I was wondering if you can help not only spread the word about a scam going on and stop people getting ripped off, but also help in catching and bringing the perpetrators to justice.

I admit, I was conned and lost 600.00, but had to put it down to experience.

Then some  8 months ago I was phoned by a company with the same selling techniques from Blackpool again, claiming to sell advertising on the back of appointment cards for the local Dr’s Surgery.  Having been once bitten and still smarting from the TV escapade I declined.  When I thought about it in slow time, I realised the likely hood of a GPs surgery allowing a Hypnotherapist to advertise on their appointment cards was unlikely as it would appear to be endorsing the therapist and they didn’t even know me.  So I checked….no such cards were being printed.  Course I was now cross cos I couldn’t remember the name of the company to report them.

Then last week I had a call from a woman with a Blackpool accent claiming to be phoning from Ascot Medical Centre and offering cheap advertising on Plasma TV screens….I was driving so couldn’t write anything down, but  I challenged her about who the parent company was she hung up.  I phoned Ascot Medical Centre who are not having any such TVs installed.  

It is quite clear this is the same company reformed, they are going round using yellow pages and hitting time and time again.

So:

A: we need to warn as many as possible not to get caught up in it

B: If anyone does get a similar call if they can try and gently get  the company name and details (the phone always comes through as an anonymous call) and get the details to the local police,  and try and get this charade stopped once and for all.

Would you be good enough to send a warning out to your mailing list right across the country, these people target every hospital and medical centre in the UK and then work out the nearest therapists advertising and hit them…that’s a lot of people.

Any information that can be gleaned can and should be passed to the local police who will treat it as fraud. 

Hope you can help

Sue

Hello

I have just been contacted by a company offering me the chance to put my advert on to a leaflet for Jats Pharmacy in Finchampstead,  I have just spoken to the owner and I quote ‘I have not instructed any company this year to do this for me.’  Thanks to the warnings that came through about the scams I did not bite and checked first, he was as surprised as I was!
Keep on your guard, this could have cost me over £200 for no return.  I do not know where the lady called Molly got my number from as I didn’t ask, but they are also hard sell and wouldn’t take no for an answer when I said I did not want to meet anyone to discuss it.
You have been warned.

The general website address is: www.adscams.co.uk  My website gets a great deal of hits from people researching scams especially advertising related. Please feel free to include the website link in any future mailings.

I would be happy for the forum to be used as the official discussion area on this topic.

I paid for advertising my company on a Local Doctors Surgery Appointment Card with a company called Medi-Leisure Plus based in Chorley Lancashire in September 2006.  A very professional Sales Manager called Alan Travis came to my home with a very glossy advertising pitch together with samples. I was told during the sales pitch that Doctors Surgery's were now using Appointment Cards  as a means of trying to reduce "No shows" at the Surgery. I was told that this was a nationwide directive and would be uniform practise in Local Health  Authorities.  The method of sponsoring this Appointment Card would be by getting local companies to advertise their product/company on the card and even though in this instance it was a Doctors Surgery, the use of standard disclaimer would mean that no validation of professional status would need to be checked.  This is a standard form of advertising and is entirely feasible, since the cards would be free to the Surgery.  The addition of the disclaimer made sense why a Doctors Surgery would allow anyone to advertise since they would have no legal come back. So reassured I paid £315.00 by cheque for a full page advert on a Local Surgery Appointment Card which would run for two years. After some weeks a proof card was sent to me.  It was very professional, well laid out and I made numerous calls to Medi-Leisure Plus to agree layout and best position.  All seemed well.  The proof card also showed me other local sponsors that had taken up the option ranging from Beauty Therapy to Computer Repairs. Over the next few months I would receive the occasional call from the card, although not as many as I was led to believe, so I forgot about it until I saw your email!!

I promptly telephoned the Doctors Surgery who confirmed they had received the cards and were using them.  For a moment I was relieved and thought that this company was not the same as referred to in your email.  The Receptionist then pointed out that she only had a few cards left and since they were given to them free of charge they had not thought about ordering any more, this would equate to about 6 months worth of advertising, not the two year agreed!  I was now slightly worried.

I was told by Medi-Leisure Plus that they would provide sufficient cards for two years and that had been agreed with the Doctors Surgery.  On receiving your email I thought I would just ring Medi-Leisure Plus to find out when they would be sending more Appointment Cards as agreed.  The telephone number was no longer valid; all emails were returned.  I did a google search which showed that many Reflexologists in particular were targeted in the last three years by Medi -Leisure Plus saying they had approval by our Governing Body the AoR, which is untrue. Many therapists had paid varying amounts of money some had cards yet some never received anything.  It would appear that Medi-Leisure Plus ceased trading sometime in May 2007, leaving may orders unfulfilled and many people out of pocket.

At least I did get something for my money and what I did get was surprisingly professional.  However I would urge anyone who has had dealings with this company to ensure that they have cancelled any direct debits they may have with this company.  I have also contacted those sponsors who jointly sponsored the same Appointment Card.

Please use this email if you need to.  It would appear to be a scam,  a very professional scam... although clearly the company Medi-Leisure Plus did in some instances do what they said they would do. I did get proofs, the Doctors Surgery did get their Appointment Cards, but in the end I still did not get what I paid for!

Others scammed by Medi Leisure- Plus

Could you please put this link on your Forum as it gives everything you need to know about Medi-Leisure Plus and its other various trading names. It may help some people.

We at Electronic Health Media have a network of LCD patient information screens installed in main waiting rooms in key hospital departments (such as A&E. OPD, Oncoloy, Maternity) and GP practices across England.
You maybe aware we supply the screen at zero cost to the NHS as our revenues are secured through on screen sponsorship. We give our client full VETO of any potential sponsor who wishes to go on the screen and this may mean they reject certain applicants.
We have a sales team that work across the country securing our revenues, please don’t think that all are out to commit fraud as this will have a damaging effect on supplying the system to the NHS at zero cost.
We can supply a full list of sites which we are installed in and happy to provide references at any point.
If I can help in anyway then please feel free to contact me at any time.

I was also approached by the 'appointment card' people and followed it up but demanded my deposit back when they demanded the balance instalment from me without keeping their contractual agreement to provide a sample.  I suggest if any of get this happen again, one of us makes an appointment to see them provided we can secretly arrange to have someone from the Trading Standards join the meeting (without saying who they are).  If trading stamdards aren't interested to attend, cancel the meeting, it's about time these folks were caught out!

Thanks for the warning!  I did in fact get a call from a man saying that he was working on behalf of my local doctors surgery who were keen, in line with new recommendations to offer patient choice, and would I like to be part of the new surgery brochure which would be promoting complementary therapies.  I was initially delighted to think that my new local doctors would want to work together with complementary therapists.  He said it was ultimately the doctors final choice but that I had been chosen as the hypnotherapist they wanted in their brochure and on their appointment cards and that I would be the ONLY one.  I did feel it was strange that they would want me in their magazine without meeting me.  I phoned the  practice manager of the surgery and they had indeed commissioned someone to "sell advertising space" in their magazine but the doctors would not be recommending the services of the therapists, but that they were in the brochure if the patient read it and chose to go that route.  Not quite the same impression given by the salesman.  It was a minimum 2 year contract too.  I decided to phone a therapist who was on the sample card he had given me and she said that she had been told she would be the only massage therapist in the brochure but when it was printed was one of FIVE!  She had been given the impression that the doctors would be recommending her and they would be working together in the best interest of the patient.  This was purely advertising space to pay for their brochure and she said that she had received only 2 enquiries since it had been printed.  This man is selling advertising space on behalf of doctors surgeries all over the country, so just a warning here that he was who he said he was, but it wasn't quite what it seemed.  I could have signed a 2-year contract (£30 per month) and would only have had my word against his that I was going to be the only therapist.  Admittedly not huge amounts of money but quite a lot for us therapists.  Apparently his next appointment was with an Undertaker!!!!

This year, they called me from a Lancashire number - they got my number from the FHT website (Federation of Holistic Therapists) which clearly states that members' details are purely for clients to contact and not for people to try and sell products but there is little FHT can do to stop these pests.

The number of the person who called me in June was 01257-412662 - it's still listed in my mobile 'phone. The company who called me were called Leisure Medical. The amount of money they were suggesting for advertising was ridiculous for someone who is self-employed and I told them I would not be interested. The doctor's surgery they claimed to be working for was based in Woking.

I reported the call to the FHT but they just said all they could suggest was for members not to have their telephone numbers on the website.

My partner also got asked about Plasma Screens for the PO ... probably the same scheme.