firstdebtrecovery - Genuine or scam ?

biffo_69

Hello
I was cold called by a company last week saying theat they could clear any credit card or loan debt I had due to the agreements being in breach of the consumer credit act but only if the agreements were issued to me BEFORE 1st APRIL 2007, they said there was a recent BBC Panorama Program "Can't Pay, Won't Pay" (10th Nov 2008) which had raised awareness of these facts.

They said most agreements before 1st APRIL 2007 are unenforceable and therefore can be written off. They said their solicitors will write to your various debtors (once they have got the account details from you) - from here they let you know whether they can help or not.

Obviously they charge a fee but they say its fully refundable if they cannot clear the debt, & if they can clear the debt their fee is then cleared when the debt is written of anyway. Now obviously I am a little sceptical about this but thought I would do some research first before deciding what to do.

Their website is
http://www.firstdebtrecovery.com/debt-elimination.php

Has anyone else been approached by these people ? is it a scam or genuine, any success stories to tell ?

thanks
Biffo

bigoggy2007

its a scam

CHR15

Someone cold called you and you think you are going to benefit???

biffo_69

Hello

I was hoping of some evidence/facts that this is a scam or not ? can anyone offer any substance rather than just opinions ?

My initial reaction is obviously to be wary, but looking at the website and asking lots of questions, what they are actually saying makes you think twice.

thanks
Biffo

CHR15

If you go along with someone who cold called you, you deserve all that is coming to you (unless your post has another motive).

MSAmatuer

I came across a similar company called Financial Freedom who advertised on my local radio station offering to look into clearing my debts that were agreed pre 2007. Charging a fee of £190 for a successful claim and a £100 refund if the claim is not successful.

I, too, am sceptical, especially when I couldn't get their website to load in my browser, but surely such scammers would not be able to advertise in this manner and get away with it? I have almost £20,000 of pre 2007 debt (Sorry Martin!) and I really can't see ANY bank letting that kind of money slip through their fingers so easily. The jury is still out I would very much like to hear if anyone has genuinely had a successful claim.

justruth

Why go through a fee charging company and run the risk of a scam when you can do everything yourself using template letters from this site? If these companies were that good I doubt they would need to advertise through cold calling and radio, they would get referals from the debt charities.

A lot of IVA companies have advertised on all kinds of media for a long time and they claim a large fee each month without doing much about the actual debt. If you look on the DFW board you will find lots of people who have successfully fought some collection agencies regarding the enforcability of their debt.

MSAmatuer

justruth wrote: »

Why go through a fee charging company and run the risk of a scam when you can do everything yourself using template letters from this site? If these companies were that good I doubt they would need to advertise through cold calling and radio, they would get referals from the debt charities.

A lot of IVA companies have advertised on all kinds of media for a long time and they claim a large fee each month without doing much about the actual debt. If you look on the DFW board you will find lots of people who have successfully fought some collection agencies regarding the enforcability of their debt.

You appear to very clued up with this sites forums. I am not! Forgive for being ignorant but what are IVA and DFW? Could you also help me navigate to the template letters that sound so interesting and ,if possible, to a detailed explanation of this threads topic. Many thanks!

~Brock~

biffo_69 wrote: »

I was cold called by a company last week ......

........They said their solicitors will write to your various debtors

Solicitors are NOT ALLOWED to accept business that was obtained by cold calling.

It is outlawed by their professional code of conduct. If they are prepared to break that, what does that tell you about them? Report them.

AverageJoe_4

MSAmatuer wrote: »

I came across a similar company called Financial Freedom who advertised on my local radio station offering to look into clearing my debts that were agreed pre 2007. Charging a fee of £190 for a successful claim and a £100 refund if the claim is not successful.

I, too, am sceptical, especially when I couldn't get their website to load in my browser, but surely such scammers would not be able to advertise in this manner and get away with it? I have almost £20,000 of pre 2007 debt (Sorry Martin!) and I really can't see ANY bank letting that kind of money slip through their fingers so easily. The jury is still out I would very much like to hear if anyone has genuinely had a successful claim.

Mate, Ive had successful claims and I used a claims firm - not they one you mentioned though !!! Some are good, some are bad - this 60% refund the radio montioned that u heard, !!!!!!? no way!

I used a firm that gives:

100% refund is a claim is unsuccesful
Free pre-audit check of your agreement without any obligation to use thier services
No fees to pay at the completion of a claim too which they ALL charge but dont mention or its in the tiny tiny small print - why? If a claim is succesful and all you gotta do is a few grand at the end - there is NO WAY a punter will not find that somehow.... its almost blackmail

I did not know how to do it myself - I mean I knew HOW (the process) but not the specific knowledge of identifying breaches and making a claim etc... and there is so much more to it than claiming PPI back..

AJ

fermi

MSAmatuer wrote: »

You appear to very clued up with this sites forums. I am not! Forgive for being ignorant but what are IVA and DFW? Could you also help me navigate to the template letters that sound so interesting and ,if possible, to a detailed explanation of this threads topic. Many thanks!

DFW = Debt-Free Wannabe board.

Use the search facility to search for "CCA".