News
Reporting on fraud, review manipulation, misleading information and the work of protecting consumers and honest businesses.
130 articles in news
Further to recent general warnings and advice from KwikChex about increased activities by scammers, we are now receiving specific reports of attempts at defrauding timeshare owners. The latest attempts at scamming timeshare owners involve phone callers falsely telling Hilton Grand Vacations owners in the UK that the bu
KwikChex seeing rapidly increasing online threats to consumers and businesses connected to coronavirus Fraudsters delight in exploiting ‘fear factors’ and the coronavirus crisis is demonstrating how they are using it in attempts to scam consumers. This situation particularly suits scammers as so many people are staying
Regulators and consumer organisations have already exposed significant problems with Online Travel Agents (OTAs) – and one small business has already successfully claimed compensation for losses caused by Booking.com Online Travel Agents or OTAs as they are often better known dominate accommodation booking. Hotels and
KwikChex sees an increase in reports from consumers concerned about being caught out by cold-calling rogues offering to get their monies back after losing monies in initial scams. An increasing number of consumers are approaching KwikChex with stories of being contacted by people saying they can get monies back for the
The law is catching up with those involved in ‘Leisure Credits’ and Bogus Holiday Club scams, with arrests, prison sentences and heavy financial penalties taking place. Way back in 2013, the UK European Consumer Centre warned of a new holiday product that was set up to intentionally avoid the legislation that protects
Yahoo Finance, 21st August 2019 The recent presentation of a ‘Hero Award’ by the Chartered Institute of Trading Standards (CTSI) to online investigations and verification business KwikChex highlighted the value of the private sector in fighting what has been an inexorable rise in fraud Since 2010, KwikChex has be
16/07/19 After a KwikChex-initiated BBC exposure of serious food hygiene issues, Just Eat will publish the food hygiene rating of every restaurant listed on its UK delivery platform from today. However there are still improvements that can be made. In the UK, whilst consumers will be able to see the official food hygie
Further actions have taken place in a criminal case that KwikChex supported with evidence gained from investigations and consumer reports. Frank Madden was previously sentenced to 40 months imprisonment for operating a bogus holiday discount club scam and has now been ordered to pay back £20,000 and had further banning
Chris Emmins, Co-founder of KwikChex, appears on Channel 5’s ‘When teens kill’ programme to advise on the potential dangers of online classified ads. It follows a previous KwikChex investigation into the risks of using Gumtree, which include fraud, theft and – as the programme shows, even the possibilty of
Bloomberg have published an article after KwikChex Investigations showed that take away delivery giants are delivering food to consumers from businesses with poor food hygiene ratings. This is part of a more substantial investigation by KwikChex , with further details to be made public soon. ‘Deliveroo and Uber E
KwikChex has once again assisted BBC investigative journalists, providing information on problems with online reviews websites. Director and Co-Founder of KwikChex, Chris Emmins was also interviewed on Adrian Goldberg’s programme. – discussing how TripAdvisor prioritise Online Travel Agents (OTAs) that pay TripAdvisor
Francis (Frank) Madden was yesterday (Tuesday 01 May) sentenced to 40 months imprisonment for scamming consumers in a supposed holiday discount scheme. The sentence was handed down after he changed his plea to guilty on reduced charges. Madden was previously convicted on two occasions and was actually under a suspended
