Wonga has been ordered to pay compensation of over £2.6 million after it sent threatening letters to customers from non-existent law firms.

45,000 Wonga debtors were contacted by two fake firms, Barker and Lowe Legal Recoveries and Chainey, D'Amato & Shannon (who sound more like a gang of strippers). The letters gave the impression that the firms or another third party had taken ownership of the customer's debt from Wonga. They also threatened legal action if the recipients failed to pay up. In some instances Wonga even added extra charges to the sums owed to cover its costs preparing the bogus letters.


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Wonga could have just instructed actual lawyers, but it doesn't seem to like them very much. When it was mocked for threatening the creator of a parody advert which showed a Wonga puppet in debtor's prison, it blamed its own in-house legal team and branded them "soulless".

The Financial Conduct Authority said the fake letters, which were sent between 2008 and 2010, constituted "unfair and misleading debt collection practices" and that Wonga was guilty of exarcerbating "an already difficult situation", presumably referring to the carousel of despair created by 5853% APR. Wonga must repay its customers around £400,000 for the fees it charged to send them the letters and £50 to each victim for "distress and inconvenience".

Wonga's interim chairman Tim Weller said, "What did you expect, even our ads show us jerking our customers around on strings We apologise unreservedly...The practice was unacceptable and we voluntarily ceased it four years ago".
 
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Comments

Anonymous 27 June 14 10:45

Last Para - Pay up Guv or we will have to send our Mr Odd Job and our dog Bruno around for a doorstep visit.

Anonymous 27 June 14 12:28

Isn't it a criminal offence to pretend to be a solicitor? Let's see Earl dance his way out of this one...

Anonymous 27 June 14 18:36

That's curious, the inhouse legal team got a letter from a firm called 'Dentons' the other day. I asked the boss about them and he said it must be one of these fake law firms that's been in the news recently. Seems like a lot of it about at the moment. Be warned fellow Roffers.

Anonymous 02 July 14 15:17

"Soulless" now that's a rich choice of words coming from a form loan company that’s soul purpose is to take advantage of the financially vulnerable. coming from a company