Prize Distribution Office letters: another MacIntyre and Dodd Marketing ‘offer’
** WANT TO COMPLAIN ABOUT THESE PEOPLE?? Click HERE **
Yes, for just £9.00 in text charges, plus your network operator’s costs, plus £5.95 (that’s a minimum of £14.95) you could get either some (apparently not very useful) vouchers or a bit of silver jewellery! Woo-hoo! Bargain!
This ‘offer’ comes in the form of a letter designed to make vulnerable (or greedy and foolish) people think they’ve won something – deceptive enough for the Office of Fair Trading to think it worth seeking an injunction to try to stop the company behind this ‘promotion’ (MacIntyre and Dodd Marketing) in the High Court.
And the Guardian thinks its pretty shabby too.
MacIntyre and Dodd have a track record of this kind of ‘offer’, most recently with their ‘Community Awards Register‘. Spot the similarities? Of course you do.
This kind of ‘promotion’ is big business – the PLC which owns MacIntyre and Dodd Marketing is valued at £13.5 millions of your pounds (see my earlier post about Community Awards Register).
Is this promotion legal? Sadly, until such times as the High Court decides otherwise, the answer is currently ‘yes’.
Scam or not? The OFT seems to think so. Their case against MacIntyre and Dodd Marketing argues that the company tries to misconstrue what is in fact simply the sale of cheap goods as a prize draw, which it is not.
Whatever the outcome from the high court, one thing’s for sure: that MacIntyre and Dodd will continue to pump out these promotions so long as they’re legal. Keep your eyes peeled!
my allocation code is XXXXXX could you tell me my claim number,
yours faithfully
mrs j hannaby
Mrs. Hannaby, you’re talking to the wrong people, dear. You want to be talking to MacIntyre And Dodd Marketing if you really want to claim your ‘prize’
My step father has dementia and he thinks he has won a vast amount of money. He can’t understand that Its just a way of making money out of him. This type of letter should bf banned these sort of people who prey on the elderly should be put in prison and the key thrown away.
I agree with you Sue. I may be £13million poorer than McIntyre and Dodd’s directors but I enjoy the feeling of going to to sleep every night knowing that I haven’t exploited people.
Yes, I get these letters all the time. My wife is just shredding my latest ‘Final Notice’ from them right this minute. I can’t believe that there are still people out there who think they will get something for nothing by replying to these crap letters when there has been so much publicity about the con on the telly and the Internet. I will obviously get another round of letters from another so called distribution company once this one has failed to attract attention. Yawn…they are so boring…lol
Sam, I’m so glad I found your website, I was quite tempted to answer one of PDO’s letters which I got this morning, thanks
Mary
Thank you so much for your article,I checked PDO out on your website before replying to my “FINAL REMINDER”, I’m glad I did, but unfortunately, not everyone has a computer to investigate them. Thank you
You’re welcome, Mary & Wilma.
There’s been quite a big rush of people visiting the site today after searching for ‘PDO’ or ‘prize distribution registrar’ – so I guess another direct mailing has landed on the doormats all across our land this morning. I Suppose that means that the toothless OFT haven’t got anywhere with taking the company behind these ‘promotions’ to court yet,then… *sigh*
we found the website usefull and have replyed to the letters in the past and have never received a prize. our final reminder has just gone in the bin
My elederly father has sent money (to my knowledge) at least 3 times to this rip off. The first 2 times he recieved miniscule gifts. This time he sent a cheque for £14.95 (this was cashed by this company on 22 March 2010) and he is still awaiting his “gift”.
I have now persuaded him that this is a rip off by reading out the comments above. There are a lot of vulnerable people out there who can easily fall into this trap.
I have now received 3 letters from these rip off merchants. I destroyed the 1st & 2nd after finding you website. They always use PO Box numbers and premium rate phone lines to rip their clients off. Thanks to your efforts some of us don’t get taken in by these legal tricksters. Keep up the good work.
Hi Sam. for some time now ,i have recieved these letters from PDO.Till one time i did answer, which as you say cost me dearly.
i recieved a cheap neckless, that you could have won at a fair ground.
I now shred them, without opening them we i see the address on the back Ross on wye We should all do the same, dump it. Why can it not be made public this is a con ?
Best Regards Keep up the good work
Hi Brian – thanks for the comment, nice to hear from someone who actually GOT something for their £14.95 – albeit a nasty bit of junk worth…pennies? The reason this continues is because by the laws of our lovely land, it’s perfectly legal. Unless OFT ever get their way and get a court order to stop McIntyre and Dodd from doing this. I don’t hold out much hope, to be honest. Far better that ‘buyer beware’.
Why can’t something be done about these fraudsters? Many people are fed up with the harrisment from these people who constantly send unwanted paper through the post. They should be exposed for what they are.
If I had my way,I’d alow them to drown in their own filth.
My elderly father is receiving this correspondence and when I shred it he is convinced I have just lost him a prize of several thousand pounds. According to the latest letter the total prizes exceed £210,000 in value and that does not take into account 100 laptop computers of unstated value and of course 10,000 Sterling Silver Jewellery Sets. Do these prizes exist and will they all be allocated to ‘lucky winners’? The OFT should check this.
Hi Charles. The OFT thinks this whole ‘promotion’ is misleading and (when I last checked) was trying to get MacIntyre and Dodd into the High Court. But it’s all so pathetically slow and toothless, so tens of thousands more people have ‘claimed’ their prizes since OFT filed their application, and M&D have probably made hundreds of thousands. This has gone on for years and it looks set to continue.
I have sent off a total of £20 in the form of postal orders, one was crossed and made out to a ms linda wilkinson having not saved the receipt I thought they would quite easily be able to trace my money having written 2 letters and still not got my “prize of an i pod.
Being disabled I rang the premium number and was told I’d won a digital camera after the mailed me several final reminders I again rang the number and yes you’ve guessed could not find the piece of paper I’d written it on so rather than ringing the £1.50p a minute number again that takes 6 minutes i wrote in & they sent me the code. I sent off the £10 and 2 loose stamps for the digital camera. I have not received that and then they have the gall to be still sending me final reminders about “my unclaimed prize”which although I know it’s a cheap digital camera I’ve paid for they are still implying it may be £25,000.
These people are [******************] and I urge everyone to tell as many people they can about these amoral folks who no doubt are driving flash cars and living it large thanks to some aged disabled pensioner. Had they any morals they would not indulge like vultures in this disgusting blatant rip off. Lets hope they get what the righteously deserve – the same ending Edward the second got: a red hot poker where the sun doesn’t shine.
Well thanks I feel a lot better for writing about this.
yours faithfully anthony d Telfer
[Editor's note: I've made a couple of edits here. While McIntyre and Dodd still operate technically within the law (as no doubt they do - unless the OFT succeeds in its action against the company) one or two words you used in this account could have been considered 'defamatory'. While I believe these words would have been defensible on the grounds that a) they were clearly your own opinion and b) the OFT, judging by its court action, would have agreed with you, I'll nonetheless play it safe on the grounds that it's better to have your story here to inform and guide other people than to have it pulled down as the result of legal bullying.
I don't think removing those words in any way lessens the impact of your story, Anthony - thanks for commenting.]
I too have called the premium number twice as i did not get the code the first time and posted the claim and as yet have not received anything. I thought i was the only one fooled.
I was not aware of the premium call so was really shocked when we got the phone bill. I think we should sign some sort of petition against them for fooling innocent people like that and still they have the cheek of sending more of those claims.
Thanks for the website regarding McIntyre and Dodds so called prize promotion. I had like others torn up the first letter even though I had completed correctly a competition in the Sunday Mail and thought it was associated with that. I agree with all the other comments on your site. I figured that if I had won a prize, then why didn’t I just get it perhaps after they had contacted me, ascertained if I was who I was supposed to be then just sent or handed me the gift?
Rip offs like these always put the onus on the receiver to have to work and pay for the prize (hence it can’t be a prize). I’m with you Sam we have to fight this, its immoral. Good on you for trying. Mrs L Stott. Bolton.
Thanks, Lynne. I’ve got nothing to gain from posting this stuff; I simply don’t like exploitation, that’s all.
There’s very little doubt that these ‘promotions’ are carefully designed to make people think they’ve won something They use simple but powerful psychological techniques. The less critical, the more naiive someone is, the more they’re likely to fall for it. That’s a clear intent to exploit vulnerable people, in my book – and it’s unforgivable.
so pleased i thought i’d check out the web site first before wasting my time and money on phone call to claim prize that doesn’t exist.
my wife has had many letters code numbers and claim numbersin the last six nonths and was silly enough on may 14 to send 14.95to receive her prize still no reply i have tryed E/MAILING THEM BUT NO CHANCEits high time this firm was done for robbing people
Thanks for this website. I, like Mrs Lynne Stott completed a puzzle in the Daily Mail and the letters started to come since that. I received another letter today asking me to claim my prize, or I can tick a box saying I don’t want to claim a prize and they will pass it on to someone else. You’re right about the psychology in these letters and I hate to admit I was very nearly taken in by them and it’s only made me totally convinced now that I’ve read your website. Thanks again.
Just caught my wife on the phone to Notification Bureau needless to say I was Not well pleased as I assumed this was yet another scam and have just been proved right.
These letters are very plausible, so it’s not surprising that so many people are conned. Thank goodness I checked the website! I don’t think it’s greedy folk trying to claim the prizes; we all want treats.
Thanks.
Thanks for the comment, Julie. You might not like me saying ‘greedy’ (and I don’t mean it as an insult) but what else is it really when your need for a “treat” is greater than your sense of self-preservation??
The more you need ‘treats’ the more people like this will prey on you. Don’t hate me for saying that – I’m just pointing out what THEY already know and cash in on.
Glad you didn’t fall for it.
I got another one of those final reminders today, I keep throwing them in the bin, but they won’t give up!
Hi,
I have been receiving these letters for months and finally decided to reply.. Aparently i have won a holiday to tunisia for 2 people 3* b&b including flights.. All i have to do is send £75 per person (which i will recieve back) Is this a scam?
Hi Leanne, me too! well im going to send me 2 first class stamps and see what provails im not a total fool but i do believe that sometime ya have to speculate to accumalate?? the £75.00 is at the time of booking so i shall wait and see who wants to make the booking? the bureau or a atol travel agent, if were up we’ll have a nice holiday in tunisia if were down we’ll loose £15? bit like playing the lottery if you ask me? good luck lol
Hi Sarah
This is designed for you to pay £15 for nothing. And lots of £15s makes them very rich.
Look, if you give them £15 despite reading all these comments, all the press reports, then I’m afraid I’d have to disagree and conclude you are ‘a total fool’ – i.e. exactly the kind of ‘total fool’ that MacIntyre and Dodd Marketing Ltd depends on for this scam to work.
If it works out for you, come back and tell us all about it. You’d be the first person here in over 25,000 visitors to these posts to have anything good to say about these ‘prize draws’.
(rolls eyes in despair)
well well well ………… thank god i found this website!! i was just about to phone and claim my *PRIZE* lol …. my mum has already phoned previously and after £20 of calls made she thought it didnt work so silly me , i thought i would try!! I was throwing these letters out at first , however after 3 final reminders we thought we would try …… i guess the saying is true ” If it’s too good to be true , it always is !!! ” thanx sam for this website ! Alana , Glasgow
Hi Leanne and Sarah,
I’ve received a similar letter few years ago and the offer was for Tunisia. The amount to be paid upfront was similar. However, being sceptic about it, I’ve done some enquiries, called agency and asked for the conditions. The agreement had lots of hidden conditions such as paying meals (must be paid in advance) etc so in total not only the intiial payment of £75 is required, but the total expense would have come at the time to around £400. Not cheap at all.
This month I’ve been receiving NB notifications about Prize draw and winning a prize. I am glad for this site as I have to admit, was a little it curious to find out what is behind it.
Now, the Final Reminder is heading towards the recicle bin
Some rubbishy offer arrives from the N.O at least once a week…they go straight into the recycling box….. but what a waste of paper and postage , your website is useful though ..thanks P. Barson
No worries, Pat. Bin that junk, I say. Better still, go register yourself with the Mail Preference Scheme so you don’t get junk mail any more – and if you do, then you can take action against whoever sends it to you.
THANK YOU SO MUCH IVE BEEN GETTING THESE LETTERS FOR AGES AND I WAS THINKING IT WAS A SCAM! THANKS FOR CON FIRMING IY!!!!!
thanks for all the info, it’s in the bin!
i too have fallen for this scam.how many more pensioners are going to get conned?the governmentmust do something it is getting out of hand
Hi Jacqui – sorry to hear. Yes, it is out of hand. It’s a real pity we live in a society in which it is so easy for this to go on.
The latest from our McIntyre and Dodd is The British Awards Council, same temptation with ‘prize’, 0900 phone call etc
It’s time they were prosecuted
Why should recipients of phone calls receive money above the actual call cost – it should be outlawed.
Ralph Wood
02 Sep 2010
Hi Ralph – thanks for the comment. I agree. Use the complaint form at the bottom of the page to make your views known.
I too received the letter but saw a smallprint about the costs, I thought normally claiming prizes would be an 0800 number or atleast give you other ways to claim, after checking the site (Before taking any action) thought the site itself was a bit low for a professional website right? I could make one like that in less than a day.
So I came to my good friend google for answers on these people and come to the conclusion im not going to bother.
Why is this legal, it’s deception and amazing any other country would do something to stop this wouldnt they? The UK government and Services fail to solve yet again another problem of lies and deception to its own people, is this what I get for being english? thanks a lot high court…
just received a letter from the said company stating i have won a prize , on checking the postal address it takes you to the stagecoach main building and checking on 192.com for the company it does not exist
any comments please
have received a letter from them today saying I had won a prize, was glad I listened to gut instinct and checked them out online, yes it would be fab to have £25,000 but for genuine prizes you wouldnt have to pay high phone charges etc to claim them!!! They want locking up how many vulnerable people are out there that would fall for this hook, line and sinker, they should be ashamed of themselves, so from me a big fat **** off!!!
AAAaaa SH*T…., just got suckered and I made the £9 call aaaaaaaaaa, once bruced.. twice shined. Thanks for the info
Hi all.
Ive just been scre**d by these monkeys. Anyone ever one the so called 3/4/ night break? Just wana know if its worth it for me to at least try & get something out of these greedy selfish blood-suckers!!!
Thanks
i have recieved another letter (final reminder) on the back is a return address, this is what you do open the letter if its from them PDO then put it into a cheap envelope and write the return address on it and post it into your nearest post box, why you may ask, if you where to just post it back it would finally return to you but by putting it in another envelope it returns to them but the post office will only return the mail to them after a fee has been paid by them they only know that there is a letter to collect they don`t know its your`s the larger and heavier the letter the more the postal fee after a time you stop receiving the letters if not right away, off to post the return letter now
dont know if u got my last message but these scammy b//////s have done me over the 2nd time time now the 1st time hey sent a letter i rang and that id number i won a digital camera which i wasnt even interested in but filled out the claim form and wrote the code and sent it off in the post putting in 2 1st class stamps init. I you know what i have not heard from and today i had anpther letter stating final reminder you/havnt claimed a prize. Me being an idiot rang them up again thinking it must be a different prize and you never know bcoz it might be something expensive i must have won for them to send me final reminders and believe it or not after the phone call i realized that the id number on the letter did not even match any of them theyy were telling me on the phone which means i aint even won anything. Now all together these b///////s have cost me money for nothing when i could have have my 2 baby girls with that money which im struggling to do. I feel like finding put where their office is based and going down there and beating the hell out the person who has wasted my time money and got me excited and i woudnt even gove a toss if i was to be in a cell for the rest of my life or either they realize they done it to the wrong perso this time and make these people make my life so i dont have to worry about money aslong as im alive and make sure i leave so much behind for my family so they dont have a money problem too!!!!!!!!
Hey A, nice move
Hi Majid
Thanks for the comment. I can’t help wondering what Adrian Williams and his henchmen and women feel like reading your words – knowing that you’re so angry with them that you’d like to do physical violence to them? Wow. Mr. Williams – how can you not hear what these people are saying to you?