Today afternoon I received a call from a lady. She asked if I knew one particular Mr. Rogue Someone.. When I said yea – I had gone to school with this guy – she said she was calling from the Legal department of some bank. She informed me that this person has given my name as reference. When she said reference I thought reference for a new credit card, personal loan, home loan, etc, etc. What she said next totally stumped me; She said this person who I had said I knew few seconds ago had defaulted on paying his credit card bill and had give my name as Reference and I would now have to pay for what he owes the bank!
WTF!!! Did she just ask me to pay for somebody’s credit card? I had last seen this guy about 10 years ago! Someone I went to school with has grown up to be a Crook! Why did I say I know him? He’s just an acquaintance (yeah, within seconds the ‘school friend’ was demoted to ‘acquaintance’. I’m sure that’s the most normal behavior) I asked God, why me? All these thoughts sprang up in my mind, while at the other end of the line the woman who sounded calm at the beginning of the call was now yelling and asking if I was going to pay? I said ‘Not a chance!’ I asked if my signature was there anywhere on the submitted documents. To which she confirmed in the negative. (Phew!) I just had to confirm else it could have been a case of forgery + robbery.
I tried to explain that I had no knowledge of this Mr. Rogue Someone and the last time I saw him was TEN years ago. To which she told me that he has given my contact details – My current residence address, office address and my phone number! I had no clue, how in the world had he got these details. But then, these are not super confidential details. These details are easy to get. My friends know where I work and where I live that does not make me liable to pay all their credit card bills, does it!? I could not really continue talking to this lady, she seemed to have gone berserk (may be working in the bank’s recovery department does that you). I tried to reason that I had not signed anywhere for anybody to be a guarantor and so I am NOT liable. She asked me to call him and sort it out with this Rogue guy and to check if I was aware or not was not her look out! I did not have any of his details, it was insane! Her yelling had crossed my patience limit; I could not take any more and just disconnected the call.
I hoped and prayed this was some stupid prank and someone would call back saying it was some sort of a joke. I even wondered if it could be a phishing trick. No one called back. I had asked for Rogue’s number from the lady before since I did not have his details with me and I tried calling. This person was not answering my calls ofcourse! Why would he!? I imagined he must have saved my number as ‘The Scapegoat’. I tried to stay calm and still confident that I was not paying for anyone. But then the lady had really shocked me, she was super rude and loud and I can’t handle aggression of any form. She was too violent verbally and felt like my super bright day melted because of her ferocious demeanor.
After about 15 minutes I decided to call back on the number, I still thought maybe, just may be somebody who picks up will tell me it’s not a bank or it was mistake. A man answered this time. I asked him which place it was and he said it was the legal department of the bank. He was nicer than the lady but he said the same things… I would have to pay just because some nutcase gave my name as a reference… a very shrewd nutcase. The man said that this could be a case of fraud, however my name was mentioned in the reference and that is why I would have to pay. I had heard enough nonsense and disconnected the call.
I was annoyed, irritated and angry but also felt vulnerable and weak because of the sudden shock. I did not ask what the amount was but from the tone of the caller... big enough to make them mad I think. I paused and tried to think of someone who would be able to advise me with a problem like this. I thought of a friend who could help me – someone who was perfect in problems like these. He checked with a few of his sources and confirmed that I was safe, I was not a guarantor and that just being a referenced does not mean I would have to pay - the bank cannot touch my account. Later he also shared a link (provided at the end of this post) where I could lodge a complaint against the bank if I get a call from the 'recovery' cell again
In the mean time I called the bank credit card grievance department and narrated the incident. So what does it actually mean when someone provides a name as a reference?
When a person applies for a new credit card he/she needs to give the name of a friend or family who know the person and can vouch for the applicant’s credibility. I had never received the confirmation call for processing Rogue’s credit card. Now-a-days banks just sell credit cards to anybody who can provide minimum documentation required to process a credit card request.
After I had lodged a complaint on the behavior of the recovery agent / Legal dept lady, the executive apologized and promised I would get a call back and told me not to worry. Not sure if I should stop worrying but this raised a few questions. Is it really easy to fool a bank? I mean swipe your credit card all you want and then just name anybody give their contact details as reference and the fugitive can get away with that? The person referred could be in a very scary situation – like me, the last time I heard of this guy was TEN years ago! Today I get a call for ransom! (well, that’s how it felt :P) I only hope there are no more of those calls.
Just FYI: individuals can complain against the recovery agents if they threaten / abuse you or your family members or gives bitter visits at work or home or just stalking you.
Below is the RBI link where you can lodge your complaints.
Hope nobody has to go through such an unpleasant situation and this bit of info is helpful.
