This appeared in my pigeonhole at work today. I’m assuming it was put there because it mentions computers, and therefore is obviously my responsibility. Anyway, as is always the way with these things, it’s a scam.
The company, TLAC Ltd, at Kemp House, 152-160 City Road, London EC1V 2NX (address included for the benefit of Googlers) appears to offer “thankyou prizes and awards”, not unlike Survey UK. As before, I hunted around on the internet, and found this message on The Guardian’s website.
To cut it short, you ring up a premium rate number to claim your “award”, spending more money on the call than the value of the “prize” you actually receive. Note the footnote for the digital camera (the cheapest of the “prizes”), which states “all electrical items require a payment of ¬¨¬£6.50 which includes insurance and delivery”, thus grabbing more of your cash for rubbish.
So it’s not a “prize” or and “award” – it’s a lottery. A rubbish one at that.
Sometimes there are things that just need to escape my head.
thankgod i googled this. I was gonna be a mug and ring that number. You saved me from the scammers. I got my letter today with my vertbaudet order. And yes i have the same dispatch code too TA00075
Same letter arrived within a package from Freemans…
Do these catalouges not realise what goes into the packages they send out….My wife showed the letter to me from the scammers it is the very same from the address to the signature even the dispatch code….
Thank you for the warning…..
Hehe, well if they can con us. We can con them.
I sent off for the claim, in an envelope without a stamp. Because they’re so desperate for my 6.50 they sent me back an envelope, with someones scruffy handwriting on. It had a slim piece of paper, which had my personal claim verification number as 55XY inside it. Obviously the TA00075 bit was the same and it said “= Digital Camera”
This slim piece of paper, was just printed off on a normal printer.
So ive decided to re-create it, slightly change the “TA00075 = Digital Camera” to “TA00093 = ¬£5000 Cash”
Then im going to send it off, with a stamp that costs me 36p. Because 36p, is well worth making that someone think oh s***!
And not only would i get a decent prize(its possible), but i wouldnt have to pay the £6.50 charge for insurance and delivery. Ha Ha Ha Ha (The letter says All Electrical Items require a payment of £6.50.
Mines not electrical, mines paper. Ner Ner.
I doubt it will work.
But hey, they pee us off, lets pee them off.
Peace Out Guys
Well I received 2 of these letters from La Redoute catalogue in the space of 2 days. You won’t be at all surprised that they both have the ‘LUCKY CODE’ ‘TA00075′. I’m so glad this link came up when I googled to check out the code.
Hi, got one of these today…what a load of rubbish. These people need locking up!
Thanks for the info. I got this letter with my La Redoute catalogue. I wonder if they are aware that it’s a scam ‘cos it makes them look dodgy too.
thank goodness for this site. just to let people know that they are at it again, i have just received the exact same letter with my Vertbadet statement. i always thought they were a reputable company, and would check out and direct mail that they would send out with their name behind it. obviousley not!!!
La Redoute is a hustler’s helper. Stop buying things from them. I recieved this paper from them as well. I cancelled my account and im not buying things from them anymore.
Thank you very much! I got the same with my clothes from LaRedoute and I believed in this crap! You saved me from being cheated and feeling a stupid dupe!
Received mine today through Vertbaudet..the scam was too good to be true.. Now am really interested in AZ’s experiment… Any more progress on it?
The Guardian published this in 2006.. maybe they have more info?
The Advertising Standards Authority upheld complaints this week against The Winners Club.
It concluded the presentation of a prize award was “misleading”, with many people receiving awards that were “not significantly greater in value that the premium rate phone call”.
Capital Letters criticised a “prize offering” from The Loyalty Awards Club on July 8. Both TLAC and Winners are creations of stock market listed Invox.
¬? We welcome letters but cannot answer individually. Write to: Capital Letters, Money, The Guardian, 119 Farringdon Road, London EC1R 3ER or email capital.letters@guardian.co.uk Do not send original documents but do enclose a daytime phone number. Information is general and offered without any legal responsibility. Always take professional advice if in doubt.
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006
I have emailed Daxon about this scam which arrived with goods I had purchased from them. They have replied that I will not receive any further ‘offers’ from other companies but seemed to be unable to assure me that no-one else will receive this misleading literature. Unless they are able to do so, I will not be using them again or any of the other companies named on this site.
If the ‘Guardian’ reported on this in 2006, why has nothing been done about stopping it?
I have just recieved the letter along with verbaudet statement with the same code TA00075 to claim the prize and was too suspicious so i found this info. thank you people for saving me fortune.
Yep same old letter and code came my way. So glad I checked the internet first. Would love to know if anyone actually wins anything else other than the cheap old digital camera. I think its disgusting well established mail catalogue companies allow this sort of scam to be sent out with their goods.
I was so sure this was real, untill I looked up LTAC. thanks people…..oh I too got the same code (TA00075) talk about lazy…!!
same letter same dispatch code and came with sky magazine, WOT A CON
I got scammed so you dont have to:
TA00011=£5000
TA00063=£1000
TA00099=LCD TV
TA00075=Digital Camera (Most People)
TA00043=Laptop
TA00029=£200
TA000??=Nintendo Wii (Dont know number, I was not listening)
Mine came with my Sky monthly mag this morning.On the back was a form to send (‘with loose 1st class stamp’)in case I didn’t want to phone! And yes, the code was TA00075. Are they getting desperate?
Today, I too received my “prize letter”. Having had family members scammed in addition I was not aware of signing up to the TLAC, thought that I better research the company. My intuition was to disbelieve the offer – it seems that I was right. Thank you for this blog. It has saved me a small fortune.
By the way, this came through a reputable company magazine.
I also received this with my SKY magazine.
I have forwarded this to the BBC Watchdog team by post.
I too got one this morning with my SKY magazine. SHAME ON YOU SKY!!
I have emailed BBC Watchdog,if everyone does that maybe we can rid the world of these scammers and make the world a safer place (for your wallet!!)
23-3-09 recieved this as well today with sky mag what a con sky should stop sending this crap out with mag.
Yup, got one in my monthly (March 09) Sky Magazine of all places. Despatch Code: TA00075 from Amanda Fisher.
Got the same from Amanda Fisher – think it should really be Phisher! LOL
From Sky Mag, would have expected better from Sky
I see that the scam goes on. I got a letter like this with the same code yesterday included in my Sky Magazine. I am glad I thought of checking it with Google!
Same here, got one with my sky magazine march, TA00075
Got the same letter with sky magazine march. TA00075.
So now sky have made them there partners. Pathetic. When are we going to see an end to this. There are watchdogs such as Ofcom who monitor TV contents and so where are the ones who monitor scam competitions like this!!!
Every comment above since my last entry relates to a SKY mailing. Can I encourage you all to email BBC watchdog. Lets see what can be done about this?!
Got mine with ref TA00075 and came with my SKY magzine. So they can fiddle with anyone!!! Needless to say mine has been perfectly filed in my shredder
Same problem, letter from this apparent scaming company in with the Sky mag same Number TA00075.
As I wright this I am talking with Sky.
They will not, or can not do anything about this and will not discuss it. Have been with Sky over 10 years, there customer service is as always. S— ? Will drop Sky and transfer to Virgin 1. This threat made to them did not even cause a ripple. Suggest everybody do the same now that Sky are apparently allowing there name to support a bogus prize draw.
Same here, got this in the Sky mag pack. Sky should be held accountable for this!
Shocking!! so glad I googled first.
same code, letter came with VERTBAUDET from France.
Just received an order from Freemans catalogue.Inside parcel was a letter from Amanda Fisher & yes guess what my code was TA00075!! I think its a disgrace that Freemans are involving themslves with a scam like this.Was tempted to ring, thankgoodness I googled to check it out.
I r’cd an order from Vertbaudet today inside was the same letter. Why are these companies allowing this to happen and what can we do about it? I am going to contact verbaudet and make a complaint.
Really…glad I checked out them by google and so fed up that this stuff can be sent in with mail order parcels..perhaps those company’s get paid to put them in. Anyways just do not respond there shpould be a legistion law to stop these.
Sorry I didn’t check the web before as I normally do. This letter was different from the ones I’ve received before so thought it might possibly be genuine and figured if it was a decent camera it would be okay. I forgot to check the number of cameras first cause then my suspicions would have been confirmed that it was some cheap useless camera.
I like Az’s (Feb 5th posting)suggestion/prank! Would love to know if it’s borne any fruit yet. LOL! Go Az!
i just received one with freemans package same code as the rest of you TA00075, so glad i check out before i rang would be good to ban maybe we could get watchdog onto it!!!
Just received same code TA00075 with a Freemans order. I’m sending it back with no stamp on, and closing my account with Freemans. What wallies! But I wonder how many people are being taken in by this scam – warn all your contacts immediately.
I have also received this letter with a weekend magazine along with the Unclaimed Prize Register. I got 24 of my colleagues to claim and quess what both companies awarded all of us a ‘digital camera’ thats 48 cameras no decent prizes.
Isn’t the internet a wonderful thing? Thanks to all of you who posted before myself about this con. Mine came with a goods delivery from Freemans. You would think they would know better. I will be complaining to them. Cheers everyone!
Has anyone had any luck with their complaints. Please post the results.
Indeed!
“Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free!” John 8:32
I’ve just got one of these today, same code as everyone else. I was so tempted to ring it because we need a new tv badly, and I was sat there reading it over and over again thinking ‘what if?’. So glad I checked online, I’m disgusted with ace catalogue as this came with my order.
I too have received the very same number 75, the worrying thing about my letter as Jbeen said I too was tempted as it came within a parcel from Grattan so I shall be asking them why they are promoting such a scam.
For all of us who has realised this is just a con how many people actually make the phone call at ¬£1.50 per minute..Maximum 6 mins… Glad I checked first, thanks
OMG I ALMOST made the phone call but thought I’d Google it first…so glad I did. I got mine with Studio and was convinced it was real (dumb I know) as I didnt think a reputable company like Studio wouldn’t send out such scams. I’m gonna do what Az posted on the 5th Feb hahahahaha!!!
My mum received the standard TLAC letter – yes you guesssed, despatch code TA00075, with her Easy Life magazine luckily she mentioned this to me before she made the phone call.
Thanks for this. Googling makes it easy to find out where the rubbish is these days, doesn’t it? I got the code TA00075 too. Thing is, we’re all saying it’s a scam but sadly it is legally OK because they spell out that you are most likely to get the digital camera and they know that most people won’t bother claiming because they will know it’s a cheap rubbish camera by that time and not worth the P&P money they are being asked for. It is as someone earlier pointed out a lottery, as I’m sure one person out there will be allotted the 5k but the irony is that I bet 99% of these letters end up i the bin [where mine is going right now]and I bet that’s where teh 5k one has gone.
My wife fell for this scam a few months ago,I was not pleased.
I asked her why should anyone want to give us £5000 for nothing.
We had a small delivery from Freemans today,and,yes another invite to phone them up at premium rates.
Best leave this scam alone…Les