THE "unbelievable offer" industry is booming. Householders are bombarded with "once in a lifetime" deals.

In breathless prose, delivered down the telephone or by mailshot, we are informed that this is our lucky day. We have been "specially selected" to be the "guaranteed" recipients of a free holiday/car/television. All we need to do to claim our prize is...

That is when the worldly-wise put down the phone or bin the letter.

Unfortunately, enough trusting people respond to keep this dubious business in profit.

Today, concerns are mounting over UK Consumer Competitions' offer of a "free holiday". Fifty people have complained to York trading standards. They have sent off their "processing fee" and have yet to receive their holiday.

This sounds depressingly familiar. Last year, the Evening Press reported how residents had signed up for a free holiday in a promotion run by Step Management Ltd and Global Vacations. They too paid a "processing fee"; they too heard nothing.

Trading standards officers are constantly warning people to be wary of such offers. Perhaps the most outrageous was the US-based deception where residents were telephoned and told they had won $1 million; they just needed to send £5,000 to clear American taxes.

Consumer law offers some protection. In the end, however, it is up to each one of us to be vigilant. Anything that seems too good to be true probably is, and should be avoided.

Unfortunately, the people who are vulnerable to this sort of marketing are often those who can least afford to lose the money. Parents who would otherwise not be able to afford a break leap at the chance of a "free" family holiday. Pensioners skimping to get by do the same.

These companies also rely on the embarrassment of those who have fallen for their spiel. For every person who complains about losing their money, many more do not.

There is only one lesson here. Never believe in the unbelievable offer.

Updated: 10:25 Thursday, August 09, 2001