Belgian firm ‘tricked’ UK residents

28 September 2004

BRUSSELS – A Belgian firm is being sued in a groundbreaking court case to stop it from sending mailings to British households.

TV Direct Distribution, a UK trading name for a Belgian mail order company, is accused of having sent out letters to the UK, telling residents they had won a £10,000 (EUR 14,700) prize.

Hundreds of people are believed to have bought a small appliance from a catalogue in order to claim their money.

They never received a penny of the £10,000, though, since the small print stated they would only be entered into a prize draw.

The British watchdog, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT), is, for the first time, using cross border powers to prosecute the Belgian operation.

OFT is set to argue its case before the Commercial Court in Brussels on Monday.

The outcome of the hearing will be given in about a month’s time.

[Copyright Expatica 2004]

Subject: Belgian news