Is The British Awards Council prize claim ‘promotion’ another scam? As always, you decide..
But let our collection of comments about all McIntyre and Dodd Marketing Ltd‘s other recent rip-off promotions help you.
If you want to know about McIntyre and Dodd Marketing Ltd, click here. You’ll see that this kind of promotion is their speciality – and they’re doing it as much and as fast as they can before the OFT manages to shut them down.
** WANT TO COMPLAIN ABOUT THESE PEOPLE?? Click HERE **
Since I’ve been tracking their rip-off promotions they’ve gone through several names – all designed to appear credible and worthwhile. They change the name as soon as the general public wakes up to the fact that this is a con. Community Awards Register was the first one I blogged about. Shortly afterwards came PDO Prize Distribution Office. Then there was NB: Notification Bureau. Now – probably speeded up by people like me blogging about these rip-offs – they’ve changed the name again this time to the grand (and trustworthy-sounding) ‘The British Awards Council’.
Please follow the links I’ve put here to see just how systematically exploitative this outfit is. You’ll also see how lucrative this business is. The group of companies that’s behind this rip off is worth nearly £14m – of your money.
More importantly, read all the various ‘victim’ comments from ordinary, everyday people who have wasted their hard-earned money on these promotions and received little or nothing in return.
The British Awards Council: scam or not? You decide – and please feel free to share your experiences here to help others make up their minds too.
I have reported this company and also emailed them directly.
This is what I wrote:
To Whom It May Concern,
You should be ashamed of yourselves!! I have reported your latest scam along with 1000’s of other people in the hope that you are closed down and all assets frozen. It would be great if you were named and shamed publicly.
Please feel free to reply in any way you see fit as it will be delivered straight to the police and put on every single social website and all forums pertaining to rip off scam merchants such as yourselves. I suggest you leave myself and particularly my family alone and send your rubbish to the bin rather than posting it to people.
This is their reply:
We do not run scams, but as you are clearly not happy to receive our promotional mailings if you inform me of your full postal address, I will remove your details from our database.
However, there is one mailing which has already been printed which we are unable to stop being sent, which will arrive within the next two to three weeks.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Yours sincerely
Dawn Williams
Customer Services Manager
This is my reply:
Dawn,
I am afraid it is true and all forums are asking people to report your company. I will not inform you of my address or any of my relatives addresses. Your company should not be sending out this scam mail to anyone, it would then ensure this would not happen in the future.
Good luck to everyone reporting them…let’s put a stop to this now!!
Hi Jill
The problem here is that these people can claim they’re NOT a scam because, until the OFT or SOMEONE rules against them, they can say – uncontested – that they’re acting within the law. They operate on the basis that they’re ‘legal’ until proven otherwise.
Of course, hiding behind that definition does nothing for the millions of people who have paid their £15 and received either nothing at all or, at best, something worth considerably LESS than £15.
The other part of this, though, I’m afraid you only have yourselves to blame for. Somewhere along the way, you filled in your address / email details in some sort of ‘free promotion’ or prize draw in a magazine. Your eagerness to ‘win’ something THEN is costing you now, I’m sorry to say. But they’re right about that part of it: unfortunately, by not reading the small print you DID give them permission to fire this stuff at you.
Sorry to be blunt, but that’s how it is.
its a pitty there is not a web site set up and run (free if you likie many sites such as piczo or zoomshare) where one can put up there code symbols or whatever it is that says they have won and then just one person rings to find the prize code for say Ring Rabbits etc and put up there claim number then loads of people can fill in and send of and in the end only one person will have paid the £9 in texts or whatever and 400+ people enter for free
Chris, too complicated, you lost me. If you want to f**k them up, just make sure you don’t phone the damn premium numbers. Next, make sure you NEVER enter your mail or email details into ANY more ‘free competitions’ – there is no such thing; they’re all just a means to get your contact details to hit you with ‘offers’. The fact you entered some ‘competition’ or other in the past tells them from the beginning that you’re a viable target for scamming.
The only way to not be a target is to have nothing to do with any of it – and that’s something that is in your control.
i too have been in undated with letters from the British Awards Council and i always follow one simple rule: YOU CANNOT WIN ANYTHING IF YOU HAVE NOT ENTERED INTO A PRIZE DRAW!!!!
send them an unstamped envelope back, with luck they may be charged excess postage.
Inside the envelope fold a blank sheet of paper containing hundreds of thos glittery birthday cut outs, when the paper is taken out they will go all over the place, trivial I know but if everyone did it it would at least keep their office cleaner gainfully employed
Why has nothing been done to stop these people and people like them scamming so many people.
I like many honest law abiding people in this country think we would be better off being a murderer terrorist child abuser or drug dealer. as they get treated so weel in prison. it is a blight on our justice system. DISGUSTING
A.P.Edwards
Thanks, Albert. I agree with you. All you can do is help to spread the word so that others don’t waste their money on these crappy ‘promotions’. Thanks for commenting.
Well firstly there letter isnt even correct they say to you , you can send by post oh ok doesnt sound to bad right..?
well then they say u must write your 6-digit allocation code … and then says use the code at the bottom right which is actually 6 digits and if u look over on your award claim form its only a 4 digit code so it doesnt even make any sense so straight away it doesnt even look profesional
…and that’s because.. it isn’t professional! It’s a nasty, cheap rip off
i’ve been getting these letters all year, they come in the front door,and go out the back to the recycle bin.where they belong. RIP OF MERCHANTS
This was my first letter and until I found your site I was almost ready to believe that I had won a tv or the equivalent in money. A niggling little voice at the back of my head would not let me post the reply but it did not shout loud enough to stop me making the phone call. And if your eye sight is as bad as mine the price in the small print is just to small to see. These people who run this “lets lie and ripoff as many people as possible” company should be hung draw and quartered with all the folk they ripped off there to witness the event with a free BBQ and glass of bubbly. I am now a wiser mum and any following post will be filed under “nice try but you don’t fool me twice”. They should remember “What goes around comes around !!”
Thank you Paula Shaw
I like more honourable justice abiding population in this nation consider we would be better off being a murderer terrorist young offspring abuser or prescription doctors dealer. I’m petrified you only have yourselves to find clear fault for. Somewhere along the way, you loaded up in your address / computer communication particulars in some sort of free endorsement or trophy draw in a magazine.
Lol David… great comment. I think what you’re saying is ‘IT’S ALL YER OWN FAULT, SUCKERS!!’. There’s a lot of truth in that.