The adverts that deliver nothing
 | | The Networking Success magazine |
Chantal Poole from Gloucester had always dreamed of running her own successful business. So when a salesman told her that advertising in his magazine would help her to find new clients for her product, she decided it sounded like an offer she'd be foolish to turn down. She paid him about £800 for two adverts. The salesman was calling from Networking Success magazine, based in Chew Magna. He told Chantal that 20,000 copies of the magazine would be sold in WH Smiths and leading independent newsagents. He said the adverts would generate 100 responses. But the phone didn't ring, and Chantal began to suspect the deal wasn't all it was cracked up to be. Networking success? Soon, Chantal discovered a website, set up by Daren Burbridge, to warn other people that the sales team at 'Networking Success' were being less than truthful about their publication.
It emerged that dozens of small business owners had been targeted in a similar way to Chantal - and all of them discovered their investment led nowhere. "These people knew I was fairly new in business and they also knew from the conversations I had that I had a young family so for them to continue to pursue their scam and take my money from me and actually not produce what they promised is I think unforgivable." Chantal Poole.
Inside Out West has investigated Networking Success magazine and discovered that the two men behind the publication are Tony Ferrand and Matthew Hewett.  | | Tony Ferrand - well known West Country journalist |
Mr Ferrand is a well known figure in West Country publishing, who has worked as a freelance journalist in the region for 25 years. Matthew Hewett is a former bankrupt, who teamed up with Tony Ferrand in 2001. One of the magazines they produced was called 'Business World'. The sales team for 'Business World' made some very misleading claims. They told potential advertisers the magazine would be available on board British Airways flights. But that wasn't true. And British Airways was not impressed. When the company heard about it, it wrote to Matthew Hewett accusing him of a "malicious falsehood". Checking the claims In 2005, the company behind 'Business World' was wound up and the two men set up 'Networking Success'. So how easy is it to get hold of a copy? Inside Out West checked 60 newsagents at random across the West Country. We discovered the magazine wasn't available in a single shop. And that's not surprising because one of the printing firms used by Mr Ferrand and Mr Hewett told us that the average print run it handled was just 2,300 copies, far fewer than the circulation claims made by the sales team.  | | Sammy McNeill paid for an advert in the magazine |
WH Smith newsagents confirmed it had never stocked the magazine. But that's not the end of the story. Some of 'Networking Success' magazine's advertisers discovered that money had been taken from their credit or debit cards without their permission. Sammy McNeill paid £311 for an advert and then received a phone call asking if she wanted to take out a larger advert. She said she needed time to make up her mind, and was horrified when she found out that £998 had been taken from her account without permission to pay for an advert she hadn't agreed to. At least a dozen other people have reported similar experiences.
Sometimes the money was paid back, sometimes it wasn't. Claims denied Neither Matthew Hewett nor Tony Ferrand were prepared to be interviewed by the BBC but both men issued statements through a public relations agency, denying all the claims made by the advertisers. Mr Ferrand's statement said he "strongly refuted the allegations being made about his business practices". He said: "All advertising, in whatever publication has no guarantee of success and we believe we offered a value for money publication in a difficult response sector".
He went on to say that he was unconnected with the company which publishes 'Networking Success', other than as a freelance journalist/editor, and the British Airways promotion was simply "a mistake". Mr Hewett's statement said: "With regard to over-zealous sales practices, we would wish to point out that any complaints of this nature are investigated and if found to be correct full refunds are made. On one occasion when this occurred not only were the advertisers refunded in full but the salesman concerned was dismissed from the company."
He added,"We take our responsibilities very seriously and endeavour to provide as wide a coverage as possible. "We are always trying new promotions to boost circulation and response, some of these promotions are successful, some less so."
Links relating to this story:The BBC is not responsible for the content of external websites | 
Inside Out - West: Monday January 23, 2006
