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
The new one from (the london mint) is
The Golden Britannia Penny,yours free all you pay is £2.50 p and p. usual price £19.95 it is an old penny dipped in 24 carat gold. I think after reading the above people should give it a miss.
I ordered one of the de cuna coins a few months ago, had no problems with it although didn’t realise it was’t legal tender. Bought one of the golden penny’s and simply cancelled the subscription, so far haven’t receive any unsolicited goods and they received my 2.50 payment!
Have today had a snailmail from LMO, offering Golden Guinea and Half Guinea of 1787 – 1800…King George 3 for £1500 and £975 respectively plus of course easy payments of etc over 3 months.
I have purchased a few of their lesser value coins not in the hope of appreciation in value but because they are nice to own and to look at, however when I received today’s mailing shot I decided to check out values at Auction.
I phoned a UK leading Auction House and had a chat with their medals and coins Expert regarding the above mentioned coins, he was very accommodating, as it turns out the maximum price at auction for the full guinea is £150 and £80 – £120 for the half guinea.
I then phoned The LMO and asked how they justify the prices they were asking…they didn’t answer that question!
That is definitely the END of my trading relationshipo with them, what do YOU think?
Also I cleared my account with them on 26 Feb this year, they are now trying to say I owe them for a coin I have paid for by maestro and the amount I paid on 26th Feb was was put towards an invoice dated 27 Feb, which then I had not even received, I have told them I don’t mess around like this and will put things in the hands of my solicitor, give them a good whooping in court and get them involved in extremely heavy costs and claims against them for harassment mental anguish caused by their fradulent claims and any other claim the solicitor can think up that has a good chance of succeeding, attack is by far the best means of defence with cretins like this, also if they do put a report into the credit bureau all you have to do is to write to said Bureau and ask them to post on your report ‘IN DISPUTE’ next to their report, this will stop a negative being entered against your credit status. Two can play at that game!!
PS. If you use this number 0800-037-4321, you will always get through to them, it does sometimes take a while to get through after the machine asnwers, try after lunchtime for a quicker response.
I am glad I read this comments on website today. I was just going to order King George v gold sovereign for discounted price of £139, the normal price is £339.London mint office sent very authentic looking leaflets , privileged voucher, saying must use up within 7 days. It all looks very convincing as the price of gold is rising I thought it would be good investment, but reading comments in this website I will NOT be ordering anything from this company
A bit of balance here. I have dealt with them in the past and found them just fine. First of all the TDC coins are legal tender, just no legal tender in the UK. Nobody would complain about an Australian Dollar. Personally I will never be able to travel to Australia, but I would still buy one. They are meant to be collected for collecting sake, not for buying bars of chocolate! Regarding returns. I have ordered a few products and decided to send them back. I simply called, got a reference number and sent them back FREEPOST without any issues. Of course if you ignore payment reminders and keep hold of their goods I am not surprised they chase you.
My elderly father recently saw a London Mint ad in a local paper offering an emamelled old penny for the price of postage and packing. When it arrived so did a similarly treated threepenny bit costing £32. Being infirm and sometimes a little confused he bought the coin rather than go to the trouble of taking it to the post office and returning it by registered mail (he had no idea that one is not obliged to pay for unsolicited goods).
I had no idea this was going on, otherwise I would have told him not to respond to the ad in the first place. He has now received ANOTHER coin supposedly worth over £60,and has written to London Mint asking them to arrange for collection of the coin and not to send him anything else.
In my opinion London Mint has simply robbed a pensioner of £32 and I just e-mailed them with a request to return the money. They must be making a fortune out of people like my father.
I collect coins & I do admit their name is easy to mix up with the Royal Mint. but they are a commercial concern and I have recently bought a coin from them for approx £160.00. I did my research & I know where I can sell the very same coin for a thirty pounds profit and that is even before I bought it from them.
I do not dispute that some people who are not collectors of coins/antiquties will make mistakes.
They do send out coins if requested on 14 days approval
and you can even pay for them in equal monthly payments if you wish.
Gold is generally thought of as a good investment and I will soon be buying some gold coins. But remember it is ‘buyer beware’ anywhere you go.
Always research any coins you intend to buy don’t buy them because they’re shiny or with a veiw to making lots of money.
I buy them because I like them and they are usually very old. they are also a great talking point and little bits of art. Like paintings buy them because you like them, any thoughts of a possible quick profit is a pipe dream.
Remember they are coin dealers and many dealers offer coins from all over the world some of which are many centuries old. Do your research and don’t buy on impulse then you won’t get burned.
I am SO glad I found this site.
I have an older set of mint coins that my grandfather left to me, and was thinking of starting a new set to add to it to leave to my nephew (I have no children) and thought the Britannia penny, and the rest of the associated collection, might be a good buy.
Having read the horror stories here I will sure as hell be staying well away from this company
I just recieved confirmation I’ll be recieving my Britannia Penny. Rang their number after reading this to clarify some things. Had very very little trouble getting through (was in a 2 minute que once, then straight through the next time).
The people could do with brushing up on some service manners, but otherwise, they confirmed yes, as stated in terms and conditions that I did agree to (and you have too) they will send out non-obligation gifts that can be returned by freepost. If you paid for return, you should have just rang and they can send out a returns label, or probably simply provide a freepost address.
Secondly, UK Law includes the Distance Seller Regulations. If you buy ANYTHING over the internet from a business subdued to business regulations (yes, even off businesses trading on eBay) you have a legal right to inspect and return the item (unusued and ungraded) for a full refund within the 14 day cooling off period, so there’s really no debate. Just ensure you can prove you actually returned an item to their address.
Whether the items are solicitied or not is questionable. You are subscribing to their collection. In a similar way to a magazine subscription, where you may pay a different price for the first 3 issues and then will be automatically invoiced or charged unless you act before the subsequent 3 issues are issued, does that mean you can just accept the other issues as a gift and not return them if you don’t wish to pay.
Theres common sense that will prevail in most court circumstances, which is that you accepted the goods by not returning them, as you had agreed to this process either through willingness or negligence earlier on.
For heavens sake, if I recieved something tommorow that came with an invoice and my name and address on it, and it was for an amount I didn’t want to pay and an item I did not want, I wouldn’t keep it on the stubborn grounds that I could fight my case in court that I had the right to keep it.
As for the elderly, they probably did sign this contract like any other, and true any company like this is a con, but to many extents so is a payday loan company, which I’ve also dealt with, but I still signed the contract, and for that you have to assert your own responsibility.
A legal ‘con’ only has an effect if people are stupid or negligent enough to fall for it.
I fell for the London Mint advert on TV last week thinking this was a bona fide offer from the Royal Mint.
I called them and left my address details but am I right in thinking that I actually have to sign something before they send me this guff? They do not ask for payment details in the voice message.
I goggled the london Mint office and I must say I am completely shocked by some of the things that are suggested in some posts.
I too ordered from the London Mint Office for the Britannia penny. ia m not sure of all your complaints. yes it did qualify me to recieve further coins and they did send a coin along which i did not expect, However after a quick phone call they sent me a paid returns label for the other coin and they cancelled any further coins from the collection from coming to me, and I have not has any problems since.
Also you must be aware that their coins are sent on approval and if you do not want to keep the, you have 30 days to return it which i did and they happily arranged for.
the only problem i have now is that i recieve so many mailings offering loads of other coins that i am not interested in
I just fell for the penny ad on the telly. The trouble is you can’t take it all in when the ad is on. I noticed the date on the coin was the year we were married so I quickly made a note of the tel number and just remembered the main point -£2.50 for a penny. When I called the number I was asked by an automated system for my details and then to confirm my order. It was only after confirmation that they mentioned that I was also committing myself to receiving a succession of other coins on approval. I looked up the internet and called them to cancel but they said I could not cancel until I receive the confirmation. So we’ll see what happens. Do you have to pay return postage if I’m unable to stop them?
Stupidly i was taken in by this and received the ‘free’ penny and not wanting the other coin costing 35.00 rang and ask to send it back … i sent it back and obtained a receipt from post office which sadly i can’t find and guess what ! typically the london mint did not receive the return so i now owe 35.00 🙁 avoid at all cost ! whe i rang i was in a queue of 24 with a waiting time of 9 minutes on a 0871 number , i wonder how many others were calling with the same thing as me …
Avoid!!!
i have just been sent the britannia set,and was sent an invoice for this amount,i rang the freephone number,which was answered by a reasonable chap,who cancelled any further orders, and is to send me a returns envelope free of charge for the unwanted threepenny bit,just need proof of postage,i am happy we’ll just have to wait and see.
I’m experiencing a nightmare with the London Mint Office, and the Post Office! I stupidly ordered the newest coin. When it arrived, it was joined by another coin and an invoice for approx £30. Like others, I waited on the phone, was told no more coins were to be sent out and I would recieve a returns package asap.
I happily waited, and when it arrived it was a handwritten envelope from Surrey containing only more literature about their offers, and a tiny free post envelope in which to return my next order – nothing in connection with my return request. That done, I packaged everything in a large envelope, with a letter explaining my right to cancel, and posted via recorded delivery. They say they never recieved it, and the strange thing is that the status of the parcel was never updated on the Royal Mail site; apparantly it is still in their network for delivery – it has been a month. I hoped that this would be a mistake and that they did actually get my parcel.
However, 20 days later a reminder letter that I owe them £30 was delivered to my address. More contacting them, and they have requested that I send my proof of postage so that they can claim for the coin. It was been 4 working days since this was posted 1st class recorded which should take 2 days max, and again still no status update from the Royal Mail. Not even an ‘attempted delivery’ notification. I find this extremely strange.
Can anyone who has dealt with the LMO in the past please update their experiences, how to get rid of them? I find that lot’s of people write about their problems, but don’t return with the outcome. It would be a great help! I’m finding this too stressful! Thank you
Like many others – glad I found this.
I’d reiterate that phone number given earlier 0800-037-4321, I spoke to a nice chap – but have to wait and see if the request works.
Also remember to be quite explicit about what you want i.e. to cancel any further offers, removal from collections service and removal from marketing database. I’m also following up with written letter.
Pretty depressing stuff.
Interesting reading !
I am a valuer, dealer, and auctioneer, and often have the unpleasant task of telling people how much money they have lost.
I have NEVER seen anything bought from London Mint Office (or similar companies such as The Westminster Collection) that could be resold for anything approaching the original cost.
I got the brittania penny and another coin that i was not expecting along with an invoice for £32. I returned the package to the freepost address that it had came from with a letter letting them know i had made copies of my letter and how misleading the advert was. I sent the package recorded post for 72p as they would pay for the return of the package. i also sent an email asking them to close the account clear the invoice and take me off their mailing list. They replied to my email letting me know that they had received my return coins and thant my account was now clear and closed. So although very misleading if you cover yourself by sending recorded making it clear you dont want any further business with them they seem to have no problem removing you from the mailing list and cancelling the order. Lesson learned for me though!
I seen their ad on the tv. It does actually mention the collection and that more coins will be sent.
I emailed a request to cancel after receiving the pack and they emailed be back a label to print for return of the package. They paid for the return an even recommended the post office give me a receipt so I didn’t get stuck with a bill of royal mail didn’t deliver it.
All seems pretty straight forward. Maybe you all should be more aware of what you are signing up for?
Thank goodness for your site! I was just about to order some £ks worth of sovereigns from these people. I thought I would google them to check their bona fides. What a chamber of horrors! Obviously, the way they are trading is technically legal but at best disingenuous.
However, this is the case with very many commercial operations; credit card companies being perhaps one of the worst examples. They suck customers in with 0% interest rates for 12 months and then hit them with anything up to 35% interest rates after 12 months once they have built up a debt. Yes, customers enter into these commitments with their eyes wide open and it could be argued that they have only themselves to blame. However, it is very clear that these companies deliberately
obfuscate their offers and trade on human frailty, weakness and yes, ignorance!
The best advice I can offer elderly customers is always to get a second opinion from a younger relative, friend or professionl who is used to winkling out the weasel words in the small print and converting them into standard english to give a true and clear understanding of the level of commitment about to be entered into. ( Remember, the small print is put together by highly skilled lawyers who have honed it and polished it down the years to make it as difficult as possible to understand without actually infringing the letter of the law ). In fact, small print should have been banned years ago and only standard type face allowed! If nothing else this would force the lawyers to get rid of large swathes of mumbo jumbo and get to the point.
THE GOLDEN RULES:
1. IF IN DOUBT DON’T.
2. IF IT SOUNDS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE; IT IS!
3. NEVER SIGN ANYTHING YOU DO NOT TOTALLY AND FULLY UNDERSTAND!
GOOD LUCK!
I have just come across this website after ordering a coin from London Mint Office online. Should have done my research before sending the Application. Does anyone have any updates on this?? I will be returning my coin by special delivery once it arrives and will make it clear in writing to cancel my collection, and want do further correspondances. Has anyone gone legal on them?? Looks like a real nightmare ive got myself into. Would like to nip this in the bud before it gets to any more hassle. Any comments and updates would be very much appreciated.
I must be one of the lucky ones! Ordered one of the golden pennies after seeing one of their tv ads a few months ago, as others have said it came with another coin and an invoice for about £30 (cant remember the exact price!)
Called them up and they sent me a free returns label, sent back the 2nd coin which I didn’t want and paid the P&P on the Britannia penny which i kept!
Also i asked them not to send me anymore mailings and touch wood haven’t had anything through the post from them since!
WARNING: Genuine coin collectors would not touch the London Mint Office with a barge pole.
REASON WHY: All their advertising is misleading (just about lawful) They will suck you in to buy their overpriced coins preying on your gullibility. You will not get what you pay for!
This week they are advertising a gold half crown for £29.95.It sounds like a bargain. It also has TDC on the rim ie Tristan De Cunha so is not legal here. At 8mm in diameter it is probably the smallest coin in existence and weighs only .25 gram or 124th of an ounce!
With gold at about £900 a troy ounce this coin is worth only £7.50.
You have been warned!
There is no reason why people should not collect commemorative coins issued on the authority of Tristan da Cunha or Alderney or the South Sandwich Islands or other small territories, coins which will inevitably never leave the UK. The Royal Mint sell such coins themselves. However, the problem with the London Mint Office is that they never advertise the alleged issuer of the coin, and the name of the country issuing it is not given in full on the coin as it normally would be. I asked them which country issues their Royal Wedding crown, and got no reply. As it is an attractive piece at a not unreasonable price even for a fantasy piece (or “retro-proof” as similar items are sometimes called), I bought one. Subsequently, cancelling the offer of receiving a whole series of coins in the future, I asked again the country, and my attention was drawn to TDC and its meaning. I have warned them that if they do deliver more, they will be unsolicited, and as such I shall keep them safe at my address until they come to take them away. One is legally entitled to do this.
Even if you bought an official £5 coin of the UK, it would usually cost you more than £5 , and your prospect of reselling it at any kind of profit in the future would not depend on the legal tender value being £5 . It would depend on the desirability of the item to collectors in the future, which in the case of these TDC offerings is likely to be low. They cannot be seen as an investment, and nor really can the Royal Mint ones. It is true that, with some trouble, you could get £5 each for the official British ones, but if you are planning to do that, there is no point !
Might have just got done by these b*****s too.
I saw an advert on TV for gold coins and Ingots and signed up. Didnt realise i was going for a collction and that they’re not worth much or the collection cannot be canceled. My first coin arrived 7 days after I signed up. Quickly I was dissappinted and also smelling a rat I googled this page. Now almost in shock I called consumer direct. I said I thought I had signed up to a con trick by mistake. they advised I had 7 working days to cancel this subscription I had signed up to and to write to london mint office in both email and white mail. I did this and canceled over the phone. On the phone they guy said it was all canceled and they wouldn’t contact me again, althought he almost said at one point ‘no you cant cancel’ but then seemed to notice I was within the 7 days and stopped himself (probably should have recorded this call). Anyhow he said a return envolpe would be on its way and that they wouldnt conact me at all again.
Im hopeing for a lucky escape
I too have just been duped.
I got a “free” coin from their website, but did not realise I was signing up to a colletin. I am so glad I came across this site, as I actually did think when an “unordered” coin arrived this morning, that it might be a great collection for my daughter and actually worth something in the future for her. I have just telephoned them and requested cancellation of my account and a returns form to be sent out. I followed this up with the following message via their website:
Please confirm as per telephone call that my account/customer number xxxxxx has now been cancelled, and that a returns form has been sent out for invoice number xxxxxx received today, 24th September 2011, for return of article numbers 850473-110 111650 golden ship halfpenny, 850478-107 predecimal 9 coin inlay, 850656-127 changing face of british coinage welcome pack, value £29.96 plus the postage of £2.95 will be refunded, bringing the total to be credited to my account is £32.90. I did not realise that the “free” coin was the start of a collection, it was not made clear on your website. I do not wish to have any further coins to be sent out, as I am actually bankrupt, I am unable to pay for any, therefore do not send any. Please confirm by email and post that this account has cancelled, as I have unwittingly been entered into receiving a collection, and if any further coins are sent out, they will be regarded in law as unsolicited goods, and therefore do not form part of any legal contract, this will also entitle me to retain the goods without charge, although I trust this matter will be resolved without further action.
I notice on their website you can also download a returns form if this helps anyone. I will keep you updated if I don’t get satisfactory results and thank-you for this site.
The London Mint is not the same as the Royal Mint. The Royal Mint is based in Llantrisant, south Wales. The London Mint, no doubt, is a private company with no legal connection to the Royal Mint and is making these coins on behalf of the government of Tristan da Cuna.
Keep all correspondence and transcripts of telephone conversations in order to prove your case.
Because they send you the extra coins does not mean that you have to accept them. You may also be able to charge a storage fee.
These wankers stole nearly £3000 from my bank account. I investigated a coin on their website but it all looked a bit dodgy so I decided not to purchase anything. Somehow, without me giving them my bank details, they took £3000 from my account. I have reported this to the bank and had a refund of my month, however now the London Mint Office are chasing me for payment for something I never ordered and never received.
I have been collecting coins for 50 years and would never get involved with this company. There are several others operating such as “Westminster” I have been told that Westminster got such a bad reputation that it changed its name to The London Mint Office, I cannot confirm this. Over the years these type of rip-off merchants have used book clubs, record clubs and various model cars, china & porcelain collections. I am often contacted by people conned by this company and they think I am trying to rip them off when I say that the coins are worth only 25% of what they paid to London Mint Office. Companies like this are marginally within the law, you see them every weekend in newspaper supplements ads offering “bargains” to mugs!! Nothing can or will be done to stop them
I agree with all these comments the London Mint customer services are a nightmare to deal with and hard to get rid of.
Yes, another story of extortionate and underhanded treatment by the London Mint office! This time with olympic ingots. Basically our story is much the same as others. Isn’t it about time something was done about these people, why are they still trading? perhaps there should be a warning noticed posted somewhere to stop other unsuspecting people being sucked in by this bunch of crooks. My husband suffers with multiple sclerosis, it seems they have no shame in using their tactics to extort money from the vulnerable. Shame on them!!!