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Yesterday, my mother got a rather dubious call from someone identifying himself as "Ricky George," who claimed he was with "Fair Trading". Oddly enough, he never mentioned the "Office of Fair Trading," and he informed her that she was entitled to a refund of £3000 for PPI on a mortgage she paid off a quarter of a century ago. Conveniently, he mentioned that a colleague could drop off the cheque in her vicinity, but she needed to purchase a Ukash voucher worth £300, which she was told to only send once the cheque had cleared. Had I not left for work early, I fear she might have been taken in by this nonsense. Curious to find out more, I rang the number back, and when I pressed Ricky to connect me with someone whose accent wasn’t distinctly African or Asian, he became quite irritable. I firmly stated that we had no interest in his so-called offer. I had to take the time to explain the mechanics of Ukash vouchers to her, pointing out that they would likely use the pin number from the voucher to claim the funds. To add to the absurdity, this morning she received yet another call, this time promising a £5000 payout. When she mentioned the previous £3000 offer, the caller had the audacity to ask which amount she would prefer! It’s truly unbelievable, yet deeply concerning, as so many vulnerable individuals could fall victim to such a cynical scam, ending up none the richer but considerably poorer.

Today, I received a rather peculiar phone call from a chap named Ricky George! He must have repeated that he was calling from the Office of Fair Trading at least fifty times. Astonishingly, he claimed that there was someone nearby ready to deliver a cheque for £3000, and that I could settle a mere ten percent once it had cleared. Can you imagine? We live miles away from anywhere, haha! I started to feel a bit sucked in and nearly fell for it. Thankfully, I had my iPad handy and promptly searched for the Office of Fair Trading. When I pointed out that they were closed, he insisted that parts of the office were still operational. I confronted him about my suspicions of a scam, and he became quite agitated-what a pity! It’s appalling that these individuals manage to exploit people. I usually consider myself quite astute regarding these issues, yet the lure of £3000 for nothing definitely had its appeal! 😅

We asked them to send my cheque to the address they have on file for us, but I've not heard a peep from them since. The cheque hasn't turned up either. Quite frustrating, really!

Scammers masquerading as representatives from Trading Standards or the Office of Fair Trading (which, by the way, ceased operations on 1 April 2014) are telling folks they have a cheque awaiting them for a PPI reimbursement.