UK spam scammers escape punishment

A company which sent nearly 1.4 million unsolicited emails promoting a bogus premium rate prize scam has been asked to clean up its act by the Office of Fair Trading - but has escaped punishment.

In the OFT's view the emails, sent by Churchcastle, trading as 'Fast Cash' and 'UK Prize Bonanza', were misleading as the stated prizes of £5,000 and £10,000 did not materialise.

Instead the 190,000 recipients who called the premium rate prize line at a cost of around £7.50 were rewarded with less spectacular prizes such as holiday vouchers, or in some cases a family portrait.

The OFT says it has obtained binding undertakings from the company, its director Neil Frogley and employees Karen Davies and Carly Assell that they will leave out misleading claims in the future.

They will no longer be able to claim recipients of the emails have entered a competition, promotion or prize draw when that is not the case and they will not be allowed to mislead recipients by telling them they have won a major prize.

If any undertakings are breached the OFT could seek a court order.

However, there will be those who claim the lack of actual punishment is a cause for concern but the OFT said it will always seek such undertakings in the first instance, as avoiding legal proceedings in this way "is the quickest and most cost-effective option for the UK tax payer".

A spokeswoman for the OFT said the company will not be stopped from sending out future email campaigns as long as it adheres to the undertakings.

"Unsolicited mailings are a legitimate marketing tool," said the spokeswoman.

She added: "We found no evidence of breaches of the Data Protection Act."