Maya Manolova, head of Bulgaria's consumer protection commission (KZP), has asked the authorities to act against a sales scam at a state-run sanatorium, the commission said. After KZP spoke to the health minister today, the institutions began joint action to stop the scheme.

The tip came from an elderly woman who was treated at the sanatorium. She filed a complaint with KZP and visited Manolova's public reception yesterday.

The woman says a company sells products at presentations held outside shops and invites the sanatorium's patients to them. She says that at a presentation in a hall, in front of about 60 people, she was named the winner of a raffle. The prize was a mattress worth €600. She says she was misled into believing she would also get a pillow, cleaning products for the mattress and other items. For these she paid €80 in cash and €600 by debit card transfer.

The woman says that, in front of the whole audience and in a highly emotional state, she was pushed into signing papers without time to read them. She says she told the company out loud that she did not want the prize, but force was used to make her accept the mattress and the products. The company had two representatives, both large men. She says they refused to discuss with her younger relatives how to turn down the unwanted prize.

The woman says she was promised delivery within 14 days, but the mattress and products did not arrive in that time. She was also not given a copy of the documents she signed. When she tried to get her money back, she says, the company's representatives threatened her with violence and then stopped answering their phone. She says similar sales presentations were held during her earlier stays at the sanatorium.

Manolova has begun regular reception hours for consumers in Sofia. The people who signed up for the first session came with issues such as disputed household bills and charges from mobile operators, unfair terms and conditions in contracts, reports of unfair trading practices, problems with online purchases, and complaints about faulty products.

Manolova will receive people in Sofia again on Thursday, 22 October, at 3pm at the KZP building at 1 Vrabcha Street, 4th floor. She will hold a session in Blagoevgrad on Wednesday, 14 October, at 1.30pm at the office of KZP's regional department at 23 Todor Aleksandrov Street. To book for either, call 02/ 9330 577 and ask for M. Koleva or E. Palpurina.

KZP's consumer hotline is 0700 111 22. In Sofia, complaints can be filed at 1 Vrabcha Street, ground floor, from 9am to 5.30pm. People outside the capital can file complaints at KZP's regional departments across Bulgaria. The addresses are on the commission's website.