12/08    22 January 2008

Following action taken by the OFT, the High Court has granted an injunction against a Brighton based trader behind a number of misleading racing tipster mailings.

Wesley Beagley was responsible for sending out mailings under the names 'Anthony Cochrane' and 'Michael Rose Investments' offering horse racing tipster services. He was also involved in a similar mailing that used the name 'Jonathan Wells'. Membership of these services cost up to £590, and the OFT estimates that more than 3,000 consumers responded to these mailings, netting Mr Beagley at least £175,000.

The OFT considered the mailings to be misleading, as they gave the impression that Anthony Cochrane, Michael Rose and Jonathan Wells were real people with detailed knowledge of the horse racing industry and access to inside information. In fact none of these people actually existed. For example, it was falsely claimed that 'Anthony Cochrane' owned 'a team of racing horses', and had until recently ridden 'regularly for some of the biggest and most successful trainers in England' as well as being involved with 'some of the biggest gambles in racing history'.

Further misleading claims were made about the past success of the tipping service and the 'amazing profits' members could expect to make of 'up to £10,000 a week' or 'a minimum of £47,000 in 30 Days'. Mr Beagley did not provide any evidence to substantiate the claims and admitted that he had borrowed some of the claims from other brochures he had received.

The High Court injunction prohibits Mr Beagley from continuing to be involved in the publication of misleading advertisements promoting tipster services. If a person breaches an injunction they can be held in contempt of court and can be fined, imprisoned or have their assets seized.
The OFT worked closely with both Brighton and Hampshire local authority Trading Standards Services and the British Horseracing Authority during the investigation.

Mike Haley, OFT Head of Consumer Protection, said:

'These were highly misleading mailings that used fictitious names and false claims to lure consumers into sending money in the belief that they would make large profits from a tipster service. We will continue to crack down on similarly misleading mailings.'

Paul Struthers, British Horseracing Authority's Public Relations Manager, said

'The OFT's Scambusters team have our full support and we will continue to work closely with them to ensure that those who use the lure of racing to try to con innocent people out of their hard earned money are stopped.'

Consumers who are unsure about claims being made in mailings should contact Consumer Direct for clear, practical advice on 08454 04 05 06 or visit the Consumer Direct website.

NOTES

1. The injunction, which was made by consent, was granted by the High Court on 19 December 2007 under the Enterprise Act 2002, and relates to compliance with the Control of Misleading Advertisements Regulations 1988.

2. The OFT issued a press release in March 2007 warning the public about bogus racing tipster mailings and inviting them to send in examples of scam mailings they had received. In November 2007 the OFT also wrote to 12,000 people who gamble regularly on horse racing warning them about such scams.

3. Part 8 of the Enterprise Act 2002 came into force on 20 June 2003. The Enterprise Act improves consumer protection by giving enforcers increased powers to obtain court orders against traders that breach a range of consumer legislation controlling activities such as misleading advertising.

4. The Control of Misleading Advertisements Regulations (CMARs) 1988 largely implements EU Directive on misleading and comparative advertising. To come within the scope of the CMARs, an advertisement must be misleading (that is it must deceive or be likely to deceive the recipient and affect their economic behaviour, or for those reasons harm the interests of a competitor), and be published, in connection with a trade, business, craft or profession, in order to promote the supply or transfer of goods or services, immovable property, rights or obligations. The OFT can take action against anyone appearing to be concerned or likely to be concerned with the publication of a misleading advertisement.

5. The OFT has identified scams as a priority area and in 2005 launched the 'Scambusters' team to deliver the OFT's strategy of enforcement, consumer education and cooperation with public and private sector bodies (see press release 175/05).

6. Consumer Direct is a telephone and online consumer advice service funded by government and managed by the Office of Fair Trading. It offers consumers clear, practical and impartial advice and information.

7. The British Horseracing Authority is the governing and regulatory body for horseracing.