I employed debt collectors but...

happybucket

I employed debt collectors but...it seems they have failed to collect the money after only 3 months of trying and are now telling me to pay them a further £150 for a high court writ.

I paid them £420 (350 plus VAT) to get my money back from a fraudster on ebay, ([name removed by MSE Forum Team]). He is an expert it seems in avoiding paying back money he has deceitfully taken from people.

I employed these debt collectors (federal management is their name) for a period of one year. They have been "on the case" for only three months. They wrote to him, then phoned him. He replied to their letter with some kind of objection, they will not reveal the content of the letter to me. I do not think anyone from the company actually bothered to meet [name removed by MSE Forum Team] in person.

now federal management are asking me for a further £150 for a writ (which only costs £60!) and are giving me the heave-ho.

I have asked for a 75% refund as they have only worked for 75% of the contracted period.

And guess what? Federal management say they have already spent more than I have paid them..... on a couple of letters and phone calls.

What should I do next, I'm thinking of writing to the papers, going to trading standards, "outing" their modus operandi on the net any and everywhere I can... and I'm in need of suggestions as to how i phrase my letter to ask/demand a refund of my much needed cash.

Any suggestions?Thank you

ILW

What did your contract with them say you were paying for?

InsideInsurance

happybucket wrote: »

What should I do next, I'm thinking of writing to the papers, going to trading standards, "outing" their modus operandi on the net any and everywhere I can... and I'm in need of suggestions as to how i phrase my letter to ask/demand a refund of my much needed cash.

Any suggestions?Thank you

Papers publish what either (a) shifts units/ sells paper or (b) supports their corporate objectives. I dont think either a scamming ebayer or a debt collection agency being unable to recover funds is likely to qualify for either.

Its unclear which of the two you are gunning for. Be sure that the debt collectors however will be much more efficient of collecting money from you for deformation than they have been from your ebayer.

For an eBay transaction, why didnt you use their disputes process?

You need to read your contract with the debt collectors to see what you paid for. Once they have exhausted the initial attempts their success rate will go through the floor and the return on investment is unlikely.

As to their cost for a high court rite. Show me one company that only charges exactly what their suppliers charge for a service and do all their work for free!

arcon5

If you refuse to pay for the writ will they continue pursuing the debt for the remainder of the year?
Is field agent visits included in the service purchased? In my experience it takes many months to get to this stage.
Have you considered pursuing this yourself? Ie send a letter before action then issue a small claims at moneyclaim.gov.uk - will be considerably less than a DCA.

How did you pay this guy? What for and when? Maybe tell us more about the claim and we may be able to guide you

pka_2

my suggestion is remove the name of the 'fraudster' from your OP before it gets removed

Chickabiddybex

Shouldn't you have gone to the police or the courts?

dalesrider

Interesting thread (7 pages) on Horse & hound forum on this guy. Seems there is also a facebook page as well.....

Report to Action Fraud. If enough people do it they will take action.

jumpedtheshark

Presumably the OP has his reasons for not going through the eBay complaints process. Perhaps he paid in cash or via bank transfer?

OP, have you been through the small claims process (https://www.moneyclaim.gov.uk/web/mcol/welcome)? If not, why not (given that you haven't used the eBay process either)?

Are Federal Management acting now just as debt collectors or as HCEOs? Which of the various possible writs are Federal Management saying they need to proceed further (Fi Fa, etc?)?

bris

Even the courts can't get people to pay if they don't want to. Millions of CCJ's go unpaid, sometimes it's just not worth throwing good money away after bad.

If the seller is a con man then report it to the police with all the evidence you have on him, if they have multiple reports about him they will act.

A civil matter soon turns to fraud when it becomes clear he is deliberately out to defraud multiple people, they will act if enough report him.

gb12345

jumpedtheshark wrote: »

OP, have you been through the small claims process (https://www.moneyclaim.gov.uk/web/mcol/welcome)? If not, why not (given that you haven't used the eBay process either)?
?

A google of the debtor's name seems to indicate that it has already been to court.

@OP are you the one who posted on a couple of other forums in February?

If so, what happened in court? Did they find for you and what did the judge order?

tomwakefield

happybucket wrote: »

I have asked for a 75% refund as they have only worked for 75% of the contracted period.

Surely one or other of these numbers should be 25%...