# Mouth and Foot Painting Artists spam



## Ceist Beag (14 Nov 2008)

We received a bundle of Christmas cards in the post today from Mouth and Foot Painting Artists with a note asking if we could support them by paying for the cards. First of all I'd like to know how they received our address but secondly has anyone else received something like this and do they know how you can get yourself off this mailing list? On point of principle I refuse to support any charity which imposes itself on you like this but also from a quick google there seems to be suspicion around how genuine this organisation is (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Association_of_Mouth_and_Foot_Painting_Artists_of_the_World).


----------



## truthseeker (14 Nov 2008)

What happens if you just dont pay for them?


----------



## olddoll (14 Nov 2008)

I was getting these in the post for a number of years.  I kept returning them but eventually I threw them in the bin.  I haven't received them in recently years, so fingers crossed they won't come this year either.


----------



## Cahir (14 Nov 2008)

truthseeker said:


> What happens if you just dont pay for them?



Nothing, I think.  The letter says you don't have to buy or send back the cards but they'd be happy if you did.


----------



## Ceist Beag (14 Nov 2008)

Cahir said:


> Nothing, I think.  The letter says you don't have to buy or send back the cards but they'd be happy if you did.



Exactly. We're not under any obligation, I'd just be more concerned about first how they got our details, but second why they think this is a good way to raise money (we will be dumping the cards in the bin so the cost of printing and posting is wasted on them).


----------



## MandaC (14 Nov 2008)

They are part of my childhood.  My mam has been getting them for the past 30 years.
Dont know how genuine they are, or how much goes to the actual artists, in those days you never questioned a charity.


----------



## mick_irl (14 Nov 2008)

I got a pack of these in the post this morning too.

Judging by the way the address was written on the envelope, they got my details from the phone book.


----------



## Bessa (14 Nov 2008)

W e got two packs last week but on opening them they turned out to be a mixture of cards and not Christmas cards. We usually pay for the Xmas cards, but we returned the misc. cards.


----------



## Celtwytch (14 Nov 2008)

My mother has been receiving them for years.  Mostly she buys them, and is quite happy to do so.  If you don't want them, simply send them back with a letter asking to have your name removed from their mailing list.  My mother returned a pack of miscellaneous cards (as mentioned by a previous poster) and asked to have only the Christmas ones sent, and the organisation complied.  

They probably do get the names and addresses from the phone book.  If you don't want your details used in this way, there is a way to opt out of it.  Check your phone book for details - as far as I recall, there was a number to ring to make sure your details are not freely distributed.


----------



## michaelm (14 Nov 2008)

I got those cards for a few years and I'm not in the phone book.  I never paid for them nor returned them; didn't land last Christmas.


----------



## chrisboy (14 Nov 2008)

michaelm said:


> I got those cards for a few years and I'm not in the phone book.  I never paid for them nor returned them; didn't land last Christmas.



I'm not in the phonebook either, and i got a set sent to my old house where my ex and kids live yesterday, same story only i haven't lived there in 3 years!!

Not sendin any money either..


----------



## joanmul (14 Nov 2008)

I got them a couple of times and finally sent them back and haven't got them since.


----------



## Simeon (14 Nov 2008)

Taken from the voters reg I think. Got mine yesterday and was wondering why so few Irish artists appeared. The bin!


----------



## mct1 (14 Nov 2008)

We've been getting these for a few years now. Don't really mind as we'd only ever buy charity Xmas cards anyway so they all get used. They used to send us 2 packs - one each - but I asked them to stop sending mine and they did straight away. I'm actually quite happy to send them a few quid each year and in my view, it's neither a spam nor a scam. I get loads of begging letters from charities and at least this crowd send you something you can use. I assume they get the addresses from Golden Pages or the Business directory as I'm not in the residential phone book.


----------



## MB05 (14 Nov 2008)

I got them too and I won't be buying them.  It's the principle of the thing.  If I want to support a charity then I have a right to choose it.  I don't want some organisation sending me something and expecting me to send them money for it.  In my opinion they are expensive too.  €9.90 for a couple of cards and a few gift tags and you have postage on top of that too.  

Someone in work was selling Christmas cards on behalf of Down Syndrome Ireland.  It was €6 for 7 cards.  I bought some of these instead.  Still a worthwhile cause but at least I got to choose whether I bought them or not and I know all the money is going straight to the charity.


----------



## frash (11 Nov 2011)

3 years later & they're still at it
Got mine yesterday.

People obviously send them money back or they wouldn't still be trying it.

Mine went in recycling.


----------



## Purple (11 Nov 2011)

Use them; think of them as a Christmas present!


----------



## dewdrop (16 Nov 2011)

I have been getting them and paying for same for many years.  I  regard their arrival as the first reminder of Christmas


----------



## joanmul (3 Dec 2011)

I was getting them too and just put return to sender on them. Haven't got them in very recent years.


----------



## STEINER (3 Dec 2011)

used to get them, never paid for them as I didn't ask for them.  useful source of free white envelopes.


----------



## gipimann (3 Dec 2011)

Pack of cards arrived the other day, addressed to the previous owner who left 7 years ago.  They've never been sent here before, and the voter's register is definitely up to date, so I'm not sure where they're trawling for names & addresses!


----------



## RedDevil (4 Dec 2011)

*Sale of Goods and Supply of Services Act 1980*

*Unsolicited goods  s. 47*
(1) Where—
(a) unsolicited goods *are sent* to a person with a view to his acquiring them and are received by him, and
(b) the recipient has *neither agreed to acquire nor agreed to return* them,
and either—
(i) during the *period of six months* following the date of receipt of the goods the sender did not take possession of them and the recipient did not unreasonably refuse to permit the sender to do so, *or*
(ii) not less than *30 days* before the expiration of that period the recipient gave notice to the sender and during the following 30 days the sender did not take possession of the goods and the recipient did not unreasonably refuse to permit the sender to do so,
then the *recipient may treat the goods as if they were an unconditional gift* to him and any right of the sender to the goods shall be extinguished.
(2) The notice referred to in subsection (1) shall be in writing and shall state—
(a) the recipient’s name and address and the address at which the sender may take possession of the goods (if not the same) and
(b) that the goods are unsolicited.
(3) A person who, not having reasonable cause to believe there is a right to payment, in the course of any business, makes a demand for payment, or asserts a present or prospective right to payment for what he knows are unsolicited goods sent to another person with a view to his acquiring them, shall be guilty of *an offence*.
(4) A person who, not having reasonable cause to believe there is a right to payment in the course of any business and with a view to obtaining any payment for what he knows or ought to know are unsolicited goods—
(a) threatens to bring any legal proceedings,
(b) places or causes to be placed the name of any person on a list of defaulters or debtors or threatens to do so, or
(c) invokes or causes to be invoked any other collection procedure or threatens to do so,
shall be guilty of *an offence*.
(5) In this section—
“acquire” includes hire,
“send" includes deliver,
“sender” includes any person on whose behalf or with whose consent the goods are sent and any other person claiming through or under the sender or any such person,
“unsolicited” means, in relation to goods sent to any person, that they are sent without any prior request by him or on his behalf.

********Just keep and use next year*******************


----------



## RedDevil (4 Dec 2011)

From Wikipedia

The *Association of Mouth and Foot Painting Artists of the World (AMFPA)* was founded as the *Vereinigung der Mund- und Fussmalenden Künstler in aller Welt, e. V. (VDMFK)*[1], in Liechtenstein in 1956. It is a commercial group of publishing houses that employs artists, who, for reasons of illness, accident or congenital disability have no use of their hands, and who use either their mouth or feet to create their work.
Prominent members include Alison Lapper and Simona Atzori.
The main product of the company is Christmas cards with motifs painted by the member artists. These cards are sold every year in the months leading up to Christmas via direct mailing in 46 countries around the world (2004). Other products available through AMFPA include postcards, art prints and calendars.
The parent company in Liechtenstein acquires the reproduction rights of a given artwork and distributes it internationally. The original works are also sold at exhibitions held throughout the world. ....
The AMFPA has in later years been the subject of several exposés in German, French, Swiss, Swedish, Norwegian, Polish, British, Canadian and Danish media, suggesting unethical behaviour within the organization. The coverage has spurred criticism from charity, consumer and handicap organizations. The criticism includes:

That AMFPA effectively poses as a charity organization although it is purely a commercial venture, in effect conning charitable people out of money..[2][3][4] [5]
That only a fraction of the surplus is paid out to the handicapped artists, since only 94 (2008) of them are fully employed by the company, which in turn allegedly turns a world wide profit in the hundreds of millions US$. [5][6][7]The precise world wide profit is confidential.
That high salaries, favourable loans and property lease contracts are given to AMFPAs long-time legal adviser Herbert Batliner, his friends and family and other lawyers employed at the AMFPA. [2][4][5][7] Recently retired Batliner is himself a controversy, being previously accused of money laundering for Colombian drug barons and for his alleged involvement in the 1999 German CDU contribution scandal.[8][9]
That funds are being diverted to unknown parties via a network of "mailbox" companies. [6][7]
The use of high pressure sales tactics by sending its main sales item, Christmas card packages to consumers via unsolicited direct mail with an option to pay afterwards.[4]
The secrecy maintained by the company.


----------



## santin (20 Nov 2012)

*Scam*

It is a scam, since when does Saint Patrick's day fall on the 18th of March.


----------



## Leo (20 Nov 2012)

santin said:


> It is a scam, since when does Saint Patrick's day fall on the 18th of March.


 
Pardon?


----------



## orka (20 Nov 2012)

I thought the question/comment was a windup so wasn't going to bother replying.  I presume the M&F calendar has St Patricks Day as March 18th - which obviously isn't strictly correct but in 2013, the SPD bank holiday is on Monday the 18th so the calendar is correct if it lists it as St Patricks Day Holiday ~ March 18th.


----------



## Leo (21 Nov 2012)

I was wondering why someone would register to post such a comment to a year old thread!


----------



## Time (21 Nov 2012)

Because it is that time of year again. These guys are over active from mid November each year.


----------



## amtc (22 Nov 2012)

Yeah I got a packet this morning


----------



## RichInSpirit (22 Nov 2012)

I think they're very handy as I don't have to buy Christmas cards then. 
Not that I sent a lot of them of course.
Sure they won't know if they're paid for or not


----------



## moonman (25 Nov 2012)

i received them for years , and i never paid for them , as i only pay for something i ask for. i sent them as christmas cards to family and friends for years . eventually they stopped sending them to me.  i wouldn't mind a couple of packets of them this year the way things are.


----------

