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It makes sense to advertise if you are a small business and Dylan was happy with his ÂŁ75 a month advert in Farm & Industry Trader magazine.

But alarm bells started ringing when he received bills for three times as much from companies he’d never heard of, some of which threatened Dylan and his family with court action if he failed to pay up.

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Dylan said: “You feel that if they take you to court, you’ve got no leg to stand on - they’re going to win and your credit ratings will go bad.”

Unsure who he had spoken to, Dylan did what he thought was the honourable thing and paid five invoices that cost a combined ÂŁ2,000, even though the publications that his adverts were supposed to appear in had little relevance to his business.

Dylan spends his days marking grooves in farm walkways, so it is difficult to argue that he knowingly chose to advertise in publications like the ‘Crime & Safety Awareness Booklet’.

“I haven’t got a clue who they are, I haven’t got a clue where my advert is supposed to be,” he added.

Worryingly it seems Dylan’s story is far from unique. North West Scambusters are currently investigating complaints against over a hundred businesses and Boyd Black, Regional Investigation Team Manager, told X-Ray the ruthless methods they use.

“Once they’ve got their grip on somebody they’ll send them invoices,” said Boyd.

“Even if you say ‘I’m not interested’ they’ll still send invoices knowing that a certain percentage of businesses trying to be good at paying their bills will immediately pay, and it’s only later it comes to light that there was no service provided.”

Eventually Dylan decided enough was enough. He stopped paying the companies and turned to Trading Standards for advice, who told him to ignore future invoices - including four more bills he’d received for a combined £1,500.

John Eden Jones, of Gwynedd Trading Standards, said: “I think the individual needs to know their legal rights, they need to know where they stand and in this instance it’s down to the company to prove that the contract has been entered into, and if they’re unable to do so they really can’t pursue the matter.”

Dylan is now trying to put his expensive ordeal behind him, but has sound advice for anyone who is contacted by advertising companies they have never heard of.

“If you don’t understand what these people are talking about just say no and put the phone down and just carry on doing that,” he said.

“Never say I will or never say yes, because if doesn’t make any sense to you then more than likely it’s all a con.”