OCC (Official Claims Centre) & Eva Lorca

[sceptic]

Another one of those "you've won" £xxx, but for processing this we require you to send us £yy letters has arrived for my deceased mother.

This one is entitled "PAYMENT OF £4,500.00 CASH INTO MY ACCOUNT" which requires her to send a "COMPENSATION CLAIM VOUCHER" along with £20 payment for the "whole package" which also includes the famous and secret "Cash Money Banco Winnings" games system. (Incidently the ONLY casino game in which the odds occasionally favour the player is Blackjack - it requires card counting: see the film "Rain Man" for an example - all other casino games have the odds fixed so that they make about a 1-5% profit for the casino.)

Reading the large small print on the back (not easy as it is all in capitals), reveals some interesting terms and conditions (for game No 2004/154 - I presume that's the 154th game this year):

1. From 01/08/2004 to 31/12/2005...This is a free competition and no purchase is necessary to enter.
5. ...This voucher must be completed and returned before midnight on the closing date of 31 December 2005 and, if possible, within 72 hours of receipt of the participation documents whether placing an order with OCC or not.
6. A 72-hour reply period is granted in order to reduce the potential risk of participants forgetting to return their participation vouchers.
9. Should the potential winner drawn at random...fail to participate in the competition within the required timeframe, by 31 December 2005, OCC may decided either to use all or part...for another random draw...or make a donation to charity.
10. The winner cannot oppose any eventual use of free publicity...
11. The present terms and conditions...written request to this effect to OCC - PO Box 273, 1180 AG Amstelveen, Holland. (OCC is a trademark belonging to Eva Lorca.)
13. The...is a publicity campaign to attract customers' attention to the commercial offers made by OCC. This competition is aimed at promoting the mail order sales of a new gaems system called "Cash Money Banco Winnings" as well as an esoteric article called the "Rare and Mysterious Talisman".
14. The message enclosed with this offer is a commercial offer that the reader is free to accept or refuse.

What I find most interesting with these "competitions" is the timescale of them: the closing date is over a year away. How many people are likely to remember at the end of next year that they replied to this; they're more likely to think that they didn't win, or, even more likely, just plain forget (see T&C 6 above).

The front of the "claims voucher" is even more misleading. It says:

[]Please find below details of the exact date and time I would like to receive, if possible, my notification of the "Payment..." along with the famous and secret games system...

Date .../.../2004 Time: between ... and ... .

But the competition doesn't close until 31/12/2005 (see T&C 5) so how can you be notified if you've got the £4,500 payment in 2004, when it's not to be made before 01/01/2006?

Also, the way the "Compensation Claim Voucher" is worded (in nice, big, easy to read letters on the front), you need to pay the £20 to get the £4,500 payment, (even if you're totally uninterested in the "Cash Money Banco Winnings" system, or the Talisman).

Condition 11 above is interesting. It gives the address of PoX 273, 1180 AG Amstelveen (as used by Amanda Kane, Olivia Roy, Eva Lorca - this last not surprising as Eva Lorca own the OCC trademark), but the enclosed envelope contains the address OCC PoX 59157, 1040 KD Amsterdam (as used by "Christie Owen", CELRIG).

As OCC is only a Trademark, can it have a "Managing Director" (of Kurt Field)? Or would that have to be the MD of the parent company? I only ask because the letter is so signed, and if no such person exists, then is the letter fraudulent in claiming that he is?

Any suggestions as to who ought to be interested in the misdirection(s) of this letter?

[sceptic]

Just to let you know, I received a letter for the BRPG part of Eva Lorca and having had enough, put a complaint on the ASA web site. I received a letter today informing me that as it is a Swiss company, they can't act, but the EASA, the European counterpart, can. They've requested the original bumph, which I will send, along with further examples of Eva Lorca's letters of "you've won" which are really prize draws and publicity literature - the the actual publicity is very obscure and the product is only mentioned on the participation voucher where the cost of the product is displayed in such a way as to make the reader believe that it's money for participation.

The further examples (being sent) include: Official Claims Centre, Olivia Roy (twice) and Emilie Paul. I'll try and let you know what happens.

[sceptic]

Just to let you know how the complaint to the ASA is progressing.

I got a letter sent at the end of last year informing me that the complaint has been handed onto the CSL - the equivalent body (to the ASA) in Switzerland. It comments:

"Please note that cross-border referrals can take some time to resolve. Please rest assured that this matter is being dealt with, we will write to you again when we have heard from the CSL."

I'll let you know what happens.

[sceptic]

An update on my complaint about Eva Lorca to the ASA.

There were aware of the tacktics of this company when I made my complaint last year.

Yesterday I received the following letter from the ASA:

----8<--------8<--------8<--------8<--------8<--------8<--------8<----

I last wrote to you on 31 December regarding your complaint about Eva Lorca.

Im my letter I explained that because this advertiser is based in Switzerland we would refer your complain to that authority.

Unfortunately the Swiss authorities have recently changed their ploicy in terms of cross-border complaints and are no longer accepting referrals. Unfortunately we cannot take further action on your complaint ourselves because mailings that are sent from abroad fall outside the jurisdiction of our Code.

On this basis we will now close our file on this matter, we apologise for the disappointment caused.

----8<--------8<--------8<--------8<--------8<--------8<--------8<----

Oh well, what to do now? (I'm not personally worried, just for the mugs^H^H^H^Hcustomers who will be taken in in future). But I also suspect that Eva Lorca has been almost wound up based on the lack of corresspondence from them, but the increase in correspondence from other "people" (aka holding companies/trading arms) of a similar nature. How long before Star Winner Solutions, Alpen, Calypso, etc wind up to be replaced by yet more holding companies/trading arms?