Advantis demand for unknown debt

[Gawbridge]

Hi, this is my first post after receiving an email yesterday at 4:35pm, Friday 5 January from Advantis demanding an unqualified payment but with no information about why or how the debt was incurred. All the communication says is ‘our client’ is claiming an unspecified amount.

As far as I know, I am not in debt, have no loans or overdue repayments owing, and after trying to call them this morning, was cut off after a 15 minute wait. I have been instructed to set up an account with them, which I have done and confirmed my email address with them. However, they also instructed me to log in using the password they have sent. They have not sent a password.

I would be extremely grateful for any advice from readers on what steps to take and whether this is likely to be a scam? It has worried me into a sleepless night, having lost my job last month and feeling like I’m looking down a bit of a barrel.

Very many thanks in advance!

[PallasAthena]

Let's see what the experts here think but I wanted to say quickly that you should not have set up an account with them just because they told you to nor confirmed your email address! They have no power or authority to "instruct" you to do anything. They refer to 'our client' so they haven't purchased the debt. They are merely powerless debt collectors. Even if they do send you a password do not log in or operate the account and do not reply them by email.

What I would do is write to them via Royal Mail (not email) with a copy of the email they sent you and tell them

1. They must communicate with you by post only not email.
2. Tell them what your current postal address is. This is important to stop them using any old address they hold as the address for serving legal proceedings.

Always get a free Proof of Posting from the post office for every letter you send them and keep copies of everything.

If they find your phone number and call you refuse to talk them, tell them to write to you by post and hang up.

Then ignore them unless you receive a formal "Letter of claim under Pre-Action Protocols" or any papers from a court.

But wait and see if others agree with this before doing anything - I'm not an expert on this.

[echat11]

The best thing to do until you get more information is to 'undo' what you've done.
Cancel anything you've set up, make sure you contact your bank to cancel if you've set up payments.