Thread: Anyone had dealings with LCS AKA 1st Locate (UK) ltd

I am also having problems with LCS I have received several letters the initials are the same as mine and the debt is £48 for scottish power I opened the first letter because the name was very similiar to mine but any other letters I have received I have sent them back unopened not known at this address return to sender. I have telephoned them but I won't waste my time anymore. I have lived at my present address for 35 years and according to LCS I was living at another address in 1999. I have now received a postcard informing this person that an agent will be calling at my address on friday well they are going to be very disappointed because that person they are after doesn't live here and I am certainly not going to answer the door to them.

Debtmountain,
Don't know if the OFT will give you the info but it might be worth emailing them mailto:enquiries@oft.gsi. gov.uk and mark it for the attention of the Credit Licensing Enquiries Team or fax on 020 7211 8877.

Well I decided to stay in all day just to see if anyone came but surprise surprise no one turned up I think they must send these letters out to everyone with the same initials as the debtor hoping to scare someone into paying up.

I received an answering machine message out of the blue - a man with a strong northern accent left a very aggressive sounding message insisting it was urgent that I call him back. The first thought was that a family member had been involved in an accident. He listed my full name but did not identify himself or the company he worked for.

I rang back the number and got the same man. He immediately demanded private details about myself. I questioned him as to which company he represented but he wouldn't tell me. When I said I wouldn't comply with his request for my private details until I knew which company he worked for he hung up!

I swallowed my pride and telephoned again and this time spoke to a female (perhaps Scandinavian or American?). She wasn't quite so rude but her thinly disguised contempt was appalling. When I said my name she laughed and I could hear somebody laughing in the background.

As it turned out the matter was easily resolved with Scottish Power (and it turned out to be their error) but I would seriously question whether they have made the correct choice with L.C.S. Surely the people who work for these agencies should show empathy and patience - not unpleasant bully boy tactics and ridicule like L.C.S. - Disgraceful!!

You will find, unfortunately, that their approach is pretty much industry standard.

I recieved a letter 2 weeks ago sent to my current address in my maiden name (I have been married for 6 years) alleging a debt owed to e-on between Jan 1988 and May 2002. I have now recieved a second letter saying that they may send a local rep to my house and charge me if I'm not in. I did try phoning but after being kept on hold twice the phone just cut off. Not sure whether to just ignore them as I dont recall being with eon and its over 6 years old. Has anyone had a visit from these people?

Assisted blonde you really need to start your own thread on this. As the alleged debt is more than 6 years old you can quite happily tell them to bog off as it will be statute barred. Their local rep never seems to turn up but if they do tell them to get lost. These people have no legal powers and if they don't leave when told to they are trespassing.

FYI - their postcards/letters advising that a local rep will call are bu****it - simply scare tactics to get you to call them. No one will come out to your house as they simply don't have any 'local reps'. I worked for them for a short while - worst mistake i ever made, they treat their staff the same way they treat the public.

the 1st locate team have been looking at my credit file at my old adress but havent contacted me at my new address i looked up my credit file today and they viewed in august strange as i have never heard from them and dont have a clue what tey were looking for but my old address no longer exists, what i did note on my credit file was details about my mobile phone contract as i also have other products from them too so it wouldnt take a genmius to access what network im with and get my number argh!!!!!! ive now taken to getting people to tell me my personal details when they phone i refuse to give oput any info over the phone the other day i got a call to upgrade my contract when i said when is it due for renewal they said two months when in fact is 14 as its a 2 year contact god only knows who it was calling

they all work the same way. power companys send a list out to companys like lcs. they then try to find the person who owes the debt. if they find a person who "fits" they will send a letter , if they do not get a reply in a couple of weeks they will send a secound letter or post card . if you can prove the debt is not yours then there is no harm in calling them and explaining why its not yours. they will ask for proof. ie letter from land lord etc. golden rule. when you move in get a meter reading and when you move out get a meter reading. a lot of bills are for when the house/flat was empty.

I felt that my recent experience of this LCS bunch was quite an interesting one! I work for a local authority. We own a particular residential property, which was once occupied by a fellow employee. He left to go to a new job in November 2006, and moved to a new county. He met the lady who is now his wife. She never lived at his former home.
LCS have been bombarding the poor woman with letters, phone calls and emails over a purported debt to British Gas for £132, allegedly run up at the property she never occupied during a time when it was vacant anyway, after her husband left it. LCS insisted that they had got her details from some credit reference agency, but this had to be a blatant lie, as she'd never lived at the property involved. As the property is owned by a local authority, all the utilities bills were paid centrally, not by the tenant, so I knew that there was nothing owing in any case. In the end, my former colleague asked me to write to LCS to tell them that the house was owned by a local authority, and had never been occupied by his wife. I gladly did so, telling them that no correspondence would be entered into, and any contact at all would be referred directly to our Legal team. That was mid December 2009, and so far so good. It just goes to show that this lot, and others like them, will stoop just about as low as they possibly can to try and get money out of people.

Thank heavens this group exists I thought I was the only target for these fraudsters.
I have recently recieved a letter from LCS under the pretence of "UTILITY INVESTIGATION" demanding my details and the previous owners details etc. I have no Utility debts whatsoever! This is a blatant attempt to build a data base for their other nefarious practice's under their legitimate Utilities banner, ( I use the term legitimate loosely). They have a web site to send your responses. I complied with details I received from the stars above and had a wee chuckle.
I ask that every member here adds similar entries to put a spanner in their works, I have added about 50 now but realise that more will be required.
If you wish to participate the web address is lcso.co.uk. My ref was BRI/1234567 , the first three letters I assume is the name of the correspondant then the 7 digits the file name, ( I have changed the original file numbers for obvious reasons). I do hope you respond favourably as the only way to stop this practice is disinformation rather than complaints procedures as they are at the moment.

Ihave had correspondence from this company claiming I owe £260 in gas and electric to British Gas for Feb 2009. However the property in question was completely empty during this period as there was a change in tenants. LCS are claiming there is an outstanding bill in my own name(the legal owner) of £260 for this one month period. I have told them i am willing to pay this amount so go back to British gas and come back with a true figure of gas and electric used.

I then recieved the card that says they will be visiting the property!

So i decided to go to British Gas myself and liase directly with them. When dicussing the bill with them the on the phone, the customer rep for British gas told me there are no outstanding bills in my name on that property! i am awaiting LCS's call!

These guys are absoloutly disgraceful! I have been harrased for monies I do not owe!

Dear Daidobbsassociation - don't even talk to them any more, even if they do phone you. As British Gas has confirmed nothing is owed to them in your name at that property, LCS will not be able to do anything to you, and they certainly won't be sending anyone round to your house. You know you are in the right, and can prove it, whatever else they might threaten. As well as LCS, I've had personal experience of another of these so-called debt collection agencies, and chose to ignore their correspondence completely, having consulted my Trading Standards department. TS advised me that in the majority of such cases, the agency is simply "phishing", hoping that some poor soul will cave in under the enormous pressure they exert by various means, and pay up, even if they don't believe they owe anything. The "letter" I had from this other company was one line in the middle of the page, stating "Call this number immediately. Your urgent attention is required. Please quote ref:XXXXX and ask for the undersigned". That was it. Well I didn't call them, of course - no decent company would ever send such a thing with no hint of what it was all about. A quick whizz on the internet confirmed my suspicions! From my visits to this website, I can see how people's lives are made such a misery by these companies, for no good reason.

Hang in there - you will overcome!

Originally Posted by daidobbsassociation

Ihave had correspondence from this company claiming I owe £260 in gas and electric to British Gas for Feb 2009. However the property in question was completely empty during this period as there was a change in tenants. LCS are claiming there is an outstanding bill in my own name(the legal owner) of £260 for this one month period. I have told them i am willing to pay this amount so go back to British gas and come back with a true figure of gas and electric used.

I then recieved the card that says they will be visiting the property!

So i decided to go to British Gas myself and liase directly with them. When dicussing the bill with them the on the phone, the customer rep for British gas told me there are no outstanding bills in my name on that property! i am awaiting LCS's call!

These guys are absoloutly disgraceful! I have been harrased for monies I do not owe!

Ask British Gas to send you a statement of account or a letter confirming that there is no outstanding debt. Send a copy of this to LCS. If LCS continue to pursue you after this, complain to your local Trading Standards.

I quite agree, Unmoderatethenet. If they get no response, what on earth can they do? Frightening people unfortunately seems to be their way of working - how many posts on this site are from people who've been told that their home will be repossessed for the sake of £50 or whatever? Even people who know for sure they owe nothing to anyone seriously consider paying up just to get these devils off their backs. How they are allowed to continue in business (I use the word loosely, you understand!), is beyond me. It worries me, too, that major utilities appear to be happy to sell on relatively small debts to these companies when they must know how they operate. What's worse is that very often, these sold-on debts appear to have been cleared long before the "debt" was sold!

Levi Black and Assoociates are a trading style of 1st Locate UK Ltd.They also have a trading style called LCS. I have had letters from them also. I did alittle investigating and the owners of this company are a Mr Andrew Barclay D.O.B 08/06/1965 and Gillian Barclay Address: Bonne Nuit House, Les Charrieres De Bonne Nuit, St Johns, Jersey JE3 3DD and the other director is Darren Guest D.O.B 21/08/1974 Address 23 The Oaklands, Wakefield, West Yorkshire. WF3 3UA I also have recieved threatening letters. If they keep sending them explain to them by letter that you will be contacting the office of fair trading concerning harrassment. Just a thought send some letters to their addresses and lets see how they like it. This information can be found at companies house by using the companies reg number which is 03702599. You then get their annual report and it gives their information.
I hope this helps

Originally Posted by debt_mountain

These muppets are chasing me for aa alleged Scottish Power debt from a couple of years ago.

they have the wrong name for a start off.

In company house it says (but no comment about debt collection)

They are registered with CSA contact name is Abarclay@1stlocate.co.uk but how do I check online that the do have a Consumer Credit licence?



Name & Registered Office:
1ST LOCATE (UK) LIMITED
3A LEODIS COURT
LEEDS
WEST Yorkshire LS11 5JJ
Company No. 03702599

Status: Active
Date of Incorporation: 27/01/1999

Country of Origin: United Kingdom
Company Type: Private Limited Company
Nature of Business (SIC(03)):
7460 - Investigation & security
7240 - Data base activities
6523 - Other financial intermediation
7230 - Data processing Accounting Reference Date: 30/04
Last Accounts Made Up To: 30/04/2005 (TOTAL EXEMPTION SMALL)
Next Accounts Due: 28/02/2007
Last Return Made Up To: 27/01/2006
Next Return Due: 24/02/2007
Last Members List: 27/01/2006
Previous Names:Date of changePrevious Name25/02/1999INVESTICOM LIMITEDThey are also known as
1ST LOCATE
LEEDS CONSULTANCY SERVICES
L. C. S.
LEVI BLACK AND ASSOCIATES in the Information Commissioners site.

LLevi Black and Assoociates are a trading style of 1st Locate UK Ltd.They also have a trading style called LCS. I have had letters from them also. I did alittle investigating and the owners of this company are a Mr Andrew Barclay D.O.B 08/06/1965 and Gillian Barclay Address: Bonne Nuit House, Les Charrieres De Bonne Nuit, St Johns, Jersey JE3 3DD and the other director is Darren Guest D.O.B 21/08/1974 Address 23 The Oaklands, Wakefield, West Yorkshire. WF3 3UA I also have recieved threatening letters. If they keep sending them explain to them by letter that you will be contacting the office of fair trading concerning harassment. Just a thought send some letters to their addresses and lets see how they like it. This information can be found at companies house by using the companies reg number which is03702599. You then get their annual report and it gives their information.
I hope this helps