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Consumer and Competition Policy
Directorate
FACTSHEET and Frequently Asked
Questions (FAQs)
Subject: Scam Promotions, Scam Draws and
Competitions, Unsolicited or Junk Mail
Relevant or Related Legislation
The Enterprise Act
2002 (which subsumed the Stop Now Orders (EC Directive) Regulations 2001
The Control of
Misleading Advertisements Regulations 1988, as amended by the Control of
Misleading Advertisements (Amendment) Regulations 2001
Privacy and
Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003
Codes of Practice
enforced by the Advertising Standards Authority and the Independent
Committee for the Supervision of Standards of Telephone Information
Services (ICSTIS).
Current Position
The public are being warned that,
"If it looks too good to be true, it probably is"
Recent Relevant Campaigns or
Consultation
In July 2002, the Minister for
Consumers, Melanie Johnson, launched an awareness campaign telling the
public to be wary of postal scams. The purpose of the campaign is to:
• raise awareness of postal scams
• help the public recognise the
warning signs
• encourage people to report scams so
that action can be taken to crack down on the perpetrators.
As part of the campaign, the DTI have
published a leaflet entitled 'Prizewinner or
prize fool?', containing advice on scam mailings.
Speaking during National Consumer Week
in November 2002, Melanie Johnson emphasised that the risks and warning
signs associated with postal scams were exactly the same for unsolicited
approaches received by e-mail, mobile phone or fax.
Key Facts
General Warning Signs:
• The approach, whether in writing,
by phone or email is unsolicited.
• There is a very short time in which
to respond to claim a prize.
• An invitation to send a
"processing" or "management" fee, make a purchase to
claim a prize.
• An invitation to purchase goods or
sign up to a service to obtain a prize or reward.
• The need to use premium rate phone
lines.
• The source of the promotion is
based overseas.
• An invitation to send money out of
the country, particularly the Netherlands or Canada.
• Prizes are expressed in foreign
currency.
• An invitation to provide credit
card or bank account details.
• Rewards are wholly dependant on
persuading others to join a scheme.
Telecommunications (phone calls and
faxes):
• Premium rate services generally
begin with the numbers 090
• Premium reverse bill text messages
usually contain a 4 or 5 digit short code number to reply to.
• Always read all promotional
material including any terms and conditions
• If in doubt do not reply or call
the service
• Call barring arrangements for
premium rate services are available from most telephone companies if you
do feel a need to control household access to such services
• You can register with the Fax
Preference Service to stop receiving unwanted commercial faxes
• You can register with the Telephone
Preference Service if you want to stop receiving unsolicited SMS and
telephone marketing messages
• All premium rate services should
advise you of the price before you access them.
 Frequently
Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q1. Should I send off
money in response to this letter/ e-mail/text message/fax I have
received?
Q2. How can I stop
receiving unsolicited mail, e-mails, text messages and faxes?
Q3. Who can I complain to
about misleading or suspect mail/e-mail/text messages/faxes?
Q4. Why doesn't the
Government introduce legislation to outlaw these scams?
Q5. If action is taken
against a scam, will I get my money back?
Q1. Should I send off money in response to this letter/e-mail/text
message/fax I have received?
The Department cannot advise on
individual cases. But there are a great many "scam" mailings
which offer large sums of money in return for a fee or a purchase. We
encourage consumer to ask themselves:
• What am I being asked to pay for?
• Can I really afford to lose this
money?
• Does the mailing look to good to be
true? If it looks to good to be true, it probably is.
Q2. How can I stop receiving unsolicited mail, e-mails, text messages
or faxes?
There are a number of Preference
Services in operation within the communication sectors which enable
consumers to withdraw their names and addresses form marketing
circulation lists – some of these are voluntary and some operate on a
statutory basis so failure to respect registration will be against the
law.
However, consumers should note that
unscrupulous companies tend to trade names and addresses with other scam
promoters and those mailing lists may never be updated.
Addressed Direct Marketing Mail
Mailing Preference Service
Freepost 22
London W1E 7EZ
Website: www.dma.org.uk
Unaddressed Unsolicited Marketing
Mail
Door to Door Council Manager
Direct Marketing Association (UK) Ltd
DMA House
70 Margaret Street
London, W1W 8SS.
Website: www.dma.org.uk
Unsolicited Marketing Faxes
It is unlawful to send an unsolicited
direct marketing fax to an individual, which includes consumers, sole traders and except
in Scotland partnerships, without their prior consent.
It is also unlawful to send an
unsolicited direct marketing fax to anyone, business or individual, who
has registered on the fax preference service or previously told the
faxer that they do not wish to get fax marketing from them.
For further information visit this web
site: www.fpsonline.org.uk
Registration telephone number: 0845 070
0702
Royal Mail Unaddressed Leaflets
To stop unaddressed leaflets delivered
by the Royal Mail, consumers should write to:
Door to Door Council
Manager,
Direct Marketing Association (UK) Ltd,
DMA House
70 Margaret Street
London W1W 8SS.
Telephone: 020 7291 3300
Fax: 020 7323 4165
Email: dma@dma.org.uk
Website: www.dma.org.uk
Unsolicited Telephone Sales Calls
It is unlawful for a business to make
an unsolicited direct marketing telephone call to an individual, which includes
consumers, sole traders and except in Scotland partnerships, if that
person has either registered with the Telephone Preference Service or
has previously told the caller that they do not wish to hear from them.
Telephone Preference Service
70 Margaret Street
London
SW1Y 4EE
Website: www.tpsonline.org.uk
Registration telephone number: 0845 070
0707
Unsolicited Marketing E Mails
New controls on unsolicited commercial
e-mails (UCE) came into force in December 2003. The Regulations require
that UCE can only be sent to an individual with the prior consent of the
addressee, but with an exemption for UCE where the addressee has already
given his or her e-mail address direct to the sender in the context of
the purchase of a product or service. This opt-in protection will apply
to individual, but not corporate subscribers. Complaints about apparent
breaches of these regulations should be reported to the Information
Commissioner’s Office (ICO) who can be contacted as follows:
Telephone: 01625 845 700
E-Mail: mail@ico.gsi.gov.uk
There is also a non-statutory scheme
that you can register with to not receive UCE - the EMPS (E-mail Preference
Scheme) is operated by the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) in the
United States. Note that the database is held in the US, and personal
data is not, therefore, covered by UK Data Protection legislation.
For further details visit this web
site: www.e-mps.org/en/
Unsolicited Marketing SMS Messages
New controls on SMS messages came into
force in December 2003. The Regulations require SMS messages to be sent
only with the prior consent of the subscriber, but with an exemption
where the subscriber has already given his or her mobile telephone
number direct to a company in the context of the purchase of a product
or service. This opt-in protection will apply to individual, but not
corporate subscribers. Complaints about apparent breaches of these
regulations should be reported to the Information Commissioner’s
Office (ICO) who can be contacted as follows:
Telephone: 01625 845 700
E-Mail: mail@ico.gsi.gov.uk
In addition, the Direct Marketing Association
(DMA) supports It's Your
Choice scheme, enabling consumers to register their wish not to
receive unsolicited SMS messages. A consumer's guide to SMS text
marketing, explaining how to stop receiving messages from a specific
company is available from the It's
Your Choice web site.
Mobile phone numbers may also be
registered free of charge with the Telephone Preference Service.
Web site: www.tpsonline.org.uk
to register on-line
Registration telephone number: 0845 070
0707
Q3. Who can I complain to about misleading or suspect mail/e-mail/text
messages/faxes?
There are a number of authorities who
will investigate complaints. The Office of Fair Trading's International
Liaison Section investigates prize draw and similar scams, most of which
originate outside of the United Kingdom. The OFT work with their
counterparts overseas under the auspices of the International Marketing
Supervision Network (IMSN), an international network of enforcement
agencies with a remit to encourage co-operation and practical action to
prevent and remedy cross-border marketing malpractices.
Suspect mailings can be forwarded to
the OFT at: International Liaison Section, Fleetbank House, 2-6
Salisbury Square, London EC4Y 8JX.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA)
investigate misleading mailings, which may be in breach of the British
Codes of Advertising and Sales Promotion. The ASA also liaise with the
appropriate regulatory bodies for promotions which have originated
outside of the UK, via the European Advertising Standards Alliance for
investigation.
Complaints can be referred to the ASA
at: 2 Torrington Place, London WC1E 7HW.
The Independent Committee for the
Supervision of Standards of Telephone Information Services (ICSTIS) is
the industry-funded regulatory body for all premium rate charged
telecommunications services, i.e. telephone and fax. It enforces a code
of practice for the operators of such services. It can investigate
complaints and has the power to fine companies and bar access to
services.
Complaints can be referred to ICSTIS
at: ICSTIS, 4th Floor, Clove Building, 4 Maguire Street, London SE1 2NQ
The Information Commissioner’s Office
(ICO) enforce the Regulations relating to telephone, fax, e-mail and SMS
marketing. They can be contacted at: Information Commissioner’s Office
, Wycliffe House, Water Lane Wilmslow, Cheshire , SK9 5AF; by telephone
on 01625 845 700, or by e-mail at mail@ico.gsi.gov.uk.
Internet service providers (ISPs) can
offer advice to their customers on ways of avoiding unwanted e-mail and
will investigate customer complaints against service operators who send
"spam" e-mails in breach of acceptable internet use policies.
Q4. Why doesn't the Government introduce legislation to outlaw these
scams?
The Stop Now Order Regulations
introduced in 2001 enable the Office of Fair Trading to bring
injunctions against traders breaching regulations on misleading
advertising. Action can now also be taken across EU borders, so scams
operating from Europe can be pursued.
But legislation is only part of the
answer. It can never entirely keep up with scams. Enforcement action can
only be taken once scams have come to the attention of the authorities,
by which time consumers may have suffered detriment.
The best weapon against scams is
greater awareness and, therefore, scepticism on the part of the public.
Q5. If action is taken against a scam, will I get my money
back?
Unfortunately, it is highly unlikely
that individual consumers would get their money back. The OFT has no
powers to seek civil redress for consumers either here, in Europe or
further afield. This is why it is so important not to be taken in by
these scams in the first place
Contacts
Back
to CCP's Unsolicited Items page
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to CCP's Fact Sheets page
 DTI's
'Don't be a mug' web site offers advice on avoiding scams.
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