Cummins Sports boss perplexed by bogus letters demanding return of sliotars

THE managing director of Cork store, Cummins Sports, has said he has been perplexed to receive calls about “abrupt and legalised letters” sent by an unknown third party, pretending to be from him writing from Cork GAA headquarters, seeking the return of micro-chipped sliotars.

Kevin Cummins of Cummins Sports, which owns eight stores around the county, told The Echo that they had received calls from people claiming to have received such letters.

The letter, dated May 1 and bearing the address of Cork GAA headquarters at Supervalu Páirc Uí Chaoimh, is addressed to the householder at a specific address and tells the recipient: “By our records we were able to trace one of our sliotars that went missing from last Sunday’s match between Cork and Clare through its GPS co-ordinates to your Eircode.

“These are very expensive commodities and we expect it to be returned. If it is not returned we will have no choice but to instigate legal proceedings.”

The recipient is then given a Cork phone number to call to ‘arrange a time to drop it off’.

According to Mr Cummins, neither he nor any representative of Cummins Sports sent such a letter.

He said they received a small number of calls a week ago in relation to the letters but this had increased dramatically as the week went on.

“We’re just embarrassed by the whole thing — it’s not nice to have irate people ringing you up, castigating you for sending these abrupt and legalized letters to them,” said Mr Cummins.

He said that it was perplexing why anybody would try such a scheme. “I don’t know who gains by this, there doesn’t seem to be any obvious person gaining by it,” he said.

Mr Cummins also noted that the sliotars with the chip cannot be traced in this way.

The chip is used by the GAA to ‘authenticate’ the sliotar as being of the correct weight, size and correct sized rim.

The sliotars are used in intercounty games and the referee has an app on his phone which responds to the chips.

Far from being ‘expensive commodities’ the microchipped sliotars retail for about €7 at the Cummins Sports stores.