OAP, 71, sues for €10,000 mailshot

A 71-YEAR-OLD has won a five-year battle against a mailshot company who sent her a letter saying she had “won €10,000” – then claimed it was just an invitation to a draw. A court has ruled that she must be paid the money.

Although most people throw such direct mail letters straight into the bin, Normandy resident Lucienne Harley instead called the Belgian company Duchesne TV Direct Distribution to claim “her” €10,000.

The company said she was mistaken and that the letter was only an invitation to take part in the draw but determined Mme Harley took them to court because, as she told RTL Radio: “I have only €800 a month to live on.”

She won the first hearing in Lisieux but this was overturned on appeal in Caen before being sent to the Cours des Cassation supreme appeal court in Paris which ruled that the cash was definitely hers.

The court said if people were told they had won a large sum and it was not clear at a glance there may be provisos, the “winnings” should be paid.

Boulogne-sur-mer lawyer Gerard Barron said this was the latest win against direct mail firms: “The case law is now quite clear. If you need to be a lawyer to understand the documents... or if it is difficult or impossible to understand that the ‘winnings’ are a mere possibility, then the author of the marketing ‘puff ’ must pay”.

He added: “Few firms in France now market their wares this way to French recipients. This sort of publicity now comes mostly from unidentifiable (or non-existent) firms in Holland, China, Canada or Indian reservations in the US. All should be ignored and thrown away.”

Mme Harley was helped with legal aid throughout and said: “They appealed because they knew they were in the wrong and were hoping I would let it all drop. It gave me a little bit of pleasure.

“As a bonus, I have never received any ‘pub’ [unwanted direct mail] since starting this five years ago.”

She added: “I will feel it’s all over once I get the cheque and if I get it before Christmas I’ll buy myself a little present.”

The ruling has sparked what could be the final countdown for TV Direct Distribution as the Belgian fraud watchdog DGCM has launched proceedings at the behest of the French and British governments after many complaints.

The DGCM told the company to stop its mailshots by November 16. There was no reply at its Nivelles offices.