Sunday, 4 September 2011
Deanem Collections: A very modern con.
Deanem Collections: A very modern con.: This week’s blog has been inspired by a case that is about to go through the courts and I hope it will prove to be a salutary lesson in why ...
A very modern con.
This week’s blog has been inspired by a case that is about to go through the courts and I hope it will prove to be a salutary lesson in why if sometimes an offer/proposal can be too good.
A couple of months ago we were contracted by John* a Solicitor as he was trying and failing to get a £20,000 debt settled from Fred* obviously before we could act I had to know the background and this was the story John told me.
It seems John knew Fred from a club they frequented, Fred came up to John in the bar one day and asked him if he would like to make some serious money. Well John like the rest of us was/is finding money tight was immediately interested. Fred explained that he was involved along with Bob* a nodding acquaintance of John in the purchase of a property but they were £2,500 short and they needed to complete the deal within 48 hours or the whole deal would collapse. Fred explained that even though he had in excess of £170,000 in his post office account it would take too long to access it and so they wondered if John would like to put up the shortfall. Fred promised John that if he did stump up the £2,500 he would receive £10,000 within 4 weeks. John was interested as the additional £7,500 would be very useful but being an intelligent man he was rightly concerned that it might be a con. Fred then played his masterstroke he not only showed John his Post Office book which showed a balance of £178,750.69 but said that of the money was not repaid he would agree to pay interest on the money until it was settled. John thought this sounded fair and agreed on the proviso that Fred agreed to pay £1,000 per month interest if the debt was not repaid by the agreed date.
The next day Fred accompanied John to the bank as he withdrew the £2,500, as they parted Fred reassured him that he would “definitely” get his £10,000 by the agreed date as he didn’t want to pay any extra in interest.
I’m sure you can guess what happened, yes you’re right John hasn’t seen a penny, and 9 months later John instructed Deanem to collect the debt. I explained to John that due to the fact that the interest charge could be classified as” Usury” it would be unlikely that we could force the debtor to pay the interest but we should be able to get the agreed debt settled. John was adamant that he was entitled to the interest as well and didn’t care what we had to do to get it!
When Sandra Field, my collections manager first spoke to Fred, he apologised and said it was never his intention to catch John but he was waiting for the deal to be completed however, if John wanted his money he would ask his “Dad” to get the money out of his saving account! He said that as they had to give notice for the withdrawal it would take a few days and as soon as he had the money, he would settle John’s account. This conversation took place at the beginning of June. At the beginning of July when Fred had been making different excuses and promises on a daily bases, Sandra warned Fred that if he didn’t settle we would serve him with a “Statutory Demand” on 8 July and once served and he did not settle he could be declared Bankrupt. The 8th duly arrived and the Statutory Demand was served on his home address, this action provoked a response from Fred’s mother who claimed that her son didn’t owe “Nuffink” and if anyone came near the house again “She’d have the law on to them”. Since that date Fred has continued to say that A) he has the money and will be paying the debt, on that day B) He has asked his “Daddy” to get the money, C) he was trying to raise the money the list goes on and on and on. Finally on Friday I lost patience with Fred and decided to call at his home to see as he now claimed he had the money if I could collect it and avoid the need to make him Bankrupt. Fred was aware that I was going to attend and when I arrived, I text him to let him know and received a text back that said “HAHA I don’t live there”
Unfortunately there is only one way this can now be settled that is through the courts and hopefully when Fred is ordered by a Judge, he will comply and finally settle his debt with John rather than face the prospect of loosing everything including his “Post Office” savings.
The sad thing is had John thought about it for more than 30 seconds he would have realised that there was a high chance that he was being conned and should have walked away.
I’m sure that there are many out there who if offered the same opportunity would have like John taken it, but please remember this con has been going on for as long as people have used money. If you’re still not sure go to your local Video/DVD reseller and rent out the BBC’s excellent programme Hustle.
While the above is true due to the fact that this case is about to go in to court all names have been changed.
If you would like to find out how this case ends or the work carried out by David & the Deanem Collections team, please either visit our website www.deanemcollections.co.uk or email David at david@deanemcollections.co.uk
A couple of months ago we were contracted by John* a Solicitor as he was trying and failing to get a £20,000 debt settled from Fred* obviously before we could act I had to know the background and this was the story John told me.
It seems John knew Fred from a club they frequented, Fred came up to John in the bar one day and asked him if he would like to make some serious money. Well John like the rest of us was/is finding money tight was immediately interested. Fred explained that he was involved along with Bob* a nodding acquaintance of John in the purchase of a property but they were £2,500 short and they needed to complete the deal within 48 hours or the whole deal would collapse. Fred explained that even though he had in excess of £170,000 in his post office account it would take too long to access it and so they wondered if John would like to put up the shortfall. Fred promised John that if he did stump up the £2,500 he would receive £10,000 within 4 weeks. John was interested as the additional £7,500 would be very useful but being an intelligent man he was rightly concerned that it might be a con. Fred then played his masterstroke he not only showed John his Post Office book which showed a balance of £178,750.69 but said that of the money was not repaid he would agree to pay interest on the money until it was settled. John thought this sounded fair and agreed on the proviso that Fred agreed to pay £1,000 per month interest if the debt was not repaid by the agreed date.
The next day Fred accompanied John to the bank as he withdrew the £2,500, as they parted Fred reassured him that he would “definitely” get his £10,000 by the agreed date as he didn’t want to pay any extra in interest.
I’m sure you can guess what happened, yes you’re right John hasn’t seen a penny, and 9 months later John instructed Deanem to collect the debt. I explained to John that due to the fact that the interest charge could be classified as” Usury” it would be unlikely that we could force the debtor to pay the interest but we should be able to get the agreed debt settled. John was adamant that he was entitled to the interest as well and didn’t care what we had to do to get it!
When Sandra Field, my collections manager first spoke to Fred, he apologised and said it was never his intention to catch John but he was waiting for the deal to be completed however, if John wanted his money he would ask his “Dad” to get the money out of his saving account! He said that as they had to give notice for the withdrawal it would take a few days and as soon as he had the money, he would settle John’s account. This conversation took place at the beginning of June. At the beginning of July when Fred had been making different excuses and promises on a daily bases, Sandra warned Fred that if he didn’t settle we would serve him with a “Statutory Demand” on 8 July and once served and he did not settle he could be declared Bankrupt. The 8th duly arrived and the Statutory Demand was served on his home address, this action provoked a response from Fred’s mother who claimed that her son didn’t owe “Nuffink” and if anyone came near the house again “She’d have the law on to them”. Since that date Fred has continued to say that A) he has the money and will be paying the debt, on that day B) He has asked his “Daddy” to get the money, C) he was trying to raise the money the list goes on and on and on. Finally on Friday I lost patience with Fred and decided to call at his home to see as he now claimed he had the money if I could collect it and avoid the need to make him Bankrupt. Fred was aware that I was going to attend and when I arrived, I text him to let him know and received a text back that said “HAHA I don’t live there”
Unfortunately there is only one way this can now be settled that is through the courts and hopefully when Fred is ordered by a Judge, he will comply and finally settle his debt with John rather than face the prospect of loosing everything including his “Post Office” savings.
The sad thing is had John thought about it for more than 30 seconds he would have realised that there was a high chance that he was being conned and should have walked away.
I’m sure that there are many out there who if offered the same opportunity would have like John taken it, but please remember this con has been going on for as long as people have used money. If you’re still not sure go to your local Video/DVD reseller and rent out the BBC’s excellent programme Hustle.
While the above is true due to the fact that this case is about to go in to court all names have been changed.
If you would like to find out how this case ends or the work carried out by David & the Deanem Collections team, please either visit our website www.deanemcollections.co.uk or email David at david@deanemcollections.co.uk
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
