A local woman is fighting back against a scam that is taking advantage of people’s desire to get out from under credit card debt.
Joan Scott-Brown was the perfect target for Global Asset Services' cold call.
The company offered to lower her credit card interest rates for a fee.
"I had maxed out my cards and so I was thinking it would be a good idea to do that and so she caught me at the wrong time," said Scott-Brown.
The woman on the phone said the company could consolidate Scott-Brown's credit card debt and lower the interest rates on her VISA and MasterCard.
Scott-Brown agreed and gave them her card numbers as well as the answers to her security questions.
She says days later, she had second thoughts and says she called MBNA and the bank told her it doesn't deal with outfits like Global Asset and reversed the $1000 fee the company had already charged to her MasterCard.
She has been getting debt collection calls demanding that $1000 back ever since. "It is harassing, especially one day they put in five calls within five minutes."
The call for collection says, "This is an attempt to collect a debt that's unpaid. Without getting this resolved this will have a negative effect on your credit rating as well as an affidavit will be sent out to small claims court."
The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada recently issued a warning about phone calls like the one Scott-Brown received.
“It was brought to FCAC’s attention that a scam was taking place that involved unsolicited phone calls from fraudsters who were offering to apply for low interest rate credit cards on a person's behalf for a large fee,” said Natasha Nystrom, from the FCAC. “Consumers should never pay a fee to a third party for this kind of service."
CTV Calgary’s Consumer Specialist Lea Williams-Doherty called Global Asset Services, which appears to be located in Florida, to talk about the FCAC warning and tell them to stop harassing Scott-Brown for the money.
Lea was told the matter was not her concern.
Woman on the phone: "What our company is doing is none of your business."
Lea: "Well it is when the federal government has warned consumers against accepting your services." Woman: "It's not, it's not any of your business."
Lea says if you fall victim to a company like this, it is a good idea to contact the banks that issued your credit cards, the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre and the credit bureaus.
With respect to the debt collection threats, Lea says companies like this rarely go through with it because of the dubious nature of their operations.
(With files from Lea Williams-Doherty)