3 Mobile / Roxburghe debt collector letters sent to non-customer - yet again!

CIM

Last September I got two letters from Roxburghe debt collectors for two different amounts of money around £300 each. This came as quite a surprise as I had no idea what they were in reference to.

Some detective work on the limited information on the letters and I eventually figured out it had been instigated by 3 Mobile.

The puzzle was I have never in my life had an account with 3 - so I phoned the call centre - a challenge in itself trying to get through to a suitable person - there is no menu option for "incorrectly harassed non-customers" to select...

I was given the impression by the call centre guy that someone had used something vaguely resembling my data to buy phones - but with a different address and D.O.B. - so not really me at all - and I had never received any payment demands from 3 - as presumably they had gone to the fraudster's fake address used.

So after much stress and several phone calls and a letter to head office I got 3 to agree (10 months ago) this was nothing to do with me and I owed them nothing.

However today, I got another blinking letter from Roxburghe asking for settlement on one of the amounts again - same account code, same exact amount - 10 months after they had assured me it had all supposedly been sorted out by 3.

Back on the phone to an Indian call centre for 45 mins and they said "a problem with their back end" and "all sorted sir no need to worry, you won't be receiving any more demands" - easy for them to say but as someone who has never had a 3 account or mobile phone in my life I find this absolutely exasperating they could do this to me twice - and I am not at all reassured.

I also worry that my credit rating may have been damaged - and all because this incompetent company cannot implement basic fraud prevention measures OR handle clear cases of fraud sensibly and with minimum inconvenience to innocent parties.

In my opinion and limited experience of 3, they are a disgracefully shoddy company - I never have (and never will be) a customer of theirs, and I wish they would just go away for good :mad:

I feel I ought to complain to some authority about this - setting debt collectors on someone who clearly has no connection with the company is surely illegal.

Anybody thinking about becoming a 3 Mobile customer may be well advised to ask themselves - do I really want to deal with a company who behaves like this?

OneADay

Or maybe you should check how you dispose of personal information like bills, online passwords and so forth...

Jon_01

That's how fraudsters work, the first you know about it is when you get the bill or the collection letters.

Your comment about 'I feel I ought to complain to some authority about this - setting debt collectors on someone who clearly has no connection with the company is surely illegal.' you tell the network, they do something about.

Your call will be the first they know about it being fraud. It's not illegal (it would be if they pursued you for the debt, but they not), their just trying to get their money back from, what they view, as a delinquent account.

CIM

OneADay wrote: »

Or maybe you should check how you dispose of personal information like bills, online passwords and so forth...

So you are implying what - its my fault and 3 are entirely competent?

No fraudulent charge was made to my credit card. The fraudster apparently gave a different date of birth, different address, and IIRC didn't even get my middle name correct. I don't even know how 3 associated whatever fraud was committed with my identity based on what little they told me.

Irrespective of that, 3 have handled this very poorly throughout which is the main point of my original post. Remember I have never had a bill from 3 in my life. First thing I got was letters from debt collectors which didn't even mention 3.

BTW I shred everything, have done for years.

I would suggest I am less careless with how I dispose of my stuff than you are with your throwaway comments.

CIM

Jon_01 wrote: »

That's how fraudsters work, the first you know about it is when you get the bill or the collection letters.

Your comment about 'I feel I ought to complain to some authority about this - setting debt collectors on someone who clearly has no connection with the company is surely illegal.' you tell the network, they do something about.

Your call will be the first they know about it being fraud. It's not illegal (it would be if they pursued you for the debt, but they not), their just trying to get their money back from, what they view, as a delinquent account.

Read my post again. I informed 3 back in September 2009. They agreed then and therefore know I owe them nothing.

I got a repeat demand today in the post.

They admitted to me on the phone today their system screwed up and I should not have received the letter. 3 are lamentably at fault.

DNS1

I think that Roxburghe are completely incompetent.

Since my wife and I moved to our current address we have periodically received phone calls from them asking for a particular woman. We have explained many times that she does not live here and has not for at least the past 5 years (we checked with our landlord). Eventually I asked them what address they had down for the woman concerned and the Indian call centre operative informed me of the address details that they held for her....which were different from our address. In fact the address given belonged to a house which was demolished about 30 years ago and which now exists only as a section of the wall surrounding our back yard! The Roxburghe call centre staff were so incompetent that their English did not seem to be good enough to understand a basic explanation of this and they hung up whilst I was in mid sentence (and not even raising my voice) We continue to receive irritating and unwanted calls from them.

How on earth does one get rid of these idiots? If there are any experts on-line I would be delighted to have your suggestions.

liubeliu

Try the Execuctive Office in Glasgow direct on [EMAIL="executive.office@three.co.uk"]executive.office@three.co.uk[/EMAIL] or call them on 0843 3733330

seaniboy

Jon_01 wrote: »

clearly has no connection with the company is surely illegal.' you tell the network, they do something about.

That is ok with UK based call centres, but even Orange India were not bothered in helping me when I was reporting fraud repeatadly, they just kept asking will I make a payment arrangement - even when they could see it my notes Exec Office was investigating when I prmoted them to check they again repeatadly ask me to make a payment plan or be cut off, so did the supervisor & team manager > IDIOTS

in_the_Cotswolds

DNS1 wrote: »

How on earth does one get rid of these idiots? If there are any experts on-line I would be delighted to have your suggestions.

Not an expert but hope this helps. Only communicate in writing. Any more phone calls just say that all contact is to be in writing and any other phone calls will constitute harassment.

Normally sorts them out. Plus you have a paper trail.

CIM

mechanic wrote: »

Not an expert but hope this helps. Only communicate in writing. Any more phone calls just say that all contact is to be in writing and any other phone calls will constitute harassment.

Normally sorts them out. Plus you have a paper trail.

I tried that last year when I first got contacted by Roxburghe and after speaking to the 3 call centre without receiving a satisfactory explanation for the surprise debt letters, I wrote to the Hutchison 3G UK Ltd office in Glasgow with a detailed request for a full explanation of what was going on.

I didn't receive a reply. All I eventually got was a repeat debt collector letter requesting the same unexplained amount from Roxburghe 9 months later.

So maybe writing to them shuts them up for a bit but does it actually sort out the real problem?

Guys_Dad

These debt collectors are a real pain, but you need to know how it works.

Sometimes debt collectors are acting for the original creditor - in this cas 3. But sometimes the creditor sells off their bad debts for, say, 10p in the £. They are then "owned" by the debt collector and the original creditor has washed their hands of the debt.

If that is the case, Roxburghe have been sold a pup in your case and they will keep on and on as they have spent good money buying your debt.

You need them to know that you have never had a 3 contract and you should write to them demanding proof of the debt and that you give them 28 days to produce this otherwise you will no longer correspond with them. Other parts of the MSE forum can advise better on the wording - see the debt section.

Make sure you keep a copy of the letter and send it recorded and keep a copy of the receipt from the Post Office.

I have had debt collectors chase debts at my house for someone who has never lived here at all. And also for a tenant of the person to whom I sold my previous house for Gas 2 years after I sold the house!!

They are lazy, useless showers who rely on harassment so don't worry about them. What you do need to check, however, is that 3 have not already damaged your Credit Rating. Go for the free Credit Expert - Experian - credit report.