and the saga continues. when i spoke to lowells i asked them for a copy of the contract that my daughter had signed, (i know she never signed anything) they promised to send me out the details. a month on i recieve a letter from them with a timeline of events and it makes an interesting read. they list the date they sent the innitial parcel out, the one she rang up and told them she didnt want and instructed them to collect. but it later lists that the goods were returned and credited her account back to zero for returning them, they obviously collected. but later still, they posted out another parcel of unsolicited goods and its this second package, sent after she had moved out, unsolicited that they are seeking payment for. [removed]. they still arent getting a penny from us, ive told them im only dealing with them by post now and am sending a letter to lowell and avon instructing them quite precisely where they can insert their invoice.

yep, no reply. i suppose i should have sent it recorded delivery to make sure it gets there. the funny thing is, its costing them money. my mrs always bought stuff from the local avon lady, not much, but easily 10 or 15 quid a month. but since this started i told them all that we shouldnt be giving them more cash, so its cost them more in lost sales merely from our house than they claim they are owed.

well,heres a blast from the past! and guess what, this isnt over. i managed to get sigma red off her back and it went quiet for months. but it appears that sigma red handed the debt (remember this is 56 quid) back to avon, and now avon have sold it to a company called lowell, theyre demanding the same payment. i replied months ago asking for proof that the debt existed, nothing came back so i assumed theyd given up, but no, today, 17/8/16 i got another letter, demanding the same 56 quid payment that they have bought from avon. the guy also informed me that avon had trashed her credit record over this unpaid debt, i repeatedly asked for proof that the debt exists, and he said that they dont need a signature on a contract for that to be valid, but he wouldnt confirm that they had any contract. (i know they havent because she didnt sign one) he wont send me anything, just insists that i pay up. i told him that without proof of the legitimacy of this, he wouldnt get a single penny from me/her. and there we have it, 2 years plus and rising. i feel that this will probably still be unresolved when i retire!

she called avon when they came and told them she hadnt ordered anything and didnt want them. they said they would arrange for them to be collected and sent back. they never contacted her again. they must have her mobile number as they gave it to the debt collectors, but avon themselves never called her. she moved from the house after she had spoken to them and as avon were supposedly collecting from the house she left them there. however, the other tennant left soon after, but as she hasnt been contacted by avon she didnt give it a thought.

guys, thanks for that. im going to call avon tonight and speak to their customer service people. having little experience of this sort of thing i was a bit shell shocked about it. but thats subsided to anger today, the behaviour of these people is shocking. and she was terrified, shes never even been overdrawn at the bank so the threat of debt collectors scared her. she was even prepared to pay the debt because she thought it was the only way to get them off her back and she thought she was obliged to pay for the stuff even though she didnt order it. so, plan of action, first im going to speak to Avon, and i will let you know what they say. and thanks to the fairys who popped in and sorted by breathless rant into punctuated paragraphs! ha ha ha ! i will keep you updated.

hi, thanks for letting me join, I'm a newbie here wondering about a problem we have just had tonight. I came home tonight to see my daughter on the phone looking a bit flustered, she is 23 and doesn't live with us but is visiting today, she had just had a phone call from a debt collection agency called sigma red about a debt owed to the cosmetics company Avon. Some time ago she was approached in the street by an Avon salesewoman who asked if she wanted to become an Avon rep, she said she would think about it and gave the woman her mobile number and address. she never signed anything nor was she offered anything. she just thought she was saying she was interested. Nothing happened then, no phone calls, no letters, no cooling off period, no contract. 3 weeks or so later a parcel arrived at her door from avon. she opened it and it was an Avon rep starter kit. She hadnt signed for the parcel nor had she been asked to. she called avon and told them she didn't want it, and hadn't asked for it, and asked them to arrange to have it collected, which they agreed to. Avon had her mobile phone number and never to this day called her, she moved a few days later and left the parcel at the house as avon were supposedly collecting. that was in july. tonight she had a phone call from a debt collection agency called sigma red chasing her for a debt of £56. She was terrified by the woman who wanted immediate payment or else 'legal recovery' actions would follow. she was white faced when she told me. I got the details and called them back after verifying who i was and that i had authority to speak for her, I was told that she had to pay. I disagreed that there was any contract at all, she hadn't asked for it and had made an effort to get it back to them, they hadn't attempted to even call her, even though they had her number, because the debt collectors had the number from Avon. I told them that they hadn't a chance in hell, I considered this debt to be non existent, it was Avons unsolicited parcel that they hadn't made an effort to collect, and as far as i see it they had no claim. The woman wasn't particularly helpful i asked for a manager, he gave me the same spiel, I asked for copies of any documentation or contract that my daughter had signed, he said they weren't obliged to send me any, then he said they had no documentation, and round we went over and over. My opinion is that this debt doesn't exist. They sent her stuff she hadn't asked for, and failed to collect it when asked. he insists that she still owes them. I'm gonna ring Avon tomorrow, but where does she stand over this. she hasn't signed anything and never asked for it, and asked them to take it back when they sent it, surely she has done enough. the parcel is possibly still at her previous house, but as it was a student let i doubt it. Any thoughts on this. its only 56 quid I'm so annoyed that they had the nerve to send this stuff that wasn't wanted, and then drop it straight to the debt collectors without any contact. grrrrrrr!!