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EVERY week, Tony Hetherington replies to readers' letters, adding comments, advice and the results of his enquiries.
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P.S. writes: I made a successful bid of £900 for a diamond watch, said to be valued at £13,000, that was offered on the Auction World satellite TV channel. Later, I successfully bid £700 for another watch, valued at £16,500.
Each time, money was taken from my credit card, but two months later, I have received neither watch. I have phoned Auction World, but mostly I get an answering machine that puts me on hold at a premium rate. When I have spoken to someone, I have been told that the watches are lost in Dubai as Customs has impounded them, or that the quality was not up to standard, or that there was trouble obtaining the diamonds.
Auction World states quite clearly that all auction bids are legally binding. I would like it to honour this and supply me with the watches.
AUCTION World is shoddy, unreliable and untrustworthy. But don't take my word for it. Ofcom, the TV regulator, says: 'Auction World has a history of compliance failures in terms of late or non-delivery of products and poor customer service.'
Ofcom's predecessor, the Independent Television Commission, received 250 complaints and fined the company £10,000. Ofcom has received 334 complaints. Anyone with a problem should call their hotline on 0845 456 3000.
And I should think they are concerned. Mr F, a reader from North Shields, Tyne and Wear, told me how he paid for three separate items and received none of them. When I asked Auction World to comment, one of its bosses, lawyer Nigel Rowley, told me: 'The head of customer services has spoken to Mr F and resolved this complaint to Mr F's satisfaction.'
Rubbish. Mr F told me a few days ago that Auction World simply said he could have his money back, with no chance of receiving the goods.
I could fill this page with complaints about Auction World. It auctions goods it doesn't have and which it can't deliver. Then it makes customers fight for a refund.
Unfair business conditions that place shoppers at a disadvantage are not lawful. I asked the Office of Fair Trading to investigate Auction World. I will publish the results here.
Meanwhile, anyone tempted by Auction World should be warned that for every glamorous lot - like Elvis Presley's guns and handcuffs currently on offer - there are dozens of overvalued or simply unobtainable items that leave bidders struggling to get their cash back. This auction deserves a wrecking ball, not a hammer.
Update: 'Easy money' arrests
THE first arrests have been made in the Serious Fraud Office's investigation of KF Concept, the multi-million pound 'easy money' scheme exposed by Financial Mail.
An SFO spokesman said: 'More than 40 investigators from the Serious Fraud Office and officers from Kent police and the City of London police executed search warrants at four addresses in the Ashford area.
'One was a business address and three were residential. Four men have been arrested in relation to money laundering. No-one has been charged. Our investigations are continuing.'
The four men, who have not been named, have business links to KF Concept boss Kevin Foster, who is not among those arrested.
Foster, who claims to pay 500% returns to investors from gambling and network marketing, is also under investigation by the Financial Services Authority, which alleges that he is operating an unauthorised investment scheme.
