Cold call oral contract scammers

Screwloose_2

Hi

i was cold called by business federations group asking did i want to be a member 29/09/2007, i agreed in principle ( i later found out they had me under contract on the phone call). Anway the paperwork arrived a couple of days later with a bill for £175. The paperwork certificates and documentation was quite poor quality,and i could have made better paperwork/certificates myself so i suspected something was a miss. i returned all the releveant docments with a covering letter on the 04/10/2007 and thought nothing more of it.And well within any 7 day cool off period.
However i then recieved a letter stating i was overdue payment on 29/10/2007, i then wrote another letter which i stated what i had done previous, i also followed this up with a phone call, and email stating the same facts, more so to make sure they had all the information this time, as they seemed quite adament then that they had received nothing back from me.
I had a couple of scam attempts in this period of last year, all of them happened within a week or so, as though the information is shared. All where cancelled in the required period.

So as far as i was aware everything was sorted out with the business federations group, until i had a phone call today 14/10/2008 stating to be a debt collector on behalf of BFG and i should pay the aount of £149. i stated about the cancellation procedure i had gone through a year earlier, He was quite abnoxious on the phone saying there would be a 50% surcharge if i didnt pay immediately, and i would be blacklisted, and he would send bailiffs round if i didn't pay.

I am so frustrated with it all, business is really slow at the moment due to the current economic crisis, otherwise he may well of bullied me into it.
I feel the so called debt collector is just another member of the companies's staff, and are trying to bully local small businesses into paying sums of money to scam artists. I had the same sort of thing last year with the other couple that scammed me into a telephone contract. again i held out and didn't pay and never heard anymore of it.
The BFG themselves i now have 3 different addresses for them as it seems to change every time i speak to them,

Just looking for advice regarding the above, as a friend of mine ended up being hounded by similar companies running the same scams last year, unfortunately he hadn't realised it was a scam and paid out a fair sum of money to them.

Any help and advice would be greatly appreciated

spuds_2

I would get in touch with Trading Standards - this outfit may well be known to them already. It does sound like this is the familiar scam of getting businesses to pay to be a member of something or to be in a publication, which never materialises.

Do they have a company number? You can check the names and addresses of directors at Companies House webcheck for a few pounds.

Quite rightly, don't pay a penny. A genuine debt collection agency will write to you.

sarahg1969

Tell the DC that the debt is denied (not disputed) and he must pass the matter back to his client.

Oh, and they can't sell bailiffs around until they've issued court proceedings against you, won, and you've failed to pay a judgment debt.

Do you know which DCA it is?

Screwloose_2

Many thanks for your help, i thought it was a bit strange to have the bully boy tactics demanding money over the phone. i will definately sleep a little easier knowing this.

I have informed both trading standards and the federation of small businesses also. I dont recall the DCA name i am sure they will ring back tomorrow as i had 3 missed calls from them after i had been to the shops.

also when they rang and asked for money, i said no such contract was issued as i had returned the items well within the cool off period with a cancellation letter. he gave me all the angry stuff, i said he could instead of paying him there and then, get the BFG to ring me back and i could pay them direct.
i found this strange also, as when debts are usually passed on then they alone will deal with it.
Spud, i couldn't find a company number, but the BFG website is here http://www.businessfederationsgroup.com/default2.aspx , i know when i spoke to them originally i was led to believe, or their wording led me to believe it was membership of federation of master builders. once i received the tacky paperwork, and dodgy looking certificates i then knew this wasnt the case.

I still believe them to be 2 guys in the same building, i feel sorry for the people who dont question these calls and just take it as is. that was one of the reasons for alerting the federation of small businesses as they post on their website to warn others.

i have jotted down the denied bit, and will get the name of the DCA to confirm

do i actually say to him, " the debt is denied, therefore you have to pass back to BFG" ?

many thanks

BFG_2

How dare they take my initials in vain!!!!!

This is a well trodden scam.......they will bluff and bluster and threaten.

Usually based around the MML area (Merseyside, Manchester and Lancashire)...total scam.

Screwloose_2

lol...

cheers bud, they haven't rang me today to try and bully me again. so hopefully they will have just taken it as i won't be bullied after me saying yesterday that i wasnt under a contract with them, and therefore i owed them nothing

oh and i am in Warrington, so central to that scamming area

vikingaero

I would ask for a tape of the original call. No taped call, no contract.

Screwloose_2

i will play it by ear for now, as they didn't try to phone me today

maybe they got the idea i wasn't going to pay them

spuds_2

This looks like their company house details:

Name & Registered Office:
THE BUSINESS FEDERATIONS GROUP
BANK QUAY HOUSE GROUND FLOOR SUITE
SANKEY STREET
WARRINGTON
CHESHIRE
WA1 1NN
Company No. 06191971


Their web site says they are a non-profit making enterprise, which seems unlikely to me. Funnily enough, they also have a section on it called ' How to spot a cowboy'....

The cold-calling regulations have changed recently. Even if you invite someone into your home you can still cancel within 7 days. I am not sure if this applies to businesses as well - though surely the distance selling reg's would, in that you changed your mind once you saw the 'product', which I think you are entitled to do.

To be honest, this just looks like a bullying scam - I would say it is the same guys, not ballifs. I would report them to the police - it is practically demanding money with menaces.

You can record out-going callsfor free with Rectel:

http://www.rectel.co.uk/

Get them to claim to be balliifs on the 'phone then tell the police.

spuds_2

The web-site is registered to a David McFarlane of Warrington. Full details are on the Whois web-site search site.

Screwloose_2

cheers spuds,

i have kept a note of all the important info, but as yet they still have not rung me back. so fingers crossed they have got the message.

it just annoys me this is allowed to go on, if i think i am being bullied into something i tend to dig my heels in..lol