I appreciate your concern.

I have not decided what I'm going to do.

Hence, the reason I'm here.

This company I'm dealing with have been in the media a lot. T

he lady that runs it and who I'm in contact with has done interviews with news organisations (BBC, Al Jazeera) [removed] and I've seen them deal with cases in the written media too.

They are a not-for-profit organisation but I did have to pay them a fee to cover their costs.

I have not asked them to disclose the contract they will be striking with the Dubai creditor but thanks, it is something I should do.

I really don't know much about the clearance certificate and who is issuing it.

I guess I'm placing some trust in the lawyers due to the position and status I feel they have from dealing with cases I've seen in the media.

Yes, correct, I'm a free man living in another country but at the same time I'd like some closure for fear of things escalating down the line.

As I said, I've not made my decision and appreciate your advice on doing due diligence.

all they are doing is making money out of a bogus debt

very clever!!

bet they get a backhander too down the line too

Please don't go by what is claimed online.

Someone else mentioned this company on CAG and i could find a few press comments.

But i don't think i found anyone recommending their services or recognising them as experts in regard to Dubai debts.

It is not difficult to set up a website and get some online presence.

Also some journalists are quite happy to include a comment in their articles and this should not be taken that they have an official endorsement.

Given how many Dubai debts are owed by people living in the UK, you would think they would have a greater profile and be registered with various UK authorities.

If they are handling client data, where is their registration with the UK ICO to comply with the data protection act.

It appears they use Dubai based lawyers to act for them and they are just acting as middlemen to assist people.

How does [removed by dx] cover their costs ! Even a not for profit company needs to cover their overheads.

I am always a bit sceptical about these matters and would always make sure i have 99% confidence in using the services of any company.

If you are thinking of proceeding, do a lot more checks.

If [removed by dx] mentioned taking your payment, i would be even more concerned, because usually if they are handling client money they have to be registered with an official UK body e.g FCA ( Financial Conduct Authority).

Remember your original debt was £1500 and you don't know whether a deal is being done to pay the Dubai Bank this amount, with any extra being split between parties.

What is to say that you could not settle your original debt with the Dubai Bank directly for £1500?

So you think there's a chance they are in cahoots with the debt collection agency and the debt isn't actually being paid off (bogus debt?)?

I am unable to find any bad reviews on them online. I feel I've researched this organisation well. Am I being too gullible?

Edit: wrote this before I saw Uncle Bulgaria's last post.

The point is that no one knows whether this company is 100% legit or not.

You would think they would be registered with various bodies and there would be notes of this on their website.

I can see that the lady who set up the company might have helped someone [removed by dx] and be interested in these issues, but i would be concerned about some of the issues i have raised.

Am I being too gullible?..........

I will check if they are registered with an official UK body such as FCA and UK ICO. Maybe they are registered in Dubai and don't have to jump through the same hoops. They possibly are merely acting as middle men, maybe they have quite a passive role and perhaps I could have settled that 1,500 with the Dubai bank myself. I don't know how results would have been different had I just tried to settle directly with the bank. Even if they are skimming a bit and taking a slice of the pie I wouldn't mind if I was certain the debt would be over with. That's the worry. I pay and it's not over with. Regarding covering their costs/overheads....They charged me a fee to 'cover their time and costs' which I can understand. Maybe that will set alarm bells ringing but I can see why they need to do this to cover costs.

I feel if they had conned people it would come up on a google search and on message boards. If they are doing minimal work and getting more money than they should then I don't mind so much.

I'll carry on with more research on them though and check up on the clearance certificate. Thanks.

A not for profit organisation is exempt from registering with ICO. Not sure if the case with FCA.

Where did you get that from ?

Data protection covers use of data and therefore type of company should not be relevant.

From your other post, it sounds like you have already paid [removed by dx]?

If people in the UK had paid a debt to this company, they would only find out about a later problem, if they were chased again or had problems travelling through Dubai or other countries where the debt was registered.

Not saying people have or have not had problems.

But i would not draw any conclusion based on internet information.

Just make sure that whatever you do, that you have checked as much as you ca,.

Out of interest i have checked further.

Re not for profit exemption of DPA registration, this is not without conditions.

See. https://ico.org.uk/media/1567/exemption-from-registration-for-not-for-profit-organisations.pdf

If you have a company that does not appear to be registered as a charity (?) and they are processing data concerning debts, then i would have thought DPA registration would be required ?