Richard and Judy phone scam victims have not got a penny back

Callers jammed a refund hotline set up three days after The Mail on Sunday revealed how the programme's daily competition, You Say We Pay, had cheated viewers out of tens of thousands of pounds.

The hotline was opened following Richard Madeley's solemn promise on live television that those affected would get their money back.

But none of them did and many spent time - and more money - ringing Channel 4 demanding answers. They spoke of being 'fobbed off' without a satisfactory explanation.

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On Friday, pressed by The Mail on Sunday about what exactly was going on, Channel 4 eventually offered an extraordinary excuse.

It explained that callers to the hotline were told they would receive details of how to claim, along with a pre-paid bar-coded envelope and form, but added:

"Apparently the original batch of forms had the wrong bar code printed on them. They were out of date. We have had to get those forms reprinted. So nothing has been paid out yet."

Channel 4 later said the correct forms were finally sent out at 5pm on Friday - but the broadcaster acted only after being contacted by this newspaper.

Potentially, Channel 4 could be forced to pay up to £750,000 in refunds, sharing the cost with programme maker Cactus TV, although the eventual figure is likely to be a fraction of that amount.

This is because many people will have to prove they have been ripped off by providing their itemised phone bill. If they have not kept it, they would have to pay for a copy.

Other victims have said the amounts involved "weren't worth the bother".

But Amanda Thomas, 40, from Berkshire, who raised concerns about You Say We Pay on the show's website two years ago, said: "For me, it is the principle of the thing.

"They should not get away with this - and the way they have been dragging it out is disgusting.

"We left our details on the hotline but heard nothing. When we later called Channel 4 we were told there were delays.

"It just went on and on. Now it seems they have got their act together only because they have been shamed by The Mail on Sunday."

Another viewer who rang Channel 4 to complain said she was told "it wasn't really our responsibility" and was urged to ring Cactus.

"I rang Cactus and got through to the managing director Amanda Ross who got quite upset and insisted it was Channel 4's responsibility," she said.

"She gave me the name and number of someone to ring but they never called back."

Channel 4 confirmed that although "we are in it together" with Cactus, the task of organising the refunds fell to the broadcaster.

It said any money that was not claimed would be donated to Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital.

Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan had told viewers of their Channel 4 teatime show that they were "shocked and angry" about the scandal.

Every day, an average of 15,000 viewers pay £1 a time to enter the competition. But leaked emails revealed that the husband and wife team unwittingly encouraged thousands of viewers to do so after the potential winners had already been chosen.

In the week beginning February 5, more than 32,000 people were tricked into believing that they had a chance of competing for a cash prize, according to documents.

If that figure were to be repeated every week for the duration of the current nine-month series, it would convert to revenue of about £1million for Channel 4 and Cactus TV, the makers of the programme.

The scandal triggered a string of revelations about broadcasters duping the public in premium-rate phone line competitions.

Others included Saturday Kitchen, channel Five's Brainteaser show, and even Blue Peter.

Icstis, the premium-rate calls regulator, is still investigating the Richard and Judy scam and is expected to publish its findings next month.

The affair is another blow to Channel 4, already facing an Icstis inquiry over the collapse of an eviction vote during the recent series of Celebrity Big Brother after thousands of calls and texts had already been logged.