PIXMANIA Debt Collection Letter

Hmm_Messiah

I received a letter today from First COllect International regarding a "declined credit card transaction "

and pursuing payment of 275.58

dating to August 2007


It looks for credit card detaisl etc - see attached


Is this legit ? the company names seems ok froma quick google

But I never bought the item from Pixmania, nor had they even my correct address etc


Any one else any experience of this

I know of threads aout Pixmania awful customer service but I don't like debt collectors pursuing money - and the impact it has on can credit rating

godtabh

Hmm_Messiah wrote: »

I received a letter today from First COllect International regarding a "declined credit card transaction "

and pursuing payment of 275.58

dating to August 2007


It looks for credit card detaisl etc - see attached


Is this legit ? the company names seems ok froma quick google

But I never bought the item from Pixmania, nor had they even my correct address etc


Any one else any experience of this

I know of threads aout Pixmania awful customer service but I don't like debt collectors pursuing money - and the impact it has on can credit rating

I wouldnt give any details to some one like that. A random letter asking for your credit card details. No thanks

Hmm_Messiah

Yea I agree

but wondering should I report it and to who - FCI seems a legit company

Viper_JB

Pixmania are a genuine company alright, might wanna give them a call directly or contact them via email just to ensure you're covered and have an end to the matter. Don't give any personal information, just the number from the letter should be sufficent.

jor el

They want you to send credit card details in an email! What a joke of a company. Ignore it, debt collectors have no rights or powers at all. If you owed a debt it would be to Pixmania, and not to this crowd, but since you never received anything, you owe nothing.

They can have no impact on your credit rating. Ignore their threats.

What I would do now, is file a complaint to the Data Protection Office about Pixmania sharing your personal details with a 3rd party without your consent. No debt exists, so they had no right to do this.
www.dataprotection.ie
www.dataprotection.eu

Cabaal

Ignore them, they have no powers

Funky G

Hi Messiah,

Did you get this in the post or email?

If its email i find it highly dubious and suspect. normally a credit institute / finance institute / bank etc would post out a letter.

Wrong address is a big worry. if they can't even get that right then you can tell them where to go.....

If you have never bought the goods or anything from pixmania then you are ok.

AFAIK finance companies don't wait 3 years to collect a debt - personally, this looks like more of a phishing scam.

I would suggest contacting your credit card company about this. remember to make notes on all your dealings with them - i.e full name of representative your talking to, questions asked and answered, etc. I would forward this letter to them and ask for their help and advice.

Even ask them for a copy of your credit card statement of the month and year in question. They could still have it on their system.

I've bought stuff from pixmania before - they overcharged me on some extended warranty thing i never asked for but i got my money back after a week or so. service and customer service-wise, i thought they were ok, then again, i'm possibly a lucky one!

Hmm_Messiah

Its a letter

The wrong address is part of my work address

It looks all very suspect - and a bit annoying - think I'll just leave it be though , I rang First Collect and they said they would send out back up documentatione tc

Sizzler

In a word - IGNORE.

fishfoodie

I'd check your receipts for your CC for the timeframe that this supposed transaction happened. Its possible someone tried using your card after they'd snagged your details.

Have you ever made an over the phone transaction in work, where you've have to read out all your address & CC details out loud ?

I know I've heard people in offices around me do it, & if I were unscrupulous I could just copy down their details & use them myself !

This might explain why the letter came to you work. I'd also call the anti-fraud line for your CC. They ought to have alerted you if there were rejected transactions.

jpb1974

It sounds like Pixmania are suggesting that you paid for an item, they sent it to you and then you requested that your CC company reverse the transaction.

I'd f*ck the letter in the bin and then ring your CC company to make sure that there were no funnies on your bill at that time... just for peace of mind.

Sponge Bob

If you bought nothing off Pixmania then report this to the guards and the EU Consumer office in Dublin. It is possibly fraud.

Otherwise ignore it. Let the Consumer office investigate

clived2

did you buy anything around that time, and for that amount on your credit card?

delllat

3 years later is a joke,hows anyone who regularly buys stuff online supposed to remember what he bought 3 years ago ?

bin it

TheDriver

No. of problems:
If you bought nothing from Pixmania, then how come they have your address
If thats the case, they passed your details onto a 3rd party.
I would not ignore it but rather report it:
1. To data protection
2. CC Company
3. Write to the company themselves stating you never bought anything from pixmania, and state for evidence.
4. Write to pixmania stating the same and ask for evidence.
5. Don't worry any more after that.
Wouldn't ignore it because a) they can't do anything to you 2) You never bought anything from them 3) interesting to see where it all leads

Fey!

What are they claiming you bought? Did you buy anything similar onlinr at the time of another company whose parent company may be Pixmania, or who may now be trading as Pixmania?

As others have said, talk to your credit card provider. Also email the debt collector confirming that you have no knowledge of the transaction, and that you have credit card statements to back that up (I know that people have said ignore it, but the email will take 2 seconds, and will do you no harm, just in case for some reason it is legit).

t-hairy

Hmm_Messiah wrote: »

I received a letter today from First COllect International regarding a "declined credit card transaction "

and pursuing payment of 275.58

dating to August 2007


It looks for credit card detaisl etc - see attached


Is this legit ? the company names seems ok froma quick google

But I never bought the item from Pixmania, nor had they even my correct address etc


Any one else any experience of this

I know of threads aout Pixmania awful customer service but I don't like debt collectors pursuing money - and the impact it has on can credit rating

Glad I saw this. Got the exact same letter today. Same company (FCI on behalf of Pixmania), same item, almost the same amount. I had no such transaction with Pixmania.The thing is though, I did buy that camera from a seller on eBay (not affiliated with Pixmania) around then.
Methinks that's more that coincidence.
Hmm_Messiah, did you happen to buy the item on eBay?

BnB

It is very strange.....

Firstly, the letter is so unprofessional looking, you would straight away presume that it is just a simple pishing scam.

However, FCI do seem like a legit company. Also, since T-Hairy above got a similar letter, they must be doing a run of them.

See here....
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?p=35903885
the poster AV_Help seems to have got one this morning as well. And he did buy from Pixmania, but because of Pixmanias (usual) outstanding Customer Service, he ended up having to do a charge back.

It sounds like one of two things....

1) A scam. Some scummers have got their hands on a list of stuff bought from Pixmania (or a similar company) 3 years ago and are using it now to try and scam some money out of people. What puts me off this is that FCI do look like a reputable company.

2) Pixmaina being Pixmania. Pixmania are trying to gather in some old bad debts and have got FCI in to help them. However, because Pixmaina are just shockingly useless, they have made a complete dogs dinner of it and given FCI lots of incorrect data.

To the OP... If I was in your position I would try to get to the bottom of it just for the sake of curiousity. But I most certainly wouldn't worry about it for a nano-second.

jor el

Looks like Pixmania are going through all their old accounts, and anything showing a debt is being passed along the their collection agent. Even the ones that are mistakes, or cancelled orders. Pixmania being their usual reliable selves, they can't even tell the difference between an bad debt and a cancelled order.

IrishTonyO

Pixmania have to be one of the worst companies ever. Send them a mail saying you are going to take action for a breach of data protection.

BnB

IrishTonyO wrote: »

Pixmania have to be one of the worst companies ever. Send them a mail saying you are going to take action for a breach of data protection.

Tell me about it....!!!! They are astoundingly useless.

They are so bad, you'd think they are going out of their way to try and be useless.

I had an issue with them last year over a product that was delivered damaged. After batin' around with them for a few weeks it eventually ended up...
Firstly, a replacement product was sent. I received it. It was perfect.... Grand. I was happy - did nothing else.
A week later, out of the blue, I got an e-mail telling me after investigation they had decided to re-fund my card instead of replacing the product (which they had already done...!!!) The card was refunded.
Finally another week later, I got another e-mail telling me that after investigation they decided they wouldn't be able to refund my card (which they had already done).

So basically, they replaced the product, refunded my card, and then told me to eff off...!!!! It was comical.

Hmm_Messiah

t-hairy wrote: »

Glad I saw this. Got the exact same letter today. Same company (FCI on behalf of Pixmania), same item, almost the same amount. I had no such transaction with Pixmania.The thing is though, I did buy that camera from a seller on eBay (not affiliated with Pixmania) around then.
Methinks that's more that coincidence.
Hmm_Messiah, did you happen to buy the item on eBay?

No - but I bought the ixus 70 - a few of them = form the same lady on ebAY

the thing is I am kknown for finding bargains so it would be possible I bought this for some one else on their card

odd though if we ave both the same letter - guess will wait it out

Sponge Bob

You just gave me an idea there messiah ( and the rest of ye)

It is possible that Pixmania set up a phantom seller on eBay to flog off their returned gear...not new packaging etc...that they could not sell through their main channel. Many retailers do it , most identify themselves.

But if you bought off/through eBay then eBay have a record of the transaction so you should be in the clear _anyway_ . You will not get all the data, only seller names and item descriptions and amounts.

The thing for eveyone in this thread to check is whether they dealt with the same or with a limited number of eBay sellers around the time of these phantom debts. That would HAVE TO be done directly between ye by PM. Look for purchases of goods of a Pixmania nature at the correct time and compare seller names.

If ye privately find a pattern do post in here. I can only imagine the ****storm if it were true.

m4r10

More than likely it's a scam.

Besides reporting them to the suggested bodies above, I would send them an email apologizing for the unfortunately situation that has arisen due to your mistake and forward them some made up CC details. Then wait for their answer.

I'd say you'll have more fun messing with them then by reporting them.

8mm

I'll add myself to the list that have gotten these letters. Not sure what's going on - it's possible that I started an order and then canceled it with Pixmania around that time but I don't really know. I have often put an order into a site just to see how much shipping will be and to see if the option to ship to Ireland will come up and a final price then I will cancel or just not complete an order. I'm on my third letter from this crowd, feck em anyway the letter is completely unprofessional, bloody chancers!