01695581077

Had a call from someone calling himself Jason, who claimed to be from Foresters' Fund for Children and wondering if I would like to advertise my business through them.  He gave me the website fffc.org.uk which goes straight to a company called Flexit who are website builders.  He claimed that I wouldn't have to pay any money up front so I asked to be emailed details.  He took my business email address.  Within minutes I had a phone call from a woman wanting me to commit myself.  I told her that I had asked for written details and she said she would make sure Jason sent them.  Still no details and I doubt if they will get in touch again.

If you google fffc.co.uk is shows up as the Foresters' fund for children but you can only get through to Flexit.  He found my number in Yell.com

Hi. We had a call today from same number. trying to sell us advertising space for our company in the Police Gazette, a chap called Brian Smith. A bargain £199 a year! Within a few minutes of his call we had a girl call from the advertising company, which we declined as we were busy. On ringing the local police station, they had never heard of this Police Gazette, Brian Smith or the advertising company - Blue Light, which is apparently an Australian magazine, not UK. We don't know where these people got our details, they did seem very legit / professional, be aware! Though we also are advertised on Yell.com among other places.

This morning I received a call on our land line.  The man called himself Bob, slightly London accent, spoke fast and had the gift of the gab.  He said he was calling on behalf of the Police magazine that goes to all employees within the three emergency services.  Calling me Jeanette, coming through on our land line and asking me for my mobile number made me suspicious as all places I am listed have my mobile number, but not that many have my land line. He said they have had my business checked out by the council and I came back all ok, that also made me suspicious.  He started chatting obviously to win my trust and coming out with little things like you don’t have anything against the police do you and how do you fancy grooming police dogs, then laughing and saying well not actually police dogs but their pets. He tried saying they only have one person from each industry in the magazine so there would be no competition.  I said I couldn't commit right now and couldn't afford the £150.00 for the cheapest advert for 4 quarterly issues.  He said no worries magazine wasn't coming out again for 3 months anyway so could back out if I found I couldn't afford it, didn't need to commit now.  I asked him to send information to me by email and he said he would put it in the mail.  Another mistake as there are about only 2 listings where I have included my door number and he didn't check the address with me.  Minutes after I hung up my mobile rang and it was a lady from the same company saying she understood I had spoken to Bob and agreed to advertise with them.  When I said no that was not what I agreed and definitely could not commit to an advert at the moment, she said no worries and quickly ended the call. She obviously was working towards me giving her my card details.

I called the police non emergency line to tell them I thought they were being scammed, they were not surprised.  The first caller Bob withheld his number, but the lady called from this number.  The police checked this site and told me about the reports then  all they said was they would log the report.

I have a call form 01695581077. This is Vision Publications Group form Lancashire. The company is on fffc.org.uk - Supporters - http://www.fffc.org.uk/vision.html there all information.
Vision Publications Group / Vision
PO Box 298 Ormskirk L39 2WQ
31 Burscough Street Ormskirk Lancashire L39 2WQ
T: 0845 265 7054
The company take 50% for cover cost of printing Handbook and the rest money is FFFC form your payment.

Like the rest of you who have posted here, I Googled the telephone number too, more out of curiosity than anything.  Having left a career as a Trading Standards Officer this year to start up my own business, I'm more than aware of rogue traders, scams etc - so thought I'd look this up....

I had a call yesterday from a John Green on behalf of my local emergency services (withheld number).  He had info on me, similar to "Janet" minus my website and mobile number.  I asked where he'd got my info from and he wasn't exactly sure but somewhere through the building trade.  As a carpet and upholstery cleaner I've spread the word in all kinds of construction areas so it's possible but I certainly hadn't contacted the organisation he was assuming he'd got my details from.  

He offered me advertising space in a publication distributed to the emergency services' staff and local "community" places such as libraries, community centres etc.  3 sizes, 3 prices - £495, £295 and £195 - for 12 months.  The "TSO" sector of my brain kicked in and I asked "what's the catch...?"  That was it apparently.  I'm assured of exclusivity - the only carpet cleaner used in this campaign - When I asked "why me?" of all the carpet cleaners locally, apparently I was third on the list, the first two weren't interested for whatever reason and he just goes down his list till he finds someone of the relevant sector who says "yes".  All of this is screaming at me that it's too good to be true - advertising of that price for 25000 copies distributed is a no-brainer and the "scam" notion was firmly at the forefront of my mind.

In the spirit of not wanting to look a gift horse in the mouth, I expressed my non-committal interest in this - at which point I was told he would not contact any other carpet cleaners.  I would be called by a lady called Lisa from Sigma, which is the company they use for publishing.   10 mins later I got this call, the number we're all querying is the number she called from.  

All sounds very good - but I was still wary...

HOWEVER... let me say in my professional opinion (Trading Standards hat here) these people, if they are operating a scam, aren't very good at it.   John Green and Lisa both told me that no payment was required for two and a half months.  They were both consistent with their information regarding artwork, approval, publication etc.  My agreement to this was strictly non-committal and purely on the basis that I receive the relevant documentation through the post, which would include confirmation of the cost, the distribution and the terms discussed with John.  It was also dependent on me receiving a previous publication so I could see exactly what I was going to be investing in and how my advert would appear.  None of this was questioned at all and I was told I would receive this in a few days.

If these people are unscrupulous then I have more than enough time to investigate this before I am required to pay them any money.  I couldn't identify "Sigma" publishing through Google, there's a few of them but it's quite possible that they are a small organisation or a branch of a bigger organisation making them more difficult to identify website-wise by just the name Sigma.    If and when I receive the relevant documentation, I'll be able to conduct a better search and confirm whether they are or aren't a legitimate trader.  With the help of former colleagues (if necessary) I can also then get the local Trading Standards Service's input - if they are rogue then the local authority will almost certainly know.  I will update here if and when I find this out.  I'm also going to sling into the mix here that, to operate a scam citing the Police as your client is tantamount to rogue trader suicide..!!!  Police take a very hard line on rogue traders anyway but to operate a scam which could potentially bring the emergency services into disrepute would, I should imagine, carry a far harsher punishment.  Of all the industries that they have cited as their client group, they have gone for the one that would carry the most enormous risk if they're playing with fire.

Sorry, I do waffle on but think it's important to put some balance here.   I'm basing this all on logic, professional experience and common sense.   I've searched the net as you all have for this phone number - there is nothing anywhere to indicate that this company is bogus or rogue.  Anything else scam-like is generally plastered all over the google search page with countless people questioning.  Considering that the first query here was posted in respect of this number some time ago, it's not that the organisation has just set up a new phone number to disguise the fact that they are knowwn rogue traders, they've obviously used the same number for a long time.  The posts on this page about this number aren't coming in constantly, there's huge gaps between queries then a few all at the same time, to me indicating that a mass marketing campaign is being undertaken - obviously this will be nationwide, it's not just my local emergency services I'm sure.  Couple this with the (assuming I receive it) written confirmation and former publication and that they don't want any money from me and at no point have asked me for any bank details or anything more than the name/address to send the info to - in my opinion it's worth a look - and unless any of you are told anything different or asked for any money/bank details etc I'd advise the same.  I really don't see how these people could make any money or any gain whatsoever by operating a "scam" in the way this is being conducted, which leads me to conclude (sticking my neck out here) that they're probably legitimate.

Everyone is right to be cautious - generally if something seems too good to be true, it usually is - but in this case I think that an injustice could be being done to this organisation - and yourselves if it is legitimate and you pass up the offer.  Don't get me wrong, I'm nobody's fool at all and absolutely won't commit until I'm as sure as I can be that it's safe.  Janet - maybe if you'd continued with the call you wouldn't have been asked for your card details at all..... maybe you would have but you would have instantly known for certain that was the time to back out..... keep up the healthy suspicion, you won't get taken for a mug that way but be careful you don't dismiss something out of hand which could be a great asset to your new business - I know how hard it is, I've only been trading a few months myself and if this opportunity is legitimate it could provide me with bread and butter clients.

Anyhoo.... enough for now.  I will keep you all updated as and when I have any more info on this offer.  If I'm wrong then I'll eat my words... lol.  If I'm right then there may well be a few people here kicking themselves for missing a very good value advertising opportunity.  

Julie :-)

In follow up to the above and for anyone new to this forum who might be tracing the number, I can now clarify.....

The publication "Blue Light Magazine" (which in the case of my call was the one I was being sold advertising space in) is a genuine publication.  It exists, it's quite an impressive looking magazine, all glossy and decent quality.   It contains information about emergency services, articles etc.  From what I can make out, these articles are not submitted by any member of the emergency services but are exclusively related to their activities.  

However... there are discrepancies in the information I was given by the people I spoke to.

The magazine is not produced on behalf of or on the instruction of any of the emergency services.  Having checked and double checked that the person speaking to me was "a marketing company recruited by the Police force" and been told it was, this is very bad practice and is against the law.   I have checked this with my local police force and their media department.  

Neither is the magazine distributed - as I was told - to all members of staff of the three emergency services.  I've checked with them and spoken to several police officers and members of the fire service across three neighbouring counties, so I'm unsure at this stage of the target audience and distribution methods of the magazine.

Having told both people I spoke to that I was not prepared to commit to any order, I was interested in finding out more information about this opportunity and nothing more and had this confirmed by both of them, I was rather annoyed to receive the information through the post which was apparently confirming my order.  The letter I received thanks me for my kind support blah blah blah and tells me I am "kindly helping with a 1/6 page advert...".  This is fine until you turn the letter over and the reverse side contains terms and conditions.  These T&C in teeny tiny illegible writing advise the consumer of their right to cancel within seven days of placing the order (being the date you received the phone call and requested info through the post).  After this time the "contract" is binding and the consumer is agreeing to pay the fees and in fact agreeing that if they fail to pay on time they are liable for an additional admin fee and further, if they fail to pay that they agree the publishers can instruct debt collectors.  

The publishing company exists, although they are hardly an outfit worthy of much credence.  They rent a small section of a managed office block in Liverpool it would appear - although the number called from is not a Liverpool one.  I'm currently in the process of having the publisher investigated through a former Trading Standards colleague.  

I have immediately contacted the publishing company through the email address they provide on their inkjet printed letterhead - this company being "Sigma".  I advised them of my dissatisfaction in all of the above and also advised them that such practices are in breach of the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008, namely section 5 which protects consumers against false or misleading information.  

Under their terms and conditions I made it abundantly clear that I was exercising my right to cancel within the seven day period, however this was not valid anyway as I had not placed any order so there was nothing to cancel.  I did also express that there may still be a valid advertising opportunity within this publication as it does exist and, should the publishers reply to me with an accurate written confirmation of the target audience and distribution methods that I may still be interested in investing.  Surprisingly I have had no response yet.  The publication appears to be related to the charitable organisations associated with the emergency services but nothing in the letter, T&C or the phone calls indicated this.

For anyone who has found themselves in a "binding contract" which they had not expected to be in under these terms - the "contract" is null and void if you, as I was, were misled into this by claims of emergency services endorsement or distribution numbers and methods - or anything else which proves to be inaccurate.  There is only ever going to be a claim from them of a verbal "order" which will be unverifiable as they clearly won't record calls for quality purposes.   The sticking point comes when you receive a letter as I have done, which in tiny T&C on the reverse advises you of your right to cancel.  That's what they will argue if you dispute this, however if they have misled you into any kind of agreement with false claims, the entire "contract" is null and void anyway.  These actions put them in breach of the above mentioned legislation so your argument to them would be that you are "rejecting the entire contract on the basis that they are in breach of the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008, namely section 5 which protects consumers against misleading information or omissions".

As far as I can make out, they are on rather dodgy ground here.  They are bending the rules and not doing it very well.  clearly they're not familiar with this piece of legislation so I'm doing what I can to ensure that their local Trading Standards service educates them on this subject.  

I'll keep checking back on this page from time to time, if anyone has any questions in relation to this, please post here and I'll do my best to help.   I will maintain that there is still a possiblity this could be a viable advertising opportunity - depending on the distribution and target audience.  I was told 25000 four times over the 12 month period.  If you can get written confirmation from them of exactly where and how the distributions will be made then go for it.  Although having said that, the publication they sent me shows not a single advert so I'm really not sure how mine would appear - and again they've not answered that.  

Julie

wow julie your good and very infortive on them, i am on the same boat as all of you, i had a phone call last week offering the same great deal, and like others them sying they were doing it on behalf of the police force. cant remember what he called imself but he was a typical cockney. very confident and had gift of the gab. then 10 mins later i had a scouse woman on phone to finalise deal, all i said was "yes sounds a good deal" and that was her happy, she said ok your in the magazine but we dont need pament for 3 months. that was converation over. at the weekend i was thinking about this and yes they obvioudly have my details but not once did they discuss my advert. what was going on it, what phone numbers, do i want my email on it. NOTHING. so thats why i have done what u have and typed their number in google and found this great page. after reading about them i have just phoned them and said i want off their list and if i get any calls or bills from them i will call police, i said that u are a scam and she said she is aware of what is on this site but will take me off immediately. she didnt even attempt to talk me round she seemed quite scared actually. THEY ARE A SCAM, DO NOT GET INTO A CONTRACT WITH THEM OR IN 3 MONTHS YOU WILL BE PAYING FOR SOMETHING THAT YOU HAVENT EVEN SEEN

cainan roberts plumbing & heating     stirling, scotland

I had the same conversation with these people after speaking to the police i came to the conclusion that it was a scam and that i wanted out of it. I e-mailed them last week only to recieve a copy of the printed magazine today with an advert inside for my company! a very poor advert with wrong details on it!
what should i do now? i guess they havnt actioned my email about canceling!

I have a incident number from South Yorkshire police if anyone wants to contact them too. the more of us contact them the more pressure there is for them to act i suppose.

my email is heavenhairandbeauty@googlemail.com.

Thanks

Ryan

Hi

Had caller for Blue light same process I now have a mag in front of me with invoice for £534 half page.
The so called Bob Smith police press was from a mobile and Rabecca George SigmaI did not commit to this and they used my website which was beach of copyright.
I have had the police round and gave them everything now waiting to see what they say.
Spoke to consumers direct who said write a letter to them stating the copyright law.
Makes me ill thinking people out there like this it seems very easy for them to harrass us.

Sorry if this is a bit long but I have also had various phone calls from "Blue Light Magazine" It all sounded very plausible at first and I admit I was drawn in. I agreed to a 1/4 page add as long as they could send me proof of their distribution and where they had published before. They sent me a copy of my advert  from Sigma which could have been copied and pasted from any magazine now I think about it. This was a few weeks ago. They also said no money was required up front which then did sound to me as it could be genuine.
 A couple of days ago I received a call from a man (forgot name used) who thanked me for my support and was really overdoing the thanking, which made me a bit suspicious. He said the publisher would ring shortly to finalise details, this number was withheld. I very quickly got a phone call from a guy using a mobile who said he was from HARRIS CROMWELL PUBLISHERS ( Number 0751989665) - not SIGMA. He started to talk in ways that made it sound like an official verbal contract was being discussed, but I interrupted him by saying I had never heard of his company and I thought the publisher was SIGMA. He then said he would check and got off the phone. There was also some confusion in that for some reason he thought I wanted 2 adverts.
 I straight away received a phone call from the first caller who apologised for any confusion and said he would give me a 20% discount if I paid today and that he would enlarge my ad to a half page. I asked why this other caller was using a mobile and not a land line, he said it was "computer generated". By now I was convinced it is a SCAM. He then said the guy from the publishers would call back. He stated this magazine was going to be new to my area with 40,000 copies distributed to households in the area "but not council houses". I would also be the only one within my business sector in the magazine. Sound familiar?
In the very first phone call I had from someone they stated that this magazine was distributed to members of the emergency services, Fire, Police an Ambulance. They never mentioned delivering to households

Sorry if this is going on a bit.

I then received another phone call from the "publisher" who started doing his verbal contract and recording calls speech again, but I stopped him and  I asked for proof of the magazine and where it was distributed to be sent and emailed to me. He said he would do it straight away and got off the phone, I told him I thought this was was all sounding like a scam. In hindsight it looks as if they mixed up publishing company's when they phoned previously.

I have not received any information from them so far by email or post.

Having read these other posts I am now going to contact the police.
I will update if I get any more information.

Hi Mick

I too have been pestered by Harris Cromwell. Can't find any other information about them online. They're saying they spoke to me 6 months ago regarding advertising space and it's now time to pay! I've never even heard of them. I asked for recorded proof and was told that the discount they've given me wouldn't be valid any more if that happened, as I'd have to be put through to 'head office'. His name was 'John Morris' on 07519 880 513.

Another Liverpool advertising scam. I'm phoning Trading Standards later today and have already spoken to Action Fraud and the police about other Liverpudlian companies who have been harassing me over time.

I've never experienced fraud before, and over the past year have stupidly given money to these other fraudsters, who I can see are known about online.

Look out for:

Platinum Press
Monarch Multimedia
Advanced Publications
Imperial Media Services
Harris Cromwell

... all from Liverpool. All publishers of 'charity' or emergency services magaizines. All not sending paperwork or magazines. Only Advanced Publications sent a magazine, but it may well have been a one off for me.

I'm now ignoring their calls and didn't pick up the withheld number from their head office at Harris Cromwell. It's rather intimidating as I don't know what threats they'll start giving me. This is the first time I'm not giving any money to these crooks.

If anyone else has heard of this company or 'John Morris' I'd love to know.

Many thanks

I too have had a John Roberts contacting me regarding advertisding in The Gateway magazine for the police. I have previously agreed to take out an advert in a safety booklet for the police and they always start the phone call with thank you for agrreing to advertise in our publication. Then it turns out to be a different publication but they have already got you to agree to it because you think they are talking about the previous advert already agreed. This last one was to be published by Harris Cromwell. I have been given 2 weeks to pay, although they tried to get he payment out of me straight away by offering a 20% discount.

Am going to contact the local police about this now.

I'm such an idiot, I've been taken in too. I was called by John Morris about the advert I'd agreed to take out some months ago. I couldn't remember the conversation but I've been so busy and done a number of adverts so actually doubted myself. After a few calls it appears I have two adverts in Thinksafe! community Magazine by Imperial Media and two more in Gateway Magazine by Harris Cromwell. It all seemed reasonably legit and I even exchanged a few mails about my artwork. Foolishly I paid for 3 of the 4 (can't believe it as I type this) as I was offered the 15% discount on paying that day. I asked him about the relationship between HArris Cromwell and Imperial Media - none he said. I've forked out about £1K. I'm worried by what Julie said as if a magazine turns up I may have a difficult time proving it's fraud. I'll contact Visa and the Police. In short if anyone from Harris Cromwell or Imperial Media (both from Liverpool) contact you - hang up!

OMG, I knew I was getting scammed but did not know what to do about it. just called my local police. Any chance of getting the money we foolishly paid so far?

Has anyone been able to claim payment back from Visa? Presumably this would need a police incident number? Also Ryan can you advise me of the number for the police branch you called? thanks

Oh great - I've just been taken in by this too!  I'll email this report to Sigma, tell them I've reported them for fraud and that I am exercising my right to cancel within 7 days of placing the order!  I'll keep you posted. I'm not paying for ANYTHING!  FINGERS CROSSED.

thank you janet for your committs below.
i too had a phone call to place an advert in blue light mag this week of witch i place a small add in mag.
and yes about 5min later a lady called me giving me more details and saying if i paid now i would save
10%.  iam glad i declined her offer. isaid i would wait till the mag came out.
Since then i have receiced a letter from this company details of order i had placed with a nice a 4 glossy
leaflet all about the blue light campain for the brave.
I then went on the internet just to see what the blue light mag was all about.
It is then from a few commits found that alerted me to a poss scam.
i then found the post that you placed on internet.
like to thank you very much as you comfirmed to me that is a scam.
this company sigma has not nor will receive any money from me.
i think i will let them send invoice as this will cost them. i will report them to police. thank you allan

MARK ANDREWS from VISION PUBLICATIONS GROUP(FORMALLY VARDIS) called me today regarding an 'apparent'(VOID) outstanding balance.

*THEY ARE A FRAUDULENT COMPANY!
*DO NOT SPEAK TO THEM, PUT THE PHONE STRAIGHT DOWN!
*CALL THE POLICE AND LOG AN INCIDENT FOR HARASSMENT!
*CALL TRADING STANDARDS AND LOG A COMPLAINT WITH THEM!
*CALL NATION FRAUD LINE ALSO!

they(VISION) are also ringing from a new landline number (01695)580770.

HAVE THEY HAD TO RELOCATE DUE TO BEING 'MOVED ON' SO TO SPEAK, OR HAD TO 'MOVE' PREMISES??

AVOID THESE PEOPLE LIKE THE PLAGUE.!!!

SCAM SCAM SCAM SCAM!

My husband was almost taken in by HARRIS CROMWELL yesterday. A man from the so called 'company' rang my husband whilst he was working and offered him half an A4 page advert in a magazine called EMERGENCY SERVICES which was going to be delivered to every postcode in our area on a quarterly basis. The cost for a full year was £150. My husband came home and told me he'd managed to get the cost down to £100 + VAT but if he paid within 7 days he'd get another 10% discount. He was also told he would be the only builder in the magazine. Fantastic offer, he thought! Luckily he asked the man to call him back in an hour once he'd had time to discuss with me. He called back bang on time but following my advice, my husband asked him to email him the details before proceeding.
We did receive an email 10 mins later from HARRIS CROMWELL confirming the above details with an attachment of the magazine which wasn't called Emergency Services at all. The name of this magazine was GATEWAY. This was when I looked on Google for the company and found this blog confirming that it is a SCAM. They appear to be using the same names, titles and stories but just in different variations.
Scum bags! As if times aren't hard enough at the moment!

Was almost taken in by these guys yesterday as well. A "Paul Spencer" called claiming to be from the Police Press Office (he also had a faint Merseyside accent). He was phoning to inform me about a new magazine being published called "Gateway" which would be distributed locally to inform people about rogue trader/scam artists etc (quite ironic really!). He offered me a deal whereby I could design their website (I'm a website designer) and would be the only web designer featured and could have a quarter page advert for £114 inc VAT or if I paid there and then I could have a 20% discount so it would be £102.60. I opted to pay it later as I wanted to look them up as it didn't sound right. Unlike most phone scammers/cold callers he was polite, informative and quite convincing. I can see why they fool people.

I received another call shortly after speaking to him from somebody else who claimed to be from the publishers of this magazine "Harris Cromwall" who wanted to confirm the details of the advert. As with the first caller they were polite, informative and convincing. To cut a long story short I received their invoice and advert draft, it clearly wasn't from a professional company, let alone a company that the Police would be associated with. The email address didn't look right, website didn't exist and the logo looked like it had been designed by a GCSE student.

After Googling their phone numbers I came across this post forum and immediately cancelled my order and reported the incident to the Police. I had several missed called from withheld numbers after cancelling and spoke to "Paul Spencer" again who offered me a lower rate and would allow me to not pay for a few months which I declined.

The details on their invoice are:

Harris Cromwell
Price Street Business Centre
Birkenhead, WIRRAL
CH41 4JQ
Tel: 0845 463 2254
Fax: 0845 463 2294
accounts@harriscromwell.net

HSBC Bank plc, Account No – 23929558, Sort Code – 40 29 08

"Paul Spencer's" mobile number is 07519 880513

-------------------------------------------

I had an answer phone message from the Police last night saying that they basically can't do anything about it as the company do indeed publish a magazine although it's not widely circulated but has nothing to do with the Police. I guess this is how they're worming their way out of getting prosecuted, probably claimed I was mistaken about the Police link.