Category: Morally Wrong

Wonga Runs of Cash

Wonga, the payday lender, well known for its wholesome adverts, but notorious for its extortionate interest rates has collapsed into administration after it was brought down by the weight of compensation claims.

 

Wonga used to charge up to 5,853% interest APR.

The collapse leaves an estimated 200,000 customers still owing more than £400m in short-term loans.

The Financial Conduct Authority said it will supervise Wonga and seek fair treatment for customers, but that customers should continue to make any outstanding payments in the normal way as all existing agreements remain in place and will not be affected by the proposed administration.

Wonga was at one time was planning a stock market flotation and looked to be worth up to £1 billion, but it was brought to collapse by a flood of compensation claims over their illegal treatment of customers. For example, Wonga wanted to send out reminder letters to customers who weren’t paying on time so they invented a Solicitors name and sent out threatening letters from the fake solicitor.  They seem to have believed they were above the law and could treat people anyway they wanted to.

They were ordered to pay compensation of £2.6m for those fake solicitors’ letters and recently the claims management companies got their teeth into Wonga with countless claims against them.

Wonga’s most recent accounts show a loss of £66.5m, but said costs and impairments were falling and that it remained a going concern. It said it had 220,000 customers and £430m in loans outstanding, figures.

Martin Lewis, the consumer champion, founder of MoneySavingExpert, said the firm’s collapse was a cause to celebration. “Normally when firms go bust, the fear is diminished competition. Not here. Wonga’s payday loans were the crack cocaine of debt – unneeded, unwanted, unhelpful, destructive and addictive. Its behaviour was immoral, from using pretend lawyers to threaten the vulnerable, to pumping its ads out on children’s TV.”

Good riddance to Wonga and everything it stood for.

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Are Facebook Private Lotteries Legal

Lottery syndicates are legal and many people belong to one or more.

But gambling through Facebook Groups is not legal though hundreds of such groups exist.

Facebook users are being warned about illegal lottery groups which take money from members but don’t pay out.

The prizes promised include smartphones, cars, game consoles and cash prizes of up to £5,000.

Stakes of 50p to £20 are bet on the number of the Lotto bonus ball, with the administrator of the illegal raffle usually taking a large share of proceeds. Some may be rigged or the organisers simply disappear with all the stake money.

The law says that lotteries cannot be run for private or commercial gain. Gambling experts say these privately run groups encourage children to start betting. Illegal bets on the National Lottery.

Some groups do pay out, with the organisers taking a share of the money, while a few have been set up to raise money for charity or community campaigns, but according to the law lotteries cannot be run for private or commercial gain.

The Gambling Commission is working to close down these groups and it can also prosecute those found in breach of the law with a £5,000 fine or up to 51 weeks in prison.

If in any doubt, you can check the licence register on the Gambling Commission  website (www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk) or contact the local authority where the lottery is based.

Join a syndicate of people you trust and not through a Facebook Group.

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Don’t Feel Guilty About Being Scammed

There are many crimes for which the victim is likely to feel angry, upset, threatened and so on but there are also crimes for which the victim may feel partially or completely to blame.

Fraud is one of those crimes that leaves many people feeling foolish for having fallen for it and this is a key reason why a high percentage of frauds are thought to go unreported.

A recent Barclays survey of 1,500 people who have been victims of fraud shows that one in four fraud victims has not even told their partner what happened. The same number feel that being scammed would be more embarrassing than doing a live performance or being stood up on a date.

The words “stupid” and “angry” are commonly used. Yet the survey also suggests that it happens to all of us. For this reason, Barclays ran a series of “Embarrassing Fraud Clinics”, in places such as shopping centres, where the public could talk about their concerns. The idea was to get the message out that we are all potential victims but there is no shame in being defrauded.

Barclays Advice on Dealing with Fraud

  1. Don’t feel guilty

Do not feel ashamed and guilty. Instead remember that fraud happens to people from all walks of life.

  1. Contact the police

Report it to Action Fraud and your bank (if relevant). The quicker you do this, the more likely you are to recover any losses.

  1. Get advice from your bank (if relevant) e.g. Barclays say they are happy to offer such advice.
  2. Talk about it with friends, relatives, colleagues. Spreading the word raises awareness of fraud and helps other victims to deal with it.

Advice on Protecting Yourself Against Fraud by Scammers Claiming to be from Your Bank

  1. Never give your online banking PIN, passcode or password to anyone, even a caller claiming to be from the police or your bank.
  2. Your bank or the police will never ask for your details by text, email or phone, or request that you transfer money or make a payment to a “safe” account.
  3. Don’t rely on the caller display on your phone or SMS messages claiming to be from Barclays – fraudsters can manipulate these.
  4. Always cover your PIN to prevent anyone from seeing it, and don’t let anyone distract you during a transaction

Stay safe!

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The Damaged Roof Scam

This is a doorstep scam that has been happening in the Hampton area of Surrey recently, but is common in many areas.

One or more men knock at your door and say they have damaged your roof accidentally and are willing to fix it free of charge. They usually claim to have been working on next door’s roof when the accident happened.

Doesn’t sound like a scam so far, BUT they will need something that requires a deposit such as scaffolding. They had the cheek to tell one resident that he would need to pay £2,500 deposit for scaffolding for just a few hours.

Fortunately he recognised the scam, as otherwise they would have taken the money and disappeared.

They may claim the roof is damaged or the guttering is broken or in some cases they offer a free check of your roof tiles. Once on the roof they deliberately cause damage and demand an exorbitant price to fix it.

One resident says:-

This exact scam happened to me some months ago. “I am sorry, my ladder accidentally caused your roof damage. I will repair it at no cost”. It sounds like the same gang. Foolishly I allowed him to go up and he then caused damage which I had to get repaired. Yes, follow them and get vehicle number, but do not let them spot you as they then know where you live.

A local roof tiler says:-

“I was called to a job last week where two guys offered a free inspection and once on the roof removed ridge tiles and then refused to put them back unless the owner of the house paid them £350

He told them to come down and reported them to the police.

He then called me and I re-cemented the ridge tiles back and changed some broken tiles at a reduced fee as the

The various residents involved have all reported this to the Police, who already knew about the fraudsters and they have been caught.

However, there are numerous other gangs who also operate this scam.

If you have any experiences with scammers, spammers or time-waster do let me know, by email.

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