28 million people in the UK have been targeted by scams, and five million of us have been fooled into parting with our cash, according to the Consumer's Association. X-Ray has discovered that one of the latest used Wrexham as a base.
If you received a card from Parcel Delivery Services recently, you'd be forgiven for thinking that it looked very official, like something a courier or postman might leave for you, saying that you'd got a parcel waiting for you. The card bears great news: a digital camera is waiting for you! To arrange delivery, you need to ring PDS to get a 'security confirmation code'. But, if you check the small print you might be shocked to discover that your call will cost a staggering £1.50 per minute. It's a premium rate '090' number.
When you ring up, the recorded voice promises you will shortly be give the 'security confirmation code' but first you're asked a series of rather personal 'market research' questions about your marital status and how often you drink alcohol. In fact, six tedious minutes pass before you`re finally given the code for your camera. It's a classic technique - and it's just cost you £9.00. Expensive call!
And it's not easy to complain because the company behind PDS is registered in Belize, in Central America - so it's difficult to find out who is behind it all.
Thousands of PDS 'delivery cards' were sent out across the UK. Helen Fussell from Newport thought she'd struck lucky. She said: "When I first saw the card, it reminded me of a competition that I'd entered, some time ago, which was also for a digital camera - and I remember thinking: well it's taken a long time but, then, this must be it."
By the time Helen rang that number, ICSTIS, the premium rate watchdog, had closed down the line and frozen the profits. After receiving 450 complaints, ICSTIS accused PDS of being 'seriously misleading', saying that such activity could be seen as 'fraudulent'. And not one of those complainants ever received a camera.
PDS has been well and truly stopped now, but X-Ray couldn't help noticing that the PO Box number was in Wrexham. We typed it into the internet to do a search, just to see what would happen - and, surprise surprise, the PO box was still active, on a website for 'The Freedom Clinic', featuring therapist Al Dickman. The site boldly claimed: "Pick up the phone and never pick up a cigarette again". It sounded amazing - but guess what: you had to ring an 090 number.
X-Ray rang the number to hear a recorded message saying: "We're confident that if you're sufficiently motivated and you follow the instructions carefully, you'll be a non-smoker by the end of this telephone call". It cost £1.00 per minute but 10 minutes of facts and figures went by before the therapy seemed to start. Sounds familiar, eh?
The unusual therapy consisted of Al Dickman telling listeners to tap themselves at various different places on their face and body whilst repeating phrases about giving up smoking. It even instructed listeners to sing 'Happy Birthday'. And guess what - by the end of that very bizarre call, it had cost £20.
ASH in Wales is a charity which runs a free smokers' helpline. We asked them what they thought of The Freedom Clinic. Director Naomi King said: "If I was a smoker, I'd be thinking: "Wow, is that all I have to do: £20 and 20 minutes and I'll be free of this addiction!" It's very, very tempting but there's no proof at all in any of it".
So PDS and The Freedom Clinic both ask you to ring a premium rate phone line and both use the same PO box. X-Ray decided to find out who was behind the box. We eventually found the address that the PO box was registered to - but it's now vacant. And former tenants of the house knew nothing about the PO box.
But then, we got another tip off - and the jigsaw began slotting together. Al Dickman from the Freedom Clinic named the man behind it - Tim Kitching. X-Ray linked Mr Kitching to Jackpot Promotions - another company using that PO box in Wrexham. Then we discover that ICSTIS knew Mr Kitching very well: they`d fined his businesses over £100,000 in the past. And, when we revealed our research to ICSTIS, they at last confirmed that our theory was correct. The man behind PDS is indeed Tim Kitching from Heaven Communications.
X-Ray attempted to get a response from Mr Kitching but we heard nothing from him at all. Later this week, though, ICSTIS will be publishing the results of their latest inquiry into his activities.
And as for Al Dickman, he told us he's passionate about helping people to stop smoking. He still believes in his therapy and says he's made no money from the Freedom Clinic, whose website has now closed.
We asked Dave Holland, Head of Trading Standards in Cardiff told X-Ray why people are taken in by phone and postal scams. He saidi: "People react differently to these scams...there are those people who live on the edge, I call them the Del-boy syndrome, that this time next year we're going to be millionaires, and they believe these things that come through their door.
He added: "There are those who are totally gullible and will accept them at face value. There are those that gamble on them, but what you've got to remember is that the guys running these scams are talented individuals, and they are going to take our money from us by hook or by crook. I like to think of them more as parasites because they are living on the backs of honest individuals."
Dave Holland went on to say: "...when they operate in the UK and the EU we have powers to shut them down. Trading Standards, the Office of Fair Trading, the DTI can shut them down, but we're in a global world now and these things operate from the US, from Asia from Switzerland...and in some countries the controls are just not there to stop them doing it."
