Warning - Cold calls confirming an advert for my business in a pamphlet, on a wallplanner or on a website

Mortimer

Here's a warning in case you get caught up in this scam...

I run my own one-man business. The last few weeks I've been contacted by
several companies which say that in the past (late last year or earlier this
year) they spoke to me about taking out an advert for my company in a
publication or website for which they sell advertising space.

I know that I have taken out advertising with a couple of publications, but
unless I was afflicted with total amnesia, I think I'd remember agreeing to
other adverts. In each case, the company tells me that it is just a few
weeks away from their publishing deadline and wanting an address to send the
artwork to and wanting payment. They say that I do not have the right to
cancel.

I've informed trading standards.

alexd

Mortimer wrote:

> Here's a warning in case you get caught up in this scam...
>
> I run my own one-man business. The last few weeks I've been contacted by
> several companies which say that in the past (late last year or earlier
> this year) they spoke to me about taking out an advert for my company in a
> publication or website for which they sell advertising space.
>
> I know that I have taken out advertising with a couple of publications,
> but unless I was afflicted with total amnesia, I think I'd remember
> agreeing to other adverts. In each case, the company tells me that it is
> just a few weeks away from their publishing deadline and wanting an
> address to send the artwork to and wanting payment. They say that I do not
> have the right to cancel.
>
> I've informed trading standards.

A tenant in my office [who uses the phone system I maintain - how's that for
a tenuous link to keep it on topic] is in the same position as you. He is
listed in Yellow Pages, and once took out an advert on a charity year
planner thing. He now gets calls from people with North-Western accents
chasing him up about adverts he's previous agreed to place, that he has no
recollection of. He even got an invoice through the post for it. One of the
numbers they present is 01132446708. Of course that may belong to some
innocent party, but at least it's here for people googling it.

--
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Yes. I'm just guessing.

Mortimer

alexd wrote in message
2219649.ybQRfBF7t9@ale.cx:

> Mortimer wrote:
>
>> Here's a warning in case you get caught up in this scam...
>>
>> I run my own one-man business. The last few weeks I've been
>> contacted by several companies which say that in the past (late last
>> year or earlier this year) they spoke to me about taking out an
>> advert for my company in a publication or website for which they
>> sell advertising space.
>>
>> I know that I have taken out advertising with a couple of
>> publications, but unless I was afflicted with total amnesia, I think
>> I'd remember agreeing to other adverts. In each case, the company
>> tells me that it is just a few weeks away from their publishing
>> deadline and wanting an address to send the artwork to and wanting
>> payment. They say that I do not have the right to cancel.
>>
>> I've informed trading standards.
>
> A tenant in my office [who uses the phone system I maintain - how's
> that for a tenuous link to keep it on topic] is in the same position
> as you. He is listed in Yellow Pages, and once took out an advert on
> a charity year planner thing. He now gets calls from people with
> North-Western accents chasing him up about adverts he's previous
> agreed to place, that he has no recollection of. He even got an
> invoice through the post for it. One of the numbers they present is
> 01132446708. Of course that may belong to some innocent party, but at
> least it's here for people googling it.

I'm glad I'm not the only one. I thought I was going mad: could I *really*
have forgotten about agreeing to take out adverts?

The companies that I have heard from are all based in the north:

- Nationwide Marketing, Hoylake
- Universal Direct Education, Bradford
- Northern Quarter Creations, Manchester

Trading standards advised me to refuse to pay any invoices, even if I get
hard sells about the "disgusting practice" of cancelling an advert at the
last minute and "how can you do this to the little children" (one advert was
in an anti-bullying pamphlet for schoolchildren), and to take a "so sue me"
attitude if they get nasty about it.

Mortimer

Mortimer wrote in message
46264d8e$0$8735$ed2619ec@ptn-nntp-reader02.plus.net:

> Trading standards advised me to refuse to pay any invoices, even if I
> get hard sells about the "disgusting practice" of cancelling an
> advert at the last minute and "how can you do this to the little
> children" (one advert was in an anti-bullying pamphlet for
> schoolchildren), and to take a "so sue me" attitude if they get nasty
> about it.

Here's another company that has just approached me today using the same
ploy:

Hourglass Design 0121 347 6574

I'll pass their details to Trading Standards.

I've heard of another person who has been contacted in this way by various
companies after taking out a legitimate advert in one publication. Looks as
if they are tackling small businesses. Trading Standards said that they
sometimes try to get the office junior temp to authorise the advert and then
quote this to the person who is reponsible for finance when they do their
follow-up call to arrange payment a few months later.