Trade Alert: Stratford's targeted by fraudster

Over the past few weeks, Stratford's have been contacted by several dozen French wine producers, mainly from Bordeaux, who have been approached by e-mail and telephone by a person calling himself Mr Brown Franck.

This Mr Franck is attempting to pass himself off as a representative of Stratford's Wine Agencies, and purchase commercial quantities of wine on credit.

Neville Harris, commercial manager Stratford's Wine Agencies, said: "He quotes our head office address and company registration number on his correspondence, along with a UK mobile telephone and fax number. A few producers who have been receptive to the initial contacts have been sent bogus purchase orders by fax."

The UK police are aware of these incidents, and if anyone has any relevant information or has been contacted in a similar way they should report it to:

DS Paul Cheadle
Critical Incident Team
Tottenham Police Station
E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Producers and freight forwarders be aware - if you sell wine or carry out freight forwarding services for this person you will not be paid. If you are unsure as to the credentials of a purchaser using Stratford's details please contact us for verification.

Stratford's Wine Agencies
Tel: +44 (0) 1628 810606
Fax: +44 (0) 1628 810605