Is this a scam??

[desprateseagull]

www.saynoto0870.com/numbersearch.php

doesnt have this number linked. best avoid. anyone who really wanted you woulftry again, or write..

 

[Springal]

ignore it, if they want to speak to you they should WRITE or RING YOU not you ring them....

 

[The Wookiee]

Debt collectors, probably chasing an outstanding credit card debt

 

[KPTF]

Buchanan Clark & Wells are a debt collection agency based in Scotland. When I was still at Amex, my colleague signed them up to collect some foreign debt (in France, I think) but they weren't very good and were binned fairly quickly.

As a doorstep debt collector myself, I get a lot of cases for the utility companies some of which go back several years and are known as 'recycled' debt. So, if you don't pay BCW and live in the postcode areas I cover, chances are it may well end up with me in the future. Which is nice!

Seriously, though, I would recommend you call them to discuss this rather than ignore it. Try going through the receptionist again (ooh,err!) and say that you've received a text message to call BCW on an 0871 number but are unwilling to call and incur further cost so could she put you through to the correct person/department as you want to resolve. (I've got an 0870 number for my business and don't believe the rate callers get charged is extortionate although I can't recall exactly what it is).

Hope this helps

 

[bristolseagull]

That does help, but im still not ringing them- why the f*** dont they call me?

any outstanding utility bill will be in the name of the 4 other people i lived with as well as me, i'll let one of them deal with it. I had to sort out all the bills when i was a student, my friends did nothing, ill let them deal with this.

 

[Da Man Clay]

How do you know its that though? Its worth a ring just incase, If your ring from a pay-phone and its something you want to avoid just hang up.

 

[bristolseagull]

Yeah yeah, thats a good point

although i cant see a debt collection agency wanting anything other than collecting my debt.

 

[Da Man Clay]

It wil obviously be for some sort of debt but it may not be the electricity bill. Might even be a mistake.

 

[fork me]

er, thats i want to find out if its genuine first- hence the title of the thread- dont want to be getting charged £9 a second.



receptionist wouldnt tell me anything, other than it was urgent that i calld them, cant be that urgent or they would have called me.

If it's urgent they will call you.

f*** 'em, I hate firms that use that sort of tactic.

I had a great one from the Student Loans Company, they phoned me and when I picked up I got a recorded message asking me to phone them on a National Rate number. Damn rude if you ask me, I refused to ring them and they rang me a couple of days leter. It wasn't even vaguely urgent.

fork Me

 

[nail-Z]

I had a period of 4 days last month where I got missed calls on my phone 5 times each day. Strangely, it was exactly the same time (to the minute) on each day, but a different phone number on every occassion.

I grew wise to it so waited for a particular time to come around so I could answer it before it rung off - but it only ever rung for a nano-second so never managed to catch it.

Does anybody actually call back an unrecognised number if it shows up as a missed call?

 

[Da Man Clay]

I don't know anyone that does.

 

[fatboy]

Yeah yeah, thats a good point

although i cant see a debt collection agency wanting anything other than collecting my debt.

They might be offering tall girls at discounted prices.

 

[bristolseagull]

Had enough of giants for the time being,

gonna hit the dwarves and midgits.

Calld them on a pay phone, but they kept putting me on hold, hung up after a while, cant have been that urgent.

 

[KPTF]

Fair play to you for calling them back. They should supplement their phone/text work with letters which would say who the creditor is and how much is outstanding so hold on for one of those I guess.

 

[fork me]

Fair play to you for calling them back.

Fair play my arse.

There's no way I would have called them back on a premium rate number. If a company wants to get hold of me then they can call me, not expect me to call them. If I'm not available and they leave a message it should be GEOGRAPHICAL or cheap number.

They're just tyring to rip off the most vulnerable, but then that's what you debt collectors do isn't it? Make money from the misery of others.

Fork Me

 

[fork me]

Buchanan Clark & Wells are a debt collection agency based in Scotland.

....and a bunch of wanky bully boys by the looks of things.

http://www.touchglasgow.com/business/list/bid/2652241#reviews

Type their name into Google and you get loads more of the same.

Scum, nothing more.

Fork Me

 

[Cian]

(I've got an 0870 number for my business and don't believe the rate callers get charged is extortionate although I can't recall exactly what it is).

10p/minute from a BT landline.

 

[fork me]

10p/minute from a BT landline.

Which, when you're on hold for half an hour is £3 a shot.

I have an 0870 number myself, the only people I give it to are my bank, ntl, SEEBOARD etc etc etc. It just redirects to my normal landline.

The big companies pay extra to phone me and I get 2p a minute each time they do.

Fork Me

 

[Cian]

Which, when you're on hold for half an hour is £3 a shot.

I have an 0870 number myself, the only people I give it to are my bank, ntl, SEEBOARD etc etc etc. It just redirects to my normal landline.

The big companies pay extra to phone me and I get 2p a minute each time they do.

Fork Me

Are the service charges on maintaining those lines not horrific? I looked in to getting an 0818 here (same price) for similar reasons - was getting loooong calls from my cable company all the fecking time - but it was a few grand a year to have it.

 

[fork me]

OK, just remembered, somone gave me a list of BT charges recently. This is the first time I've used it.

0870 is "National NTS, 7.91p a minute daytime, 3.95p evening, 1.5p weekends.

0871 numbers cover a range of prices, it's the numbers after that that determine which price.

0871 70 is priced as g7, which is 10p a minute at all times. So basically, dearer than the 0870 that people are complaining about anyway.

Fork Me