WARNING TO SMES ON SUMMER INVOICING CON
Leicestershire Chamber has backed the European Advertising Standards Alliance’s (EASA) reminder that the summer is a busy time for rogue traders whose favourite scam is to send out fake invoices to small businesses. The fraudsters believe their fiddle will be more effective during the holiday season because in many cases senior management will be out of the office, leaving more junior members of staff to make decisions. Companies who are fooled by the con and pay up usually find themselves tied to a contract forcing them to make more payments down the line. Most of the invoices concern subscriptions to print or online business directories.
EASA, a rogue trader prevention taskforce, are trying to put a stop to this kind of activity and to ensure that from now on those behind it don't profit from it. It is vital that SMEs across Europe are aware of these scams and know how to deal with them
EASA has four recommendations to help deal with fake invoices:
• Check all invoices carefully - especially those coming from abroad or from unknown suppliers.
• If you are in doubt about the validity of the invoice, call the company for further details or contact the usual sales representative. All reputable firms will be happy to share information.
• Check the invoice for small print and read it
• If you realise that you've mistakenly paid a fake invoice, contact the company and request an immediate refund and report the mailing to the EASA or your local Trading Standards service.
For regular updates about mailing scams visit the EASA website www.easaalliance.org
NEW POWERS FOR EMDA TO INFLUENCE DEVELOPMENT AND PLANNING
The Government has granted extensive new powers to East Midlands Development Agency (emda) to oversee all important building projects in the region. This follows recent Government legislation that requires all regional development agencies to be consulted in the planning process.
With the new powers, which came into effect on 28h June 2004, local planning authorities will forward details of applications to emda for the agency to advise on. Emda will not have full power of veto but local planning authorities will be required to take the agency’s views into account when reaching their decisions.
The focus will be on applications of regional economic significance, so emda will comment on large scale, job creating proposals, including those that support the key employment sectors of food & drink, clothing & textiles, high performance engineering, healthcare, environmental technology and creative industries. Consultation will also be made on major strategic transport investments such as Nottingham East Midlands Airport.
A dedicated email address has been set for the submission of on line applications at: planning@emd.org.uk
PUBS UNPREPARED FOR LICENSING SHAKE UP
Croner, one of the UK's leading providers of business information and advice, has said that the majority of the UK’s 64,000 license holders are in for a “horrible shock” when a radical overhaul of licensing regulations takes place in September 2005. It has published a guide to help businesses comply with the new laws and further details can be obtained from: www.croner.co.uk/pubandbar
FREE SEMINAR: SAVE MONEY ON BUSINESS ENERGY COSTS
Date: 29th July
Time: 7.30am-10am
Venue: Belmont House Hotel, Leicester
Cost: free of charge to attend
Utility costs have risen considerably in the past year and with UK gas now amongst the most expensive in the world, businesses need to ensure that they are doing everything they possibly can to get the best deal from their energy suppliers. To help business cut energy expenditure Leicestershire Chamber, in partnership with Utility Auditing, offers its members free, impartial and professional advice on energy contracts renewal which can lead to big savings in itself but, going one step further, this seminar has been organised to help local businesses to really make the most of all opportunities to cut those energy bills.
HOWZAT!- A DAY AT THE CRICKET SPONSORED BY NTL
Date: 19th August
Time: 10.30am-6.30pm
Venue: Leicestershire County Cricket Club Ground, Leicester
Cost: £32.00 Members/£40.00 Standard
The annual Chamber cricket day provides guests with the chance to enjoy the Leicestershire V Yorkshire match from a private viewing balcony with personalised match tickets, executive parking and buffet lunch, an excellent corporate hospitality day with great networking opportunities.
EXPORT FOUNDATION COURSE
Date: 25th August
Time: 9am-4.30pm
Venue: Chamber Offices, New Walk, Leicester
Cost: £160 Members/£200 Standard
Beginners course giving an overview of export documentation procedures and practices.
EXPORT DOCUMENTATION COURSE
Date: 1st September
Time: 9am-4.30pm
Venue: Chamber Offices, New Walk, Leicester
Cost: £160 Members/£200 Standard
Covers the preparation of export paperwork including transport documentation and methods of payment and banking.
Leicestershire Chamber of Commerce networking events are
sponsored by Wilson Browne Solicitors
For more details or to book onto Chamber Events please contact the Events Team on Tel: 0116 247 1800. You can also visit www.chamberofcommerce.co.uk and click on What's On/Events.
BROADBAND EXPANSION
BT has revealed the timetable for the expansion of broadband services in the East Midlands. The company is to bring broadband to exchanges serving virtually every home and business (99.9 per cent) in the region by July 2005. This is an increase on the current figure of 88.5 per cent.
ADSL broadband is to be rolled out to a further 106 exchanges in the region that supply 95,751 households. The plans will see coverage reach 95.5 per cent by December 2004.
The smallest 14 exchanges in the region will not be included in the upgrade programme at this stage. These exchanges each serve fewer than 300 premises with the smallest supplying just 120 and none of them had triggers under the previous registration scheme.
The full timetable is available at www.bt.com/broadband.
EAST MIDLANDS PROPERTY AWARDS
The hunt is officially on for the region’s top property stars as part of the 4th annual East Midlands Property Awards. The awards, sponsored by East Midlands Development Agency (emda), are designed to recognise the efforts of those striving for excellence in the field of property development over the last year.
The five categories for the awards are:
. Design Excellence
. Property Deal of the Year
. Creative Land Development
. Regeneration
. Property Personality of the Year
All property professionals in the region are asked to fill in a nomination form and these are available online at www.newsco.com or by emailing Lynda Craig at Lynda.craig@newsco.com.
Nominations must be in by the 23rd July 2004.
E-COMMERCE AWARDS
Only a few weeks remain for technology savvy companies to get their entries in for the chance to win £40,000 in the 2004 e-commerce awards. The annual awards recognise and reward SMEs who have come up with new ideas to improve their performance using information technology.
Sponsored regionally by East Midlands Development Agency (emda), the awards are open to any business with up to 250 employees wanting to compete for a share of the £214,000 total prize fund. There are five awards categories in the East Midlands, with each winner going forward to compete in the national final as well as for three national bonus innovation awards.
Regional and nationally judged awards are:
E-Business
E-Business Start-up
E-Trading
Broadband Communications
Best use of Tele-working
The country is divided into 12 heats, with the East Midlands awards being presented on the 16th September at Nottingham’s Colwick Hall. Winners will then go forward to the national finals in October at the prestigious Grosvenor House Hotel in London. Regional award winners will receive £2,000, national category winners £8,000 and the overall national winner £30,000.
For more information, please visit: www.ecommerce-awards.co.uk
MORE SCAMS
Britain's Independent Committee for the Supervision of Standards of Telephone Information Services (ICSTIS) says it has received a number of complaints about a new scam in which dial-up Internet users are being hit by their log-on connections being diverted through premium-rate telephone numbers, leaving them with hefty phone bills.
Fraudsters appear to be using viruses to change the dial-up number supplied by the user's Internet service provider (ISP) to a premium number. Experts suspect the numbers are being changed by a type of computer "trojan," a malicious piece of software that installs itself on an unwitting computer user's PC.The ICSTIS advises people who suspect they may have been victims to log complaints on its web site: www.icstis.org
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TRADING OPPORTUNITIES IN CHINA - GUANGZHOU INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS INCUBATOR OFFER
In December 2003, a trade mission led by Leicestershire County Council visited the Guangzhou International Business Incubator Centre (GIBI) in China, resulting in a generous offer being made by GIBI to Leicestershire businesses.
This offer means that Leicestershire-based businesses in the high technology sector have the opportunity to utilise rent-free office space (up to 60 square metres) for a period of 12 months within the GIBI incubator centre. This opportunity would be ideal for hi-tech companies interested in developing or strengthening links with China.
The Leicester Shire-Sichuan Trade Bureau is working with Leicestershire County Council and Loughborough Innovation Centre on this opportunity and are organising a seminar to take place on July 28th to publicise this offer to Leicestershire hi-tech businesses and also to provide information on the advice and support available to Leicestershire companies interested in the Chinese market.
If you would like more information about this offer, or about opportunities in China more generally, please register to attend the seminar on July 28th by contacting Annie Shearman on Tel: 01509 228 890, or fax: 01509 228 892, or e-mail: A.Shearman@lboro.ac.uk
For general information about trading opportunities in China, please contact Ms. Min He at the Leicester Shire-Sichuan Trade Bureau on Tel: 0116 258 7312 or e-mail: min.he@blleics.co.uk.