Phone Scammers Hiting Restaurants

[Basildog]

Just wondering if anyone else out there is getting phone calls from companies claiming that you agreed to sponser/advertise in their guide/books for schools programme.They tend to start by thanking you for your support, and that they have raised thousands in our area.Eventually , they cut to the chase, and want payment (eg £199 + VAT).They repeat the fact that you agreed, months ago on the phone and they have a recording of it.One of them was going to get her manager to call me (never happened) and one is going to "post" me the recording.

Anyway, thought it was worth a heads up.

Keep Em Peeled!

[ravelda]

Thanks for this Basildog - it amazes me how many scams there are out there. I continually get emails from people telling me that they have X number of employees that they wish us to feed over a number of days and that they need our bank details in order to make the payment! Do they think we are that stupid?!!

[origamicrane]

there is also one from a dodgy telephone directory company too.

They just send you an invoice and expect you to pay

when you phone to query it they claim you agreed to it on the phone and they have a recording.

Just ask them to send you the recording if they say they not allowed to do that

just tell them to go chat with their lwayers and hang up.

[Basildog]

and the Swiss based International Directory one.Fill in the form to update their database, read the samll print and your agreeing to buy a guide for 700 euros and a CD for 90. I send back the prepaid envelope with little notes expressing my thoughts, or the contents of my ashtray.Wankers!

[erica graham]

I had one yesterday for the gourmet guide book or something saying we had been specially selected to go in their well respected guide of nine years, we would recieve a laminated cetificate that could go straight n the wall, and our credit card sized entry would only cost us £100!!

[marc at fraiche]

Just wondering if anyone else out there is getting phone calls from companies claiming that you agreed to sponser/advertise in their guide/books for schools programme.They tend to start by thanking you for your support, and that they have raised thousands in our area.Eventually , they cut to the chase, and want payment (eg £199 + VAT).They repeat the fact that you agreed, months ago on the phone and they have a recording of it.One of them was going to get her manager to call me (never happened) and one is going to "post" me the recording.

Anyway, thought it was worth a heads up.

Keep Em Peeled!

←

funny you should mention it, i had the same sale pitch as above but they didnt mention a recording, though they tried to say somebody from the restaurant gave the ok,to which i could answer there is only me here so push off, had the food guide from sweeden too lol oh and had the good restaurant directory saying we have a fab write up and they will send copies , very generous i thought then they casually mentioned there is a charge of £150 to send the guides

oh for the fly in the soup days!

[thom]

Just wondering if anyone else out there is getting phone calls from companies claiming that you agreed to sponser/advertise in their guide/books for schools programme.They tend to start by thanking you for your support, and that they have raised thousands in our area.Eventually , they cut to the chase, and want payment (eg £199 + VAT).They repeat the fact that you agreed, months ago on the phone and they have a recording of it.One of them was going to get her manager to call me (never happened) and one is going to "post" me the recording.

Anyway, thought it was worth a heads up.

Keep Em Peeled!

←

Ah yes, that's an age-old telesales/publishing scam. It's normally a drugs for schools publication and they claim to have the backing of the local police force. There are variations of the theme but the most common is that they do actually produce the publication and send you a copy but little do you know that instead of printing 10k/20k/30k copies (delete as applicable) to mail out to schools the little tinkers have just printed 100 or so to send to the none-the-wiser clients.

Guess where the cost difference on printing and distributing all those thousands of copies goes...?

There has been a spate of companies doing this around Manchester over the last decade or so. I think one bright spark came up with the idea and now ex-employees or slow on the uptake competitors have all realised what a good wheeze it is. The idea spread by some sort of criminal osmosis, I guess they see it as less risky (in terms of jail terms and/or bodily harm) than robbing building societies...

Having done my time as a telesales bod (on thoroughly legit - though shite - magazines I hasten to add) I delight in indulging in a bit of poacher turned game-keeper and always insist of having such calls put through to me, particularly on a Friday afternoon when I'm feeling mischievous. Knowing the inner workings of both the sales pitch and the psychology of your average scrote of a sales person can lead to a good ten mins of so of cruel bating and general malevolent befuddlement.

Joy.

Cheers

Thom