Try to imagine this: these scammers can’t do anything to you because they’re definitely outside of the normal, decent legal processes in your country. Equally, you can’t do anything to them because they’re outside of …. .etc. By all means, report them to the police in your region. Just don’t expect anything to happen.

Remember that YOU have the single best weapon against them: not paying and not communicating with them. I’d say focus on doing that and enjoy the satisfaction of knowing that YOUR money didn’t go their way.

Thanks for this extremely instructive page.
We’ve fallen in the trap as well, stupidely I must admit.
Just a question, is it worth filing a complaint at police against them ?

If you have a genuine complaint, e-mail them with basic but accurate detail outling the exact issue. Let them know you are not satisfied until the complaint is resolve properly as the this will mean the complaint is ‘open’.

It seems to me they have too many customers too many products and not enough well trained staff to deal with the load when things go wrong.

I have never bothered with anything but their TV service for 15+ years now.

With their engineers, you have to explain the problem in a basic fashion, i do however know how to install dishes and boxes to a professional level, but it is hard for a non tech person to cope with all the tech side of things when it goes wrong.

However, if you persist, they can give decent offers if a complaint is upheld or you want to leave, just keep on at them.

If you have a tech issue with tv, they want £65 to look at it, it just if you dont really know tech, you will be out of pocket.

Email is the only way they listen not phone calls and why people do not use saynoto0870.com is beyond me, i have never paid to call them and never will.

Their tv products are the best for uk as the pvr funtions and channel selection out perform virgin, bt vision waste of time.

In the old days their tv pack would be a simple single feed box, now their is multroom and hd and sky + and anytime + so the more they deal with the more complicated it becomes. I could go on but I wont.

“Wendy Ruck and John Gommes

It was with great sadness that during the period executive director, Wendy Ruck, and non-executive director, John Gommes, both passed away. Both Wendy and John had made huge contributions to the development and success of the Group and will be sorely missed.

Wendy Ruck passed away suddenly in April 2011. Wendy was a director of the Group since its formation in 2004. She was responsible for recruitment and training for the Group as well as directing prize fulfilment operations in Ross on Wye. She was incredibly well liked and respected by all who knew and met her and she will be remembered not only for her professionalism, but also for her great warmth and kindness and her consideration for her fellow colleagues and for her advice and help, which she gave selflessly. The Group would not be as successful as it is today without Wendy’scontribution.

Like Wendy, John had been a director of the Group since its formation in 2004 and his wealth of experience in the direct marketing industry, wise counsel and friendship will be sorely missed by all of his fellows”

What I’d forgotten (or didn’t know) was that Wendy Ruck was Adrian William’s wife. What a shit year for them – and not even £20m of the publics money could fix it.

Wendy Williams (nee Ruck)

Published in the Hereford Times on 12 May 11

WILLIAMS (nee Ruck). Wendy Passed away suddenly on April 15, in Tijuana, Mexico. Loving wife of Adrian, mother to Charis and Darcy. Will be sadly missed and lovingly remembered by Family and many Friends. Funeral Service at Walford Church on Friday, May 13, at 11 a.m., followed by Interment in Churchyard. Flowers or donations, to Walford Church. All enquiries to Abbotsfield Funeral Directors. 01531 636666.

What stands out for me is not only the news that Adrian Williams has personally taken £20m of the British public’s money from these disgraceful ‘promotions’ but also that the OFT ruling has had SOME impact on the fortunes of his group of companies.

 Continued cash management resulting in robust balance sheet with net cash surplus of £0.28 million (2010: net debt £2.54 million);
 Significantly reduced turnover and materially lower EBITDA and profit after tax for the period due to the impact of OFT action on Group promotion activity;
 Turnover down 38 per cent. to £8.40 million (2010: £13.45 million);
 Group EBITDA down 82 per cent. to £0.58 million (2010: £3.18 million);
 Profit before tax down 86 per cent. to £0.41 million (2010: £2.98 million);
 Earnings per share down 77 per cent. to 0.30 pence (2010: 1.32 pence);
 One of the UK’s largest owners and providers of consumer lifestyle data to the direct marketing industry underpinned by extensive multi-media database assets across post, phone, mobile, email and internet;
 Court ruling in OFT case on 17 March 2011 with respect to promotion design materially impacted Group financial
performance;
 Court ruling in OFT case appealed and referred to the European Court of Justice; and
 Difficult market conditions across all business activities.

DM Chairman, Adrian Williams said: “2011 has, for many reasons, been one of the most challenging periods in the Group’s history, but the Group continues to be well managed and its resilience in these difficult times means that it is still well placed to benefit when market conditions start to improve.