vitamail p.o box 1075 bedford mk41 9xp

trisontana

A woman came onto the Three Counties Radio consumer programme this morning. She keeps getting mail addressed to her late husband saying he has won the mythical £10,000. Despite repeated letters to them saying not to send any more mail she is still getting loads of letters. Of course this is all causing her distress to see letters addressed to her late husband. These people are the scum of the earth

lynx10

My complaint has been logged by the OfT, letter extracts below. Maybe others should consider contacting the OfT likewise, and submitting examples of mailed material to which they object, to demonstrate that it's not an isolated case ?

Regards,

Dave.

Unsolicited Prize Draws ... The Office of Fair Trading's remit is to protect the "collective" interests of consumers in the UK by acting to ensure that the practices of traders comply with a range of competition and consumer protection laws. We have no powers to assist individual consumers in their private disputes with traders or to offer legal advice. Nor are we able to offer opinions on the legitimacy or otherwise of a trader.

The OFT website contains detailed useful information for consumers about scams. http://www.oft.gov.uk/Consumer/Scams/default.htm

Your complaint has been registered on our database, and the information contained within will be assessed for evidence of possible breaches by the trader concerned of consumer protection legislation ...

Generally we recommend that consumers do not enter sweepstakes contests, unless they are affiliated with a company that is known to them. Consumers should be particularly cautious of generically named foreign sweepstakes that are asking for a fee in advance. Never pay an advance fee or place an order for an alleged lottery or prize draw win. If consumers are unsure whether or not a mailing is deceptive they should take advice from a friend or relative or check with their local Trading Standards Service. Never give your credit card number or any personal details to collect an alleged prize or to enter a sweepstake.

Mailing Preference Service

In order to stop the flow of unwanted mail you can register with the Mailing Preference Service. This is a non-profit organization whose main objective is to encourage good relations between the Direct Mail industry and the general public. Registering with the service will stop most unsolicited consumer advertising from the UK, however, the service can not stop mail from overseas ... http://www.mpsonline.org.uk

What we will do

The Office of Fair Trading has new enforcement powers that allow us to take action against traders operating in other European member states who breach certain consumer protection law. This includes misleading advertising. We intend to act directly to stop infringements where evidence suggests significant harm to the collective interests of UK consumers and we believe that there is a good chance of success. We believe that, over time, the new powers will prove significant in combating the problem of unsolicited mailshots ...

Chictee2004

I have not had time for a long period before today to look at all the latest postings about Vitamail and Promondo.

I thought I had solved my problem of all the junk mail from this outfit. During October, November and December 2006 I actually received NOTHING (ZILCH!) from Vitamail quite a change from receiving an envelope nearly every two weeks, up until that time. During the latter part of January I received a surprise mailing from Vitamail, which I immediately returned unopened and I suggest that YOU ALL might like to follow my suggestion, I simply dont open these envelopes from Vitamail and I cover the window which shows my own Name and Address with a typed or written Address Label showing the address which appears at the top of their envelope, (Showing the Postcode Southall, UB18 or whatever it is. NEVER, NEVER, RETURN ANYTHING TO THE ADDRESS SHOWN ON THE ENVELOPE WHERE THEY WANT ORDERS SENT AS THAT IS A WASTE OF TIME. I then put the envelope and its contents back in the mail and leave it to Royal Mail and the Company which sent it to me to do what they want with it. If lots of us all return these envelopes unopened then they might begin to get the message.

Another little gimmick I do with junk mail is open it up and next to my address on the contents I write "GONE AWAY" or "SEE NEW ADDRESS" and I write in my old address which I actually left 7 years ago. Reseal the envelope and cover the address window as suggested above and put it back in the mail.

Good Luck.

oz4725

I cant believe all the negativity guys! A good honest law abiding bunch of !!!!!! like this send all of us letters telling us we've won £10K and were still not happy. Nxt you'll want discount on the vastly inflated catalogue goods, actual delivery of the goods you have paid for and a cheque for £10k, the modern day consumer is just all TAKE TAKE TAKE from these toss pot firms.
Every letter goes back in envelope without free post written on it. That way they have to pay for postage and a £1 surcharge fee. The more people that do it the more it costs them or Royal mail will get acked off and stop putting it thru our doors. (OOOPPPPSSSS silly me, why would royal mail wanna do that- they make a fortune from it)

wantmemoney

here, here.

wantmemoney

oz4725 wrote:

(OOOPPPPSSSS silly me, why would royal mail wanna do that- they make a fortune from it)

I just resposting this toots in case others didn't see it

http://www.bbc.co.uk/consumer/tv_and_radio/watchdog/reports/services/services_20061212.shtml

12 December 2006

Spring Global Mail acts as a mailing service handling leaflets and brochures for foreign companies. It sends 500 million every year and the business is worth £85 million.

But millions of these leaflets are scams. And Spring Global Mail lets the scamsters use its London address - Unit 9, Trident Way, Southall. On its website, the company says this means UK residents will be none the wiser about where the companies really come from.

We've exposed many of the scamsters before, but that hasn't stopped Spring Global Mail handling their leaflets.

The company brings the mailings into the UK, but it's the Royal Mail that delivers them to your door. And Royal Mail owns 25 per cent of Spring Global Mail. It actually makes money from the junk the company sends out.

After she was targeted by scam leaflets, Phyllis Moon, 91, wasted £5,000 on fake lotteries, miracle health cures and bogus psychics. It's taken Moon many years to discover that all the false promises were scams.

Mike Haley from the Office of Fair Trading is frustrated with Spring Global Mail. He thinks it should take more responsibility for the leaflets it distributes. Robert Keitch from the Direct Marketing Association condemns the company for knowingly handling leaflets that defraud innocent members of the public.

We paid a visit to Spring Global Mail's headquarters in Amsterdam to find out what it will and won't send in the post. Armed with a fake mailshot for a ridiculous scam, we posed as a Spanish company hoping to target the UK with a miracle slimming aid - Lose Choco-weight. It's obviously a scam, but Spring Global Mail agreed to send it to the UK regardless.

Although Spring Global Mail advised us to get the leaflet checked with the Advertising Standards Authority, it told us it would send anything we wanted in the post. It wasn't even bothered if it was a scam.

Spring Global Mail say it's responsible for the delivery of the mail, it's not responsible for the content. That's down to the customers who send it. It has a clear policy for dealing with deceptive mailings, and has terminated 13 customer contracts after the authorities ruled the content was unlawful or misleading.

Royal Mail says it has a legal obligation to carry all mail, and it doesn't have any control over its content.

If you want to avoid receiving junk mail, the Mailing Preference Service (MPS) is a free service funded by the direct mail industry to enable consumers to have their names and home addresses in the UK removed from or added to lists used by the industry.

The same excuse BT gives concerning mass marketed scam calls

lynx10

BBC NEWS | England | Devon | MEP welcomes EU scams crackdown, 4 March 2007
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/devon/6416833.stm

BBC NEWS | England | Cornwall | Warning over junk mail fraudsters, 1 August 2006
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/cornwall/5234582.stm

Chictee2004

Hi Toots, You asked if I hated new neighbours at my old address. No, in actual fact it was an address with six flats and as I did not provide a flat number the Postman will just be unable to deliver it to any flat. By the way since my last posting I can report that over the last five months I have only received two mailings from Vitamail and both were returned to the Southall address so I reckon I am doing something correct.

Best Wishes

Chictee2004

lynx10

I'm a big winner ...

W. A. P. writes: Have you heard of a company called Vitamail? It has sent me a letter every week for the past 20 or so weeks, telling me I have won £10,000 if I buy something from it, which I have. It even texts me and rings my mobile. It says it is 'irrefutable' that I am the big winner, so where is my £10,000?

IT'S a small world. Four weeks ago, I warned against the De Monaco Heritage Fund, which was churning out letters from a post office box address in Bedford, giving people the impression they had been chosen to receive a special grant from a wealthy foundation, but then asking them for £24 in advance to cover expenses.

Well, Vitamail also hides behind a post office box number in Bedford. And guess what? The real address for both turns out to be exactly the same - 48 Kimbolton Road. This is the offices of Padeol Limited, a company that organises mailings for those who prefer to stay in the shadows.

And guess what again? Just like the De Monaco Heritage Fund, Vitamail is not even in this country. It is simply a mail order company that tricks people into buying health products by telling them they have won £10,000.

But the mock cheques and the glossy letters that promise big prizes are cunningly worded to award you nothing more than an entry in a sweepstake.

Vitamail's real name is Promondo and it is based at Carros in the South of France. The Advertising Standards Authority takes a dim view of Vitamail's misleading mailshots. It has asked European watchdogs to intervene to protect consumers.

The Office of Fair Trading is taking action against a similar operation run by a Dutch mail order business called Best Of. Mike Lambourne, who heads the OFT's 'scambusters' department, says there is an easy way to find out whether letters like the one you received are legitimate.

He says: 'You are under no obligation to make a purchase in order to participate in a prize draw or claim a prize. There will always be a free entry route that you can use to participate without placing an order.'

The other alternative is to stuff the pre-paid envelope with rubbish and send the lot back to it at its expense. But I could not possibly encourage this.

TONY HETHERINGTON: READERS' CHAMPION
I'm a big winner – where's the cash?, This Is Money/Financial Mail, 18 February 2007
http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/news/columnists/article.html?in_page_id=19&in_article_id=417579&in_author_id=5

lynx10

'Dangerous diet pills sold in UK' (Vitamail/The Linea Institute)
The Sun Online, March 21, 2007
http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2007130380,00.html

'Pensioner's £10,000 Prize Never Arrived' (Vitamail)
Nottingham Evening Post, 28th March 2007
http://www.thisisnottingham.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=133965&command=displayContent&sourceNode=133948&contentPK=16980102&moduleName=InternalSearch&formname=sidebarsearch