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Vacuum cleaner manufacturer Dyson is warning customers not to be sucked into a scam operating in the area.The company has been contacted by 85 people around Reading complaining about bogus callers who claim to work for Dyson.Owners who have been fooled by the tricksters have ended up paying more than they were quoted for shoddy workmanship, according to the company.A Dyson spokeswoman said similar scams were operating around the country but Reading was one of the hotspots along with Leicester, Nottingham and Durham.The company was so concerned about the extent of the scam that it took out advertisements in the Reading Post/getreading to warn customers.James Petherbridge, head of customer service at Dyson, said: “We’re known for our strong customer care. Just as some competitors try and ape our machines, others attempt to copy our service. Regrettably, people are misled.“We always look to take firm action against companies or individuals masquerading as Dyson representatives by working with trading standards.“Rest assured, Dyson customer service never cold calls or passes information to third parties.”Dyson owner Liz Grocott, who lives just outside Reading, received a call but was immediately suspicious.She said: “This guy phoned up and said I understand you have a Dyson vacuum cleaner. He said, ‘We are doing a special offer in your area’.“I thought, ‘Hold on a minute, this doesn’t sound like Dyson’, and asked him how he got my telephone number. He said it was from the Dyson database.“I said this doesn’t sound very likely, this is just a sales call isn’t it?”Ms Grocott said the caller became very rude so she hung up and called Dyson.She said: “It’s a right racket because another friend of mine who lives in Twyford had the same thing and she just put the phone down.”However, she added: “Elderly people or vulnerable people may well be taken in by it. It could look like a good deal but to me it seemed very implausible.”Dyson’s spokewoman said the company will never cold call or turn up at people’s homes unless a customer has called it out.She said the company has been made aware of 25 bogus companies and has been contacting customers personally to warn them of the scam.She said: “If someone calls or turns up on the doorstep pretending to be from Dyson, they aren’t.“It’s much better if customers report these calls to trading standards, but if they would rather contact us we are happy for them to call our customer service centre.”
This week Rogue Traders is talking vacuum cleaners - the Dyson vacuum cleaner to be exact (other brands are available). We've been looking into companies that have found a way to use your Dyson to suck money out of you, companies like ASG (Midlands) Ltd, based in Lincoln and Vac Care Ltd, based in Hampshire. Not to be confused with companies of a similar name.These companies cold-call people and persuade them to have their Dyson serviced in their own home. But once their foot's in the door, they try to flog you parts - parts you may not need.We've spoken to a number of disgruntled Dyson customers, including Yvonne Peacock who let ASG (Midlands) Ltd service her vacuum and replace the HEPA filter on her machine. Our Domestic Appliance expert, Graham Watkinson took a look at Yvonne's machine, and told us that ASG replaced her HEPA filter with a part that wouldn't collect the particles that can make a person cough or wheeze - particularly important for Yvonne as her son has asthma.We also talked to Bill North who had his machine serviced by Vac Care Ltd. At the time it was covered by a warranty, but that was about to end when Vac Care put new filters into Bill's machine and told him it needed a new roller. Our expert Graham told us that not only had Vac Care fitted a copy brush to Bill's machine, but it was also designed for a different model.That's not such great news for Bill, but we do have some better news which comes in the shape of Joyce Bissell from Surrey. A Vac Care Ltd engineer tried to sell her a new filter for £25, but quick-thinking Joyce checked Dyson's website, found a similar item available for less than £14 and sent him on his way.So it would seem that all of this was the result of incompetent 'engineers', inferior parts and overcharging. We could go on, and so could our list of complainants. In fact, a constant stream of them have been calling Dyson themselves. And not just about the two companies we've mentioned. This cold-calling-and-servicing wheeze is happening all over the country. We needed someone to fill us in on this and who better than the man himself, Sir James Dyson. Sir James told us that they've heard from 2000 customers about cold calling companies.So it was time to take action! We lined up a vacuum cleaner, an actress, and some hidden cameras and invited both companies to service a vacuum cleaner of our own. Our expert Graham had given both of our machines the all clear so we knew we didn't need any new parts on our vacuum cleaners. But would the reps agree?First up, ASG Midlands Ltd of Lincoln. When we called for an appointment they told us their service costs just £15. But ASG's rep tells our homeowner that she has a clogged up filter and immediately recommends a new one. She also recommends a new motor filter telling us "that it gets so blocked that you can't, it can't get anymore, that's when it starts getting hot, and then overheating then eventually the motor blows up". She goes on to say "that is massively important because if this fails you're looking at a lot of money". She also goes on to say that our brush needs replacing, even though all it needs is a clean. This visit cost us £89.96. This includes £70 for parts that we didn't need, and that in fact cost us 40 % more than if we'd bought them from Dyson or an independent retailer. At least this company sold us genuine Dyson parts.So the service turned out to be not much more than paying someone £15 to sit in our living room, polish our vacuum and look for blockages, and of course listen to them lie about why needed to spend more money.Now for Hampshire based Vac Care Ltd. We spoke to a couple of their unhappy customers earlier but since then, boss Mark Henderson has shut up shop and is now running Vac Service UK Ltd from the same address. His business is not connected to Lincoln based ASG (Midlands) but their M.O. is very similar.We've invited one of the Vac Service UK Ltd's reps to our wired-up house, and their approach seems to have a very similar ring to it. Although it starts off well with the rep mentioning that filters could be washed he then tells our homeowner that we need a new filter. Then they tell us that our roller needs replacing. The total cost is £70, including £50 for parts that, as before, we didn't need. And on this visit the rep promised to post our parts out to us, however five weeks later our brush and filter still hadn't arrived. Vac Service UK Ltd have now sent us a refund.As we said before, Vac Service UK Ltd of Hampshire and ASG Midlands Ltd are not connected, but we do know of another company that there have been complaints about. They're called TSC Midlands Ltd and they share a website with ASG.Before TSC (Midlands) Ltd can sell you parts, they have to get into your house, and to do that they cold-call. It's time to send someone in undercover and we have vacuum expert Graham and lawyer Andy Millmore on hand to give their expert opinions.Our researcher Rebecca gets a job in TSC's telesales centre. Teaching her the ropes is call centre trainer Rob, who we secretly film cold-calling customers. First up - how do TSC get your number? It turns out it's from the phone book. Well if one in every three households has a Dyson, there's a fair chance whoever they call will be an owner. They don't tell them the number comes from the directory, though.With the F section of the phone book in hand, Rob begins working through the names. He tells the customer he's calling from the "Independent Dyson Centre" and that "it's popped up on their system that you haven't had a service with us on your Dyson yet". But hang on, they don't even know she has a Dyson, let alone have a system for the customers name to pop up on.Rob then advises the customer that Dysons should be serviced at least every 1 -2 years. However, our expert Graham says this is not what the manufacturer recommends.And how much is this service going to cost us? Rob tells the customer that the service is on special promotion for £15. However, he tells our researcher that "it's just a sales pitch, it's never £40, it's £15. It's what you say to get them onside basically". According to our lawyer, Andy, this sales tactic is a classic breach of Consumer Regulations.Rob goes on to tell the customer a "specialist engineer" will come to her house to carry out the service. But he reveals to Rebecca what the engineers actually have to do on a visit "don't tell the customers this but when the engineers go out they have to then do their own sales and sell them parts, so it could be £15 for a service but the customer could pay anything from £15 to maybe £70". He goes on to say this cross-selling and upselling happens every time.Selling is what ALL TSC's so-called engineers have to do to make a living. Another of our moles discovered that they're only paid commission- the company even charges them for using its vans. After meeting Tom Scoffin - the Director of TSC, our second mole is out on the road with another TSC operative - Jeremy. He's trying to sell the part that makes a vacuum's roller brush spin; the clutch. His customer is an elderly lady whose machine is still under guarantee, not that Jeremy bothers to check. He tells her she needs to change her clutch every 3 - 4 years. But we know that this is not what Dyson recommend. In fact, if the elderly lady's clutch was on the blink she'd be eligible for a new one from Dyson, as her vacuum's still covered by their guarantee. But Jeremy flogs her a new one anyway, along with two filters and a roller brush for a total cost of £99.96.So why do people get when they let TSC (Midlands) Ltd into their homes? We wanted expert Graham's opinion so we showed him the cold-call that Rob made and then showed him all our footage of the ten service appointments we filmed whilst undercover.During the phone call, Rob says that the engineer will strip down the Dyson to the motor and carry out a complete safety electrical check. But Graham hasn't seen either of these claims put into practice on any of the appointments. In fact, Graham says they haven't done any safety electrical tests, which could be very dangerous.We did see TSC carry follow through on some of their promises such as taking the hoses off, steam cleaning the machine and checking for blockages. However, they also promised to add sweet smelling pellets but we only saw that happen occasionally. The final promise was a written service report but this turned out to be just the invoice. So what else didn't they do?Our expert Graham tells us that the reps didn't seem to test the parts before they recommended a replacement and said "I believe they just put parts in for the sake of it".Since we contacted the company they say that they're grateful to us for pointing out room for improvement in certain aspects of their service. They also say they've amended the telephone script, restructured the telesales department and supervise staff more closely.Which is all very well but we still don't know why they don't carry out a proper electrical safety checks and why they don't check properly before they sell you a new filter and new clutch or a new brush. So we head to TSC's HQ in the hope of meeting the Director Tom Scoffin. But when we get there he's nowhere to be seen so we speak to a senior manager Craig McAllister instead. Craig tells us that TSC now have Portable Appliance Testing kits before locking the door of the office.So if you receive a call from someone out of the blue asking how your vacuum cleaner is think very carefully about it.
]we do know of another company that there have been complaints about. They're called TSC Midlands Ltd and they share a website with ASG.Before TSC (Midlands) Ltd can sell you parts, they have to get into your house, and to do that they cold-call. It's time to send someone in undercover and we have vacuum expert Graham and lawyer Andy Millmore on hand to give their expert opinions.Our researcher Rebecca gets a job in TSC's telesales centre. Teaching her the ropes is call centre trainer Rob, who we secretly film cold-calling customers. First up - how do TSC get your number? It turns out it's from the phone book. Well if one in every three households has a Dyson, there's a fair chance whoever they call will be an owner. They don't tell them the number comes from the directory, though.With the F section of the phone book in hand, Rob begins working through the names. He tells the customer he's calling from the "Independent Dyson Centre" and that "it's popped up on their system that you haven't had a service with us on your Dyson yet". But hang on, they don't even know she has a Dyson, let alone have a system for the customers name to pop up on.Rob then advises the customer that Dysons should be serviced at least every 1 -2 years. However, our expert Graham says this is not what the manufacturer recommends.And how much is this service going to cost us? Rob tells the customer that the service is on special promotion for £15. However, he tells our researcher that "it's just a sales pitch, it's never £40, it's £15. It's what you say to get them onside basically". According to our lawyer, Andy, this sales tactic is a classic breach of Consumer Regulations.Rob goes on to tell the customer a "specialist engineer" will come to her house to carry out the service. But he reveals to Rebecca what the engineers actually have to do on a visit "don't tell the customers this but when the engineers go out they have to then do their own sales and sell them parts, so it could be £15 for a service but the customer could pay anything from £15 to maybe £70". He goes on to say this cross-selling and upselling happens every time.Selling is what ALL TSC's so-called engineers have to do to make a living. Another of our moles discovered that they're only paid commission- the company even charges them for using its vans. After meeting Tom Scoffin - the Director of TSC, our second mole is out on the road with another TSC operative - Jeremy. He's trying to sell the part that makes a vacuum's roller brush spin; the clutch. His customer is an elderly lady whose machine is still under guarantee, not that Jeremy bothers to check. He tells her she needs to change her clutch every 3 - 4 years. But we know that this is not what Dyson recommend. In fact, if the elderly lady's clutch was on the blink she'd be eligible for a new one from Dyson, as her vacuum's still covered by their guarantee. But Jeremy flogs her a new one anyway, along with two filters and a roller brush for a total cost of £99.96.So why do people get when they let TSC (Midlands) Ltd into their homes? We wanted expert Graham's opinion so we showed him the cold-call that Rob made and then showed him all our footage of the ten service appointments we filmed whilst undercover.During the phone call, Rob says that the engineer will strip down the Dyson to the motor and carry out a complete safety electrical check. But Graham hasn't seen either of these claims put into practice on any of the appointments. In fact, Graham says they haven't done any safety electrical tests, which could be very dangerous.
If someone calls you to talk about your Dyson vacuum, check that they're from Dyson. Unauthorised companies are cold-calling UK households - offering to carry out service or repair work. Because we are the UK's best-selling vacuum manufacturer, there's a one in three chance they will speak to a Dyson owner.Unscrupulous sales tacticsSome unscrupulous businesses are making speculative calls offering cheap services. They offer to service Dyson vacuums for sums as little as £20. However, customers have told us that these visits actually end up costing them up to £150. Poor workmanship carried out by these engineers can also invalidate your guarantee. They regularly use fake parts that don't function properly and can cause damage that won't be covered by your guarantee. There are even examples where the visitor has sabotaged Dyson vacuums in order to sell new machines.If you think you have been contacted by a bogus engineer, or would like some help or advice, please email askdyson@dyson.co.uk or call a Dyson expert free on 0800 298 0298 (7am - 10pm, 7 days a week). The information we gather helps us build legal cases against companies employing misleading or fraudulent business practices. We also work with Trading Standards to stop companies operating illegally.
dyson scam is still going my wife was phoned on friday to see if our dyson needed servicing she said we had not got one they put phone down looked after withheld number so its still going on beware
So, how many of these Dyson cold call companies can there be in Leeds? I did some Googling. Vacservicing (Leeds) Ltd is the first one I found, operating from a website vacservicing.co.ukCompany InformationRegistration Date: 26/08/2010Registration Number: 07358071 2A GRANT AVENUE,LEEDSYORKSLS7 1RQTel: 0113 322 7721This is a newish company only being little over a year old. At the same address and/or seemingly connected is: TSC (Midlands) LtdKB MidlandsASG Midlands. TSG Midlands.KDA (UK) LtdSo it would appear there is a little network of these places. However, to be sure that there is no mistaken identity here, we want to know if they have a Mandy don't we? We called them today and asked for "Mandy" - she wasn't working today. Busted. (Attachment Link) I think its appalling that these people get away with fudging who they represent and bamboozling people like this elderly couple into arranging a "home visit" they didn't need or ask for. Thankfully, the lady they got today was sharper than many ladies in her 80's and didn't fall for the gag. However, what if she had been less than sharp? That could have been another victim handing over £100 for non-existent faults on a machine she had had only a few days. I guess its unfortunate for these guys that they attempted to prey on one of our customers who spotted their gag before the guy got through the front door.