Yesterday, the Royal Mail delivered one of those “Only available to the first 150,000 respondents” pamphlets, “urgent attention required”, “time-sensitive documentation inside”. Normally, straight in the bin. Yesterday, I needed something to read for five minutes and that was it.
It seems that in exchange for £5 (GBP), The London Mint Office will send me the new Queen Elizabeth II 80th Birthday £5 coin.
Except, and you do have to read the “small print” which states “the new Queen Elizabeth II 80th Birthday £5 coin is legal tender in Tristan da Cunha. It is redeemable at any time on the Island. Alternatively, it can be redeemed if accompanied by proof of purchase, through The London Mint Office”.
So, in exchange for £5 GBP which is legal tender here in the UK, you can have a shiny coin that is not legal tender in the UK…nice.
Just where is Tristan da Cunha? Well, it’s a remote island in the south Atlantic ocean. From what I can gather, it is only accessible by ship. You are very unlikely to go there on a holiday. Further, the economy of Tristan da Cunha is largely fishing oriented, you are unlikely to find a store selling generic MP3 players or the like! To quote the local policeman (singular): “300 people live here, earning their living from farming, fishing, handicrafts and the sale of colourful postage stamps”. Not really the place you might find Pete Tong on a Friday night.
I have no reason to believe that this is a fraudulent scam, after all, the Royal Mail delivered it and you wouldn’t expect them to be party to anything dodgy. However, do be aware that you’re not exchanging £5 GBP for anything that is legal tender in the UK…all you can do with it is admire it or hopefully receive a refund (postage at your expense!)
A similar story is reported here.
[13/09/2006 update]
After reading some of the incoming comments, it does seem that this is a heavy marketing scam, probably to be avoided. If you feel really strongly about it, perhaps taking it up with the Royal Mail might be the answer. I should add that I didn’t actually part with my cash for this coin, I was merely reading the literature whilst having a seat in my bathroom, then the literature went straight in the bin.
Tony Hetherington invites readers to repeat their tales of woe over here.
[07/10/2008 update]
Thanks to an eagle-eyed comment from a reader (below), the new scam appears to be the “Golden Britannia Penny”. Watch out for that one! More information can be found here:
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1143741
Technorati Tags: tristandecunha, coins, birthday, London Mint, sly, London Mint Office, Tristan De Cunha, Golden Britannia Penny
Well, Bank of England notes are not Legal Tender in Scotland – so, what does it really matter?
But at least Scottish banks will exchange BoE notes for local notes! This TDC coin only has buying power in TDC, and only has value as being part of somebody’s “stuff”.
Just out of interest, no notes are legal tender in Scotland, not even Scottish bank notes. South of the border, English banknotes are the only legal tender. However in both countries the notes from the other country aren’t illegal, and traders are allowed to accept any currency that they choose. So on that basis you could probably use the Tristan da Cunha coin legally anywhere in the UK, as long as whoever is there is willing to accept it!
Should be noted that when the coin arrives you get an invoice for £9.95 and an advice note indicating that they do not accept returns unless you obtain a “Returns Authorisation Number” by dialling a certain telephone number, when you do get a message saying they are having problems with high volumes of calls and that you should try again later!
YES I was caught but it’ll be a cold day in hell before they get any cash from me!
I had a similar problem when I order the £5 coin and made payment for the same assuming it is a legal tender in UK. But later on googling, I found that it is not. But anyway the coin was sent packaged very well and hence I had no regrets.
But now they are sending coins one after another, first silver coin, then gold coin and then 2 more coins with invoices of £9.95, £19.95, £39.95 and £69.95.
I have tried to get in touch with them via their call centre number, but alas never could reach them because of so called high volume of calls.
Hence I sent a mail to them at . But after 7 days they are replying that you can send the coins to their northampton address at my own expense. I have asked them to arrange a collection to which they have not replied. Now they are sending letters that they will forward my case to debt collection agency and will charge an additional £25 administration fee. Anybody has any ideas.
I am having exactly the same experience. Even getting ANC parcels with coin frames! We must report them to BBC Watchdog.
If you actually read the application forms they send out for some of the coins, you will see that they do actually inform you that they will send you other coins in the same collection so none of you can have any complaints when you receive other coins you never thought you ordered. Sure, they make it as hard to understand as possible but you should always be wary of things like this.
I too am having a bad experience.
I received a mail shot from the London Mint. I normally would not respond but thought the £5 coin would be nice a nice gift for my children. There was no initial problem with the purchase, they billed me, I paid. A few weeks later they contacted me again, as a previous customer would I like to buy a further coin at a discounted rate of £9.95. I went online to purchase this further coin too so that I had one coin for each of my children. I had no intention of purchasing any further coins, I am not a collector and the mail shots I received never indicated that I would have to receive any further coins.
I returned home from work one day to find a parcel thrown over my back gate from ANC couriers.
A further coin plus a heavy coin collectors presentation box.
I called the London Mint to advise that I had not ordered it and had not even signed for the delivery. I came across very unhelpful staff on the telephone. I asked for the parcel to be collected or for a returns label to be sent to me, but I was told that I would have to meet the cost of sending it back by registered post. I am not meeting these costs for something that I didn’t ask for. I was advised that it would probably only cost about £5 to return, to which I replied “then let your company pay for it!” I too am now getting letters from them. I have contacted the Consumer Credit Helpline who have advised me to write to them giving them a reasonable time to collect the item. I was also advised that as they have sent unsolicited goods I am entitled to keep the goods as a gift if they fail to collect them. I have done this, I wrote to them at two different addresses both by recorded mail. I have received no reply. No-one has collected the parcel. Whilst I am happy with the advice I have received I am still not sure how helpful it will be once they refer me to there debt collection agency. I would be grateful if anyone has any thoughts on this matter.
On the premise that it was the Royal Mail who delivered the application for to my address, I would be copying them in on any communications. After all, the application was addressed to “the occupier” and was delivered “by hand”, i.e. it was essentially junk mail promoted by the Royal Mail. They need to be informed that one of their promotions isn’t turning out as well as it should.
if you are receving coins you ‘didnt order’ its probibly because you didnt read the leaflet, the one i had did state i was entering into a collection. also, the london mint and the royal mint are not the same people,
just re-sell them on E-Bay. There will always be someone daft enough to bite.
I have had similar experiences with The London Mint to everybody else who has posted here. After ordering & paying for 3 coins I received a fourth unsolicited coin. I contacted their Customer Service? Department & was told I could return it, was given a ‘return authority code’ & told I could reclaim the postage.I also clearly instructed them I did not want any more mailings. I posted the coin back to them & have since had an attempted delivery by ANC(refused by myself) & a threatening letter concerning the returned item. This is a company with nasty marketing methods, has an inefficient customer service dept.(probably deliberately
so) that should be forced to stop trading.
I have had no end of problems with this company since ordering the £5 coin too, I am forever receiving letters from them demanding payment for items I haven’t received or for ones I have returned to them. When I eventually get through to their call centre I am always assured that the error is at their end and will be sorted, now I have another letter saying that my details will be sent to a debt collecting agency if I don’t pay an outstanding balance of £60. I have now written a letter of complaint which will be sent recorded delivery today to one of their managers. I hope this issue will be resolved soon.
If have anymore problems I will be contacting Watchdog and taking legal advise.
Today I recieved a £5 coin which I did not order and an invoice. Like most people I promptly shred the letters which begin “You have been selected …” and can thus guarantee that I did not order the coin.
I have written to London Mint telling them to collect the item within 28 days after which storage will be charged.
I await the outcome.
On 23 May I received a package from London Mint Office which should have but did not contain a Silver Coin. I wrote and posted a letter the same day reporting the omission. Not having received a reply I wrote again on 12 June. No reply. On 16 June I received a first reminder signed by Mary Wells the Customer Services Manager. On that same day I wrote again enclosing copies of previous two letters to both London Mint Office and their Registered Office at Orpington. With no result. As I still received no reply I wrote a personal letter to Mary Wells their Customer Service Manager by recorded delivery dated 26 June, Royal Mail confirmed delivery on 27 June. Still no action from London Mint Office. On 5 July I received a second and final reminder and threat of referral to Debt Collection Agency. Again signed by Mary Wells. Still no action I wrote again London to Mint Office and to Managing Director of Crown Collections Ltd by recorded delivery dated 17 July: delivery confirmed by Royal Mail. Still no action.
On Saturday 9th of September I received another final reminder and threat dated 22nd August. This I have ignored.
I have been in touch with Simon Mellinger Director of Crown Collections Ltd who has given me an unreserved apology that my letters were not acknowledged.
However he has not attempted to give any explanation of why my letters have been completely ignored.
This Company is not known by Royal Mail and does not appear on their data base.
Hi, Ive just stupidly been caught out by london mint too, I ordered the £5 coin then, a further follow up coin which looked nice, (paid for both obviously) sent them a letter saying please send no further coins with my cheque as payment, as I wasnt satisfied that they where worth £49 and I had since learned they were’nt the actually royal mint the marketing on the letters leads you to belive so, and they had the cheek to send me another coin and further demands for payments, I see this as unsolicted goods surely, as I didnt order them directly. they are still sending me demands for payments, what do I do? I mean Im happy for them to come collect the coin and box display case they sent, but Im certainly not prepared to be out the postage return costs on it they even suggested I should send it back recorded delivery… no chance come and get it or send me the postage and packaging amount thankyou very much.
Hiya
If you want to return things to them ask for their freepost address thats what I did but make sure you get proof of postage.
Also I found that emailing them was better than calling, I seemed to get a better responce.
I have now had confirmation via email that I dont owe them anything but have kept all the letters, emails sent by them and myself just incase I recieve anything else.
bug them as much as they bug you, everyone get their freepost envelopes they sent you and return them with messages like your company is a rip off!! you will have the freepost envelopes I had 5 in total and I only ordered the £5 coin!! and make sure you write on the outside of the envelope this company sends unsolicited goods and threatens you with demands for payment beware!! then post them all, people that deliver them and sort them will read it too, makes more awareness..a little goes a long way it’s a start
I too have had trouble with this company sending me goods I didnt order, now the letters and demands for payments keep coming, they are a nightmare stay clear of the london mint!
Ive had trouble with this company till I got advise from the citizens advice buarue who said to write to them stating that it is a criminal offense to send demands for payments for unsolicited goods and that you then consider it must have been a gift thank them kindly for the gift and say you do not wish to hear or recieve anything from them again, it works I havent heard anything yet
I have delt with LMO it dose state that by ordering a coin for £9.95 that it will put you on a list to receive further coins. This is not hidden it is written next to where you sign on the form. I dont think its fair to blame a company for the fact you havent read all of the information.
Reading all the information doesnt give this company the right to send out letters demanding payment for items that have never been ordered, have been returned to them or never been received which is exactly what they do.
I will NEVER deal with this company again. Luckily I have been advised via email that My issue has been resolved and I hope that is an end to it. I will however take further action against them if I ever receive anything else.
This company is in breach of criminal law by demanding with threats payment for unordered coins. No matter what they write in small print – no contract to recieve unsolicited goods is legally enforceable – and as is clear in law there is need to return them – even if they did offer to collect them – they wont as the coins have little value. If you pay, you will get even more demands – contact the police and trading standards
this is correct it is an illegal offense to demand payments for unsolicited goods, ignore the letters they can do very little but keep sending silly demands in the hope you’ll give in,.. DON’T give in.
The information about further coins being sent is not in small print and by signing and returning the form you are agreeing to receive the coins so there fore they are not unsolicited. Also when you receive the coin for £9.95 it has a letter which states further coins will be sent, ok on the form its not as clear as it could be but in the letter it is very clear.
Hi,
This is intersting, I have had exactly the same situation as above, insolicited coins being sent. I have managed to get myself remove from their mailing list but they still will not reimburse my postage for the recorded delivery return of the coins and wooden box.
I’m currently dealing with Jennifer at jennifer.hunt@samlerhuset.com this is a direct mailing address for one of their customer service advisors. If every one were to hit the same person with mails it may have an impact.
I would certainly support any further action against them, papers, watch dog etc. my father has experienced the same thing.
Hi,
I have returned a coin to the london mint office and have been informed it will take them 4 – 6 weeks to refund my postage!!! What sort of a company is this? I have been informed that one of the directors,Simon somthing, address is on the internet some where. If some one finds it can they post it here then if we all send him letters we might make a better impact then e-mailing an employee.
I too was offered the chance to buy a coin celebrating from a mailer and bought one. I have now started a collection with the London Mint Office and when I return the coins I have no problems at all.
B.Davidson
London Mint – steer clear or be ready for months of unsolicited mail with expensive coins, fruitless attempts by letter and phonecalls to stop these parasites and topped off with threatening letters from debt collection agencies.
Criminal proceedings against this company is all that will stop them. Trading Standards should stop this madness.
My 93 year old mother is being hounded by thses people she has been threatened with debt collection agencies etc, she ordered a coin in April of last year, it was a one off, not part of any collection, then in April this year she recieved a second coin and a demand for £69, they are telling me that it is a computer error and that all customers that bought a coin last April have had their orders duplicated, we do ont seem to be able to get it closed down.
I got send the demands for payments after recieving unsolicited goods then ignored it and got more demands from a debt collecting agency that soon gave up sending the letters as they know it’s a road to NOWHERE because it is a criminal offense to demand payment for unsolicited goods!!
so bon voyage london mint! you scam artist. Also contact bbc watchdog make them aware of it I certainly did.
I am weary with London mint, just thought I would Google ‘London Mint complaints’ and came across this blog. I have been trying to get a refund since around October 2006 and since December 2006 through the help of Trading Standards. It has still not arrived. I initially found them via a link with Royal Mint and contacted Royal Mint to check there authenticity, which they verified. I have complained to Royal Mint and their response in part was
“would like to clarify that we are not linked to that website. At the time you enquired the Royal Mint was undertaking a joint venture with Samulerhuset. This project ended and since this date the Royal Mint has had no association with Samlerhuset or the London Mint. I do apologise if this was not made clear at the time of your enquiry.”
I read the small print and accept that I was responsible for more coins coming, at that time I thought that there was still a link with Royal Mint, but when I tried to stop them as I didn’t expect to be overwhelmed with expensive coins, that’s when the problems came. I have felt bullied and threatened by their tactics and it is they who owe me £20! Any elderly or vulnerable people could be going through hell with them at this moment in time. They should be stopped. It’s good that others who are feeling this threat are recording it. I will pass this blog on to the Trading Standards when I next speak to them.
Well folks, Have just found a load of parcels with coins and invoices in them at my mums house. she says she has never ordered them. Will have to check out the small print though as it seems from reading here that when ordering and paying for the first £5 coin you are ordering more. Obviously this is the position that the company is taking, however what remains to be seen is what the court established by law will have to say. I am keen to learn which laws this effects and would like some ideas to read up on as I can’t let this get out of contro for my mum. My initial thought is obviously ‘Distance Selling Regulations 2000’ which is quoted on the reverse of the invoices. What I am keen to find is a way I can personally serve some kind of notice on the company so that we go to court and argue the case. Any ideas.. please email me on terrygalloway@myself.com
I live in the USA. We had a similar thing happen here three years ago. A company released a silver dollar commemorating the World Trade Center and the proposed Freedom Tower. The coin was “legal tender” from the Northern Mariana Islands (a group of islands in the N. Pacific). Compared to Tristan da Cunha, the Northern Mariana Islands can’t issue coins. They also claimed the coin was made from silver from the World Trade Center site. These claims were later found to false and the company has to refund everyone who brought the thing.
So sadly, these scams are common.
Has anybody actually been persued by a debt collection agency or does it end with just idle threats. I have just received my first unsolicited coin “offer” having paid for a previous £5 commemorative coin. I was intending to write to the London Mint Office explaining that I did not want this or any further coins and that this one was available for collection at their convenience. not sure how to proceed having read all the above comments.
You seem to be a little confused (in exactly they way they wanted you to be)
You initially say you got this offer from the Royal Mint. If you read it again you will see it comes from the “London Mint Office”. The two are not the same.
The Royal Mint is our national mint and it’s £5 coins are fully legal tender.
The London Mint Office is company like any other, and all they are offering you is a chunk of metal.
@Delta: No,no – the Royal MAIL delivered this letter! I don’t mention the Royal Mint in my post. The Royal Mail delivered this letter that came from The London Mint Office. You are correct in stating that this offer is little more than an offer to purchase a well-formed piece of metal!
When I ordered my first coin I gave a contact telephone number (mobile) when I didn’t pay for a subsequent unsolicited coin i started receiving text messages as follows:-
Could “myname” please contact Mr David Shaw URGENTLY on 01256 306796 Quoting Ref No *******
Not knowing who it was I rang it to find it’s a debt collection agency. What a cheek!
I have since received several threats of court action but ignored them all.
If they want the second coin back it’s here available for collection.
Haha, what a con!
I also just recieved a text message saying:
Could “myname” please contact Mr David Shaw URGENTLY on 01256 306796 Quoting Ref No *******
The odd thing is I have never even ordered a coin, let alone recieved any marketing letters from these con artists.
I suspect I shall ignore them, but how they got my number is a mystery.
Hi there, i ordered a coin, and now it hasnt been paid for 1 and half month, they have sent me couple of letter, i am going to ring them tomorrow aswel, what do you guy think will happen, as i have just read the payment conditions and they are way over £5 with the interest, admin and the rest of the charges, i am getting worried i have never been in this position, would i loose in court?? anyone no, or should i just ignore it all?
I have just stumbled across this blog and feel relieved its not just me who is being hounded. Got a text message myself today! Bl**dy cheek! They will hear nothing from me!(By right) Hopefully it costs them to chase me up for a big fat nothing. (I have not heard of nor seen this company before) How they got my number and name I too have no idea?!
Will keep checking this blog as it increases…..!
Found another forum with the same message and p*ssed off individuals, involving Tiscali, Lovefilm etc… and still all dodge!
http://whocallsme.com/Phone-Number.aspx/01256306796
These people are ruthless!!
Having found a bag of coins in an elderly relatives house, the question of what these were and where they came from arose. Further investigation led us to the answer “they just kept arriving”. Originally with an invoice value of £30-40 pounds over a period of 3-4 months yet in the last three months arrivals having a value in excess of £3,500.Our relative lives on her pension and unfortunately originally believed in their hard sell as to how valuable these goods were and that they would be an investment for her grandchildren.Now ill with the worry of the threats of debt collectors, (as the last three months are outstanding),this amount was totally misinterpreted on our relatives part as invoices originally in the region of £19.95 suddenly became £1,995!! We have been unable to get a return address that we Know they will receive the goods at as the emails we have received from the london mint state we are now outwith the thirty day return deadline. Having read other comments should i believe these goods are unsolicited and if not collected, no payment will be made.
This is without a doubt the worse company I have ever had to deal with.
Their marketing ploy is to rope people into purchasing goods sent unsolicited. The same thing happened to my elderly mother and father in law who purchased one coin and found themselves being sent many coins that they did not order and did not want. These coins are over £300 with many threatening letters being sent even when they promised that the matter had been resolved and account closed.
Returning the coins does not stop these people and I have spent 18 months trying to get this company to stop harassing my family and now I will have to pursue them through the courts.
I can see that we are not alone and I really hope that someone informs watchdog about this company as they deserve to be closed down. They operate on the fringe of legality.
Whilst they appear to trade from Jessica House, Wandsworth High Street, London, SW18 4LA the website registration for londonmintoffice.org gives another address with a German telephone number, and the number for UK Telephone Support Line in Tech Country – 1.449052340911 looks nonsense.
Domain ID:D108840483-LROR
Domain Name:LONDONMINTOFFICE.ORG
Created On:23-Nov-2005 19:56:28 UTC
Last Updated On:25-Oct-2007 14:59:46 UTC
Expiration Date:23-Nov-2010 19:56:28 UTC
Sponsoring Registrar:Melbourne IT, Ltd. dba Internet Names Worldwide (R52-LROR)
Status:CLIENT TRANSFER PROHIBITED
Registrant ID:C113277202192556
Registrant Name:The Crown Collections Ltd
Registrant Street1:Gainsborough House 2Sheen Rd
Registrant Street2:
Registrant Street3:
Registrant City:Richmond
Registrant State/Province:Surrey
Registrant Postal Code:TW9 1AE
Registrant Country:GB
Registrant Phone:+49.5312051261
Registrant Phone Ext.:
Registrant FAX:
Registrant FAX Ext.:
Registrant Email:support@mdm.de
Admin ID:C113277202192553
Admin Name:na Hostmaster
Admin Street1:Theodor-Heuss-Strasse 7
Admin Street2:
Admin Street3:
Admin City:Braunschweig
Admin State/Province:Germany
Admin Postal Code:38122
Admin Country:DE
Admin Phone:+49.5312051261
Admin Phone Ext.:
Admin FAX:+49.5312051261
Admin FAX Ext.:
Admin Email:support@mdm.de
Tech ID:C113277202192555
Tech Name:Admin Domain
Tech Street1:ActiveBytes Software LLC
Tech Street2:UK Telephone Support Line
Tech Street3:
Tech City:0905 2340911
Tech State/Province:DE
Tech Postal Code:DE19810
Tech Country:US
Tech Phone:+1.449052340911
Tech Phone Ext.:
Tech FAX:+1.449052340911
Tech FAX Ext.:
Tech Email:domadmin@domain-parking.net
Name Server:NS1.UKDNSSERVERS.CO.UK
Name Server:NS2.UKDNSSERVERS.CO.UK
Email address for complainst appears to be
customercare@londonmintoffice.org
If you Google London Mint Office and go to the link at the top for them, it lands on a page where they are trying to sell another TDC coin on the public without a word that I can see about it not being legal tender. Does it appear that the company is putting two fingers up to the previous judgment of the Advertising Standards Authority? http://www.asa.org.uk/asa/adjudications/Public/TF_ADJ_41799.htm
I have collections of these coins passed on to me. does anyone know if dealers will buy them from you
I have been passed boxes of these coins which my Grandad has paid for thinking that they will grow in value. Has anyone successfully sold them? Has anyone spoken to Trading Standards/Watchdog about this?
I wish I had found your website before. I bought one of their Introductory coins and then tried to stop further deliveries.Ipaid for the first coin but they claim they never got my cheque nor my letters. A replacement cheque was, also, “lost” and the debt collector’s threats arrived, with a substantial charge for their services. I suggest this is deliberate and London Mint Office and C.A.R.s share the profit when people pay up.