Please see the latest alerts from Staffordshire Trading Standards
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Trading Standards have today been made aware of a company cold calling local residents claiming that they are owed a substantial refund for over paid Payment Protection Insurance (PPI).
The caller goes on to ask for bank account or credit card details and promises the refund will be made straight to their account. After the telephone call, most victims have gone on to discover that £59.99 has been debited from their account by this company, rather than a refund made.
Remember, please do not give out personal information, bank account or credit card details over the telephone, especially to people who have contacted you without warning claiming you are owed money.
If you think you may be entitled to reclaim PPI you can do this yourself. You do not have to pay a third party company to do it for you. Contact the Financial Services Ombudsman for further information.
Produced:
02 February 2010
The Financial Services Authority is aware of a number of bogus communications claiming to be from the Financial Services Authority (FSA) or the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) – which ask the recipient for personal information or money.
The bogus communications are often in the form of letters or email and they sometimes use the name of a current or former employee. It is believed the communications are likely to be linked to fraud and you are strongly advised not to respond to them in any way.
If you are in doubt about the authenticity of any communications from the Financial Services Authority please contact 0845 606 1234.
For any doubts about communications from the Financial Ombudsman Service please contact 0845 080 1800.
Produced:
04th February 2010
The Office of Fair Trading have received reports that there are a number of scammers calling consumers out of the blue and offering to help reclaim bank charges on their behalf. They may claim to be from the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) and ask for financial and personal information, including bank account or credit card details.
These callers have no connection with the Office of Fair Trading and they would never contact you directly to ask for such information.
Protect yourself
vDo not pass on personal or financial information to cold callers over the phone, by letter or email.
vContact your bank or credit card provider immediately if you believe you may have given out account details.
vReview your statements on a regular basis to see if there have been any unauthorised transactions.
