Beware of Postal Scam - Stunell

2.57.54pm UTC (GMT +0000) Tue 29th Mar 2005

A bogus postal company has been hit with a £15,000 fine after local MP, Andrew Stunell, reported their scam to the authorities. The company were sending postcards to people that claimed they held items which could only be collected if the individual called a premium rate number, warns Hazel Grove MP, Andrew Stunell.

Andrew Stunell said:

"A local resident received an official looking card that had been sent to them by an organisation calling itself Postal Force Ltd. It stated that the resident should call 09050 000 165 to arrange a delivery for a 'perishable item' they held. But there were no perishable items, and the resident wasted money calling the premium rate number given. It is a rip off, plain and simple.

"Now the phone regulator, ICSTIS has stepped in with a £15,000 fine and a bar on using premium rate numbers for any such service in the future by Postal Force Ltd or their backers.

Mr Stunell added:

"This is a nasty, crafty scam. In this case the regulator stepped in swiftly to put a stop to it, but residents need to be wary of anything asking them to call a premium rate number. I urge anyone who has suffered from scams like this to get in touch with me about it."

ENDS

Notes to Editors:

1. ICSTIS (the Independent Committee for the Supervision of Standards of Telephone Information Services) can be contacted at:

Clove Building, 4 Maguire Street, London, SE1 2NQ

Tel: 020 79407408

Email: secretariat@icstis.org.uk

Web: www.icstis.org.uk