Western Services Division

When solicited by telemarketers offering business supplies be aware that they may be operating as an office supply scam. Complaints against this type of company generally allege that telemarketers mislead consumers in believing they are the regular supplier misrepresent product offers ship unauthorized orders or charge exorbitant fees for supplies. The scam entails a telemarketer calling employees to fast talk them into buying toner or other supplies at a "discount". The employees are tricked into giving out information about their copier and are mislead into thinking they are dealing with their office equipment provider. In order to gather as much information as they can the telemarketer may call several times to gather bits of information. The company is then overcharged for the product and often sent invoices for products they never ordered or even received. The scammers may try and claim the shipment was ordered by an employee of the company thereby claiming payment is mandatory. They may also offer to accept the shipment back provided a substantial restocking fee accompanies the return. Companies may begin receiving letters demanding payment in full and threatening court action if the company refuses to pay. Realize this is all part of the scam. Companies that give into the pressure and send payment may be setting themselves up for numerous additional episodes of the scam.~~There are a number of practices you can implement that will prevent office supply scams from victimizing your company. Knowing how these scams work and preparing your business for dealing with them will decrease your risk of falling victim to toner scams. Employee education is the first line of defense. Train your employees to handle these types of calls. To minimize misunderstandings designate one employee to whom all calls regarding office supplies must be directed. Train employees who are not authorized to order goods and services to clearly say so and to direct the caller to the authorized personnel. Do not give anyone information about your photocopiers printers and fax machines. Request that the caller send a catalog or brochure describing the items and its prices. If unordered merchandise arrives send the shipper a certified letter with return receipt requested demanding proof of your order. If there is no valid proof inform the sender that unless the merchandise is picked up within 30 days you will dispose of it. By giving the sender an opportunity to recover the merchandise you invalidate any claim that you accepted an offer of sale merely by keeping the shipment. Under federal law you are entitled to regard unordered merchandise sent through the U.S. mail as a free gift. The same law makes it illegal to mail bills for such unordered merchandise. If you suspect an office supply scam file a complaint.