Simply Lunches reviews and complaints

I received a phone call from Simply Lunches on the 13th July 2011 asking if I could provide catering to a dental practice ten doors down from my shop. The gentleman sounded extremely professional, explained who the company were, how they operated and payment terms. Once I had agreed to provide the catering, at a reduced cost to my normal prices, I delivered the buffet and prepared an invoice to be sent via email. Two days later I received a call asking to provide another buffet for July 17th to another dental practice in Lincoln. Once again I delivered the buffet and sent the invoice via email.

My payment terms are 14 days. This had now passed and I emailed 'Jesse Leal' once again asking for payment. I heard nothing. I called numerous times, left numerous messages and also emailed but have not had any joy.

Tomorrow after reading other people's comments and complaints I will be contacting trading standards and also the clients who I provided buffets for in the hope they will stop using them also.

Firstly my sympathy to anyone caught up by this low life and his little scam. I'm posting this in the hope that 1) Trading standards will have a little more information to go off and 2) Anyone who googles Simon Granger or Simply Lunches Scam will see this and be warned.

We're based in Manchester and are one of around five catering companies who got ripped off.

As he was a new client, we started on card payment prior to order. At this point, the two people known to us were

Jeff / Jessie Leal (aka Simon Granger) and Rachel Mcnamee

After several orders over a couple months (this was mid 2010) there would be the occasional order where something is booked last minute by Rachel, but Jessie (Simon) is not around to make a payment and will call in a few hours. Interestingly, the card Simon paid with passed AVS (card verification) with the name 'Jessie Leal' which either means our card services are inaccurate or he's obtained finance in this alias too (which I believe is fraud?).

Through our own slackness, a few invoices slipped through the net via this method and in a short space of time he had accumulated over £1, 500 in debt - a small amount compared to some of his other debts but important to us all the same as it was done via deception.

Fortunately, a colleague of mine was a private investigator and did some research on our behalf. Here's where we got to.

Rachel Mcnamee (believed to have parted ways with Simon recently ?) - last known address

14 THE LAWNS VINER ROAD, PRENTON MERSEYSIDE CH43 7YE

If you do make contact at this address, please be aware that she has a husband who genuinely doesn't appear to have any knowledge of her and Simon's 'activities'.

Jessie Leal - Simon Granger

We discovered his real name after he had disappeared.

Home address (belongs to his parents - Stuart and Jane who are very polite and seemingly decent people, but also very much aware of what's going on and will play naive when screening calls. I assume they're doing what any good parents would do and protecting their son.)

17 SHIREBURN ROAD, FORMBY, SOUTHPORT MERSEYSIDE L37 1LR
Tel. [protected]

Having spoke to his past business partners and people who have invested money, it seems the general consensus of Simon is not good. He is claimed to have

- Took money for a failed medical sharps disposal venture which ultimately failed with a six figure 'hole' in the accounts.

- Took money for a three month retreat on the grounds that his sister was terminally ill and had passed away. It is claimed that she is currently living in France.

- Ran up a sizeable bill with various printers, caterers and serviced office companies, all of whom I'll be contacting about this thread.

If you've been stung, the only way to stop others from making the same mistake is to

1) Write to trading standards - unfortunately, especially after this, he'll probably have changed names and companies but it's a start.

2) Try to find out who you delivered to (the Pharma companies) and write to them explaining the situation - include a copy of the letter to trading standards.

3) Call his home in the hope he'll answer the phone rather than put his parents through the embarrassment of covering for him.

The failed legal system in the UK will allow people like this to keep operating within the law. (Hopefully, someone will investigate if a Jessie Leal has ever applied for a credit card which has consequently been used to pay catering companies ... could be nothing, but also could be an angle.)

I hope this helps, if not to warn others then to drive Mr Granger from under the rock he currently resides. The sad thing is, he clearly has the ability to generate catering revenue during a recession ... surely he could use his skills for good rather than evil and choose not to be a ###!

I have provided a lunch for them this week to a hospital. Obviously, after reading these comments I suppose I will have a job getting the money, but I will try. I do at least have the name and contact details of the person who booked the lunch through simply lunches and will be contacting this person tomorrow to find out if they have a payment to the company. You can't just let a company continue to trade this way, they are con artists.