Hello all,

First of all a slight intro, I have never been to Dubai in my entire life but my brother did live over there for a year a few years ago.

I was at work in the UK earlier and received a call on my company (landline) phone, I was advised that it was a debt collection agency called Tahseel calling about my brother's apparent credit card debt.

Initially I was baffled at how they managed to get hold of my company phone number but i'm sure my details are readily available online somewhere and they have obviously linked me to my brother in some way.

They were asking for his contact information, phone, email and all sorts of stuff. I don't speak to my brother often and when we do it's over facebook messenger or something, usually around xmas time! As far as I know he isn't working at the moment and I told the agent this. I said that I don't have any contact details for him which is true. I have two numbers in my phone for him that are years old, neither of them work.

I asked how much he owed and surprisingly they actually told me. They only said it was a credit card debt.

he gave me his email address etc and asked me to pass it on to my brother when I see him which I suspect won't be for a while.

My questions I hope someone can help with are:

1) Now I have somehow been linked to my brother's debt, if I were to ever visit Dubai would this cause me any problems? I don't want to find myself arrested at the airport in a country I've never visited before due to my brother's debt...

2) What will happen is this debt is not settled? Will I continue to be harassed until the end of time. I spoke to my mother who also confirmed that she regularly receives phone calls from this same company and tells them that she does not have contact with my brother, which is genuinely true.

3) Does anyone have any solid advice I can pass on to my brother when I eventually do speak to him? I could be wrong but I doubt he has any means of repaying this debt.

Any help would be great guys.

Simple. Ignore. Its nothing to do with you. Check yoru UK credit file to see if theres a link. Its likely theyre lieing to you hoping you will pay as they cant trace him.

If you are linked to him somehow over there, then yes, there is a chance it would cause you pretty major issues over there.

Ignore..ruddy powerless fleecers

Nothing they can do to anyone

Thanks both. I say 'linked' but I only mean that they have made the connection that I am his brother so hopefully there is no official 'link' between me and his debt over there..

Since writing the post above I've heard from my step sister that she also got a call at work today, she doesn't even have the same surname as us!

They WILL use any means they can inc intimidation harassment phoning any and everyone they can think of to extort money

TOTALLY ignore

Thanks for the advice DX

It really sounds like theyre phishing then will lie and say you are responsible for his debt. Theres nothing they can do to you over here.

If they ring again laugh at them. Then say if they continue you will report them to the police for harassment

Thanks all,

They have been on again to my mother this morning, she blocked the number then received a text from a different number to say "no good blocking the number, we will contact all his friends and family".

They also mentioned the names of my (other) step sister and my step father and said they will contact them both next.

One of my step sisters works in a call centre, they called her office number three times yesterday, her boss ended up taking the call to tell them to go away then they called again just laughing.

This step-sister is 18 years old and barely speaks to my brother other than the occasional facebook comment here and there so i'm not sure exactly what they think they will achieve calling her..

This is straight from Tahseel's website in the FAQ section:

Why will my debtors pay you, if they have not paid me?

Debtors often pay us even if they never have cooperated with you, mainly because collection agencies such as tahseel increases the psychological anxiety associated with a debt. Our professional collectors make your debtors realize that you are serious about collecting your money.

What is Skip Tracing?

Skip tracing is the process of locating contact information about your debtor, such as a current or alternate address and telephone number. It also includes obtaining information about the person’s place of employment, names and addresses of family members, relatives, friends, or ex-spouses, assets such as property, bank accounts, automobile and much more.

Who decides if the debt is to proceed to litigation?

We do, with your full participation. If we fail to resolve the debt, we will normally proceed to litigation if we believe it is likely to produce positive results.

However, we are not obliged to do so and may decline to take the matter further if we think we can no longer be of any further help. You may then decide to 'write it off', transfer the case to the courts, or use your own lawyers.

All illegal in the uk

Since this morning they've called me on my office number, told me that when my brother signed the paperwork he said that my mother would be liable if he didn't pay (he didn't).

I said that he could have said Mickey Mouse would be liable but my mother knew nothing about it, then he said my whole family 'would be in trouble' if we did not pay.

He started asking questions about holidays we had been on and how could we afford to pay for these but we can't pay my brother's debt!

We've now made every facebook post private.

Just before he hung the phone up on me he said he was going to call my wife's company, which he also subsequently did and verbally abused the lady that answered the phone and demanded they provide my wife's mobile number...

They're pretty shocking, aren't they?

HB

Did you record that?

If not stop talking on the phone eh?

They will say anything to get anyone to pay

Why not wind them up?

Offer to pay it in full because of the stress ans intimidation

Then give a fake card number

Record the call

Then contact the ico/fos/fca etc

You could invite them to make a visit to my house........

If they call again you could also ask them what time they finished school tht day and isnt it past their bedtime ( they use very young staff). Also tell them you feel sorry for them for havig to work for such little pay and understand they need the bonus but they arent going to get it from you or anyone else in the UK.

Lastly, dont hang up on them, plce the receiver next to the radio and get on with somehting else, forcing them to waste more of theit time chasing you. Tell you mum to do the same, as soonas they call she can just put the phone to one side.

i get calls for someone else who gave my number as theirs and usually answer the phione with the words "hello sc@mmer" and that winds them up.

Very illegal in the UK and many other countries.

Very legal in the UAE