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Warnings Over Tenancy Deposit Scam

Action Fraud is warning the public that fraudsters are posing as landlords to trick people into paying upfront rent into Tenancy Deposit Scheme.

According to Action Fraud, 28 reports were made to the reporting service between December 2018 and February 2019, amounting to a total loss of £19,990.

Reports made to Action Fraud claim fraudsters are posing as genuine landlords of rental properties available online. Before viewing the property, the fraudster convinces the potential tenant to pay a deposit. Incredibly, in some cases reported to the service, victims have been asked to pay a whole month’s rent upfront. The fraudsters… Read more

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New Rules For Rent To Own Shops

The Financial Conduct Authority has announced it will limit the interest that customers pay on rent-to-own products. The FCA says that all goods purchased after 1 April will be included in the price cap. Meaning the interest charged will only be as much as the cost of the product, this includes the cost of credit.

Rent-to-own shops offer people the chance to buy items they need for their home through smaller regular payments. However, once interest charges have been added, some rent-to-own consumers have ended paying more than four times the retail price they would have paid in a non … Read more

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Cold-Calling Scammers Convicted

A cold-calling company based in Swansea has been caught on CCTV pressurising elderly victims into buying boilers that didn’t exist.

Renewable Energy Centre Ltd, offered victims a free boiler under what they said was a government scheme, all people had to do was pay a one-off upfront fee of either £299 or £399.

The company managed to con 1,200 people into paying this fee, but only three households ever acquired their new boilers. The three elderly victims who did receive their new boiler, were actually unknowingly signed up for monthly repayments lasting 12 months.

A four year investigation was carried … Read more

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Bounty Handed Massive Fine For Sharing Information Of Vulnerable Members and Children

The Information Commissioner’s Office has fined Reward, a parenting and pregnancy club £400,000 for illegally sharing the personal information of 14 million members.

An investigation by the Information Commissioners Office found that Bounty had been collecting the personal information through its website and mobile app and from new mothers in hospital.

Bounty is a source of information for new and expectant mothers, they provide pregnancy and parenting tips along with freebies and special offers. They collect personal information for the purpose of signing new members to the information service. But the ICO found that the organisation wasn’t being 100% honest … Read more

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Fraudsters Plead Guilty To Telemarketing Timeshare Scam

Two men from Florida have pleaded guilty in a telemarketing scam that cost 40 victims more than $1.5 Million. Following an investigation by the FBI, Troy Carter and David Bell have both plead guilty to a huge money Washing conspiracy, that saw victims being targeted twice. Both men face a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison.

From 2015 to 2018, Carter and Bell concocted a ruthless scam to target timeshare owners throughout the U.S. and steal their money. They instructed staff to cold-call timeshare owners and pose as real estate agents claiming to have buyers ready to purchase … Read more

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Pensioner Sold $250,000 timeshare!

The daughter of a pensioner was so horrified to learn that Diamond Resorts sold her father $250,000 worth of points, she contacted the FBI.

In December last year, a daughter from the U.S. sent a complaint to the FBI, describing how her 88 year old father had agreed to buy a timeshare points product for $250,000. He has since, lost his wife and is suffering with Dementia and living in a nursing home.

Her father was 87 at the time he was approached by Diamond Resorts and simply enjoying a day trip to the beach with his wife at the … Read more

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Orange Lake Resorts In Court

A federal judge in Florida has dismissed timeshare resort Orange Lake Country Club’s law suit, claiming a law firm encouraged timeshare owners to break their contracts.

In 2017, a law firm based in Seattle told the court Orange Lake Resorts were suing them in revenge to the firms representation of consumers who want to end their timeshare agreements. Orange Lake was attempting to stop the firm and its attorneys from helping clients with concerns about their agreements.

In January this year, the Judge denied another lawyers bid to escape the lawsuit claiming he participated in a conspiracy with the timeshare… Read more

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Every Police Force Will Now Have A Dedicated Cyber Crime Unit

Thanks to a multi-million pound investment from the government, every Police force in England and Wales will now have a committed Cyber Crime Unit.

The announcement was made by Chief Constable Peter Goodman of the National Police Chiefs Council lead for cyber-crime. The news came at an event hosted by the new West Midlands Cyber Crime Unit which was established in November last year. Chief Constable Goodman heard from members of the team about the work they are doing within the force, how they link with the regional network and what it means to local victim’s and businesses.

Chief … Read more

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Hajj fraud warning issued by Civil Aviation Authority over fake pilgrimage deals

Travellers looking to book their Hajj pilgrimage this August, are being warned to stay clear of deals that seem to good to be true.

With over 25,000 British Muslims expected to make the Hajj pilgrimage this August, the Civil Aviation Authority is launching a campaign to ensure that this often once in a lifetime trip is not Thwarted by booking through a disreputable company, or those falsely posing as reputable travel agents. The Civil Aviation Authority’s campaign is working to protect travellers after an increasing trend in the sale of illegal or fake package deals. In the worst cases, … Read more

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Hilton Says It Did Not Robocall Millions Of People

Hilton Grand Vacations is urging a court of appeal to drop a lawsuit alleging the Timeshare giant assaulted consumers with undesirable Robocalls.

Melanie Glasser brought the dispute to court and argued that Hilton Grand Vacations was a ‘classic telemarketer’ and alleged that Hilton made 15.9 million timeshare marketing calls during a six month period. She states that her suit is exactly the type of problem that the Telephone Consumer Protection Act was created for.

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) was adopted into U.S law in an effort to address the growing number of telephone marketing calls. The TCPA restricts … Read more

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