20/09/11

ADVANCED PUBLICATIONS, LIVERPOOL

The following email was circulated by the Wessex Chamber of Commerce, so please watch out for any of these calls.

-----Original Message-----
From: Kate Preece
Sent: 04 October 2011 09:22
Subject: FW: advertising scam

Good morning

I have been asked to forward this by Rob Perks, President, Chippenham Chamber of Commerce.

Many thanks,

Kate

-----

Hi All, I got approached by these Guys this week. They are also posing as reps for the Foresters fund for children under the name Vision Publications

Possible Advertisement Scammers targetting new business in Wiltshire and elsewhere - Advanced Publications, Liverpool

Posted on April 13, 2011 by cliffsull

As a new business struggling to create income - advertising your business is crucial. But I thought that new business owners in Wiltshire should be aware of the way one firm operates out of Liverpool.

The firm identifying itself as 'Advanced Publication's' called me earlier this morning from 01512 274273, a Liverpool number. The person on the other end of the line asked me to make a note of his name - Steve Green , and he went on to tell me about an opportunity to post an advert in an upcoming Annual publication by Wiltshire Police.

"I got your details from the Federation of Small business" ..said 'Steve'. He stated that they were looking for only one company from each area in order to count out the oppostion and ensure that my Business would be the only one in the publication dealing with Computer Repairs.

He then went on to list the prices, a full page ad would set me back almost a grand, down to a quarter page advert for £295.

I mentioned I was a startup and he said he could arrange a discount and I would only pay £195. It all sounded brilliant to me.  "Would you be interested?" asked 'Steve' ... I said I would. "We will send out all the details by post first" he replied.

He then said he would arrange a 14 day 'invoice' for me. In summing up he said that he would have one of his colleagues contact me and again asked me to take note of the name 'Advanced Publications'.

After emerging from a meeting I noticed 4 missed calls from 01512 273998. I rang the number and a male answered and I said I had missed calls from that number. He said that for Training and monitoring purposes my call was being recorded to which I said - "yeah , thats fine".

I then told him that 'Steve' said I could get everything in writing before giving him any 'payment' details and he turned a bit cold and said 'Okay' and hung up.

Not twenty minutes later 'Steve' called back and said "I have just had your details passed back to me, whats the problem? Was I too pushy earlier? "

"No Problem," I replied, "I would just like to get everything in writing before I proceed"

He hung-up on me?

I have just phoned Wiltshire Police with my concerns and they said its a fairly common type of occurrence - I have left all the information with them and - there is, to their knowledge,  NO annual 'Wiltshire Police' publication being done by Advanced publications.

A little bit of digging and I found this from a year ago, involving the same company - http://www.adscams.co.uk/liverpool-publishing-firm-centre-scam-advertising-probe 

Rob Perks
Proprietor