Latest News from Amaryllis Design Agency

Latest News

BREIG launches new site
New E-Commerce Platform launching
Mega Monday's sales bonanza
Microsoft's free A/V package
Corporate Telephone Preference Service reduces unsolicited phone calls
Ofcom may raise fines to £2 million for silent phone calls Domain Name scams continue
Beware Chinese Domain Name scams
Bank fined £50,000 for nuisance phone calls
New Amaryllis service for micro-businesses and startups
We're ten years old!
Local firm hit by fraudulent web site scam

BREIG Launch new web site

Dec 2009 Yorkshire Fund Managers (YFM) in Leeds chose Amaryllis Design Agency Ltd to relaunch its online web site dedicated to providing regional grants for energy savings and waste reduction.

Our extensive experience within industry enabled us to create a brochure website that was attractive to the typical industry visitor and easy to use.

Amaryllis Design has been pleased to assist YFM Group in the past with designing or handling key web sites including Manufacturing Masters and the Manufacturing Advisory Service for Yorkshire & Humber (MAS YH).

New E-Commerce platform coming shortly

After successful trials, Amaryllis Design Agency expects to launch a new ECommerce product that offers powerful industry features and an all-bespoke design. Suitable for small-medium businesses as well as larger scale enterprises. Watch this space for more details!

Mega Monday's sales bonanza

Dec. 2009 The Americans have 'Black Friday' (the Friday after Thanksgiving Day) followed by Cyber Monday, and now the UK is recognising the pre-Christmas trend for rushing online to buy the best Christmas bargains. December 7th this year was dubbed 'Mega Monday' in Britain with a reported bonanza worth £5 billion in online sales.

In the USA, Cyber Monday saw in a 20% surge in online traffic but never the less, sales fell below expectations as retailers and consumers continue to feel the effects of recession.

Microsoft's free new anti virus package

Dec 2009 Microsoft has joind the fray with its new anti-virus software product called Microsoft Security Essentials. This free package helps protect against viruses, spyware or malware and is available to users of genuine Microsoft Windows, including Version 7. Now there is no reason not to have antivirus software running on your PC. More details...

Corporate Telephone Preference Service helps reduce nuisance calls

Dec 2009 Everyone hates junk phone calls. Even businesses likeours is plagued at times by such unsolicited calls. By logging your number with CTPS, it is possible to reduce the number of unsolicited phone calls received on a business line. However it only relates to UK-originating calls. Visit the Information Commissioner's web site for more details of privacy regulations.

Ofcom may raise fines for silent phone calls to £2 million

Oct. 2009 Silent or abandoned phone calls are a major cause of complaint by consumers. They are generated by automated equipment and can cause distress for vulnerable people as well as being a major nuisance in themselves. Now Ofcom is seeking to raise the fine to up to £2 million, having fined Barclaycard £50,000 last year. More details from Ofcom...

• Did you know? It is unlawful for businesses to make cold telephone calls without confirming first whether the recipient has opted out of receiving them. See the Telephone Preference Service web site.

Domain Name Scams continue

1/5/09 Unsolicited phone calls trying to pressurise web site owners into buying exorbitantly priced domains continue to occur. Have a look at the independently-run Domain Name Scams website for specific details of alleged scammers. Do you recognise any names or phone numbers?

A .co.uk domain name costs about £10 for two years, so if you are offered 15 domains for £1,500 think twice!

Beware Chinese Domain Name Sales scams

1/5/09 Reports of domain name frauds originating from Asia are once again arising. Beware of unsolicited Emails from e.g. China claiming that someone has tried to register Chinese domains with names similar to [yours]. They claim to have researched your company's details and are offering you 'preferential registration'.

These messages come from authentic-sounding domain sellers such as 'Shanghai National Internet Information Center'. As always, avoid being 'bounced' into buying domains from unsolicited sources. The authority for Chinese domain names is the state-owned CNNIC (China Internet Network Information Centre) at www.cnnic.net.cn/en/index/0Q/index.htm

You can research domain availability for yourself using Easily or Namecheap.

Bank fined £50,000 for nuisance phone calls

29/9/08 Barclaycard has been fined £50,000 by Ofcom for making 'silent' phone calls from their call centres. Such calls are created when call centre systems make phone calls to multiple numbers, and when one is answered the other calls are abandoned, resulting in silence if someone picks up their phone. This can distress or annoy the recipient. The maximum possible fine under current legislation was levied. Abbey National, Carphone Warehouse and Toucan have also each been fined in the past for the same offence. It's illegal to call UK numbers that have opted out of being contacted, though unfortunately, anti-nuisance measures don't apply directly to overseas call centres. See the Corporate Telephone Preference Service web site for more advice. Of note is the disingenuous, it seems to us, advice that CTPS registration may stop you receiving such offers by phone!

New Amaryllis service for micro-businesses and startups takes off

21/8/08. In order to meet the growing demand for smaller "advertisement" style web sites, our new StartUp package is already being used by micro businesses needing a small but professional Internet service to advertise their business.

Scunthorpe-based Rally Intercoms Ltd needed a smaller web-advert for their new car rally intercoms business, and Grimsby-based Dent Doctor has a small but effective web site showing 'before' and after results of their car dent removal service. More details on our StartUps web service page.

We're ten years old!

4/7/08. To celebrate ten years of local service, we're pleased to launch our all-new web site — bringing together our online resources in a smart new style.

Based on our colourful theme first seen in our press advertising, it incorporates our distinctive 'eye' and Amaryllis logo with an easy to use Navigation bar along the top and lefthand side.

The site is designed to be expandable and we hope you'll keep visiting the forthcoming FAQs and White Papers sections, where we'll share hints, tips and expertise on a wide variety of topics.

We also wish to thank our many customers for your loyalty and repeat business over the years, and we wish you continued success in your endeavours.

Local firm hit by fraudulent web site scam

6/6/08. Amaryllis Design Agency was asked to assist Doncaster-based Green Tree (Warehousing) Ltd. who were the victims of an elaborate money-laundering scam, when its web site was pirated by fraudsters and re-loaded onto hundreds of domain names.

The pirated sites included an authentic-looking (but falsified) Job advert for a 'Financial Controller' who would forward cash via Western Union to the villains, deducting a percentage "commission".

We provided support, expertise and practical assistance during the recovery phase - much to the owner's relief. Afterwards we assisted with police liaison.

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