1st Credit LTD

LittleSavy

Hi i have received the folowing letter today from 1st Credit

Dear Sir/Madam

1st Credit limited is attempting to contact the above name regarding a personal matter.

Your address has been supplied as a possible address for our subject.

If you are Miss.............

Please contact our offices immediately on telephone number ........... and quote the above 1st credit reference number at which time further information can be provided.

If you are not Miss..............

If Miss....... is no longer resident at this address we would appreciate you calling us at your earliest convenience on ........ This will enable us to update our records and thereby avoid our contacting you unnecessarily in the future.

Any information you provide to us will be treated in the strictest confidence.

If no response is received to this letter within ten days we will continue to hold this address as the current address of Miss ....... and may issue further letters.

Yours faithfully
Gavin Flynn
Head of collections

Now the first thing i would like to point out is that the name they have quoted is indeed correct but the title is Wrong as it should be MRS as my wife only assume this name when we got married 7 years ago. So have they got the name right or wrong. The other point is that my wife has not got any debts what so ever and neither has she had all her life appart from our mortgage which we are overpayed so certainly not underpaid. Other threads have suggested not telephoning these people as this is the worst thing to do. I am just really worried that we are going to get stung for a debt that is most definitley not ours so it has left us both a bit shaken. Has anyone got any suggestions on this matter, its a constant worry at the mo.

Lensman_2

You are worrying unduly.

The system is a bit random in nature and will pick the wrong people to match a debt to from time to time. It is an unfair system and the burden of proof is far too low IMO.

However, there are things that can and cannot be done here:
1. DO NOT pick the phone up. While it may seem like you are doing something, they will bully you mercilessly. To the point that you will pay up just to make it go away. They don't care if it is actually your debt or not - in fact people in your wife's position get accused of bare faced lying, just to extract payment.
2. Get annoyed. These people do not care about your wife, just about their bonus for extracting a payment.
3. You will have to sit and wait. They will either confirm the details in another letter in a week or two or go quiet as further checks are made and it becomes obvious they have the wrong person.

If you get phone calls, do not provide ANY security information and DO NOT tell them they have your wife's title wrong. This is info they will use against her.

Write back if you get phone calls or a further letter. They cannot make you pay for a debt that is not yours, but you will need the correct info to bat them away effectively.

And please be annoyed and not worried.

fatbelly

I agree with this approach. They're fishing and, when you're fishing, a bite is a bite. If they are contacting a dozen people with similar names and you are the one who responds then the focus falls on you.

If they choose to make a direct accusation, that is the time to start fighting.