PUBS and other Forest firms fear they may have lost money to a company which sold them advertising space on a prestigious noticeboard in the foyer of a sports centre.
For despite taking up to £600 at a time the board never appeared last February at the Heywood Sports Centre when it was supposed to be installed.
None of the advertisers, among them the Belfry Hotel, the Rising Sun pub at Ruspidge and Maddock Plant Hire, has seen any of the money they have so far handed over.
Now Lynn Rowswell of the Belfry is consulting police over what to do next to retrieve her money and cash spent by of other businesses from Scene One UK, the Garstang, Lancs company behind the problem.
"We know of six advertisers and there may be as many as 12, perhaps more," she said.
"Fortunately for us I only paid a deposit by cash and was going to set up a banker's order for the rest but I never heard back from the company," she said.
"There are others though who paid as much as £600 for a two-year advertising agreement – it is always the same, when you try to phone them they always say someone will call you back and then nothing happens."
David Harris at the Heywood Centre confirmed that the company had approached him last September. The deal was that Scene One would pay the leisure centre some £60 a month for 24 months, and they would canvas advertising for 4inx4in, 5inx4in or 6inx4in spaces set around Heywood's listed activities. The board also incorporated a dispenser for the advertisers to use for their flyers.
"We contacted them when February came and went and there was no board but heard nothing back. March came and went, then April and we told them to forget it," he said.
He had many calls from anxious advertisers who said they had not got their money back and could not contact anyone at Scene One to help them, and he was also concerned because it put the Heywood Centre in bad light.
Then just two weeks ago some workmen arrived out of the blue with orders to set up a board in his foyer and they were sent away because of all the bad feeling that had been generated.
When the Review contacted the telephone number left for Scene One the person who answered said the company no longer existed but Viewpoint UK was conducting similar business at the premises.
She said there had been other calls on the matter and she gathered the manager, Mr John Johnson – who was unavailable – was dealing with the matter personally.
When asked: "Does that mean that the people concerned will get their money back?" she replied "I would think so."