Hetherington: Wonga gets it wrong

By TONY HETHERINGTON, FINANCIAL MAIL ON SUNDAY
Updated:

 

Every week, Tony Hetherington replies to readers' letters, adding comments, advice and the results of his enquiries.

If you believe you are the victim of financial wrongdoing, write to Tony Hetherington at Financial Mail, 2 Derry Street, London W8 5TS. Because of the high volume of inquiries, personal replies cannot be given.

Please send only copies of original documents, which, we regret, cannot be returned.

Mrs S. O. writes: When we received our recent credit card statement, Wonga had taken two payments without our authority, one for £197 and another for £98. We have never had a loan from Wonga. My son does have one and some months ago I made one payment on his behalf.

Wonga is a payday loans company that lends money short term with high interest charges. Your son has used it a number of times, but several months ago he lost his job and attempts by Wonga to collect repayments from his debit card failed.

You did give Wonga permission to collect one repayment from your credit card, but you are right to say this does not mean you gave consent for your card to cover all future repayments.

Wonga puts this down to human error and agrees a one-off payment by you does not make you responsible for the debt. The money has been credited to your card. A letter of apology is on its way from Wonga, offering compensation, and you will also receive flowers.

 

L.T.writes: You wrote about bloodstock agency scams and asked readers to inform you of any suspicious letters. I have one from the Pennyhill Bloodstock Agency saying: 'In return for us paying you a monthly income, you can assist us in using OUR money to profit from our privileged position.'

This letter is a fraud.

The Pennyhill Bloodstock Agency falsely claims to be based in the High Street in Bagshot, Surrey. But the address belongs to a dry cleaning shop. And the agency's phone number is a mobile that has ceased to be answered. According to the letter from 'Adrian Spencer', Pennyhill has 50 horses in training, which means he has inside information about potential winners.

He claims that Jockey Club rules mean he cannot use this information himself, so he wants you to place bets for him, using his money and with you taking a slice of the winnings.

But to take him up on this, you had to call him on Friday nine days ago on 07900 430 334.

I can tell you that if you had shown any interest you would have been contacted by a 'Peter Webb', with instructions to place a large bet on a horse called Spanish Affair, running at the Kenilworth racetrack in South Africa.

If the horse won, you would get 10% of the winnings. If it lost, you would still be paid 10% of the stake money - and Webb would reimburse you for the bet itself, of course. Spanish Affair came second, so Webb got nothing. If it had won, he would have made arrangements to meet and collect his cash.

Naturally, 'Webb' and 'Spencer' have vanished. They are doing nothing more than betting with other people's money. After you contacted me I alerted Surrey Police in the hope it could intercept those responsible when they collected their winnings. This didn't happen, but there is always next time. Surrey Police says: 'Anyone receiving a similar letter should not be tempted to contact the sender.

'These people may give a company address in an attempt to sound more credible, but they are almost always false and those perpetrating the fraud are using untraceable mobile phones.' If any readers receive a similar letter, they should contact me immediately and I will alert the relevant police force. Meanwhile, if anyone recognises that number - 07900 430 334 - please let me know.

If you run a mobile phone shop, perhaps you sold the phone to someone? If you work for a telecoms company, perhaps you know who paid for this number? All information gratefully received.

 

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