Shoreline-Media

Following a tip-off from a media contact and receipt of a pdf file purporting to be a media-pack from Shoreline-Media, Gas-News launched an investigation. The result of that investigation is a revolting truth.

Shoreline Media is already well known to Installers for their grossly misleading spin which preceded the first CORGI Installer-Live show in 2005. They are now set to top that by abusing a privileged database. The database containing details of your customers, passed to CORGI in good faith, in support of GWN (Gas Work Notification).

The domain name Shoreline-Media.com resolves to the CORGI Group, in a who-is search. There is overwhelming evidence that the CORGI Group Ltd own Shoreline-Media and share the same address.

Gas Work Notification

Consumers reading this are advised that a condition of CORGI registration [not membership) is that Registered Gas Installers (RGI) notify CORGI of most gas appliance installations. The purpose of that is to enable CORGI to select jobs at random for inspection. Theoretically, any Installer not notifying an installation could be struck off the register.

There is no such thing as CORGI membership. It does not exist.

Media pack

The media pack refers to what they term a magazine called Place. In fact a copy was bundled with the Gas Installer (TGI) magazine this month. It is those pages which are being sent to your customers, without your consent and without their consent.

The pack makes it clear who is being targeted and where they got the names from. To be certain we checked the telephone number (0870 4012529) in the media pack. We ran it through Google and were left in no doubt. The media pack is the real thing.

Gas-News telephoned that number and simply indicated that a copy of the media pack had been received.  Expressing surprise at not having heard of the magazine before, the voice answered that the issue being sent out was the first. She mentioned GWN and immediately confirmed it was indeed the full title, Gas Work Notification (database), when asked.

In answer to a question the voice said that 300,000 were being despatched immediately, in groups of 22,000 to avoid overloading the system.  Obviously those sort of figures suggest CORGI are retracing their steps and abusing the historical database, leaving the question of prior consent unanswered.  That is a question we want answers to.

Place is not incidentally listed at mediauk which catalogues magazines etc, so the £2 price written on the cover is to create some pretence that it has worth; It has not, it is simply adding to  environmental profligacy.

Place

The website URL placemagazine.co.uk resolves to the CORGI Group Ltd as expected and was registered on December 4 2006.

As anyone receiving Place with TGI this month will notice, the advertising includes a company that is probably doing all the work you do for the customers concerned. Not only that, we would suggest you run the name concerned through Google and see what that delivers. Not a pretty sight.

One name in Place, Gas-News has received calls about from a television producer on the trail of rogues. Indeed the same name became a target for Gas-News once upon a time.

And all being sponsored by CORGI, the alleged Gas Safety Watchdog. But they are not actually, ask the HSE and get it in writing. CORGI's role is to maintain a register. The rest is pure profit obtained in a grossly unfair (to other media) market. It is not fair trading in our opinion.

Media cowboys

Gas-News contacted the mailing preference service. You should know that service is a room at the Direct Marketing Association, not some completely independent body. Unfortunately they cannot help in this situation. That service is a voluntary self-regulation scheme.

Although CORGI want to police everything in sight, they apparently don't like being policed themselves. Shoreline Media is not registered with the Direct Marketing Association. The helpful lady there later telephoned and confirmed that CORGI are not known to them either.

Data Protection

CORGI are renowned for their arrogance and this sorry episode sets that in concrete for all time. That truth is inescapable.

Gas-News has been in contact with the Information Commissioner and lodged a formal complaint. It will have to wait in the queue.

Scotland

We do not have information on the circulation or otherwise of Place in Scotland. The law there may prohibit such unethical practices. The Scottish link is provided. Please let Gas-News know if customers in Scotland are attacked by unsolicited mail from CORGI.

Customers

It is highly unlikely but theoretically possible that a customer taking offence at CORGI's abuse of the database could reflect on you. Bear in mind many customers see CORGI as a club or old boy network. If anyone does take offence, refer them to Gas-News or this page.

In the past Gas-News has advised requesting permission from customers before actioning GWN. We were clearly right to. We considered the advice offered by the Information Commissioner to be unsafe. We still do and even more so. Their advice was to cover themselves, not you. Gas-News is concerned about everyone.

We cannot recommend continuing to GWN in the face of this unsafe situation, but if you do you must tell people they may receive junk mail which you and mpsonline, cannot control. At this point in time it is not clear who can, and we live in a democracy. The only guaranteed way is to stop GWN.

The advice Gas-News offered at the outset was that GWN should be handled by a completely independent body, not able to abuse the database as CORGI manifestly are doing. What will it take before the penny drops with the authorities that CORGI is a loose cannon.

This also compromises their self-certifcation role that clearly state they should not abuse that role, and yet they are doing.