I just returned home to East Kent for the weekend as my mum’s birthday is coming up.
About 5 minutes after I get in the door she told me about a nuisance caller. Fortunately her head is screwed on pretty well and she knows not to give these people any information and tends to ask to be taken off their list asap, after asking where they got our number (we’re ex-directory).
However, this wasn’t the usual ‘can we send a window cleaner?‘ or recorded ‘you’ve won a massive yacht!‘ type thing.
Apparently the guy, called ‘Gloster‘ or something to that effect, was calling from ‘the Wellness Centre‘.
We have something like that here – though not where the call came from – and I might pop in to see what they’re offering because the sign outside is emblazoned with CHIROPRACTOR and a list including Yoga, Massage and even X-Ray. Unfortunately that lovely orange sign isn’t on Google Maps, but there’s also an osteopathy clinic directly opposite, interestingly.
Anyway, the call.
He was asking probing questions about my mum’s physical health.
We’re talking to people in our area over 50… any aches and pains?
She insisted she wasn’t going to divulge any such information. He seemed surprised that she didn’t even have arthritis and continued to press for info, moving on to asking about my dad and continuing along the arthritis route.
Are you aware the medication your doctor gives you won’t cure it?
To which she replied yes, of course – nothing cures it.
Natural remedies can control it and stop it spreading
At which point she asks if he’s promoting homeopathy and things and she’s not interested because it’s been proven not to work (trained her well it seems!!).
Other people have had similar experiences:
The caller asked me if I had arthritis to which I answered no, and then any other health problems. Again I said no and she asked me my secret! I asked her for more details of what the call was about and she rambled something about health and senior citizens. I said I wasn’t a senior citizen (I’m 46) and she immediately hung up without another word.
Unfortunately she couldn’t get any more information about them; he declined to give her a number to phone back ‘in case she had some questions’ but amusingly did not withold the number: 0208 619 0746, which is more of a Croydon area number than the Midlands or anywhere else.
A quick interweb search brings up this page (where I found the above account) of people asking what this number is. There are some pretty disturbing accounts on there. Some commenters managed to get the company information by pretending to be interested:
http://www.sandawellness.com/sandawellnessuk/
Sanda Wellbeing Ltd is VAT registered and our number is: GB 925 6675 90
The full name of our company is Sanda Wellbeing Ltd
We are registered in England and Wales under registration number 06377623
Our address is 3, Montpelier Avenue, Bexley, Kent, DA5 3AP
You can contact us via email on complaints@sandawellbeing.com
Though a comment on the last page posts details of the distribution companies being struck off last month, and they seem to have another address or two. Yorkshire NHS lists them as a scam.
One person theorises:
My asumption is that this is the payback for having all our medical records shipped to india for data entry purposes
Possible? More importantly, can we shut them down? The suggestion is to contact the local Trading Standards:
Bexley Heath Trading Standards Office:
2a Hadlow Road
Sidcup
Kent
DA14 4AFEmail: ts.duty@bexley.gov.uk
Tel: 0208-303-7777
This is horrendous abuse of personal information (almost everyone states that their names were used, though they got our family name slightly wrong, they clearly have this info to hand), direct marketing of dodgy ‘products’ to vulnerable individuals and an obvious scam.
I’ll go as far as to bring this back to the ongoing campaign to make the general public more aware of the inefficacy of alternative medicine and the fact that there are people out there who are aware of this and using people’s trust of natural and holistic treatments to make money.
If people were more clued-up on evidence-based medicine and the layers of bullshit that a lot of alt med is built on, more people would be able to spot when they’re being had.
I would advise, if you are concerned about your relatives receiving such calls (even if they subscribe to TPS), that the following numbers are blocked: 01280730030; 02086190070-02086190075 inclusive; and 02086190746.
I’m sure there are lots of these sorts of things, but the very direct questioning and suggestion of ineffective medical treatment from GPs, plus offering expensive rubbish to ‘control and prevent spread’ of serious diseases – scary stuff.
March 5, 2011 at 00:16
I was having a good day until I read this.
I (and our business) get plagued by cold callers… but alternative quack remedy callers? Targeting older people…?
I hope they ring me. I’m 53 and I’ll be quite happy to waste some of their time. In fact, I’ll string them along for a very long ride.
Bugger. I’d had a good evening in the Ship Inn.
Many thanks Noodlemaz for raising this.
March 16, 2011 at 21:17
We are just a health Suppliment company who deal in natural suppliments which basically help to control the pain of Arthritis by Bringing down the Inflammation and we never sell saying it will cure arthritis(get your facts correct)and the suppliments we offer U get it at your health shops but we offer highest strength at the most reasonable price for senior citizens,as money is a pinch for them.
We never force them,its just that we put forward the facts about Rosehip and if people are interested they buy,we never forcefully give it to them(they are not kids)
We also monitor their every 25 days to see the improvment,so stop wasting your time and also people who read it and get a job and if U dont have a job come down to India we will give U one…..looser
March 17, 2011 at 01:43
Kiran rao, you’re a bunch of scam merchants trying to con money out of the elderly and infirm. people like you disgust me.
March 17, 2011 at 21:44
See All we are trying to do is earn a living by doing some work and we dont force them to give their Account Details and we strictly work under UK Laws and follow DATA PROTECTION ACT whereby we only take Debit Cards as Credit Card payments Cannot be traced and we also provide bill and even bank gives a statement about the payment….and my apologies if I was being a bit Vulgar in my language…….and we aint selling marijuana or weed but something which really helps and Clinically Tried and Tested or Govt of UK would not let us sell that..
March 17, 2011 at 01:48
Kiran… why is it that you assume that since our dear friend here took some time out of her day, that she is unemployed? Come down to India? “Looser”? I mean, that’s ridiculous. I’m certain she could find a job much closer to home without having to pay for travel to India, acquire a work visa, find living arrangements, etc.
Also, I don’t know about England, but in Canada (where most of our laws are based on England’s anyways…) you actually need to get something to the effect of a license in order to call residential homes for business proposals. Noodlemaz, I encourage you to look into the existence of such a law. It’s a pretty hefty fine over here.
March 17, 2011 at 21:48
Yes we have acquired an License Number and we work according to UK Trading Standards and most of all we are not cheaters because of our products people who were taking 6-8 painkillers have cut down to 3-4 and there is a smile on their face,thats what they tell us when we call to monitor their health.Just because some people dont like us it doesn’t mean we are bad…..If u have doubts about our product then take it and judge it by yourself…..
March 17, 2011 at 21:43
See All we are trying to do is earn a living by doing some work and we dont force them to give their Account Details and we strictly work under UK Laws and follow DATA PROTECTION ACT whereby we only take Debit Cards as Credit Card payments Cannot be traced and we also provide bill and even bank gives a statement about the payment….and my apologies if I was being a bit Vulgar in my language…….and we aint selling marijuana or weed but something which really helps…..
April 19, 2011 at 17:00
It may, or it may not. The question is why are the vulnerable and old being targeted and scammed (as reported in the press and on sites such as Whocallsme.com)? Type Sanda Wellness and Scam into any search engine and there are hundreds of victim’s reports of being duped and fleeced.
May 21, 2011 at 17:11
I was going to spend some time looking into these guys… but found this page on whocallsme that does a pretty thorough job. It references a different number so I figured you might not have seen it.
It’s a bit out of date – for example, as of 11 May, the company’s directorship has changed. Sadly the information as to why is behind a Companies House paywall. New directors are Vijay Dalwani and Mahesh Matta. Both of whom are ex-employees of Goldshield Group Plc, the former home of ex-Sanda director Ajit Patel. (Goldshield is an apparently legitimate generic drugs company.)
All very incestuous. I’ll see what else I can find.
@ Kiran: All you’re trying to do is make money by selling people “cures” that don’t work. Hopefully dharma will catch up with you.
August 25, 2011 at 14:57
I have been getting these calls for several months. Each time I ask to be removed from the database and the calls stop for a while before they get going again. On one occasion, in answer to my request to be taken off the lists, I was told that I would be called ‘all day every day’. I reported the calls online to TPS and chose the nature of call option ‘market’ research from the various possibilities given. This choise was a mistake as, in response, I got an automated reply from TPS stating that as the purpose of the call was market research they could not pursue the company involved.
I was not prepared to leave the matter there and ‘phoned TPS, explaining that, although the representative initially purported to be engaged in market research, their true business is pressure selling. TPS took the details and will contact the company to ensure that my number has been removed from their database and will also record the complaint. They said that if enough complaints are received then legal action will be taken against Sanda Well. I urge everyone to COMPLAIN TO TPS, EITHER BY PHONE OR IF ON LINE, CHOOSING THE COLD CALLING SALES OPTION. With enough recorded complaints we will stop these persistent parasites.
August 25, 2011 at 16:00
Thanks for that Karen, it’s imporant for people to know if they want to help stop this. Well done for not giving up!
December 1, 2011 at 04:33
After years of getting unwanted calls, I have found a way to curb (kerb?) calls and have fun. When I figure out that it is an obnoxious telemarketer, I pretend I am an addled old man with poor hearing. (getting easier every year-I’m 63 and I try to sound like 64) I tell the caller that I am hard of hearing and he needs to speak very loudly. No matter how loud he screams into the phone, I encourage himto bring the volume up just a bit more. Whatever they tell me, I misinterpret. If they offer me a discount, I counter with, “Why should I give you a discount?” If they give me a telephone number to call, I repeat it back all wrong and do that many times over. I assure you this scheme not only works, but it is fun and satisfying