Has anyone else been having this company write to them to try and recover none existent debts of 15 years ago? I notice on some forums that this company has a terrible reputation for harassment of people who have no debt, but usually have had bad debt experience in the past.
It's irrelevant whether a debt of that age exists or not, it's statute barred
so they should complain to TS
tim
I take it that's the local trading standards dept Tim?
Yep
Not Ruthbridge, but I had something out of the blue from another debt collector based in Glasgow, claiming I owed a particular three-figure (less than £200) sum to a Channel Islands-based company which I had never heard of, but which apparently buys debts, and inviting me to pay it to themselves (the Glasgow company) or else face a 'home visit'. Notably absent were any details whatsoever of the origins of the alleged debt or how long it had been outstanding, beyond the phrase 'for some time'.
The letter seems authentic (not sure it would be true to say 'genuine') insofar as the website for making the payment at seemed to check out as being run by the debt collector, so it's they that would have got the money had I paid it.
It's hard not to believe that the alleged debt is not a complete fabrication, given that they could easily have provided some more details of any genuine debt. If they were to send out such sufficent fabrications then I suppose there are some targets who would just pay up for a quiet life, particularly if they'd lost track of their debt position.
Rather than OFT or Trading Standards (I don't have a trading relationship with them of any kind, after all) surely the correct thing to do would be to write back and insist they provide a justification for the demand within
14 days or I will be presume it to be an attempted fraud and pass it over to the police.However, a friend has said he believes that registered debt collectors have a special status which prevents them being prosecuted for fraud offences.
Does anyone here know of such an exemption?
BeanSmart website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.