vitamail debt recovery

[encee]

is there such a thing.my hubby very stupidly bought things from them up to around 6 months ago.then constanly told them no more did he want.now saying he owes them money, for what we do not know.can we ignore this cos they have said if not paid will forward to legal department.my husband is an honest person and i know as well he does that we owe them nothing.
i convinced my husband that these people are just scum and its taken a long time for the rubbish to stop coming through the door then this.what can we do legally.

[factor-fiction]

'These people are just scum'. Wow.

Don't just ignore these demands. Your husband needs to ask for a statement showing wht was purchased and whatw as paid. Maybe he had contracted to pay a set amount or purchase a minimum number of items and he hasn't fulfilled that.

I'll see what I can find about vitamail

[factor-fiction]

There's lot sof stuff on the web warning about falling for their "you have won £!0000" offer provided you place an order, but I've not seen anything about debt collection letters fo stuff not ordered.
It seems they sell vitamin/health suplements
My guess is he has signed up to buy so many items.

[DrFilth]

have a read of this

http://www.justanswer...overy-department.html

[factor-fiction]

Yes, good link DrFilth. Here's teh relevant extract:
Customer Question Ask your own question now >

Question
I have received a letter from Vitamail Debt Recovery Department saying I am in debt to them of £5. No invoice and explanation as to who this has arisen and I am unhappy that they say in their letter that if I don't pay this money they will refer me to their legal department. I have in the past sent monies for toiletries, but have always paid in advance. They have sent me items I had not requested instead of my order. I haven't dealt with this company must be for 6 months, so why now are they in touch with me. I am concerned that they are trying to take money that is not owed to them. What do you suggest I do?
Thanks
Kath

Expert's Answer
I would contact them, if they provided contact information and you know that you have used their services in the past, and tell them you are happy to pay for services that have been provided but you are unaware of what this charge would be for and you require written explanation of charges as to this amount of money.

Once again, if you have dealt with them in the past, there might be a valid reason for this charge, and a reputable company will provide, and are required to provide, you with information through the mail that explains charges.

I would explain to the people on the phone (if they call again) that you are not willing to pay for services that you do not have required of having received. If they forward you the required information, you will look it over and make payment if deemed that these were valid charges.

All the best - hopefully you can make a quick resolution to the matter. Usually, when these phone callers realize that you are NOT going to pay them without written explanation of charges, they will back off and send the information if it is legitimate. If they refuse to send written explanation of services, then you should refuse to make the payment. Make a record of times and conversations you have with the company in case you need to followup with someone at some point.

[encee]

hi there is no phone number on the letter and company does not seem to understand do not send any more.it started off saying place an order etc then be in with a chance to win obviously it was worded better than that.any time my husband ordered anything the payment was sent with the order.its taken a long time for their rubbish to stop coming thru our door now this,we are quite prepared to send a letter asking them to itemise what they think he owes them for.but we dont really want anything else to do with them because they do not leave you alone.they then get other companys to send rubbish junk mail then the phone calls start so you see i dont want all this again.but if you think a letter asking them to let us know what we owe for is the answer then so be it.

[giveup]

Try contacting Trading Standards

[encee]

i think many people according to the internet have tried.i really do not know what to do for the best.ignore and hope they will go away or write and ask what we owe for and start getting their junk constantly coming thru door.

[joko]

i very much doubt they would hire debt collectors and bring court proceedings for a few quid...they probably make cash off the 80% who just pay up...ignore them

[encee]

HI FACTOR 30 hubby has not signed up to buy so many items. so am going to ignore FOR NOW.thanks to all for your help and views. i wish these people could be stopped for good.i will leave this post open and if i do hear any more i will be back for more advice if ok with all.

[Ali98]

Hi. This must be their latest scam. My elderly mother has recently received similar correspondence from this lot. She was going to pay the £5 but I managed to convince her otherwise. I will write to the company asking for a breakdown of purchases/payments etc. What should i do if the company does not respond to my request and continues to pursue the £5. No-one should have debt as you have to pay for the products up front.

[Ali98]

This must be their latest scam to steal money from vulnerable people. My elderly mother received a similar letter from this lot a few days ago. She had the payment ready to be posted until I stopped her. I will take the helpful advice and write to them asking for a breakdown of orders/payments etc. However, what happens if they do not respond to my request and how long do I allow them to respond?

[factor-fiction]

If you send the letter by recorded/signed for delivery and keep a copy then you should be in a strong position later to defend a claim. However that of course will cost a few pounds for postage which you shouldn't have to incur.
But unless you try to ask for a breakdown/explanation you may always have a nagging worry that you might genuinely owe something . I would therefore write saying that unless they can provide a valid explanation you will never pay and you will have them charged with harrassment.

[luco1110]

something happened to me
i bought some stuff on line
ater a few months
i got a bill for 56 pounds
i got in touch
they said the bill was for inactive buying
i did not pay

[cathfromsaron]

if you have received items you do not want/did not order then write giving the 60 days to collect the items or they will be disposed of.

if you ave forgotten you owe money, then a new invoice should be sent PRIOR to a threatening letter.

BUT this sounds like a scam, so trading standards should be your next port of call.

cath x

[encee]

LUCO111 thats incredible.(inactive buying)they must have a book full of stupid quotes.these people must be stopped but how i dont know.as far as we are concerned my husband paid for the goods with the orders... end of...

[nigetrix]

I was too a victim of this scam quite a few years ago now, i naively bought a product from them which afterwards i realised was obviousley overpriced, i was recieving regular letters from them stating that i'd won the sum of £10,000 and all i had to do was place an order in return for the money, i only did order that one product, in these letters it did state that it wasn't necessary to purchase anything but if i did i would be placed in high priority to receive the money.
I was also receiving automated calls from them on the same day of the week and at exactly the same time.
It was becoming obvious to me that this was a scam so i sent a letter to them telling them that i didn't believe that they were a reputable company and if they were then why did they not provide a contact telephone number and a website address?
I then threatened them with trading standards if they refused to stop calling me and sending me letters which seemed to do the trick, i have never heard from them since, the letters and phone calls stopped once and for all, my advice would be to send them a simular letter as i did, the best thing for you to do is use the law to your advantage and threaten these bullying scammers, it worked for me and hopefully it will for you too, let me know how you go on!

[encee]

8 months down the line and they have started bugging hubby again saying he owes money.they don't give up

[Freefall09]

Don't worry about vitamail.iv been resieving similar threats for two years now n I don't even open them anymore and no one ever turns up at the door.and if they do??? This could be there last day on earth.dont stress about it because there's more evidence on paper to support you in a legal aspect than them.they would probably end up having to pay you.you have learned a valuable lesson as well as me.

[Freefall09]

Don't worry about vitamail.iv been resieving similar threats for two years now n I don't even open them anymore and no one ever turns up at the door.and if they do??? This could be there last day on earth.dont stress about it because there's more evidentce to support you in a legal aspect than them.they would probably end up having to pay you.you have learned a valuable lesson as well as me.

[Freefall09]

It costs vitamail money to keep sending these thousands of tuns of junk mail out so 1 enjoy costing them money.2they are constantly casting lines out hoping to get a bite.they want you to reply because then they know they are in your head and then they will really pull the fear game out the bag because they know your worried.iv just had a look and it's actually three and a half years sins Iv been resieving these stupid threats.this company is very well known now and is probably in the proses of changing its identerty.soon we will all be free of vitamail but open to a new brother or sister company of there's to start where vitamail left off.SO BE READY.dont fear them any more it really isn't worth it. Take care and remember,if it sounds to good to be true it probably is.