Residents fight dream car give away scam

2.15.00pm GMT Mon 18th Sep 2006

Twickenham residents report being harassed by another prize draw scam operated by a company called Dream Car Give Away. One resident has been pestered for months by the company which charges premium rates for telephone calls for anyone pursuing one of their "guaranteed" prizes (a car, holiday in Venice, widescreen TV, laptop computer or cash).

MP Vincent Cable has asked the premium rate regulator (ICSTIS) and the Office of Fair Trading to investigate the matter: "this is a confidence trick. It is clear that not everyone will win a generous prize and that the company will make a lot of money out of the use of premium numbers. This scam is very common and the authorities should have acted more quickly to close it down. I hope residents will remember the name of this company - Dream Car Giveaway - and be careful".