Well the cheque arrived and is banked, so the £25 contribution to CAG is in hand. Must say there is something very ironic about the fact that one of the chief "offenders" in this matter is now funding a contribution to the website that helps people stand up to their bullying!

At last a result Problem traced back to Shop Direct who have now responded positively to my complaint. They advise they in turn have traced it back to Arrow Golden who confirmed “an incorrect trace has resulted in your address being linked to the debt. Arrow Global have cut the link to your address and you will no longer be pursued for this debt”. They then apologise for the experience and unnecessary upset and advise my requirement for a £50 cheque to cover my expenses etc is being met and a cheque will be with me within 14 days. Assuming this happens then half of that will be donated to your excellent website help as a thank you for your help and guidance.

Thanks again and apologies for the silly question! Call Credit gave me a perfect 5/5 with no wrong entries anywhere (even got an address from 14 years ago correct) Equifax keeps coming up with an internal server error so will try again later

Thanks Brigadier Have written to Shop Direct per your advice Have also contacted Experian with similar demand Who else? Not sure if anybody else is involved in that bit Ricky

Things have started moving quickly. Based on responses too date: Both the CSA and the OFT have been very positive and supportive of my complaints Wescot seem to be in the clear as per my earlier post. Phillips & Cohen also seem blameless as they were just following Arrow Golden latest instructions. Arrow Golden however appear to have totally ignored all my notices of dispute and carried on “doing their thing” to extort money regardless. They are rapidly becoming No. 1 target along with Shop Direct. Shop Direct have written a standard “wishy-washy” letter assuring me of their “best possible service”, but I now find on checking my credit report on Experian that Shop Direct added a totally incorrect and fictitious “Linked Address” in London for me back in 2006. That seems to be the root of all these problems. I will continue to nail this down thru’ to FSA (and the national press if necessary) and get apologies and compensation for my time, expenses and hassle. The scavengers really have gone too far this time.

Have a reply from the first of my letters; this one from Wescot. Wescot confirm that they suspended all collection activities as soon as I told them the debt was disputed as per their previous letter in August 2012. What they didn’t tell me before this letter was that they tried to take the matter up with their client, Arrow Global but got no response from them. They also failed to tell me before now that Arrow Global withdrew the account from them in October 2012. It is a pity Wescot did not keep me informed of all this. Unless Arrow Global dispute Wescot’s version of events, it would appear Wescot are guilty only of failing to update me as they had promised to do in Aug 2012. I look forward to Arrow Golden’s reply as it seems at the moment that the root cause of all this seems to lay firmly at their door. Arrow Global never did respond to my original letter of July 2012. I wonder why?

The more I thought about all this yesterday, the madder I got. These people and their “scatter-gun” approach to sending out their ridiculous claims for money regardless of whether they are realistic or ethical really do make me very cross indeed and they should not be allowed to just get away with it. So I thought “Well two can play at the scatter-gun approach”. So far I have issued 6 letters: Formal complaints to both Arrow Global Guernsey and Wescot Credit Services giving them 56 days to respond before referring to FSA Written to Phillips & Cohen Associates as suggested by the Brigadier Issued a full report of events to the Credit Services Association Issued a full report to the Debt Collection Team at the Office of Fair Trading Written to Shop Direct Group asking them to establish where the errors originally occurred and rectify them at source. It will be interesting to see which of these, if any, proves to be effective. If anybody thinks I’ve missed a trick, please shout. Thanks Ricky

Thanks again for all the advice Will keep you posted on events! Regards

Thanks Love the address of Dear Cur or madman Will follow the advice re Phillips & Cohen but also feel it is time Arrow/Wescot were taken to task What do you think of this draft: This is a formal complaint lodged against Arrow Global Guernsey Ltd. and Wescot Credit Services Ltd. I refer to your various letters commencing June 2012 and culminating in letter from Phillips & Cohen dated 5th February 2014 all of which falsely claim I owe £502.17. I wrote to both Arrow Global and Wescot Credit Services on 17th July 2012 by recorded delivery informing them that I do not recognise the debt and it is therefore DISPUTED (copy attached). Wescot Credit Services wrote to me on 10th August 2012 acknowledging my letter, advising that it will be investigated and confirming that all collection activities will be suspended. They advised that they would contact me again on conclusion of their investigation, something they singularly failed to do. No correspondence has ever been received from either Arrow Global or Wescot Credit Services since then. The fact that Phillips & Cohen Associates have now written to be on 5th February 2014 renewing the same tired old nonsense indicates that either Phillips & Cohen Associates are part of (or are acting on behalf of) Arrow Global or Wescot Credit Services or that Arrow Global and/or Wescot Credit Services have sold the alleged debt on to Phillips & Cohen Associates even though they knew it to be disputed. A formal complaint against Arrow Global and Wescot Credit Services is being lodged with the Credit Services Association as I believe at least one of those two companies to be in breach of their obligations under CSA’s Code of Practice. Complaints will also be lodged with Trading Standards and possibly, depending on the response to this complaint from Arrow Global and Wescot Credit Services, the F.O.S.

Well your thoughts that this might surface again were well founded. I now have a new player in the form of Phillips & Cohen Associates (UK) Ltd of Exchange Quay, Manchester writing to me. This is 19 months after I wrote to Arrow and told them the debt was in dispute. They cite in their letter that their client is Britannica Recoveries S.a r.l - Arrow and the original creditor is Additions Direct (whom I have never heard of). The sum involved remains the same £502.17 It would therefore seem that either Britannica Recovery and/or Philips &Cohen are part of the Arrow Group or Arrow have sold the issue on despite knowing it is in dispute. Either way they are totally out of order and I want blood. So apart from submitting the facts to Trading Standards, Office of Fair Trading and the Credit Services Association I also wish to complain that they appear to have sold on this debt with the knowledge it is disputed and seek guidance as to who this complaint should be addressed to. Thanks Ricky

Thank you for making a difference in this greedy world Martin

Thank you Gentlemen; your help and advice has been invaluable Please point me to the bit where I can make a small donation to your Website for the benefit of others Long may you be here!

It is now nearly 5 months since I sent Arrow Global Guernsey Ltd the excellent letter recommended by you telling them that the matter is disputed. With the exception of their acknowledgement of that letter and a further letter in October trying to get me to confirm address and stuff (which I ignored) they have been silent. However experience of others tells me that is not enough for me to assume that the matter is closed. My letter concluded "I await your rapid written confirmation that this matter is now closed". Questions: Should I be reminding them of this and ask again for that confirmation? Should I be seeking recompense for worry and stress caused by their actions? Thanks Ricky

Latest in this saga is this morning a letter arrived from Arrow Global (Manchester office this time) entitled "New Address" Quote" We contacted you recently in regard to the new address you have provided and are awaiting proof before we can address your enquiry. Under the Data Protection Act 1998 we are required to verify this address, therefore we would appreciate it if you could provide us with two of the following". (Then follows a list of documentation.) My comments: 1. The only letter I have sent them is notice that there claim is DISPUTED 2. I understood that they are not at liberty to write to me unless/until they prove the debt is mine (which that can't 'cos it isn't) 3. What are they talking about re Data Protection Act? My temptation is to ignore it.

Well after much thought I did decide to send a rebuttal to Arrow Global on 17 July formally advising them this matter was DISPUTED and setting out the rules governing disputed items. I copied the letter to Wescot Credit Services. 4 weeks later I received a reply from Wescot (not Arrow) acknowledging that I have " raised a query on this account" (their words not mine), confirming they will suspend all collection activity whilst the mater is under investigation and advising that such investigation may take several weeks. Up to them how they waste their time and money.