Britannia Log

17 Nov 2003 - When I unexpectedly received four video tapes from Britannia, I emailed them immediately:

I have just taken delivery of four Agatha Christie tapes. Though I am not a member of your club, I have been sent an order form which has on it a membership number of 103 277672275. You are the victim of a malicious neighbour who has been having stuff sent to me since 1999. The police have been informed of the delivery of your tapes.

Your "Returning Items" section suggests that the goods are shrink wrapped. They are not. As I have not changed my mind about membership, I shall certainly not be returning the goods at my expense. Indeed, you should be paying for any expense incurred by me in returning the tapes to you.

The criminal actions of my neighbour must have cost companies like yours hundreds of pounds over the years. Should you wish to help bring the criminal to book, you could send me a photocopy of the handwriting on any coupon used to order the tapes, and some indication of the publication from which it was taken.

It would also be advisable for you to erase my name from your database.

This elicited an annoying and irrelevant automated response from "Your bclub Team", followed by an email from Mr Kayes Uddin (18/11/03):

Thank you for contacting us. Unfortunately, it seems that we've both been victims of a hoax. We're very sorry you've been inconvenienced in this annoying way. Under the circumstances, it was extremely good of you to return the goods, the provisional account that was set up in your name has already been cancelled. We hope you'll understand that we've no way of preventing this kind of misbehaviour.

For your information, we have sent under separate cover a copy of the application form, which purportedly came from yourself. This was processed in good faith and we're as disturbed as you are to discover that it is fraudulent.

Thank you again for your co-operation. If we can be of any further assistance, please don't hesitate to contact us. Pre-paid return labels are sent through the post, please allow up to 7 working days for delivery.

I immediately emailed back:

Thanks for the email. I don't find the message 100% clear but I gather that:
1. a sample of handwriting is on its way to me. Thanks in advance for that.
2. You are sending pre-paid labels so that the tapes can be returned via Royal Mail. If so I will take the tapes to my local post office as soon as practicable.

I will be returning everything you sent apart from the ORDER FORM / INVOICE, which I am assuming is more valuable to me for my records, than to you, as you presumably have all the details on your database.

The Membership Number is 103 277672275 and the invoice is dated 6 November 03.

Ten days later (28/11/03) I wrote again:

Membership number 103 277672275 (hoax application).
Thank you for the application coupon which arrived today, complete with a forged signature and inaccurate date of birth. I'm emailing again because a pre-paid return label was not included, and I still have your videotapes, in unopened boxes. Other companies have either had their goods returned through the post using a company label, or they have arranged for their courier to collect them.

Usha Dhadwal replied the same day:

Thank you for your recent e-mail. Pre-paid return labels are sent through the post, please allow up to 7 working days for delivery.

On 10/12/03 I was annoyed to receive a demand for payment and emailed:

Your ref. 103 2776722759  Today I received from L. Smith of your Credit Control Dept. a Statement of Accounts for Ms G. Madden, who does not exist. Until now I have been helpful to the extent of sending you three emails, and driving to a Post Office and standing in a queue to return your videotapes.

Henceforth, in view of your capitalised threat to add 5 pounds to the bill of Ms G. Madden if your closing balance is not sent by return of post, the conditions under which I will be willing to help you further if you cannot sort out your muddle and incompetence by yourselves is as follows:

Answering the telephone (nnnnn nnnnnn): no charge.
Sending an email: a charge of 5 pounds, payable in advance.
Sending a letter by Royal Mail: a charge of 10 pounds, payable in advance.

I shall not of course be sending you any money.

Early in 2004, after five years of being sent stuff that I did not order, I told the police that I would be adopting their own policy of laissez faire. So when I received another parcel from Britannia, I wrote to Inspector Brown of Hailsham police (26/1/04):

Royal Mail has just delivered a parcel, which I accepted as it was correctly addressed. It contains three DVDs and an unopened letter with "Thank you for joining Britannia" on the front of the envelope. Presumably it is from the company that I have already emailed four times. I shall be putting the parcel in my garage, and doing nothing more about it.

I wrote to Inspector Brown again the following day:

Royal Mail pushed another (unordered by me) DVD from Britannia through my letterbox this morning, together with an unopened envelope which presumably contains a demand for payment. It is going unanswered into my garage.

Since then debt collection agencies (?, Robinson, Way & Co., and Wescot Credit Services) have telephoned and been given an explanation of the 'hoax'. Wescot sent me an inflated bill nevertheless, followed by a solicitors' letter, and a FINAL NOTICE.

I then tried to find an email address for Wescot, but found only a website (http://www.debtquestions.co.uk/forum/message.php3?messageID=13218) which invited one to comment on Wescot online, so I wrote:

I've arrived here because I was looking for an email address for this company, after receiving from them what they call a FINAL NOTICE, despite my having explained to them over the 'phone that I owe a breathtakingly incompetent company called Britannia Music Co Ltd nothing, as they are one of many companies who have been victims of a neighbour who has been subjecting me to harassment for more than five years. I emailed Britannia four times! So if you want to harass someone, fill in a newspaper or magazine coupon so that Britannia will send them videos and DVDs and tell them they have joined a club. A log of the harassment is at http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/ggmadden
[P.S. Sussex Police had this site closed down after I declined to alter or delete two items critical of PC Francis.]

When Debt Enforcement Agency told me (3/8/04) that I had been added to their register of debtors, and demanded money, I telephoned them, and after listening to music until the relevant file was found, I offered them my telephone number, as I was unwilling to continue with what could have been a very long call to Glasgow at my expense. The offer was refused. I then emailed Britannia (5/8/04):

I have added an unfavourable comment about your company on my website at
http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/ggmadden/Mabrylog.htm

The entry is dated 17 Nov 2003. You and the various companies your incompetence has involved in a non-existent debt has added a good deal to the harassment I have been subjected to for more than five and a half years.

Having received no reply, I emailed services@bclub.co.uk again on 7/8/04:

Your ref. 103 2776722759 Two days ago I wrote:

"I have added an unfavourable comment about your company on my website at
http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/ggmadden/Mabrylog.htm [P.S. That website was closed down by PC Francis of Sussex Police after I had declined to remove two comments about him from it.]

The entry is dated 17 Nov 2003. You and the various companies your incompetence has involved in a non-existent debt has added a good deal to the harassment I have been subjected to for more than five and a half years."

This evoked no response, so today I wish to inform you that owing to your incompetence I have been added to a register of debtors, and that if this has an adverse effect on my financial affairs I shall be enquiring into the possibility of suing you for damages.

I have also added to my website a log of the harassment which you have caused me, accessible from a link in the Mabrylog entry for 17 Nov 2003.

I received no answer.

18/8/04 I received a demand for £73.96 from R.A.Logan & Co., Solicitors, Notaries, Estate Agents. I denied owing Britannia money, and returned their demand after adding two relevant URLs to it.

15/4/2005 is the date on what purports to be an "URGENT FINAL DEMAND" from Debt Managers Ltd. of Scotland and England for £88.96. As these Managers seem to manage without an email address, I wrote instead to the Managing Director of Britannia Music, saying that if the threatened court action went ahead, I would be counterclaiming for 18 months of harassment for which Britannia Music is responsible.

This prompted a telephone response from Britannia, who sent a mailing label so that their DVDs which I had not ordered could be sent back to them at their expense, which happened on 3rd May 2005.

That may well be the end of the part Britannia played in my harassment.

13th June 2009 Today the BBC Money Box radio program featured an article about the debt collection industry and the pursuit of people for money that they do not owe. The presenter invited comments from listeners. As their web page said that only a selection of contributions would be published, I kept my comment short:

I had problems with a neighbour ordering goods in my name in an attempt to make me move house. Although I returned the goods, one company continued to send me stuff. After repeated threats from debt collection companies and solicitors threatening visits from bailiffs and legal action, I finally emailed the managing director of the company concerned with the threat of a counterclaim for eighteen months' harassment. I published the story on www.ggm11.plus.com/britlog.htm.