Hellish. That's how hairdresser Linzi Booth describes being chased to pay for an advert she didn't want and had never ordered.

Linzi is just one of countless victims of a rampant scam to fleece kind-hearted businesses.

Figures just released by the Insolvency Service show that 60 rogue publishing companies which claimed to publish "good cause" booklets have been shut down by the courts since 2000.

The Insolvency Service says it is second only to VAT fraud as the biggest scam operating out of the North West.

Advertisement
The conmen claim their booklets, wallplanners and diaries will help drug awareness, road and fire safety and crime prevention.

They tout for advertising but what the generous victims don't know is that the booklets often don't even exist.

The latest bent firm to be shut down is Crime Prevention Advisory Services Limited.

Dozens of small companies complained to Trading Standards or Consumer Direct to say they were either being hounded to pay for an advert they hadn't ordered or had paid for an ad but no publication was ever produced.

"In either case, Crime Prevention Advisory Services had aggressively pursued the small business for payment," says the Companies Investigation Branch of the Insolvency Service

The firm was run by 24-year-old Joseph Stringer and Edwina Dobbs, 29. "I don't want to talk about it," spluttered Stringer outside his grotty semi in Droylsden, Manchester.

"Why are you asking it, it's been closed down," he sneered before jumping into a top-of-the-range convertible Merc.

These rogues lie about how many copies of their booklets they'll print.

They lie when they tell unwilling businesses that they previously agreed to advertise.

They lie about suing their victims if they don't pay up... the last thing they want is a hearing in court.

They often even lie about who's behind these shameful operations.

Hourglass Design, one of the latest batch to be liquidated was run on paper by Susan Reid of Middleton, Lancs, but in reality the boss was her son Adrian, 25.

His previous bogus "good cause" publishers included Peterson Lloyd & Co, which cheated business advertisers of £500,000, Pemberton Slater, which raked in £157,000, and Ambito which skimmed an incredible £940,000.

Linzi, a hairdresser in Solihull, West Mids, was cold-called by a rep for something called Vardis, which publishes booklets for a children's charity.

Although she refused to place an ad, she did agree to receive more details through the post.

Then, she says, Liverpool-based Vardis used a recording of their conversation as "proof" that she placed an order and had put debt collectors on to her, demanding £524. This is despite Solihull Trading Standards telling Vardis that it needs evidence in writing that a contract with Linzi exists and that its recording "has obviously been edited".

Vardis manager Mark Andrews told us: "We are in a difficult industry with lots of publishers, some of who leave a lot to be desired.

"But we are one of the goods guys, working for a genuine charity."

Do they tell potential advertisers that the charity gets just 12.5 per cent of the money raised?

"We do if they ask," he replied.

But at least they won't be chasing Linzi any more.


See Original Article

If you need help dealing with corporate debt then call us now for free and friendly advice.

Call us on: 0800 071 1616

Email us on: info@debtsgone.co.uk

Website: www.debtsgone.co.uk