Anyone had dealings with "Commercial Credit Services"?

[evilcartman]

I've had a text out of the blue from a company by the above name, asking me to call them and quoting a reference number.

Having done a quick google and also a quick search of this forum, I gather that they are strongly associated with BT. Has anyone had dealings with them on any other kind of debt, i.e. unenforceable credit card debts?

The standard advice given on these forums is NEVER speak to a DCA by phone, so I have no intention of calling their number. I'm quite aware of the reasons for not doing so and they are sound.

I did have a BT line at my old address and this was cancelled when I moved to my new address, which had Virgin cable. I wanted cable internet, which BT couldn't offer at my new address at the time, so I parted company with BT.

So there is a possibility that it's relating to a final BT bill, although I'm pretty sure I paid in full at the time of disconnection. I have certainly not received any bills from BT at my new address, or any forwarded ones from my old address, so I can't be 100% certain that it is related to BT.

How can I go about enquiring with BT to see if I do actually owe them anything? I can't find any old bills with the account number, I'm not even sure if I remember the phone number correctly as I only ever used it for the broadband. So it's going to be a total nightmare getting any sense out of them, when it's an ordeal talking to them via their call centre monkeys at the best of times.

[PriorityOne]

Re: Anyone had dealings with "Commercial Credit Services"?

Personally, i wouldn't bother. If CCs were that sure of who you were , they would have written. This is one of the oldest tricks in the book...

[evilcartman]

Re: Anyone had dealings with "Commercial Credit Services"?

Oh, they're bound to be fishing for clues. It's not the DCA that I'm bothered about, it's more that Virgin are a bit rubbish and I intend to go back to BT when my minimum term ends, as BT should by then have fibre optic broadband here.

Niddy's mailbox service is starting to look like a plan...

[PriorityOne]

Re: Anyone had dealings with "Commercial Credit Services"?

Oh, they're bound to be fishing for clues. It's not the DCA that I'm bothered about, it's more that Virgin are a bit rubbish and I intend to go back to BT when my minimum term ends, as BT should by then have fibre optic broadband here.

Niddy's mailbox service is starting to look like a plan...

Then you're best to sort it out with BT if it becomes an issue at the time you decide to go back.

[evilcartman]

Re: Anyone had dealings with "Commercial Credit Services"?

Had a voicemail from them, with a mumbled message that took a while to decipher. The gist of it is that some (presumably badly paid and very bored) office drone basically gave the same details as in the text, said it was in my "best interests" to contact them , that it would cost 8p a minute to do so and then just mumbled the rest of his script, which I don't think he even got half-way through before the call ended. So professional.

Number blocked now, obviously. I've also put a block on all withheld numbers. Unfortunately the council and government agencies tend to withhold their number, so I won't get their calls either, but that's their problem. If it's important enough, they should write.

As for whether it relates to an actual debt, I have googled about this company and it seems that the scamming *@$!s just ring anyone whose name and number they can find, there are plenty of people who owe nothing to anybody getting these calls. Scam artists like this shouldn't be in business.

[Undercover Elsa]

Re: Anyone had dealings with "Commercial Credit Services"?

Probably on his last day before he stats his job as CEO of RBS...

[evilcartman]

Re: Anyone had dealings with "Commercial Credit Services"?

Well, this is a bit creepy.

I have a landline that is only there for the Virgin broadband (it's fibre optic but you still have to take up one of their landlines otherwise you lose the introductory discounts and they fiddle it so that you pay a higher price for the broadband anyway if you don't have their phone). As you have to pay for Caller Display and they have no facility for blocking specific numbers or withheld ones, I just have the ringer turned off as it's a bloody nuisance. Anyone who I want to hear from knows my mobile number or my email or Facebook etc.

So I rarely bother to check 1571 as I never give out the landline number to anyone. But I checked it just now and these clowns have left an automated message, asking for me by name and repeating the same old script.

I don't know of any utility firms or other potential creditors that I have given this number to, as I don't even know the number off the top of my head, I use it so rarely. I'm not even on the electoral register here yet, so as far as I can see they could only have got my details off Virgin Media (they use an Indian call centre, so it wouldn't surprise me at all that the details were sold on to all and sundry).