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Ste |
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Ste Not Work Safe
Joined: 01 Sep 2002 Karma :
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Posted: 20:07 - 22 May 2017 Post subject: scam mum and daughter licking Poundworld staff feet(update) |
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A girl and her mother were subjected to a torturous two-and-a-half-hour hoax in Barnstaple's Poundworld last week during which they were ridden like horses by members of staff and forced to lick their feet by a prank caller who was impersonating a charity worker.
Naomi Desmond, 24, and her mother Pamela Desmond, 55, had gone into Poundworld in Barnstaple on Saturday, May 13, to do some last minute shopping ahead of their holiday.
At 4.30pm a man purporting to be from a charity based in Cork, Ireland, called the store and told staff to close it for a team training exercise that would involve entering two members of the public into a competition.
Naomi and her mother were the only shoppers in the store and we told they could win £3,000. They were then taken by the manager into the store room at the back of the shop, where they spoke to the caller.
Naomi said: "He was asking us who were and where we worked and stuff like that, but I obviously didn't want to disclose where I worked so I just said I worked in a café."
The prank caller, who managed to dupe both the staff and Naomi and her mother, then made them carry out a serious of "humiliating and embarrassing" tasks around the store.
The manager and another member of staff were told to tie string around Naomi and Pamela's ears, throw water over them, draw on their faces with pens and make them crawl around the store on their hands and knees. The mother and daughter were also ridden like horses around the store and told to lick the staff's feet.
Throughout the hoax Naomi and her mother were referred to by the two female members of staff as "ugly and "beast" and in return had to refer to the manager as "beautiful lady".
"I started to think this was a scam and my mum then mentioned this to the staff and eventually we left saying if this was a prank we would want compensation. The manager asked to take my number and promised to let me know what happened," she said.
Naomi then received a call on her mobile from the prank caller. "The manager must have been contacted by him again and given him my number.
"He said to go back to the store and when you arrive, you have to knock on the door on your hands and knees. You have ten minutes left to win the money."
Naomi and her mother then returned as did as instructed and the ordeal continued for another half an hour. Eventually the manager of the store called the company's HR and was told to contact the police.
According to her daughter, Pamela who is 55 and has one arm, is horrified by the ordeal. "We are both too scared to go into pound world now. I had to go in again to get these special straws for the holiday because it was the only place where I could get them, and I had to go in with accompanied with other people because I was scared," Naomi said.
"I sustained injuries, my knees were red raw and I had marks on my wrists, arms and back," she added.
A Poundworld spokesperson said: "We apologise unreservedly to our customer for their experience at our Barnstaple store, which our team also fell victim of.
"The incident has been referred to the police and we are assisting them with their enquiries.
"We have conducted our own investigation and re-issued guidance to our stores around the verification of telephone calls to help ensure something such as this does not happen again in the future."
Poundworld has apologised to the family and offered them a £200 Poundworld voucher.
"That was it. It's ridiculous," said Naomi. "We want to sue but we can't because the police don't know who it is," she said.
https://m.devonlive.com/mother-and-daughter-ridden-like-horses-and-told-to-lick-the-feet-of-staff-in-barnstaple-poundworld/story-30347088-detail/story.html
Last edited by Ste on 13:47 - 25 May 2017; edited 1 time in total |
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t121anf |
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t121anf World Chat Champion
Joined: 23 Feb 2007 Karma :
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Rogerborg |
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Rogerborg nimbA
Joined: 26 Oct 2010 Karma :
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Posted: 20:40 - 22 May 2017 Post subject: |
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Desire for compo outweighs the desire to not publicise their idiocy for all to see.
Anyway, good job, Ste. ____________________ Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike |
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Polarbear |
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Polarbear Super Spammer
Joined: 24 Feb 2007 Karma :
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Posted: 20:49 - 22 May 2017 Post subject: |
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When it said 'ridden like horses', I had different pictures in my head ____________________ Triumph Trophy Launch Edition |
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Rogerborg |
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Rogerborg nimbA
Joined: 26 Oct 2010 Karma :
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Ste |
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Ste Not Work Safe
Joined: 01 Sep 2002 Karma :
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Posted: 13:46 - 25 May 2017 Post subject: |
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Iceland staff 'had to pretend to be a vacuum cleaner' for mum and teen in SECOND hoax caller case
Iceland employees were ordered to carry out humiliating tasks by a mystery caller falsely claiming to be from head office - closely resembling a similarly bizarre incident in North Devon.
Michelle Simpson, 35, contacted Devon Live after reading the unusual account of a two-and-a-half-hour challenge at Poundworld in Barnstaple.
She says she instantly recognised similarities between the ordeal of Naomi, 24, and Pamela Desmond, 55, with her and her daughter's own in the budget supermarket.
In both cases, a caller with an Irish accent, claiming to be from the company's head office, told staff to select a member of the public to enter a competition with a £3,000 prize.
The caller then went on to tell Michelle to order two members of staff to carry out a series of bizarre and humiliating challenges - ordering one to "pretend to be a hoover" and another to "hide under a table until they were needed."
"When I read it similarities stood out straight away," explains Michelle, "Except for me and my daughter the roles were reversed and we were asked to do things to the staff.
"He told us we could win £3,000 and electrical items from Currys. It all seemed so real and legitimate at first, he was really professional sounding and it certainly did not sound like a hoax."
The bizarre prank happened at a branch of Iceland in the Bittern area of Southampton on Wednesday April 5.
When Michelle and daughter Ashleigh, 16, were purchasing essentials a member of staff asked if they would like to take part in a competition.
Other customers had refused the offer as they had been "in a rush", however Michelle said she plenty of time - and agreed to take part. She was then told take the phone and carry out his instructions
Some of the humiliating tasks included getting Iceland employees to lick the shoppers' feet, crouch down to act as a stool for them to rest their legs on and even "pretend to be a vacuum cleaner."
The workers also had to refer to Michelle and her daughter as "lovely" and "beautiful."
The pair had to refer the workers as "beast", and at one point Michelle was asked to find a "tall and beautiful" person in the shop to pass the phone to.
"I couldn't find anyone who matched the description, but I found a small elderly lady. She was a good sport, bless her. She then took over from me in order the staff to do the strange things.
Michelle said: "We cottoned on that it was a hoax after around 40 minutes, we were tired, confused and it felt like they wanted us to hurt the staff with our feet.
"he wanted our numbers to contact us again, but we had had enough and just wanted to leave.
"It was very surreal. It just makes you wonder."
Michelle adds that, while astonished by the incident, she still shops at the branch. She has not seen the two 'humiliated' members of staff since.
Iceland has confirmed that their staff were indeed fooled by the caller.
A spokesperson for Iceland said: "We can only apologise to the customers involved for their experience at our Bitterne store. Our team also fell victim to this hoax."
Michelle has not contacted the police over the incident.
Following the similar incident in Barnstaple, a Poundworld spokesperson said: "We apologise unreservedly to our customer for their experience at our Barnstaple store, which our team also fell victim of.
"The incident has been referred to the police and we are assisting them with their enquiries.
"We have conducted our own investigation and re-issued guidance to our stores around the verification of telephone calls to help ensure something such as this does not happen again in the future."
Poundworld has apologised to the family and offered them a £200 Poundworld voucher.
https://www.devonlive.com/iceland-staff-8216-had-to-pretend-to-be-a-vacuum-cleaner-8217-for-mum-and-teen-in-second-hoax-caller-case/story-30352634-detail/story.html |
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Monkeywrenche... |
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Monkeywrenche... Nearly there...
Joined: 27 Mar 2015 Karma :
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thepuma |
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thepuma World Chat Champion
Joined: 16 Jul 2012 Karma :
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Old Thread Alert!
The last post was made 6 years, 329 days ago. Instead of replying here, would creating a new thread be more useful? |
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