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04/04/2005
Trading standards warns of holiday scams
The Trading Standards Service has called on the general public to be wary of unsolicited telephone calls offering free holidays.
Recent scams have fallen into two types. In one, the caller alleges that the consumer has won a free holiday in Florida and offers to upgrade the holiday for the apparently reasonable cost of approximately £300.
The second, offers a free holiday in Orlando and requires the consumer to contact a premium rate number, which can result in a charge of £20 a minute or even more.
In all cases the calls suggest that the consumer's details were obtained from a competition entered at various high profile retail stores, including John Lewis, Argos or Marks and Spencer.
Jimmy Hughes from Trading Standards said there are no such competitions.
"These scams use the good name and reputation of established retail companies to mislead the public into accepting a scheme that is wholly unworthy of their trust,” he said. “It is not advisable to respond to any such call as it can involve a premium rate phone call, at an exorbitant rate."
Those seeking further information or advice should contact Consumerline on 0845 600 6262 or report the call to ICSTIS, the independent watchdog on telephone services on 0800 500 212.
(MB/SP)
Recent scams have fallen into two types. In one, the caller alleges that the consumer has won a free holiday in Florida and offers to upgrade the holiday for the apparently reasonable cost of approximately £300.
The second, offers a free holiday in Orlando and requires the consumer to contact a premium rate number, which can result in a charge of £20 a minute or even more.
In all cases the calls suggest that the consumer's details were obtained from a competition entered at various high profile retail stores, including John Lewis, Argos or Marks and Spencer.
Jimmy Hughes from Trading Standards said there are no such competitions.
"These scams use the good name and reputation of established retail companies to mislead the public into accepting a scheme that is wholly unworthy of their trust,” he said. “It is not advisable to respond to any such call as it can involve a premium rate phone call, at an exorbitant rate."
Those seeking further information or advice should contact Consumerline on 0845 600 6262 or report the call to ICSTIS, the independent watchdog on telephone services on 0800 500 212.
(MB/SP)
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