Number One Pig Consortium disappoints
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These days more and more of us want to know exactly where our meat comes from and that the animals we eat have had a happy life. So what could be better for a carnivorous foodie who wants to go the whole hog than - a whole hog?
Your own pig
The Number One Pig Consortium say that for £299 they will provide great pork by rearing your very own rare breed piglet until it's ready for the oven or the freezer.
Butchered and delivered to your door sounds like a great idea but Watchdog has been hearing from disgruntled customers who have been left pigless.
The Number One Pig Consortium was founded by former PR man Neil Camp and he achieved lots of good press for the company - boasting how his pigs eat better than most humans and spend their days messing around and enjoying life.
Sam Riley found The Number One Pig Consortium and a whole pig seemed like the perfect Christmas gift for her husband Jamie.
After waiting for a year and being given various excuses about why they had not received their pig, the Riley's were forced to settle for a refund. But Number One Pig Consortium couldn't even deliver their money back into their bank account. When they finally got a cheque, it bounced.
Oli Ingham is the best man for his friend's wedding and he wanted something special for the stag do. So ordering a whole pig for the day from the Number One Pig Consortium seemed like the perfect option. Oli was promised regular updates and even photos of their pig to send to the group but they never materialised.
After reading about other people's problems with the company online he's now worried there'll be no pig for the stag and he's ordered a back-up pig from a butcher.
Pig farm deserted
So does the original pig even exist? When Watchdog went to the farm in North Yorkshire where they're supposedly based it was completely deserted.
While some customers have been told they will still get their pigs, Neil Camp has told others the business has been sold. The website talks about 'other work commitments that can't be ignored, some of them overseas'.
Despite trying every phone number and email address we can possibly find for The Number One Pig Consortium Watchdog has not heard from the company or the man behind it, Neil Camp.
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Numberone pig
I have had two pig orders from Neil Camp without any problems, but, my third pig never turned up, I emailed and telephoned him without receiving a reply, then I received a letter from him dated 26 Feb giving his address as c/o Shardale Farm, returning my last cheque for £81,although he had banked the other 3,and telling me that he had Weaners on a nearby farm and that I would get my pig by Easter, but of course nothing happened.
Prior to receiving the letter, once I realised that something was wrong I put Shardale Farm into Goggle and it bought up an Estate agent in the area,I phoned the agent and explained that I was trying to contact Neil Camp at that address and was told that the farm was now up for let, but they knew Mr Camp and that he was still in the area.
I wonder if the pig will ever turn up.
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Has anyone had any sightings of the elusive Neil Camp? He's made off with £299 of my money too, with the promise of a pig - and since disappeared off the face of the earth. what's the next step for people who've been ripped off? All advice welcome.
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