Adverts placed in so called Emergency Services and Safety magazines

Like most people new to having my own business you are never sure where to place adverts to get a result.

It would have been approximately a year ago now that I received a phone call from a media company asking me to support a good cause. I agreed to do an advert for £195 which was going into a local crime prevention magazine which at the time I felt was professionally done and I was able to send in artwork and in turn received copies of the magazine.

Since then I have received numerous phone calls from other media companies, some saying that I have placed more adverts and agreed a charge even to the point of sending me an invoice saying that I had verbally agreed. There has been at least one occasion where I have verbally agreed thinking that I was confirming an advert I had previously placed because all the publications sound very similar.

In the past two months the number of calls have got to ridiculous proportions. I have now spoken to the Data Information Commission who have assured me I will be taken off the database that all these media advertisers use.

You can also call 08450 700707 which is the TPS responsible for removing your details and if companies then call you can report them and they could be fined up to £5000. So i'm told.

What these Media companies don't tell you is that you have 14 days, even if you have placed an advert, to cancel from when you receive their invoice. You will probably find it in the small print.

I would also advise never pay by credit card as some of these companies may keep your card details on file.

I do feel incensed that this is the way some media/advertising companies operate and I have heard some real horror stories about the way they tie people in.

If you want my advice give them all a very wide berth!

I would like to hear from anyone who has, or is experiencing what I regard as harassment from these companies as I wish to take this up with the Federation of Small Businesses as an issue.

I have specifically not named any companies as there will be some that are genuine.

All the best. Adrian.

I've placed an ad, too, Adrian. It was with Excel Media for inclusion on the www.emergencyservicespress.co.uk website. I haven't had any problems since - but will certainly be keeping an eye / ear open now! Thanks for the heads up.

Adrian, there is a good chance that the first advert was a scam and you and your fellow advertisers have the only copies of the magazine.

This is a well known scam where you are charged for advert in non existant magazine and once they have you they will keep contacting you trying to get as much money out of you as possible.

Here is a link about the scam.

Thanks for the link Bruce at least I can see that I am not alone with my thoughts on the subject.

Apparently Trading Standards have closed down a number of illegal operations but of course only to be replaced by more of the same. My advice remains the same - be very careful.

Thanks for your comment Lesley - as I said my first advert was genuine and it was 8 to 9 months before all these other media companies tried to get on the bandwagon claiming that when I spoke to them in April/May of this year I had verbally agreed to place adverts.

I would recommend anyone being approached by publications for advertising asks them to send you a sample copy plus details of the verified circulation figures. Any magazine/newspaper worth it's salt will have their circulation independently audited by the ABC. If they don't then it's probably not worth advertising unless it's a publication you know and read yourself.

Thanks for the good advice Caroline.

I spoke about this issue during my 40 seconds this morning at the Chippenham meeting and there were at least two other people there that had similar problems regarding this type of nuisance call.

Kind regards. Adrian.

As a media agency I occasionally get calls from Police and Fire Service publications thanking me for this or that clients ad in last year's publication and inviting me to repeat it. My response is simple - send me a copy of last year's issue and a circulation profile for the new issue and I will ask my client if they want to repeat it. Strangely, nothing has ever materialised. As Caroline says, ask for a circulation breakdown and audit verification. I specialise in media planning and buying and am a member of Buy Safe Media, an international group of media professionals in agencies and companies where audited media is a priority for us. You cannot always go with audited ttiles for various reasons but it is usually fairly easy to sort out the genuinely good from the bad. And if you feel guilty after saying "No" then make a private donation through an official channel. I buy many thousands of pounds worth of ad space for various clients and I know exactly when and where it appears without having the publishers ringing me to remind of non exitant bookings I am supposed to have made 12 months before!

I took a call a couple of weeks ago and it went something like this:

Caller: 'I would like to thank you for your support last year when Redesdale advertised in our Police support magazine. We have now prepared your repeat advert as you agreed last year, and would like to finalise the details with you today for the next issue'

Me: 'Ah ok, well I am quite busy at the minute, so could I take your name and telephone number so I can call back soon to make payment (which was very quick thinking as I had no plans on doing this, but wanted to get the telephone number before getting annoyed). So, now I have got your name and number, its pointless putting the phone down as I will ring back time and time again until I get through to you. Is this the tactics that your two-bit company have taught you, to blatently lie and try and rip people?'

Caller: 'No no, we are try just wanting to help you again as we did last year'

Me: 'Thats f**king strange, as Redesdale wasnt trading last year you scamming little s**t. Ive no idea how you can sleep and night you absolute theif'

I then put the phone down and havent heard anything since

My mate is a copper, he has yet to see one of these magazines.

Thanks Geoff and Paul for your comments. Since starting this thread and speaking to others at events and meetings I can't believe how this has unfolded since I placed the first advert. It now seems to me that if I had spent some money employing the services of someone like Geoff at least you know these services are genuine.

I guess the problem is that most of us try to run a decent and honest business and find it hard to believe that some businesses are actually quite happy to bully, lie and illegally invoice. I also have noticed that not one of these companies talk about a 14 day 'cooling off' period which just seems to be another reason to stay well clear.

Those who know me would probably consider me quite a laid back person but in this instance this has really got to me and I can imagine some business owners having some sleepless nights worrying about the next call.

If there is anyone in that position please do not hesitate to contact me and I will give you all the help I can.

Please do me a favour, if you do get an invoice send it back IMMEDIATELY saying that you have not authorised the advert and you are not going to pay.

All the best. Adrian.

Since my last comment on this thread I have now received an invoice in the post with an advert attached.

Attached to the invoice is a credit card slip as proof of payment.

If I told you that I have never heard of this particular company, Avensis Solutions in Manchester and that there is no e-mail address and that you cannot get through on their telephone number I guess you wouldn't be too suprised. On the date that the payment was processed I had not spoken to any company and had not given the credit card details to anyone.

I have now disputed this transaction with the credit card company so it will be interesting to see what happens next and what protection there is.

If Avensis Solutions can furnish me with the information I need I would like to hear from them. The invoice (4002) was for £675.

The reference used on the invoice I gave to another supplier and I haven't used the same reference twice?

This whole business seems like opening a can of worms to me.

If anyone has knowledge of Avensis Solutions I would welcome any comments.

Adrian.

I will keep you posted.

These calls from Fire & Police publications have been going on for a number of years and they rely on unsuspecting members of staff in bigger organisations agreeing to it because they have " been in " the publication before . It looks they also target smaller companies based on what has been said so far , I must admit I have had a couple in the past month and they both have had short thrift from me .

Google Excel Media and you'll find scam written all over the place. Avoid like the plague, your adverts will never be seen.

Thanks Alan for your comments. I wonder if the emergency services themselves are aware of these scams as I fear that it can only damage any potential genuine support and in some cases what some of these media people get up to is actually illegal.

Sarah, I will now go way and google Excel Media.

All the best. Adrian.

OMG isn't this shocking. A similar situation happened to me a year or so back Adrian. Havng agreed an ad another company contacted me sounding as though they were the original company. Just like you I verbally agreed thinking I was confirmng an original conversation. Fortunately I smelt a rat and made a song and dance of it all until they were glad to get off the phone. I thought it was just me not using due diligence, had no idea it was such a wide spread scam. Maybe Paul could sell recordings of his get lost message! in my case I'm not sure if even the original ad was genuine.