Trading Standards officers in Coventry are warning local residents to beware of an advert offering a "too good to be true" Dolby Prologic Home Cinema 48" television for £195.

A company called Media Services of College Road, London, originally published the advert in the Coventry Evening Telegraph on 27 October. It offered the television on a cash-on-delivery basis.

However, Trading Standards in Coventry have received several complaints from worried individuals who, after replying to the advert, were asked to send cheques or postal orders for £195 to an address in Devon.

Following enquiries with Trading Standards Officers in London and Devon, Coventry officers have discovered the cheques and postal orders are being forwarded to an address in Charante, France. And as far as they are aware, no televisions have been delivered to date.

Principal Trading Standards Officer Andrew Tandy is concerned that people will be sending their money to an address in Devon, unaware it is being forwarded to France. If they do not receive a television it will be extremely difficult to take a civil action against a trader based in France.

Andrew advises consumers replying to such adverts to pay for goods with a cash price over £100 by credit card whenever possible, so they are protected by the Consumer Credit Act 1974.

If anyone does receive a television, Andrew would like to know so he can put other concerned individuals’ minds at rest.