The Con from the Scam Merchants!
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Just received a “Final Demand” from Data Protection Agency Enforcement Services. They are offering to charge £135 to register my business with the Information Commissioner, a service that anyone can do for themselves at £35+VAT per annum. However, a quick check on the Information Commissioner site reveals them to be a bogus agency.
On the front of the envelope, the words “This is not a circular” were stamped in bold black writing. The text on the front page, although factually correct was alarming and the last page could be easily construed into making people think they had to act swiftly. Many businesses could well rush into signing up for this service thinking it came from an official government body.
On this occasion they have picked on the wrong company. I will be reporting them to the Information Commissioner, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) and our local Trading Standards. They will be passed the envelope and all printed documentation within the “Final Demand” pack, something they may be very interested in.
A good guide on what to do if you receive similar can be found HERE.
Hope this information is useful to other individuals, companies and organisations out there.
Barry said,
Wrote on May 29, 2004 @ 8:22 pm
Hi John,
Nice one, glad to see you’re wise to these shisters. There have been several articles on BBC Radio 4’s “You and Yours” about this scam and others like it. The other popular one is a telephone preference service, IIRC, they charge you £25 to register you with a service that thats you can do yourself for free.
If you get anything like this and doubt its authenticity, then contact the the relavent agency *directly* they will only be too happy to confirm or deny if they have sent you any communications. After that, do as John recommends and report them to *all* interested parties.
It always amazes me how some people believe they have the right to exploit other for personal gain or profit. As far as I am concerned these people are scum and contribute nothing to the world.
Craig Murphy said,
Wrote on May 29, 2004 @ 11:44 pm
Good call amigo, let’s see a scan of the scammers work. Glad we’ve got folks like you policing such things…otherwise those of us not so aware might fall foul. Keep up the good work, gracias.