A FURNITURE maker from High Wycombe is fuming after late night prank calls made across the district were falsely linked to his company.

The calls, which took the form of a bogus recorded message, were picked up by residents late on Monday night asking if they had made any purchases, or were owed any money, from Fitzgeralds Furniture in Hillbottom Road, Sands.

The message then claimed to be able to help customers get their money back by pressing the star key on their handset.

A statement issued on behalf of Tom Fitzgerald, the furniture company managing director, assured customers there was no truth in the calls.

The statement read: "Tom Fitzgerald would like to apologise to all those people who received hoax calls about his company.

"As of yet the third party making these scam premium rate calls is yet unknown and all statements made in the call are totally false."

Kate Birkett, from Beaconsfield, was annoyed to receive a call just before 11pm on Monday night.

She said: "It was an automatic voice message asking me if I was owed money or furniture from the store, and if so to press star. I hung up at that point."

Julia Bolden, from Totteridge, was also called on Monday night.

She said: "They don't say who they are. You can't say anything to them. I don't think ringing at 11pm at night is very sensitive."

Many of the calls, which also continued on Tuesday, were made to residents with ex-directory numbers, or those who have signed up to the free Telephone Preference Service (TPS) designed to filter out spam phone calls.

A spokesman for Ofcom, the communications regulators, said anyone receiving these messages should report the fault to TPS.

Two other High Wycombe furniture companies were also mentioned on the recorded message.

The statement issued by the company continued: "Tom and his staff would also like to thank all the many people who took the trouble to call into the store offering their help and support in tracking down the offenders."