Klarna selling a debt that was never a bad debt and was closed months previously.

ancientferguson

Hi there, first of all let me apologise for being a watcher and not a contributor, so here goes with my first post.

This is something that has occurred to me this week and I am just putting it out there to try gauge the extent of the blunder.

Rather than to trying to write pages on what I have discovered, about the conversations I have had and what I am going to do about it, here is a summary.

Klarna have sold my details, under the guise of a "bad debt" to a company called JCIA.
JCIA have, by return, instructed their pitbull company, CARSuk to collect the debt from me.
CARS have made contact with me via email, giving me options on how I should pay this debt.
All of this happened a few days ago, between the 18th and 20th of May, although the suggestion is this debt was sold on the 31/1/2024.
The information from CARS contains three pages of letters purporting to be from Klarna, JCIA and CARS. Dated the 18th, 19th and 20th of May. So they apparently bought this "debt" on the 31st of January, but didn't inform me until the 20th of May, via their agent. Even though this perfectly maintained account was closed in February by Klarna after all payments were made as per the agreement.

So, here is the problem for Klarna. I did indeed have an interest free loan for a camera with Klarna and all payments were made on time by direct debit. Every debt I have ever entered into, throughout my life has been serviced without a single missed payment. My last payment of this agreement with Klarna, was made in February of this year and I received a letter from Klarna that the account was closed and thanking me for choosing them etc. The account was updated on my credit file and closed, showing a perfect repayment record. 

To cut a longish story short, that I have gleaned from conversations with Klarna, JCIA and CARSuk call handlers,  Klarna have sold a largish number of closed and open accounts to JCIA as bad debt, taken from a sweep of debts owed to Klarna, in early January. The result of this unbelievable error is that JCIA were furnished with closed accounts that had a perfectly normal payment record, open accounts that had a perfectly normal payment record and of course accounts that were indeed defaulting. All sold as CURRENT bad debt.

So, the two main problem scenarios we now have are:

(1) People like myself that have closed, perfectly maintained accounts are being chased for amounts that would have been owed in January of this year.

(2) People with open, perfectly maintained accounts are being chased by CARSuk for an amount they owed in January of this year. Even though these people have continued to make payments to their Klarna account, their January "amount owed" status has been sold to JCIA as a bad debt, even though what they currently owe to Klarna is significantly different.

This error is absolutely mind boggling. 

JCIA say it is not their fault because they buy bad debts in bulk from Klarna, in good faith and until Klarna confirm the error, as far as they are concerned, they are owed money by the unsuspecting members of the public. They did mention that the management at JCIA are aware of the problem, but they don't seem to be keen to discuss it.

CARSuk say that JCIA is the client and they won't stop chasing until JCIA instruct them to do so.

Klarna, took way over an hour to answer the phone when I called, because their phones blew a gasket in one day, with multiple phone calls being made very soon after CARSuk dropped the emails in the inbox of the innocent. 

At first the Klarna young lady tried to waffle about this being normal. Then she went on to agree that this was far from normal and that they were dealing with hundreds of calls from disgruntled customers and previous customers. Eventually a complaint was logged and I await their response. If I am honest, I am going to go after Klarna for selling my data from a closed account, an account that was prime, in every way. 

Klarna cannot sell a debt that doesn't exist, it is as simple as that.

Anybody else having a problem? I know you are out there. :-)

ancientferguson

Because I am not able to edit my post, I will add that JCIA have taken me seriously today and have stopped this nonsense from developing any further. Meanwhile, Klarna is still silent, no doubt snowed under by the size of their stupidity and recklessness. 

I would suggest that Klarna is avoided, now and in the future. This is beyond shoddy.

sourcrates

You need to address this properly, send a written complaint, to Klarna, email is fine, detailing what you have told us.

Klarna then has 8 weeks to issue you with a final response, if you remain unhappy, you can then escalate to the FOS.

You are lucky in that Klarna became FCA regulated only last year.

ManyWays

Klarna are FCA regulated but if your camera loan was a "pay in 3" type, then that isnt a consumer credit debt and isn't under FCA regulation. So I would be surprised if the Financial Ombudsman would consider it. 

I suggest that you complain and ask for compensation from Klarna and if they refuse talk to a national newspaper about this. 

ancientferguson

sourcrates said:

You need to address this properly, send a written complaint, to Klarna, email is fine, detailing what you have told us.

Klarna then has 8 weeks to issue you with a final response, if you remain unhappy, you can then escalate to the FOS.

You are lucky in that Klarna became FCA regulated only last year.

Many thanks for this, I am awaiting any kind of response from Klarna, to their "ticket". Then I will proceed as you have suggested.

The JCIA representative indicated that it was a recent sell of my account data, by Klarna and that they themselves will be going back to Klarna for the money they paid for my settled, trouble free account. 

He agreed something terribly wrong has gone on here and that they( Klarna) have a "big problem". There are many like me apparently. Some research into Karma suggests to me that they do this regularly, even with live accounts that have been maintained. This suggests a cashflow solution to me. 

I fully intend to investigate and to have this investigated fully.

Many thanks.

ancientferguson

ManyWays said:

Klarna are FCA regulated but if your camera loan was a "pay in 3" type, then that isnt a consumer credit debt and isn't under FCA regulation. So I would be surprised if the Financial Ombudsman would consider it. 

I suggest that you complain and ask for compensation from Klarna and if they refuse talk to a national newspaper about this. 

This was a two year, interest free loan for a few thousand. 

I am certainly going to take this story to somebody that would be interested in it, not for compensation, but I find in life that they never learn until you hit them where it hurts.

It's unfortunate for them, that Data Protection and investigating the same, is .... let's say, one of my strengths. I have already made my credentials known to them, so I would imagine they are getting their facts in order before getting back to me. I have already got the facts and a timeline, recorded during conversations. I have been upfront about my obtaining evidence, by recording, during the conversations. 

It is beyond my belief system that they would sell an account as being in default of payment, even though it was perfectly maintained, already closed, one that they had written to me to thank me for my business and one they had closed on my credit file.

I posted here in the hope that others in need of some guidance, make themselves known. In reality, many will accept the well scripted BS that Klarna was giving over the phone, on the first manic day of calls. Immediately, when I challenged the script as being fairytales and completely incorrect, the young lady reeled back and declared that what had happened was not normal and that she fully understood why I was outraged. We progressed to a complaint which appears to be on a ticket, that has not been updated. 

I will give them until the end of the week and start pushing them much harder.

Thank you for your comments.

ManyWays

I look forward to seeing your next update!

ancientferguson

ManyWays said:

I look forward to seeing your next update!

Despite JCIA's assurances, seven days ago, that they have stopped the nonsense and informed their Pitbull company CARS Creditlink that this is a mistake, should never happened and that they want their money back they paid for the "debt" that never was, from Klarna, Creditlink have  now removed money from my bank account, by setting up a direct debit.

CARS is now saying that if I want my money back, I will have to do a clawbank from my bank.

These people are atrocious. I await a call back from a manager.

Ergates

ancientferguson said:

It is beyond my belief system that they would sell an account as being in default of payment, even though it was perfectly maintained, already closed

Is it though?  "Klarna are incompetent and don't care about their customers" isn't something I find *remotely* surprising.

ancientferguson

Ergates said:

ancientferguson said:

It is beyond my belief system that they would sell an account as being in default of payment, even though it was perfectly maintained, already closed

Is it though?  "Klarna are incompetent and don't care about their customers" isn't something I find *remotely* surprising.

I was no longer one of their customers when my details were sold. Utterly unbelievable. 

JadedAngel88

Creditlink have now removed money from my bank account, by setting up a direct debit.

Claim it back via the direct debit guarantee through your bank.