy of this sharp practice template calling me twice from different numbers in the same day.

    I'm not for one minute saying that Foresters Fund for Children are criminal but it strikes me as really suspicious that the organisation has partnered with not one, but two publishers listed on the TAPA web site.

    Does anyone else know more?

    David

    I can only add my experience of the Foresters Fund For Children
    I work on a voluntary basis for a childrens charity and part of me job is applying for grant funding.

    I applied to Foresters fund for Children for a grant to help with a project we were running.

    i did not receive an acknowledgement of our application nor notification that our application had been considered and turned down - nothing- which is rare in my experiences usually if a trust is not going to acknowledge applications or notify unsuccessful applicants, they state this on the application form or on the website.

    it is possible of course that we were considered and were unsuccessful - but it would have been nice to know either way
    Karen
  • I am a cow so cannot speak Bullshine but I do recognise its smell when I come upon it.
  • Vision are still 'at it'. Foresters fund I had a similar first call as you, in fact at first I thought they wanted to send children Carriage Driving. I agreed to them sending me more info and this was 'Interpreted' by them into sending copy (with a horrid picture of a horses head) I have told them I didnt want to advertise. Since then I have had calls and a letter asking for payment, I have told them I am not going to pay. They said they are going to pass it to their legal department. I said that was fine but I still wasnt going to pay. Ive looked and seen posts on a number of forums now and I would advise anyone DO NOT PAY VISION ANY MONEY AT ALL,
  • We have had a similar experience. We were contacted by Vision about advertising which we refused. We then received an email with artwork attached (taken from our website) for our approval. On contacting them we were told that the order had been placed as it was on their system. I was told that the person I was speaking to could not cancel it and I would be contacted by her manager - although why an order which never existed needs to be cancelled is beyond me. There are stories of people who have been scammed in this way being pursued by debt collectors and bailiffs and having credit ratings adversely affected which can be seriously frightening. This company is in partnership with the Forresters Fund for Children whose activities obviously need to be investigated. I wonder if it is worth making a complaint about the Forresters Fund to the charities commission as they are in association with Vision Publications and therefore seem to approve of their fraudulent procedures. It is difficult to believe that they are unaware of the tactics employed by Vision Publications.
  • Hi,

    I too have had similar experience with Vision, they are currently calling me daily and sent invoices threatening legal action as I've now realised after research that it is a scam. I have asked that they send me a full list of where the magazine is to be distributed which they haven't done yet. I won't be paying a penny.

    Please can someone advise WHY after so much investigation in to the owner Andrew Lownsborough for his previous company Vardis and now Vision, this includes Police Fraud Action team, Trading Standards, Watchdog- how is he still getting away with this??

    Many Thanks
  • paulineb_2
    paulineb_2 Posts: 6,489 Forumite
    Ive just been called by them, didnt agree to anything and have blocked their number on my mobile phone.
  • If you Google.......scambusters raid ormskirk office in major fraud enquiry.........you will see that the office of Vision publishing was raided by the police,and they are now under investigation for fraud.I f they con you into buying an advert,and then chase you for yhe money,just refer them to this article.
  • If you Google.......scambusters raid ormskirk office in major fraud enquiry.........you will see that the office of Vision publishing was raided by the police,and they are now under investigation for fraud.I f they con you into buying an advert,and then chase you for yhe money,just refer them to this article.

    http://qnews.co.uk/north-west/ormskirk/scambusters-raid-ormskirk-offices-in-fraud-enquiry
  • This charity has allowed Vardis publishing,and Vardis publishing gb to use the charities name to sell advertising space.Both companies went bust.The charity now allows Vision publishing to use their name also.All three companies were owned by Andrew Lownsborough..........google his name to give you a flavour of the pattern.All three firms have worked from the same office in Ormskirk.Now that they have been raided by the police and are under investigation for fraud,you would think that the charity would want to distance themselves from these people wouldnt you?
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