Vardis - STAY CLEAR

[To The Point Plumbing]

This company contacted me a few years back claiming to be a childrens charity. They talked me into having some proofs done on an advertisement. They told me I would not be charged for this and could tell them I wasent interested.

I then received a copy of this ad which was going to be marketed to school children??? They told me the magazine would be sold to school kids around my region, which raised alarm bells. A childrens fund selling to children, hence having a target Market to children?????

I tried to cancel this and even though I spoke with a printer from this place, I still received an invoice. To which I told them they were a shabby organization, that there artwork and rip off methods would not wash with me.

They threatened to take me to court etc, so I told them to get on with it. As I'm sure a judge would like to hear what I have to say on the matter.

Anybody who has dealings with these people should be very weary, as they are out to rip people off. They couldn't even spell my name right.

 

[ThePublisher]

http://www.vardis-drivingschool.co.uk/contact.html

Not just businesses they are ripping off....check this out!

Ahh now that is very interesting. I see they metion Prontopass on their website.

I'm a magazine publisher who networks with other magazine publishers. It hasn't happened for a while, but we used to get emails from the lovely Julie Frank of Prontopass, claiming to have a potential franchisee in our delivery area, could we please send a copy of our magazine to her, as they would want to be advertising when the franchisee started working.

Mysteriously, not one of the several magazine publishers sending a magazine ever actually got an order from a Prontopass franchisee, (and looking at their website, their 'franchise' doesn't exactly look like a booming national organisation) but it wouldn't take long before our advertisers in the magazine that had been sent would start getting calls from Vardis.

It would appear that Prontopass driving school has been rebranded to Vardis driving school.

Cheeky so-and-so's have even said they don't want sales calls on their TPS registered telephone number.

Do you work for Vardis Publishing then Julie as we suspected all along?

 

[cleanermothershelp]

Hello

i had a call from these today i didnt agree to the ad but they said they are gonna send info out guess im stuffed now , they called from a withheld number

 

[mit74]

Hello

i had a call from these today i didnt agree to the ad but they said they are gonna send info out guess im stuffed now , they called from a withheld number

They will send you an invoice I almost guarentee it! They try it on hoping scared people will pay when they threaten to 'get the baliffs'.

 

[davek17]

These called us about 1 year ago too.

I used to be involved in a small sports charity and I was amazed at the tactics in general with charities to the point I almost don't trust any charity and certainly any middle man any more.

We choose our philanthropic activities and causes carefully and one criteria is being able to either get involved somehow or being able to audit the process so we know our money has got to where it needs to.

 

[ThePublisher]

Hello

i had a call from these today i didnt agree to the ad but they said they are gonna send info out guess im stuffed now , they called from a withheld number

When I reported receiving a similar call about a charity calendar to our local Police some time ago, they told me it has been illegal to cold call from withheld numbers for some time (probably a couple of years now).

 

[cleanermothershelp]

any suggestions as to what i do please i have read some of the thread but there is an awful lot of posts

 

[cleanermothershelp]

they are using the name vision and saying it is for a childrens charity called new forest or something they called me three times

 

[stugster]

Forester's Fund for Children

The whole Vardis set-up is almost certainly a con. I'm yet to find just one person that has actually had their advert printed and has proof of what they've been suckered into paying.

Do not under any circumstances pay any invoice you receive from them. There is no contract, you have not agreed to a sale, so just tell them where to go

 

[cleanermothershelp]

Forester's Fund for Children

The whole Vardis set-up is almost certainly a con. I'm yet to find just one person that has actually had their advert printed and has proof of what they've been suckered into paying.

Do not under any circumstances pay any invoice you receive from them. There is no contract, you have not agreed to a sale, so just tell them where to go

ok thanks my bf says he cant wait to tell them

 

[cleanermothershelp]

i have reported them to trading standards .

 

[mit74]

basically as with all scam advertising company you say 'I'll see you in court'. They'll never turn up. They can be very aggresive and demanding but don't let them bother you. I've had them verbally abuse me when I told them I knew they were a scam. The workers there clearly seemed to find it hilarious they were abusing someone on the phone. They'll sometimes try to use fake baliff letters etc. in the hope you'll pay but remember baliffs can only get involved once a court decision has been made.

 

[PeopleJustice]

This company is trying to pull of an 'Houdini' act "should of been expected" Vardis is now operating under the name Vision from the same address, spread the word and be WARNED. . !

 

[ThePublisher]

Ahh, that confirms my suspicions for the person on this other thread then

http://www.ukbusinessforums.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=184181

 

[debbidoo]

This company is trying to pull of an 'Houdini' act "should of been expected" Vardis is now operating under the name Vision from the same address, spread the word and be WARNED. . !

I've just had a call from Vision on behalf of the Forester's Fund for Children. Let the woman go through her spiel and then at the end when she asked if I'd like an ad, I said very clearly "No I wouldn't, thank you". She didn't press it, just thanked me and hung up.

Looked on Google for the Forester's Fund for Children and they have a website - http://www.forestersfundforchildren.org.uk/who_we_help.html - apparently Michael Caine is a patron. Can't help wondering if the charity is real or false - and if MC is a patron, I would love to know how he feels about Vision/Vardis' history

 

[ThePublisher]

It used to be Esther Rantzen.

 

[ThePublisher]

It used to be Esther Rantzen IIRC.

 

[Camo paintworks]

This is very interesting. I remember Vardis from a couple of years ago. The CEO of the charity I worked with at the time paid for an ad in a newsletter supposedly for the Foresters Fund. Fairly cheap but the newsletter was also cheap looking. Looked like something I could produce at home.

I remember being a bit suspicious but limited myself to checking out the charity they were supposedly working on behalf of. The Foresters Fund is a small charity with an income of £33K per year.

I remember a second invoice arriving shortly after the first with slightly different details. Looked like an attempt to catch the unwary into basically paying again. I approached the CEO and he told me to pay it but no more. I think he knew he'd been had. Unfortunately he was more concerned with keeping his pride intact than wasting our money.

Another victim right here this year in fact, Was by another company though called Vision group, Looked legit and booklet wasn't bad either though it looked like they had raided Readers Digest for the articles in it. Very similar kind of layout. Still have it though

 

[iArtist]

I've had a few people like this call me, they start off by saying they saw my ad for cartoon logos and artwork etc..so I get excited thinking...woooooooo a new client...a charity client too....oooooohhh, then they start on their newsletter spiel and I realise they don't want my cartoons in it, they want me to pay for an ad. At which I point I simply say: "Oh so you don't want my services?" they say a rather embarrassed "no" and that is the end of the conversation.

Not a bad way out as it happens!

 

[Ghost Warrior]

A similar scam going around at the moment so people be on guard.

Posing under the guise of a legitimate business, as well as mentioning excellent references such as the police (although they do state on the web site that they are not affiliated with the emergency services) and local authorities, the people behind this organization obtain contact details via the free directory entries on the internet (they seem to target people who have just started a commercial activity).

Telephone numbers are blocked from view, however, but the caller sounds very plausible and even very likeable. He tries to sell the many apparent "benefits "of advertising in this magazine. Prices don't seem too unreasonable; the other incentive being that not only do you get to advertise yourr services for one year, your business is the only one of its type included in the journal, which is apparently distributed free of charge across, among other places, all police stations throughout the UK on a quarterly basis. The caller then proceeds to ask a few questions and suggests you look at the wen site csjournal dot co uk

Phase two involves another call (again the number is blocked) within five minutes from another person claiming to be from the design department who would send a proof of the "advert" via email, which apparently is confirmation of an "agreement" to proceed with the "order" or "sponsorship" as they like to call it.

Emails from this organization, albeit with no contact names or telephone numbers contain attachments and links which should not be opened for obvious reasons.

They like to quote the consumer protection (Distance Selling) regulations, claiming also that they have recorded (they seem to do this with everyone) the conversation in which you apparently have been made fully aware of, and agreed to a condition whereby you would be waiving my rights to cancellation. In other words they claim you have a contractual obligation with them.

If you contest then they become defensive and start insulting you...not what a genuine bona fide and professional company would do.

The Crime & Safety Journal or Community Safety Journal is a bogus publication.

Their postal address is a mail box address in City Road London EC1, but they send their correspondence from the Chester and North Wales area.

If they persist, just be ruthless and do not give in.

 

[philip41]

A similar scam going around at the moment so people be on guard.

Posing under the guise of a legitimate business, as well as mentioning excellent references such as the police (although they do state on the web site that they are not affiliated with the emergency services) and local authorities, the people behind this organization obtain contact details via the free directory entries on the internet (they seem to target people who have just started a commercial activity).

Telephone numbers are blocked from view, however, but the caller sounds very plausible and even very likeable. He tries to sell the many apparent “benefits “of advertising in this magazine. Prices don't seem too unreasonable; the other incentive being that not only do you get to advertise yourr services for one year, your business is the only one of its type included in the journal, which is apparently distributed free of charge across, among other places, all police stations throughout the UK on a quarterly basis. The caller then proceeds to ask a few questions and suggests you look at the wen site csjournal dot co uk

Phase two involves another call (again the number is blocked) within five minutes from another person claiming to be from the design department who would send a proof of the “advert” via email, which apparently is confirmation of an “agreement” to proceed with the “order” or “sponsorship” as they like to call it.

Emails from this organization, albeit with no contact names or telephone numbers contain attachments and links which should not be opened for obvious reasons.

They like to quote the consumer protection (Distance Selling) regulations, claiming also that they have recorded (they seem to do this with everyone) the conversation in which you apparently have been made fully aware of, and agreed to a condition whereby you would be waiving my rights to cancellation. In other words they claim you have a contractual obligation with them.

If you contest then they become defensive and start insulting you...not what a genuine bona fide and professional company would do.

The Crime & Safety Journal or Community Safety Journal is a bogus publication.

Their postal address is a mail box address in City Road London EC1, but they send their correspondence from the Chester and North Wales area.

If they persist, just be ruthless and do not give in.

Had a call from a similar sounding company day before Xmas eve, the guy indeed did sound very polite, freindly and proffesional, the deal was for 1/4, 1/2 or full page add in the "Blue Light" magazine, this mag goes out 4 times a year to all the emergency services.
From memory the 1/4 page add was £295, they took care of the art work etc.
I was expected to make a decision there and then, however I did make it clear that I needed to talk it through with one of my other partners, this could not be done until January 3rd at the earliest.
This meant that due to publishing deadlines, we may miss the boat.
I did agree to reserve the place though, I also made it very clear that after consulting the other partners, if they did not agree then we would not have to take things further, he said they would send out the paper work by post, and that we would have seven days to cancel from date of paper work, I again said I have not agreed to the add, but just reserved the spot, the reservation was at his suggestion.

I guess it could be genuine, but after reading this thread, it has made me wonder.

Has anyone else had the same call within the last week.

 

[James Greg]

I read in some thread about a person being harassed by some company indulged in similar activites and the phone call had been recorded and modified to make it sound just yes to all the terms and claiming to drag the person to court for not paying up on verbal contract to their services which were nothing but fake.

 

[Ghost Warrior]

Had a call from a similar sounding company day before Xmas eve, the guy indeed did sound very polite, freindly and proffesional, the deal was for 1/4, 1/2 or full page add in the "Blue Light" magazine, this mag goes out 4 times a year to all the emergency services.
From memory the 1/4 page add was £295, they took care of the art work etc.
I was expected to make a decision there and then, however I did make it clear that I needed to talk it through with one of my other partners, this could not be done until January 3rd at the earliest.
This meant that due to publishing deadlines, we may miss the boat.
I did agree to reserve the place though, I also made it very clear that after consulting the other partners, if they did not agree then we would not have to take things further, he said they would send out the paper work by post, and that we would have seven days to cancel from date of paper work, I again said I have not agreed to the add, but just reserved the spot, the reservation was at his suggestion.

I guess it could be genuine, but after reading this thread, it has made me wonder.

Has anyone else had the same call within the last week.

CAVEAT EMPTOR Phillip 41....this is not a genuine company and the journal does not exist. It is a SCAM.

Have alook at the information on atouchofsilk do co do uk another company who has experienced the same problem.

 

[Doodle-Noodle]

Had a call from a similar sounding company day before Xmas eve, the guy indeed did sound very polite, freindly and proffesional, the deal was for 1/4, 1/2 or full page add in the "Blue Light" magazine, this mag goes out 4 times a year to all the emergency services.
From memory the 1/4 page add was £295, they took care of the art work etc.
I was expected to make a decision there and then, however I did make it clear that I needed to talk it through with one of my other partners, this could not be done until January 3rd at the earliest.
This meant that due to publishing deadlines, we may miss the boat.
I did agree to reserve the place though, I also made it very clear that after consulting the other partners, if they did not agree then we would not have to take things further, he said they would send out the paper work by post, and that we would have seven days to cancel from date of paper work, I again said I have not agreed to the add, but just reserved the spot, the reservation was at his suggestion.

I guess it could be genuine, but after reading this thread, it has made me wonder.

Has anyone else had the same call within the last week.

It almost certainly is not genuine, it is a scam that has been doing the rounds for some time very successfully conning people out of money for advertising in a publication that is not printed or distributed in the manner claimed.
Be very careful when talking to them on the phone ...... it may well be that they will tell you you have ALREADY agreed and are therefore contractually bound to their terms and they will harass you for payment ..... do be careful.

 

[Ghost Warrior]

I read in some thread about a person being harassed by some company indulged in similar activites and the phone call had been recorded and modified to make it sound just yes to all the terms and claiming to drag the person to court for not paying up on verbal contract to their services which were nothing but fake.

They like to use this method as a means to frighten and intimidate people. The calls are edited and are meaningless.

The best course of action is to tell them that you will be happy to see them in court and that you are more than sure the judge will be very vey interested in them.

 

[Ghost Warrior]

It almost certainly is not genuine, it is a scam that has been doing the rounds for some time very successfully conning people out of money for advertising in a publication that is not printed or distributed in the manner claimed.
Be very careful when talking to them on the phone ...... it may well be that they will tell you you have ALREADY agreed and are therefore contractually bound to their terms and they will harass you for payment ..... do be careful.

They like to quote section 13 (1) of the Consumer Protection ACT distance selling) but they seem to forget that a single provision on its own is not sufficient and that there is a whole body of Law behind this and other ACTS. They will try this on and even get away with it if people are frightened by legislation.

Trading Standards around the UK are now fully aware
of this company, as is the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau, the SFO and other law enforcement agencies.

 

[Ghost Warrior]

It almost certainly is not genuine, it is a scam that has been doing the rounds for some time very successfully conning people out of money for advertising in a publication that is not printed or distributed in the manner claimed.
Be very careful when talking to them on the phone ...... it may well be that they will tell you you have ALREADY agreed and are therefore contractually bound to their terms and they will harass you for payment ..... do be careful.

I guess that since you are based in Hampshire you must of heard of this company under the previous name of Municipa Press Office Ltd claiming to be connected to the Hampshire Emergency Services.

Interestingly, the csjournal dot co do uk web site is registered to Municipal, although they now call themselves Window Media ltd.

By linking themselves to the emergency services, even in a loose way by claiming that the journal is distributed to all police stations in the UK, they are fraudulently misrepresentating themselves in order to convince their vicitims that they have excellent references.

 

[philip41]

Thanks guys,

After a bit more searching came up with the following.

"Maybe a different company, but the police tendering website BlueLight just emailed everybody with this...

Quote:
Please note: We have had a number of queries from suppliers lately saying they have been contacted by a company called “Sigma” or “Sigma Publishing”, trying to sell them advertising in a publication
called “Bluelight Magazine”. The reports we have are that the sales technique is incredibly aggressive and aimed at getting a verbal agreement to an ad then sending an invoice the same day without any
proof it’s gone into a valid publication.

We would just like to state that the “Bluelight Magazine” and “Sigma Publishing” are not associated with the Bluelight eTendering website (www.bluelight.gov.uk) in any way. A couple of suppliers have
informed us that “Sigma” have told them the magazine has been produced in conjunction with the “Police Federation”, or that they are actually from the police federation or an individual Police
service.

I have therefore contacted the Police Federation, who state they only produce the national Police Federation magazine called “Police” and although some individual forces may have their own in-house
publications, they have never heard of “Sigma” or “Bluelight Magazine”. They also added they had a number of queries direct to them of a similar nature reporting a different company called “Mode PR”
selling advertising and purporting to be from the Police Federation.

We are not saying that neither “Sigma Publishing “ or “Mode Pr” aren’t legitimate publishing companies, or that the “Bluelight Magazine” isn’t a valid publication, however they are in no way
associated with the Police Federation, or the Bluelight eTendering website, therefore please be aware if you are contacted by either of them, and should you wish to report them please contact either
your local trading standards or “Action Fraud”, details at www.actionfraud.org.uk.

regards
Linda

Linda Sykes
Bluelight e-Procurement Systems Administrator
Devon and Cornwall Constabulary
Middlemoor, Exeter, Devon EX2 7HQ

Hopefully we should be okay, as i made it very clear that we where not going to say yes, atleast not until all partners had been consulted.

Just checked mail at the office, nothing from them as yet!.

 

[Ghost Warrior]

Some useful information...

Dear Mr X and other agencies

You are right in noting that Municipal Press Office / Windows Media is using a mail box address. 152 - 160 City Road, London, EC1V 2NP is known to Islington TS as a mail forwarding facility. Municipal Press Office/Windows Media has no physical presence in Islington. Their mail is redirected to an address within the area of Wirral Council.

I have therefore copied this reply to Wirral Trading Standards so that they are aware of your complaint.

yours

Liane

Liane Bishop
Principal Trading Standards Officer
Islington Council

 

[Ghost Warrior]

As I haven't posted enough I cannot insert a link, but the following site contains a lot of useful information...it is the Wirral Trading Standards and it looks like Wallasey is a scam capital...

tradingstandards do gov dot uk/cgi-bin/wirral/bus1item.cgi?file =*BADV641-1011.txt

In cheking with the current legislation in place, even if you haven't paid out any money it may still be possible to purse legal action on the grounds of commercial harassment if these companies continue to intimidate, although it is best to check with your own solicitors.

 

[Doodle-Noodle]

As I haven't posted enough I cannot insert a link, but the following site contains a lot of useful information...it is the Wirral Trading Standards and it looks like Wallasey is a scam capital...

tradingstandards do gov dot uk/cgi-bin/wirral/bus1item.cgi?file =*BADV641-1011.txt

In cheking with the current legislation in place, even if you haven't paid out any money it may still be possible to purse legal action on the grounds of commercial harassment if these companies continue to intimidate, although it is best to check with your own solicitors.

http://www.tradingstandards.gov.uk/cgi-bin/wirral/bus1item.cgi?file=*BADV641-1011.txt

here you go

 

[Ghost Warrior]

Some more useful infor from the Islington Trading Standards

"These scammers frequently use a chain of mail forwarding addresses, regularly change trading names, dissolved companies and then resurrect under a new name and a new location. It takes a while before enforcement agencies like trading standards to receive sufficient complaints to see there is a problem and by then the scammer may have changed identity.

We have fewer resources now to chase up on these cases. However more recently the police and other enforcement agencies are collating information on scams and looking for patterns. The imitative you attended in October and "Actionfraud" are examples of this collaboration.

It is vital for businesses to report these scams to us"

I would urge anyone to report report and report so that the more complaints they receive the higher the probability of catching these scammers out.

 

[horsey2]

Just had a phone call from said company. I think they have resurrected themselves and are using the charitable donation/helping needy/disadvantaged children tactics. Told me where they got my details from (a very reputable equestrian trade magazine) and they are obviously trawling through the adverts and contacting advertisers with very plausible selling tactics. After listening to the well rehearsed schpiel I asked a few pertinent questions and declined to take up their "kind" offer. As soon as the caller realised I knew what I was talking about, was not going to be persuaded to part with my hard earned cash he quickly put the phone down....without so much as a goodbye! Any ideas who to report further to and get these guys stopped? Thanks for all the previous posts & warnings.