South Norfolk school snared in stationery scam

Norfolk County Council''s Trading Standards Service are warning schools to be alert, following a scam report from a school in Norfolk.

A company telephoned the school with what appeared to be an acceptable offer for printer toner cartridges. Following an exchange of emails, an order was placed. When the product delivered, the cartridges were lower-quality ''compatible'' replacements, and not the original, genuine cartridges the school had expected. The company refused to cancel the order and demanded payment.

Trading Standards regularly receives enquiries about demands for payment for stationery or business supplies where the goods are unsolicited or the customer has been misled. Sometimes, the customer is sure that they have not placed an order. In other cases, the customer has relied on misleading or false information when placing an order.

If you receive an invoice for goods you have not ordered or which are different from what you ordered, seek advice before making payment. Scammers routinely threaten Court action but very rarely follow up their threats by starting proceedings.

For more information about business scams, including stationery scams, see the Trading Standards Business Scams web page.