To whom it may concern:

Mobile phone text scam involving Aldi Uk Ltd, Compete2Win (London) Ltd, Accidents Direct Ltd and AEO Trading Ltd.

My wife’s mobile phone bill for the last month contained a charge for £3.92 + £0.78 vat (=£4.70) detailed on the bill as a premium call charge for three text messages as follows:

Date Time Short code Cost6 Feb 16 14:15 85450 > (outgoing) £0.083 plus VAT6 Feb 16 14:15 85450 < (incoming) £3.750 plus VAT6 Feb 16 14:15 85450 > (outgoing) £0.083 plus VAT

Copies of the text messages in question, as shown by the message log on my wife’s phone are as follows:

My wife has no idea how the organisation behind this scam obtained her mobile phone number but as it is not uncommon for companies to pass on or sell mobile phone numbers to other companies when you are asked to enter a mobile number on an online form it is likeley that Compete2Win Ltd obtained her number via such a route.

The sequence of events is as follows:

At 13.47 the first text is sent to my wife’s phone without incuring a charge but starting with the words “FreeMsg” and with the name “ALDI” prominent in the text. This first message makes no mention of a charge and my wife replied “win” as requested, at 14:14.

At 14:14 my wife received the second text again starting with the words “FreeMsg” but this time informing her that she would be charged £4.50 per week if she did not text back the word “Stop” and again with the name “ALDI” prominent in the text”. This was immediately followed by a third text message at 14:15 saying “Good luck”

At 14.17 my wife texted “Stop” in reply and at 14:18 received a text back saying that she had been “unsubscribed” and that her “subscription has been cancelled”.

On February 6, this seemed the end of it, until she checked her details phone bill on February 29 th which showed at 14.15, two incoming calls charged at £0.87p plus vat and one outgoing call charged at £3.75 plus VAT. It seems that sending the word “win” when their was no indication that it would incur a charge, generated tha £3.75 plus VAT charge and that the two replies to that text generated the two £0.87 plus VAT charges.

Having shopped at ALDI, my wife assumed that there was a connection between ALDI and Compete2Win and that gave credibility to what appeared to be a free prize draw.

The connection with ALDI looks like it may be a fraudulent claim having nothing to do with ALDI, their name being used to give credibility.

When the help number 02037403516 is called it is answered by a company called Direct Response Ltd in Bristol and they say that on this number they are a call enswering service for a company called Accidents Direct (Lotto’s) Ltd and claim they can get someone from Accidents Direct to call back; they never do call back. Accidents Direct is the trading name of AEO trading Ltd and the only Director of both of these companies listed at Companies House is one Christopher Georgiou

Compete2Win.co.uk give the same telephone number 02037403516 on their website (http://www.compete2win.co.uk/contact) and again all calls go through to Direct Response Ltd in Bristol. Compete2Win Ltd have one Director registered at Companies House, Stephen Phillips.

This is clearly a scam, a fraud, deception and illegal misrepresentation. With small amounts involved it is likely that the majority of people scammed by these companies never report it, but the total amounts scammed through premium rate texts could be huge.

Pleae prosecute, publicise and take whatever action you deem necessary to put the perpetrators in prison.

Graham Long

Email: grahamglong@gmail.com

Tel: 01823 601382