My company have this morning received a fax about Repossessed properties at wholesale prices.

It states:- Savings of over 60% on Estate Agent Prices Houses start from just £3000 We have thousands of repossessed and auction properties nationwide

Then there are some premium rate numbers to ring for further details.

Small print says "The catalogue of property details contains approximately 15 pages depending on the information available at time of going to press. The catalogue of holiday homes contains 16 pages, and all prices in each of the catalogues are correct at the time of going to press.

The company is Braken Investments, P O Box 102, Ludlow, SY8 2WA

I find it interesting that building societies are still claiming to get the best prices when these sort of catalogues are being sent to any old bod. Our receptionist tells me she received 5 of these faxes in the same day.

Tracey

-- One Angry Mother (madcow678@hotmail.com), June 25, 2003

Answers

There was a case about this company ...

Service Provider Bracken Investments, Ludlow Service Type & Tariff Fax-back: £1.00 per minute Complaint Source Public (7) – Nationwide Network Operator(s) Vodafone Multimedia Ltd Complaint Seven members of the public complained about an unsolicited fax which invited them to fax back on a premium rate number to request information on repossessed properties that were available to be purchased. Call costs and company contact/identity details were omitted and monitoring found that the service was operating at a transmission rate of 4,800 bps, which is considerably slower than the recommended transmission rate of 9,600 bps (3.4.1, 3.5 and 3.12 eighth edition). Call revenues were requested, together with full promotional and operational details (5.2.3 eighth edition). Investigation and Decision Bracken Investments disputed that call costs and company contact details had been omitted from their promotional material, and stated that they were unable to explain the omission of such information from the promotional material obtained by the Secretariat. They claimed, however, that it could have been caused by transmission problems on recipients’ fax machines. They did not dispute that the service had been operating at a low transmission speed but explained that they had requested a faster rate which was yet to be implemented. The requested information was supplied. The Committee upheld breaches of paragraphs 3.4.1, 3.5 and 3.12 of the eighth edition of the ICSTIS Code of Practice. A breach of paragraph 5.2.3 was not upheld. Bracken Investments were fined £1,500 and warned about their future conduct. They were also instructed to seek copy advice before promoting any other services for a period of six months.

Regards

-- rob small (ts007b0164@blueyonder.co.uk), June 25, 2003.

We are a Charity in Vauxhall, London. I receive several of their faxes a week! We have written 7 times requesting that they stop sending us faxes, all in the past six months, and as a consequence we now receive more faxes from them! They are taking the micky out of us for asking them to stop. Their name will passed to the fax preference organisation (now we are registered) the next time it happens.

-- Paul Hope (pvh@wacc.org.uk), August 20, 2003.

My company has also been receiving faxes from braken investments and smc services at 7 or 8 in the morning,and at least 1 or 2 faxes every day.I've rung a number on the faxes that says that both companies will remove our fax number from the mailing list which could take up to a week.Then both companies carried on sending faxes. What's the I tried again this week but the message on the phone was this number is out of order. Does any one have the e-mail address for the fax preference service>

-- J waite (Jwaite21@yahoo.co.uk), August 23, 2003.

We also have been receiving faxes from Braken Investments. Like another contributor, we are a charity (the national children's radio station). I was just about to write to them requesting that they cease, but it would seem this will be of no use, having just come up with this site after doing a search to try and find out more about them. There must be some way of combating them. Anybody got any ideas?

-- Paul Quilter (pq@takeoverradio.com), August 24, 2003.

The following is the web site for the fax preference service:

http://tpsonline.org.uk/fpsR/html/default.asp

Try them, it may help.

-- No Name (Stiffed_by_ex@yahoo.co.uk), August 25, 2003.

It seems like you all have had the same experiences as me. What a pain. How do you stop these prople? How can we get an address or phone number to take them to court?

-- Tiel Holdstock (tiel.holdstock@storagedepot.co.uk), September 01, 2003.

We have the same problem and have also written to them 3 times. It is very wasteful, and totally useless after the first fax.

-- Tony Harris (tonyHphoto@aol.com), November 26, 2003.

If you join the TPS (Telephone Preference Service) and register your phone and fax numbers, it is illegal for marketing companies to utilise these numbers for any marketing purpose or activity which has not been expressly agreed to by the bill payer.

Ta ta.

JH

-- Joe Hughes (hughestec@yahoo.co.uk), December 02, 2003.

You are wasting your time registering the numbers. I only have a domestic phone line, (NO FAX). It is registered both with the TPS and the FPS, and I still get this company trying to fax me at 4 am on a Monday morning, has anyone got an address, then they could have braken windows to match???

-- Martin Larner (Martin.Larner@Fosterfreeman.co.uk), December 08, 2003.

I have received numerous fax calls to my home telephone number from these jokers. Most of the fax calls are received in the early hours of the morning. Nicholas Stevenson is the director/officer of the company in Ludlow. Search of the Quick Address voters roll database shows that someone of the same name resides at 66 New Road, LUDLOW, Shropshire, SY8 2LS. If I find his telephone number, I will post it here so next time you get an early morning fax....you can call him straight away to let him know you got it safely ;)0

By the way, would suggest that everyone makes a crime complaint to Shrophire Police on telephone number 08457 444 888. Make the complaint as "Nuisance Calls" and insist on the police recording the complaint as a crime, NOT as an incident. Get the crime number from them. Under Home Office Reporting Guidelines, the police must record the matter as a crime if you, the victim, say it is.

-- Mr Prefers to be anon! (fu2boogaloo@hotmail.com), December 22, 2003.

Have now got the telephone number for Mr Nicholas Stevenson of Braken Investments.(Bracken Investmentss?) The telephone is registered in a different name, but he answers the telephone. Ask him directly to remove your telephone number from his list and he agrees to comply with the request immdeiately. Will wait and see to make sure I get no fax calls in the early hours before I am satisfied. In the meantime, these are the numbers you can get him on: 01584 872708 (this is the one he answered) 01584 876979

-- Mr Prefers anon! (fu2boogaloo@hotmail.com), December 22, 2003.

I have today spoken to Mr Stevenson of Braken Investments, Ludlow Shrops,(tel 01584 876979, or 01584 872708)and told him to delete my phone number as I get 2 to 4 faxes a day.I have also registered with the telephone preference service, yet still get this crap. So today I have called my local police and given the details of Mr Stevenson etc, and stated that this is a "nuisance call". They will loase with Shropshire Police and hopefully do something. SUGGEST EVERY ONE CALLS THEIR LOCAL POLICE AND LOG THESE AS NUISANCE CALLS.

-- A N Other (another@btinternet.com), September 24, 2004.

FPS is a waste of time, any faxes you get that have an address on - post the fax to this address with no stamp and "receiver will pay postage"

A bit of revenge but if enough people do it they will get the message. Don't put your details on though !!

-- Another (another@home.co.uk), September 24, 2004.

Mr Stevenson answers the phone "nat west bank" - it isn't so don't be conned - KEEP RINGING !! (01584 872708 is the number to annoy him on)

-- aaa (me@home.co.uk), September 24, 2004.

Tip - if you are registered with the FPS, keep sending the complaints for EVERY unsolicited fax you receive.

You will probably not get any responce, but the numbers are recorded - DON'T JUST IGNORE THEM - Take action, it's your ink they are using

-- aaa (aaa@home.co.uk), September 24, 2004.

just another of the many that keep receiving these faxes, having written at least 3 times, and called the 'cancel' number with no joy whatsoever. I'm glad that there are other people as annoyed by this as I am.

I will be sending the mail unstamped to them, and will continue to call the numbers poster here! Thanks everyone!!

-- kevin nelson (kevin.nelson@brookstreet.co.uk), September 29, 2004.

i rang the ass wipe told him quite clearly to delete my name or i shall call round personally with 3 friends and speak to him and i mean it!!

jules

from manchester

-- jules whittaker (julioh007@hotmail.com), September 30, 2004.

IF YOU REAALY WANT TO ANNOY NIC THEN RING HIM ON HIS MOBILE IT IS 07793387904. HE WILL PROMISE TO TAKE YOU OFF THE DATABASE BUT DONT HOLD YOUR BREATH!!!

-- gary whittaker (julioh007@hotmail.com), October 14, 2004.

I purchased my house by using the Braken Investments service and got a bargin!! I have since bought another two properties via Braken and saved thousands of pounds. Keep up the good work Braken.

-- J.Smith (ns109455@hotmail.com), October 15, 2004.

Here we are, 2 am in the morning, 23rd November - AND THEY'RE STILL AT IT !!!!

-- Phill. (phi11w@aol.com), November 22, 2004.