UK’s Scam Debt Collection Agencies are still a problem that continue to blight the industry but putting a spotlight on their unethical activities is the Daily Mirror.
The Newspaper has recently run stories highlighting the problem of UK’s rogue Debt Collection firms that purport to be professional yet harbour a dark and seemingly criminal agenda.
Despite tougher legislation and regulations surrounding the debt collection industry, criminals are still seeking to gain from wrongful trading tactics and this has been brought to the attention of the public by the excellent Andrew Penman, scam busting journalist for the Daily Mirror.
Penman has received many accolades for his work including praise from an Old Bailey judge for his role in smashing a multi million pound fraud gang in 2014.
Last year, he also highlighted the crimes of rogue debt collection bosses Samira Saddique and Mohammed Ali who ran a company called Barclays Recovery services who ripped clients off to the tune of hundreds of thousands of pounds before being jailed last summer at Warrington Crown court.
As recent as June, Penman highlighted issues with ‘Corporate Litigation Services'(CLS), trading name for CLS Central Limited.
CLS have been charging their clients for debt recovery services then failing to provide anything at all according to reports. One story told relates to a plumbing company in Surrey who paid over £7,300 for Debt Recovery services only for nothing to be done.
CLS currently has 7 unpaid county court judgments totalling tens of thousands of pounds ranging from £1,932 to £12,738.
The Nottingham based company claims to specialise in Business Debt Recovery services and their website states they have offices in London and Glasgow.
Its Director Ben Reynolds has tried to get the company struck off but this has been blocked and there was also a winding up order presented last year against the company.
The second rogue Debt Collection Agency on Andrew Penman’s radar is North East based ‘Harper Cross Associates’.
Like CLS, Harper Cross purports to be a Professional Debt Collection Agency with a professional looking website spinning all the usual cliched claims of swift recovery and being legally experienced.
Also like CLS, it has a string of unpaid CCJ’s and a sole director named Richard Coates.
Penman’s article goes on to detail a victim of Harper Cross, a small Building supply business was left on its knees after being reportedly ripped off £8,000.
The business had instructed Harper Cross to recover a debt of £8,000 which they duly did – then kept the money themselves.
Harper Cross no longer answers it phones and was due to be put into a compulsory liquidation last month until the action was suspended.
The problem of companies falling victim to rogue debt collection agencies seems to be a continuing problem over the past twenty years with scores of companies being ripped off.
The main trade association for the Debt Collection industry is the Credit services association and any self respecting Debt Collection Agency is a member of this.
Any individual or business needs to do their homework before instructing a debt collection agency. Not all Debt Collection Agencies are the same and it is important to choose a professional and accredited Debt Collection company.
We understand that Andrew Penman has also received complaints about other rogue debt collection agencies currently operating so any unethical debt collectors should be well aware their actions may come under scrutiny very soon.
If you have genuinely been a victim of a scam Debt Collection firm drop Andrew Penman an email at investigate@mirror.co.uk or leave a comment and one of our team will contact you.
