麻豆社

It makes sense to advertise if you are a small business and Dylan was happy with his 拢75 a month advert in Farm & Industry Trader magazine.

But alarm bells started ringing when he received bills for three times as much from companies he鈥檇 never heard of, some of which threatened Dylan and his family with court action if he failed to pay up.

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Dylan said: 鈥淵ou feel that if they take you to court, you鈥檝e got no leg to stand on - they鈥檙e going to win and your credit ratings will go bad.鈥�

Unsure who he had spoken to, Dylan did what he thought was the honourable thing and paid five invoices that cost a combined 拢2,000, even though the publications that his adverts were supposed to appear in had little relevance to his business.

Dylan spends his days marking grooves in farm walkways, so it is difficult to argue that he knowingly chose to advertise in publications like the 鈥楥rime & Safety Awareness Booklet鈥�.

鈥淚 haven鈥檛 got a clue who they are, I haven鈥檛 got a clue where my advert is supposed to be,鈥� he added.

Worryingly it seems Dylan鈥檚 story is far from unique. North West Scambusters are currently investigating complaints against over a hundred businesses and Boyd Black, Regional Investigation Team Manager, told X-Ray the ruthless methods they use.

鈥淥nce they鈥檝e got their grip on somebody they鈥檒l send them invoices,鈥� said Boyd.

鈥淓ven if you say 鈥業鈥檓 not interested鈥� they鈥檒l still send invoices knowing that a certain percentage of businesses trying to be good at paying their bills will immediately pay, and it鈥檚 only later it comes to light that there was no service provided.鈥�

Eventually Dylan decided enough was enough. He stopped paying the companies and turned to Trading Standards for advice, who told him to ignore future invoices - including four more bills he鈥檇 received for a combined 拢1,500.

John Eden Jones, of Gwynedd Trading Standards, said: 鈥淚 think the individual needs to know their legal rights, they need to know where they stand and in this instance it鈥檚 down to the company to prove that the contract has been entered into, and if they鈥檙e unable to do so they really can鈥檛 pursue the matter.鈥�

Dylan is now trying to put his expensive ordeal behind him, but has sound advice for anyone who is contacted by advertising companies they have never heard of.

鈥淚f you don鈥檛 understand what these people are talking about just say no and put the phone down and just carry on doing that,鈥� he said.

鈥淣ever say I will or never say yes, because if doesn鈥檛 make any sense to you then more than likely it鈥檚 all a con.鈥�