Debt Collector Scam

[Allen]

Hey guys, just had this happen to me, so i thought I'd let people know about it.


I received a call from a private number this morning, from an indian woman at a debt collectors agency. (Didn't gave a name of the company, just "A debt Collection Agency")
She claimed that she had an account from AGL Electricity that I had not paid, and it was her job to get me to pay.

She said that I had an outstanding amount for $150.00 + the debt collectors fee of $50.00. She told me that if I paid immediatly by credit card over the phone, she could waive her $50.00 fee.

I knew that I was up to date with my bills, so I told her that I had organized a payment plan with AGL, and that I did not have a credit card to pay it with; as I only pay in cash at the post office.

She then started pressuring me to go a bank, get a credit card and then to pay her. As the longer I left it, the larger their fee would grow.
At this point I had enough of it, so I hung up.

I called AGL, spoke to a customer service rep and confirmed that I was indeed up to date with my account, and they had not authorized any debt collection agency to harass me for money.
The rep I spoke to said she had not heard of this kind of thing before, but agreed that it was definatly a scam.


Call me a skeptic, but it pays to question everything... I can only wonder how many gullable people have been caught out by this kind of thing.

What I would like to know, is how this person got my name, address and knew that I was with AGL... Only thing I can think of, is someone stole a bill from my mailbox.

Anyone else had anything similar?

[RG]

Not good. I'd be tempted to report it to the Police so they can trace the number to find out what is going on. I could see people being suckered into this quite easily, especially the elderly.

[Allen]

Yeah, she told me that she would call me back in a week to ensure it has been paid...

If they do infact call back, I will be telling them that my new "credit card" has been applied for and is in the mail. I'll then ask for a number to call them on, as well as any other details about their "Buisness" so I can contact them when I'm able to "pay".

If I can get any info, I'll be passing it onto the authorities... But I bet they will back off when I start asking questions...

[DIFFWA]

Oh my god i have been hasstled by the same thing, but knowing that i dont have any debts at all, i have been ignoring the call untill i have recevied the letter in the mail.

next time they call i think ill inform then that there call is being recored and reffered the the police, then see what they do.

[Mark^^]

Originally Posted by DIFFWA

next time they call i think ill inform then that there call is being recored and reffered the the police, then see what they do.

I think you will find that recording a phone call is a breach of the Telecommunication Act and puts you at risk of being charged as well, so not a great plan.

[DayTE]

Originally Posted by Mark^^

I think you will find that recording a phone call is a breach of the Telecommunication Act and puts you at risk of being charged as well, so not a great plan.

As long as all parties know that the call is being recorded it is fine.

[EDManual]

you can record any call, its just that it cant be used in court as evidence.

[GTpilot]

I had a scam call at home the other week, Not from AGL but some guy claiming the mobile phone I had ordered 6 mths ago was now ready for delivery. He just needed a few details so He could send it out to me.

another one we got at work last thursday was this guys who started off by saying because we always pay our phone bill on time they would like to offer us to sign up on a new plan that gives us free local calls etc. They just needed to fill out a form which could be done over the phone and we would be all set to go........we are a telecommunicaions provider (ISP & Phone). We took the call as far as we could and got all their details. then forwarded that off to the telecommunication industry ombudsman.

You do really need to be careful these days, They try anything.

[balthazarr]

I don't know that your call wasn't a scam, but AGL and their debt collectors are a massive PITA... especially if you own a property that you rent out.

If your tenant skips out, AGL will unilaterally close the tenant's account and open a new account in the landlord's name. They'll then claim that the landlord owes the money and set their debt collection hounds onto the landlord.

:

[InTrail]

Originally Posted by Mark^^

I think you will find that recording a phone call is a breach of the Telecommunication Act and puts you at risk of being charged as well, so not a great plan.

All calls to and from my work are recorded. We have no obligation to inform the caller.
There's an obvious 'ping' about every 5 seconds which apparently has something to do with the recording's time stamp, but I've never had anyone query it.

[evanj]

Hi, I have a lot of fun with these "curry munchers" I regularly get calls from them and i have a lot of fun taking the mickey out of them. I don't take them seriously at all just have a laugh at their expense

Originally Posted by Allen

Hey guys, just had this happen to me, so i thought I'd let people know about it.


I received a call from a private number this morning, from an indian woman at a debt collectors agency. (Didn't gave a name of the company, just "A debt Collection Agency")
She claimed that she had an account from AGL Electricity that I had not paid, and it was her job to get me to pay.

She said that I had an outstanding amount for $150.00 + the debt collectors fee of $50.00. She told me that if I paid immediatly by credit card over the phone, she could waive her $50.00 fee.

I knew that I was up to date with my bills, so I told her that I had organized a payment plan with AGL, and that I did not have a credit card to pay it with; as I only pay in cash at the post office.

She then started pressuring me to go a bank, get a credit card and then to pay her. As the longer I left it, the larger their fee would grow.
At this point I had enough of it, so I hung up.

I called AGL, spoke to a customer service rep and confirmed that I was indeed up to date with my account, and they had not authorized any debt collection agency to harass me for money.
The rep I spoke to said she had not heard of this kind of thing before, but agreed that it was definatly a scam.


Call me a skeptic, but it pays to question everything... I can only wonder how many gullable people have been caught out by this kind of thing.

What I would like to know, is how this person got my name, address and knew that I was with AGL... Only thing I can think of, is someone stole a bill from my mailbox.

Anyone else had anything similar?

[Hitman]

Originally Posted by InTrail

All calls to and from my work are recorded. We have no obligation to inform the caller.
There's an obvious 'ping' about every 5 seconds which apparently has something to do with the recording's time stamp, but I've never had anyone query it.

I suggest you have a look here.
http://www.privacy.gov.au/faqs/ypr/q1.html

For The Lazy's...

Are there rules about recording or monitoring my telephone conversations?


Yes. Monitoring (listening in to), or recording of telephone conversations, is a matter tightly controlled by law. The federal Telecommunications (Interception) Act 1979 and State and Territory listening devices laws may both apply to this activity. The general rule is that the call may not be recorded. There are exceptions to these rules in very limited circumstances including where a warrant applies.

If a call is to be recorded or monitored, an organisation must tell you at the beginning of the conversation so that you have the chance either to end the call, or to ask to be transferred to another line where monitoring or recording does not take place if this is available.

Reasons organisations may monitor or record conversations could include:

to protect you in your dealings with the organisation. For example, to record your instructions to a stockbroker;
to provide a record in the event of a dispute about the transaction. For example, when placing a bet with a TAB;
to improve customer service. For example, monitoring training or coaching of staff who handle telephone calls.

[4Vman]

Originally Posted by EDManual

you can record any call, its just that it cant be used in court as evidence.

You can record any private call you are participating in without consent of the other party...
As long as 1 party of a 2 party call is aware of the call being taped its fine, and it can be used as evidence.

[Eu-GenixX]

Originally Posted by 4Vman

You can record any private call you are participating in without consent of the other party...
As long as 1 party of a 2 party call is aware of the call being taped its fine, and it can be used as evidence.

this is what i was told buy a policeman when i was having trouble with receiving threatening phone calls...

as long as i was participating in the conversation.. and atleast 50% of the parties involved in the conversation knew it was being recorded.. it was fine...

[4Vman]

Originally Posted by Eu-GenixX

this is what i was told buy a policeman when i was having trouble with receiving threatening phone calls...

as long as i was participating in the conversation.. and atleast 50% of the parties involved in the conversation knew it was being recorded.. it was fine...

Yep.
There was a police officer charged with extortion here a few months ago (sex in exchange for withdrawal of speeding tickets) and the girl involved taped a phone call without him knowing, it was the 1 and only piece of evidence they had on him which led to his conviction.

[rocketscientist]

Whenever I get a call from one of our sub-Continental cousins, I hang up before they can begin their sales pitch, and so should you guys.

[falconboy]

Its a very interesting area, and one I have covered a fair bit of as I have recently got my private investigators licence, which includes licencing for surveillance, and gets into listening devices and the like.

Heres some legislation for NSW in relation to listening devices.

Keep in mind a "listening device" means any device capable of being used to overhear, record, monitor or listen to a conversation or words spoken to or by any person in conversation (ie, a bug, a tape recorder etc):

http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/n...007210/s7.html

Basically the only time you MIGHT get away with recording a private conversation between you and someone else is if:

(b) a principal party to the conversation (ie YOU) consents to the listening device being so used and the recording of the conversation:
(i) is reasonably necessary for the protection of the lawful interests of that principal party

Now, even then, you'd be lucky to get away with recording a possible telemarketing scam, simply because it can be argued it isn't necessary, because if you are aware its a scam, you just hang up and don't take part in it!

What would be appropriate is if you were being threatened by someone via telephone because that would be considered reasonably necessary for your protection.

The other thing that is interesting too, is you are allowed to record the conversation if it:
(ii) is not made for the purpose of communicating or publishing the conversation, or a report of the conversation, to persons who are not parties to the conversation.

So if its for your own reference only (what you said in an important business call perhaps), then its OK.

[CPOCSM]

Hooroo

[onfire]

We often get some arrogant young Indian gentlemen knocking on our doors, claiming to represent which ever company owns the infrustracture responsible connecting power to our homes. They claim, and run this attempted scam over and over, to be able to reduce the rates, if converting to ' greener power '... the theory is, if I say yes, they charge my power provider less for my account, which in turn they charge me less for power... if you go through with the process, after the first few details, its a basic cease of your current account, and signing up with this shitty power provider deal.

Its a direct lie. I've called the guy out on it, and when his cousin came the following week, I called that guy out on it too, within seconds of opening the door.

It was recently reported in the Herald Sun a few weeks ago also.

[GK]

Originally Posted by onfire

We often get some arrogant young Indian gentlemen knocking on our doors, claiming to represent which ever company owns the infrustracture responsible connecting power to our homes. They claim, and run this attempted scam over and over, to be able to reduce the rates, if converting to ' greener power '... the theory is, if I say yes, they charge my power provider less for my account, which in turn they charge me less for power... if you go through with the process, after the first few details, its a basic cease of your current account, and signing up with this shitty power provider deal.

Its a direct lie. I've called the guy out on it, and when his cousin came the following week, I called that guy out on it too, within seconds of opening the door.

It was recently reported in the Herald Sun a few weeks ago also.

Do you have a link for the article? I'd be interested to read it.

GK

[paule11]

Originally Posted by rocketscientist

Whenever I get a call from one of our sub-Continental cousins, I hang up before they can begin their sales pitch, and so should you guys.

Whenever I answer the phone at home I try to sound like Manuel of Fawlty Towers I start with Ello and after the bloke does his fast phone spiel about having a preapproved phone with all the bells and whistles I pretend to talk in a foreign language start gibbering on they hang up first

[onfire]

Originally Posted by GK

Do you have a link for the article? I'd be interested to read it.

GK

No sorry, it was only a small piece, but the article was about these kinds of tatics being used on some what disadvantaged members of the community. Eg. The elderly, recent immigrants, etc. Those who might have problems understanding due to the language barrier.

[onfire]

Originally Posted by paule11

Whenever I answer the phone at home I try to sound like Manuel of Fawlty Towers I start with Ello and after the bloke does his fast phone spiel about having a preapproved phone with all the bells and whistles I pretend to talk in a foreign language start gibbering on they hang up first

Start placing an order for 4 large pizzas, a garlic bread and 2 bottles of Coke..

[BENT_8]

Originally Posted by onfire

We often get some arrogant young Indian gentlemen knocking on our doors, claiming to represent which ever company owns the infrustracture responsible connecting power to our homes. They claim, and run this attempted scam over and over, to be able to reduce the rates, if converting to ' greener power '... the theory is, if I say yes, they charge my power provider less for my account, which in turn they charge me less for power... if you go through with the process, after the first few details, its a basic cease of your current account, and signing up with this shitty power provider deal.

Its a direct lie. I've called the guy out on it, and when his cousin came the following week, I called that guy out on it too, within seconds of opening the door.

It was recently reported in the Herald Sun a few weeks ago also.

I had one of these clowns knock on the door a few weeks ago. Told me i was entitled to some government rebate on my yearly bill but most people never know its available, all i had to do was fill in the form and i'd get $100.
Read the title of the form..'application for connection to a residential premises'

I called him on it straight away and he split quick smart.

Had another guy trying to sign my kids up for Karate classes, $200 each it started at, by the time i had told him NO the 4th time it was only $50 each, payable immediately.
I asked if i could bring the kids along to see what goes on but was told it was not appropriate for non members to view training.