Possible Scam, need some advice

BlackArtist

Hi All,

I recently started a new business, yesterday I received a phone call asking if I would like to help sponsor an Anti Bullying Campaign and in return the company EML (Education Media Ltd) would place an advert for me on a wall-posters/planners and place them throughout schools in my area. Anyways I agreed (bullying is close to us at home at the moment) that if I saw all the paper work and a draft I would.

The draft arrived today, something seemed off, so I decided to just do a quick search about EML, to my dismay I found that it is a scam of sorts. Lots of other people are saying that they don't even print the posters, some are saying they print about 30 etc, so I could basically pay £114 for nothing.

My question is do I have to pay for this now? I must admit I'm a little worried, £114 is quite abit of money to the business at the moment.

Hope the above makes sense.
Anyone else had similar experiences?

Thanks

BA

*edit, after more research they site their address as The Plaza, 100 Old Hall Street, Liverpool, L3 9QJ, this appears to be a virtual office, where they can receive post etc.

steve1980

Have you signed anything?
Yes it's a scam

Savvy_Sue

And did you give bank details?

BlackArtist

a massive thanks for the replies,

No I have not signed anything at all, it was all done over the telephone and No I haven't given them any bank/credit card details.

What should I do next? Ignore the Pro Forma Invoice and Draft of my Ad?

Thanks again!

warwicktiger

I started my own business five years ago, since when I get a call a day from people trying to sell me advertising, on calendars, menus, directories, websites, you name it.

Three mistakes later, over £1000 down now I just ignore them or tell them to go away, or offer my address and invite them to send the details to me in writing so I can study the proposition.

Never ever part with your hard earned from someone who you do not know but cold calls you with the latest best thing since sliced bread!

s_b

i used to get ones from people saying they were selling diaries on behalf of the police/fire /ambulance
they then try to bully you by saying dont you want to help?
no
they are all scams
as said most of these types of deals involve printing the minimum so as to avoid legal action against them
tell them to do one if they phone back OP

BlackArtist

just going to ignore every correspondence with them from now, just a little concerned about if I am legally obliged to pay, don't know if a verbal contract applies here or not, obviously I'm clueless.

I also had the police one straight after the first phonecall.

marleyboy

They are a well known scam. Bin anything and everything they send to you. fear NOT about any demands or bullyboy tactics insisting you pay. Even they know no court in the land would back them up.

Its fortunate you sought advice before handing over bank details, had you done so, getting rid of them would prove a nightmare. If your serious about donating to charities of bullying, there are a few in the UK you can choose from, give it a Google. Kidscape is a good and genuine charity to consider - https://www.kidscape.org.uk/

Mistral001

This type of thing is a well-known scam. I started my own business 15 years ago and for the first three or four years I wiul dget calls like this. It would seem that they must go for new businesses.

I think they get your name from "business directories". Some business directories who ring up are genuine, but most are not in my view. They just sell the information to whoever wants to buy it or keep it themselves for scams like this I would imagine. Since I introduced a policy of refusing point blank to give any information over the phone to non-solicited callers, these calls have stopped more-or-less. I even refuse to "update" the information that a directory says they have when they ring up. That is still information as far as I can see.

BryanSmallBiz

Clearly you are anything but clueless... you were savvy enough to sense that something seemed "a bit off", did some basic due diligence and posted here. They'd have given up ages ago if everyone was at least as smart as you.
Bin everything. There will be a minimum of hassle from them because they only prey upon weaker mortals.
And good luck with your new venture

BlackArtist

Thanks for that, I have since had another call from them, different phone number than previously. I told the lady after my research I am no longer interested due to what I have read about them on the Web etc.

The lady became quite aggressive and said we have a recording of you agreeing to take out the ad, which is a verbal contract, at which point she just hung up.