AN MP has warned East Lancashire businesses to be on their guard after his local Labour Party office received a bogus invoice.

Last month the Chamber of Commerce and Blackburn & District Chamber of Trade issued warnings over invoices from a company called National Paper Supplies of Ilford.

Now Pendle MP Gordon Prentice has echoed the warnings after Pendle Labour Party received a pro forma invoice asking for £293.63 for copy paper which had not been ordered.

The Labour backbencher said alarm bells began to ring when he saw the invoice and noticed a short statement in small print at the bottom.

This said: "The pre-payment invoice represents an invitation to purchase the above described goods; it is a request, not a demand for payment."

Mr Prentice said: "The description of the true purpose of the invoice in the small print at the bottom of the page cuts no ice with me.

"The whole look and feel of the thing is purposely designed to deceive. I want local businesses to be on their guard and look out for these bogus bills.

"I have sent the 'invoice' to the Trading Standards people at Preston. It relies on misrepresentation to part people from their money."

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