 The latest mailshots are asking people to send off �25 |
Trading Standards officers in Cornwall are again investigating dozens of reports about junk mail offering prizes. They are warning the public not to be taken in by companies offering costly goods in return for a small one-off payment.
One of the companies sending out junk mail to local houses, Express Forwarders, has a British address, but the Trading Standards team says it is just a PO box elsewhere in the country.
Cornwall's Trading Standards Department says fortunately all of the people who have complained about the company did not send any money.
Actual prizes
The latest round of mailshots are asking people to send off �25 in return for a prize of a television set allegedly worth �1,200.
The terms and conditions say the actual prize is likely to be something like a cheap bracelet.
Trading Standards says such companies are usually based outside of the UK, meaning they are outside the remit of UK law.
The department says it is advising the recipients of such mailshots if something looks too good to be true it probably is.
Officers are urging people who have been misled to contact the Advertising Standards Authority.
The Trading Standards Department said of its work: "The aim of the Trading Standards Service is to promote and uphold a fair and safe trading environment, ensuring that customers' rights are protected."
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