Indian textual offender harrases UK victims

Pune company Vintels is making £7.50 on each spam message sent to customers in the UK 

► Had the firm been operating in Britain, it would have been fined for the 5,00,000 spam texts

IN PUNE MIRROR

Danish Khan

December 10, 2012

Vintels operates out of its office opposite City Pride on Pune-Satara Road (above). Over 5,00,000 spam texts (shown below) are sent daily to the UK, urging unsuspecting consumers to claim refunds from banks selling Payment Protection Insurance A Pune-based company has been uncovered as a major source of spam text messages and unwanted calls in the United Kingdom. Jayessh Shah, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Vinayak Infotech and Telecommunications Solutions (Vintels) is alleged to be the man behind 5,00,000 unwanted text messages sent every day to Britons. Had Shah been operating in the UK, his company would have been shut down and heavily fined under the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR). Instead, Shah makes £7.50 for every reply received to the messages sent. Shah made this claim to an undercover reporter of the Mail on Sunday which broke the story in the UK on Sunday. Two similar British companies were recently fined £440,000 for sending spam text messages. Shah’s business model reflects the globalised economy by virtue of which a Pune-based company using servers in the USA sends text messages through its Goa offices to unsuspecting people in the UK. Mobile numbers in the UK are all of 11 digits and start with 07, making it comparatively easy to send spam text messages. More than two million Britons are estimated to have been sold Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) without full information from banks. People take out PPIs to ensure that loans they have taken out are serviced in case they die, lose their jobs or are unable to work. In the UK, people have been sold policies without taking into consideration their different needs, circumstances and eligibility conditions. This means they were given insufficient information or were misled into buying PPI that was not suitable for them, making such consumers eligible for refund/ compensation from banks. Sensing a large market, several claims management companies (CMC) are on the constant lookout for such victims to earn commission. It is here that Jayessh Shah and his company play an important role by selling numbers that respond to their text to CMC for a hefty sum. A typical text reads: Records indicate you may be entitled to circa £2650 in compensation from the misselling of PPI on credit cards or loans. For info reply PPI or to opt out stop. The moment a person replies ‘PPI’ or even ‘stop’, it confirms that the number is active and fetches money from CMCs. The Mail on Sunday reporter contacted Vintel posing as a company representative and fixed a meeting with Shah. A deal was struck for £1,800 in return for 2000 numbers that had already been sold to a CMC before. Shah said that he has made millions in the last seven years. According to Shah, he has a database of 1.6 million people who have replied positively to his spam text messages. This reporter called Shah’s number in India and also sent him a text but received no response. Meanwhile, victims of these text messages are becoming increasingly harassed. Colonel Mukul Verma (Retd) who lives in central London has been bombarded with spam text messages regarding PPI claims. “I receive SMSes regarding PPI claims every other day. It is very annoying and disturbs me no end. I have discovered that the best response is to ignore them and not even respond with the ‘stop’ option.”

►  I receive SMSes regarding PPI claims every other day. It is very annoying and disturbs me no end -  Colonel Mukul Verma (RETD), Who lives in central London

3 years after 26/11: Brit guest Will Pike sues Taj

Will Pike who was left wheelchair-bound after the attack cites poor security

Pike fell and broke his spine while trying to climb down from his room using bed sheets

Danish Khan

Mumbai Mirror
Cover Story

In London A little over three years after the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, a Londoner who broke his spine trying to escape the slaughter at the Taj Mahal Palace hotel is suing its owners, the Indian Hotels Company controlled by Tata Sons.

Will Pike, who is confined to a wheelchair now, was at the Taj with his girlfriend Kelly Doyle when terrorists struck the sea-facing hotel. He has approached the High Court in London, where the Indian Hotels Company owns two five-star properties - St. James Court and 51 Buckingham Gate.

The terrorists, who entered the hotel from the rear, had killed 31 people over a three-day siege of the hotel.

In his lawsuit, Pike, an advertising copywriter, has expressed anguish over Tata Sons chairman Ratan Tata's interview to CNN International in which he claimed the hotel staff had been warned of a terror attack. Pike has said that with foreknowledge of the attack, the hotel staff could have done much more to protect guests.

Pike and his girlfriend had hid in the bathroom when the terrorists took control of the hotel. However, as the room filled with smoke from fires set off by the terrorists, Pike smashed a window with a table to get out of the room. He used a knotted bed-sheet and curtains to lower himself and his girlfriend down. However, he fell down as the curtains and bed-sheets could not take the weight. The fall snapped his backbone.

Russell Levy, Pike's lawyer, said the Indian Hotels Company had previously refused to entertain his client's compensation claim. "This is not a case of vengeance. We recognise it was an attack by terrorist. My client is seeking claim for damages as he is confined to a wheelchair. He will need care to look for himself."

According to Levy the couple had gone to India on a pleasure trip and had booked a room in Taj as they wanted to stay in an expensive hotel in Mumbai. "It was unfortunate that the attack happened the same night in the same hotel where they were. Pike's girlfriend saw him fall down and got a shock as she thought he was dead. She was rescued by the fire brigade later."

Levy told Mumbai Mirror that the steps taken by the hotel were inadequate. When asked whether a London court could hear the case as the attacks took place in Mumbai, Levy said: "The court will decide on that. We do not think they (the Indian Hotels Company) will be at any disadvantage. It is a big group with presence in the UK and they can afford the best lawyers."

A public relations officer of the Tata Group in Mumbai on Friday refused to comment on the matter because it is subjudiced.