Advanced Investigation Services - anyone?

[andrew1]

Here is why each and every time anyone finds these companies doing what they do and shouldn't, we should complain:

 

I wrote this to the OFT:

 

Subject: Unlicensed trading company

 

 

Dear Sirs,

 

I recently received the attached letter from a company calling itself Advanced Investigation Services. You will see from it the tone of the contents, its mere title reflects certain intimidatory intrusion.

 

Contrary to what it states this is the first letter I have ever received from an organisation calling itself Advanced Investigation Services.

 

The bold type wording along the bottom 'Specialist in Locating people at their home address' is again (whilst being a stupid slogan in my opinion anyway as where else are they likely to find us?) is again intimidatory to the unsuspecting.

 

Checking this company on the OFT CCA licence register failed to locate such an organisation or trading style. I then went to the company which is stated along the foot of the headed paper Clanchatton Birmingham Ltd and found they were indeed registered, but there is no listed trading style of Advanced Investigation Services and I believe that this is a criminal offence to trade without such a licence.

 

I would therefore like to make a compliant to your goodselves to stop this company in its tracks from sending such documentation out and that you will deal with them with the teeth we understand you have to deal with them.

 

They are also not registered with the Information Commissioners and therefore breeching their regulations and I will be reporting this company to them also.

 

I appreciate and acknowledge you do not take up individual complaints as such or offer legal advice. I do not require either. I just want this company halted and fined for doing what is against the law if this is what you find from your investigation.

 

 

This is against the law, a criminal offence and systematic within the Debt Collection Industry and must stop. I trust I can leave this in good hands?

 

 

Thank you.

Yours sincerely

 

and this is what the OFT wrote to me!

 

Dear andrew1

 

 

 

Consumer Credit Act 1974 (the Act)

 

Complaint Against: Advanced Investigation Services.

 

Licence No: Unlicensed

 

 

 

Thank you for your email received on 27 July 2010.

 

Under the Consumer Credit Act 1974, if a business wishes to be involved in activities relating to consumer credit or hire, including debt collection and debt management, they must have a consumer credit licence. The Office of Fair Trading (the OFT) has duty to enforce the Act, along with local authority Trading Standards Services (TSS).

 

Upon checking the information provided in your letter, it appears that this trader does not hold a consumer credit licence. I have therefore forwarded your complaint to the TSS where the trader is based for it to consider investigating the matter of unlicensed trading in their area. The TSS is:

 

 

Worcestershire County Council

Trading Standards Service

Worcestershire County Council

County Hall

Spetchley Road

Worcester

WR5 2NP

 

t: 08454 040506 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting**************08454 040506******end_of_the_skype_highlighting begin_of_the_skype_highlighting**************08454 040506******end_of_the_skype_highlighting begin_of_the_skype_highlighting**************08454 040506******end_of_the_skype_highlighting begin_of_the_skype_highlighting**************08454 040506******end_of_the_skype_highlighting begin_of_the_skype_highlighting**************08454 040506******end_of_the_skype_highlighting begin_of_the_skype_highlighting**************08454 040506******end_of_the_skype_highlighting begin_of_the_skype_highlighting**************08454 040506******end_of_the_skype_highlighting (Consumer Direct for consumer advice)

e: [email protected]

 

 

Your local TSS may be able to provide further advice, or you may wish to consider seeking independent legal advice.

 

Thank you for bringing this matter to our attention.

 

 

Yours sincerely

 

 

Enquiries and Reporting Centre

 

Office of Fair Trading

 

 

 

Ya don't Feck with the Cabot Fan Club

Edited August 3, 2010 by andrew1

[Seminole]

Fantastic, well done. I assume you will be following this up with the Worcs TS to make sure that they do actually do something. I didn't know that it was the local TS rather than the OFT that deals with trading without a CCL. You may just need to watch that the issue doesn't get 'lost' in the transition.

[andrew1]

Fantastic, well done. I assume you will be following this up with the Worcs TS to make sure that they do actually do something. I didn't know that it was the local TS rather than the OFT that deals with trading without a CCL. You may just need to watch that the issue doesn't get 'lost' in the transition.

 

I'll be following this right the way through. This is a CCS operation and I'm going to get this off to BT too who instructed them to collect.

 

Daft thing is the account, shortly after I received this Advanced letter went out to another agency. Drives me nuts when they pass these accounts about like this.

[Seminole]

Ccs?

[andrew1]

Ccs?

 

Sorry, Commercial Credit Services all part of this Clanchatton Birmingham Ltd shower.

 

They have a big CCS at the top of their letters. Commercial Credit Services are on the Clanchatton Birmingham Ltd licence, why they decide to use this Advance Investigation Services trading style without applying it to their licence I know not, but it is going to be a costly error if I have anything to do with it.

[Mightyacorn]

I too have received a letter from these people. It should be noted that as well as everything else they are using an 0871 number charged at 10p per minute.

 

email gone off to Worcester Trading Standards [email protected]

[andrew1]

I too have received a letter from these people. It should be noted that as well as everything else they are using an 0871 number charged at 10p per minute.

 

email gone off to Worcester Trading Standards [email protected]

 

[email protected] is handling this.

 

This very nice gentleman from Worcestershire Trading Standards just telephoned me and I told him in no uncertain terms what I expected him to do. I'll just pass on your message too about the telephone charges, he won't be impressed

 

Keep em coming, Advanced must have sent out 10's of thousands of these letters.

[andrew1]

Can a Mod please change the letter on the Thread title to Advanced with the ' d ' on the end so as not to confuse anyone or get us in trouble with any other company with the similar name. I can't edit the posts or headings myself since you've removed the edit buttons and can you also put all those phone numbers right on the first post. I asked before but nothings happened.

 

Sorry to have to ask, but if you decided to remove the edit buttons it will no doubt create this kind of unnecessary work for moderators.

[cerberusalert]

done.

[andrew1]

done.

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/debt-collection-industry/269859-advanced-investigation-services-anyone-2.html#post3069396

 

t: 08454 040506 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 08454 040506 end_of_the_skype_highlighting begin_of_the_skype_highli ghting**************08454 040506 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 08454 040506 end_of_the_skype_highlighting******end_of_the_sk ype_highlighting begin_of_the_skype_highli ghting**************08454 040506 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 08454 040506 end_of_the_skype_highlighting******end_of_the_sk ype_highlighting begin_of_the_skype_highli ghting**************08454 040506 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 08454 040506 end_of_the_skype_highlighting******end_of_the_sk ype_highlighting begin_of_the_skype_highli ghting**************08454 040506 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 08454 040506 end_of_the_skype_highlighting******end_of_the_sk ype_highlighting begin_of_the_skype_highli ghting**************08454 040506 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 08454 040506 end_of_the_skype_highlighting******end_of_the_sk ype_highlighting begin_of_the_skype_highli ghting**************08454 040506 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 08454 040506 end_of_the_skype_highlighting******end_of_the_sk ype_highlighting begin_of_the_skype_highli ghting**************08454 040506 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 08454 040506 end_of_the_skype_highlighting******end_of_the_sk ype_highlighting (Consumer Direct for consumer advice)

 

Done??? :D

[Mightyacorn]

It would appear that the 'company' calling itself Advanced Investigation Services are part and parcel of S C Gray Solicitors Ltd., Shire House, Paradise Row, Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, B60 2DD Tel 08713841051 (AIS use 08713841050 & 08713841054) Fax No 01527870071 (same as AIS).

There is just one director of SC Gray, a solicitor called Fiona Shorte, she is a regulated Solicitor under SRA number 471243. Payment slip on bottom of their letters are to Clanchatton Birmingham Ltd, who are the 'parent' company for AIS.

 

All points to both Gray's and AIS being part and parcel of CCS

[andrew1]

It would appear that the 'company' calling itself Advanced Investigation Services are part and parcel of S C Gray Solicitors Ltd., Shire House, Paradise Row, Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, B60 2DD Tel 08713841051 (AIS use 08713841050 & 08713841054) Fax No 01527870071 (same as AIS).

There is just one director of SC Gray, a solicitor called Fiona Shorte, she is a regulated Solicitor under SRA number 471243. Payment slip on bottom of their letters are to Clanchatton Birmingham Ltd, who are the 'parent' company for AIS.

 

All points to both Gray's and AIS being part and parcel of CCS

 

 

That may well be so and well done for showing this, but if Advanced Investigation Services send out letters as they have done to me without any reference to a firm of solicitors and show themselves on the headed notepaper as Clanchatton Brimingham Limited T/A Advanced Investigation Services then they have to be on Clanchatton's OFT Licence and they aren't. End of!

 

The next thing then following your discovery is to find out if S.C. Gray are in-house solicitors of Clanchatton and what their licences say. Off we go

[bobbydog]

hi there all

recieved a letter today from s c gray about a firm arvato finance services ltd about an alleged debt

has anyone got any further with investigations

all help welcomed

[andrew1]

Not sure about SC Gray, but I did get a call from Mr Bell at Trading Standards yesterday telling me he had taken this matter up with Advanced Investigation Services. They told TS that this was an 'oversight' and they are now going through the process of addressing this with their OFT License.

 

In one way I'm pleased they have been caught and we exposed it, but in another I am slightly unhappy they have not had a heavy hand laid on them. There have been but a few complain since I raised it so Mr Bell did not feel it warranted that any sizeable reprimand would be made.

 

All I can say is that we have caught them, and it's being fixed. If I got stopped for not having a valid driving license I'd be banned or fined, same should happen here..we'll see, but - Job done

[dadofholly]

Not sure about SC Gray, but I did get a call from Mr Bell at Trading Standards yesterday telling me he had taken this matter up with Advanced Investigation Services. They told TS that this was an 'oversight' and they are now going through the process of addressing this with their OFT License.

 

In one way I'm pleased they have been caught and we exposed it, but in another I am slightly unhappy they have not had a heavy hand laid on them. There have been but a few complain since I raised it so Mr Bell did not feel it warranted that any sizeable reprimand would be made.

 

All I can say is that we have caught them, and it's being fixed. If I got stopped for not having a valid driving license I'd be banned or fined, same should happen here..we'll see, but - Job done

 

It is companies like this that get private investigation firms a bad name.

 

They are not private investigators they are in debt collection.

 

The private investigation industry has been working with the SIA to sort out licensing for years now - hopefully it will be in force within 12 months - but the SIA are dragging their heals over it.

 

A big well done for exposing this sham company for what they are - debt collectors.

[PriorityOne]

 

The bold type wording along the bottom 'Specialist in Locating people at their home address' is again (whilst being a stupid slogan in my opinion anyway as where else are they likely to find us?) is again intimidatory to the unsuspecting.

 

 

OMG! I nearly spat my tea out reading that line....!! lol!! :bounce:

[tiddles93]

It's a shame they aren't really a private investigations firm, they would've head hunted Andrew1 and we wouldn't now have the knowledge we do.

[andrew1]

It's a shame they aren't really a private investigations firm, they would've head hunted Andrew1 and we wouldn't now have the knowledge we do.

 

Thanks for all you kind words.. I wish someone would head hunt me, I could do with some work !!

[silburnl]

All I can say is that we have caught them, and it's being fixed. If I got stopped for not having a valid driving license I'd be banned or fined, same should happen here..we'll see, but - Job done

 

Have you had any more info on whether AIS have sorted out their licensing 'oversight' since you posted this?

 

The reason I ask is that I got a dunning letter from these clowns last week (complete with their hilarious SPECIALIST IN LOCATING PEOPLE AT THEIR HOME ADDRESS strapline) and I'd love to be able to sic the TS people onto them again if they haven't cleaned up their act.

 

Regards

Luke

[ScarletPimpernel]

The 'oversight' - actually a criminal offence - now appears to have been rectified.

[andrew1]

The 'oversight' - actually a criminal offence - now appears to have been rectified.

 

Quite right Scarlet (and what on earth were you doing on here at 0.14am on New Years day? - weren't you partying? LOL) Trading Standards told me they had made contact with them and it was all being put into order. Pity they still have the idiots phrase of the year though about finding us in our homes....maybe they think we are all bed-hopping to avoid them?

[mrbigjase]

Just had the exact same letter,whats the best template letter to send?

[andrew1]

Just had the exact same letter,whats the best template letter to send?

 

 

Depends what you owe and why? They have been given a slapped wrist and forgiven the error of their ways by Trading Standards and have now rectified the legal aspects of their trading style, the content of the letter relates no doubt to a debt they are collecting and that's a different story altogether. There's a lot of advice if you feel you don't owe the debt, but Id suggest going back to the original creditor name on here and looking up others who have been passed on to debt collectors if you have some doubts about the debt itself.

 

Short answer if you don't dispute the debt is to talk to them and discuss some kind of payment plan so you don't get lots od default notices on your credit file, but without knowing your situation it's difficult to advise further really. I don't like talking to DCA's and don't normally advise it unless you are comfortable with the debt itself, but just having difficulty in paying. Then phone and see what you can sort out between you - they are only doing their job until they start getting heavy and breaching the OFT guidelines on debt recovery or harrassing you - then we can support you and get it stopped.

 

Good luck anyway. Just don't cut and paste stuff from here without knowing what it means - ASK - or you could end up in the depths of litigation and court before you know it.

[mrbigjase]

Fair enough and thanks for the advice.

[andrew1]

Fair enough and thanks for the advice.

 

The pleasure's mine.