Warwickshire Trading Standards Alert to Small Businesses

Bogus advertisers warning to Warwickshire small businesses
Small businesses in Warwickshire are warned to beware of cold calls from bogus publishers/advertisers pretending to sell advertising in Warwickshire County Council publications. These individuals, who appear to be using difficult to trace mobile phone numbers are reported to be both persistent and aggressive.
Businesses are advised not to buy goods or services from cold callers, or to say or do anything that might be perceived as a verbal contract to buy.
Rogues operating in this area use high pressure sales techniques and pre-prepared scripts to trick unsuspecting businesses in to agreeing to pay for advertising in publications they produce that have little or no circulation and are therefore essentially worthless. They often falsely claim to be working on behalf of a local authority or charity and that the publication will have some social benefit (drugs awareness, fire or road safety, health etc.)
Businesses that do fall victim to these fraudsters are then aggressively chased for money with the threat of court action.

6/7/18