We’ll sue for lost pay, vow 100 shocked Thomas Cook staff
By SCAMMERS are poised to grab a £320,000 “bonanza” from vulnerable over-75s who will lose their free TV licences next June, a charity warned yesterday.
Age UK said the toll of successful scams could soar 13 per cent as fraudsters posing as BBC officials send letters, emails and texts to OAPs demanding money.
The charity fears the crooks could net as much as £320,000.
Age UK’s director, Caroline Abrahams, said: “It seems that the BBC’s decision to make millions of older people buy a TV licence from next summer could be a bonanza for them.”
Campaign
There have been nearly 18,000 reports of fraudulent TV licence emails in the past year, Action Fraud figures show.
And 16,000 people who signed an Age UK petition to save free TV licences were approached by fraudsters posing as staff from TV Licensing, responsible for collecting the licence fee.
The scammers usually send letters, emails or texts to say there is a problem with the TV licence fee payment, or that people must pay up immediately.
Mike Haley, of fraud prevention service Cifas, said: “When issues such as TV licensing are in the news, there’s a criminal out there waiting to take advantage of it.”
From next June, only lowincome households where one person receives Pension Credit will be eligible for a free TV licence, while the rest must pay the £154.50 annual fee.
The Daily Express crusade to MORE than 100 former staff have launched legal action against Thomas Cook in a bid to recover thousands of pounds in lost wages.
They claim the company failed to keep them up to date on their future while bosses had told them: “Don’t worry, we’ll sort it out.”
And they say senior managers were still offering roles to prospective employees 48 hours before the company went bust.
Many Thomas Cook workers only found out their job was under threat when the firm went into liquidation on Monday.
This was despite rules stating firms have an obligation to consult staff and offer a cut in hours.
One flight was in mid-air when the company went into liquidation, only for the crew to land and discover they no longer had jobs.
Employees are entitled to a Protective Award if they are made protect the benefit saw nearly 40,000 letters reach us, which we delivered to Downing Street.
Age UK has also campaigned for the concession for over-75s to be restored, saying the companionship of TV is important for elderly and isolated people.
A Government spokesman said: “We are very disappointed with the BBC’s decision.
“Taxpayers want to see the BBC using its substantial licence fee income to ensure it delivers for UK audiences.”
The BBC said: “We are doing everything we can to help protect our customers against fraudsters.
“If people are unsure about a communication, they should contact us directly and we can help.”
For advice call 0300 790 6112 or visit www.tvl.co.uk/scam. redundant without being properly consulted, and are entitled to up to 90 days pay.
However, those working in High Street shops may miss out on the payout as it only applies to offices of 20 people or more.
Mantra
Around 9,000 staff in the UK were left jobless after the collapse in the early hours of Monday.
Claire Hoang, who is part of the legal action, said: “I woke up on Monday with no job. I’ve lost that month’s income and £700 of expenses I’ll never get back.
“Company troubles had been hanging over us but we thought there would be a bail-out.
“We were given the mantra: FRAUDSTERS are always searching for new opportunities to part us from our cash.
And it seems that the BBC’s decision to make millions of older people buy a TV licence from next summer could be a bonanza for them.
Fraud in all its guises is a real risk to older people’s finances and to their wellbeing too.
The reality is that fraudsters are merciless and it’s all too easy to be taken in.
As though the prospect of losing their free TV licence wasn’t bad enough for our over-75s, this expected upsurge in fraudulent communications adds insult to injury.
It will be a further kick in the teeth for anyone unfortunate enough to be caught out. Our ‘Don’t worry, we’ll sort it out’. Management must have known, but still employed new staff.”
David, not his real name, was headhunted by Thomas Cook and reassured by company bosses that it would be saved.
He told the Victoria Derbyshire TV show: “We were told there was a recapitalisation in the works. For me it is promises and lies.This demonstrates how poorly managed the whole thing was.”
Former workers said they were told to tell customers “everything will be fine” over the weekend.
Aneil Balgobin, of lawyers Simpson Millar, said: “We are in touch with over 100 people and we understand that there are hundreds of others eligible to claim.”
More than half of the 150,000 holidaymakers stranded abroad were expected to have been flown home last night. advice is to be ultra-cautious about any communications you receive linked to TV licences.
Of course this problem is only arising because the Government passed responsibility for free licences to the BBC without the money to pay for them.
This enhanced risk of scams is just the latest in the long list of reasons why the Government should stump up the funding to allow TV licences to remain free for all our over-75s.