UPI (UK) Ltd
When I first encountered UPI (UK) Ltd it was because they had their india call centre call me and tell me lies. I was so irritated by it that I wrote a post on my blog Are UPI Limited criminals or just somewhat unethical?
The response was far greater than I could have imagined given the usual number of comments I get this post was firmly in the top 10 most commented blog posts I've written (for my own blog).
It seemed I was not the only one having a bad time with UPI. So who are UPI (UK) Ltd and what do they do?
The response was far greater than I could have imagined given the usual number of comments I get this post was firmly in the top 10 most commented blog posts I've written (for my own blog).
It seemed I was not the only one having a bad time with UPI. So who are UPI (UK) Ltd and what do they do?
Bank Details
No matter how convincingly they suggest they have your bank details do "fill in the blanks" becuase they do not yet know enough to take your money.
What they will say
based on my own experience and those reported by others
As closely as I can work out this is exactly what you can expect from a UPI (UK) Phone call.
The cold call starts normally enough. They will want to speak to the person whose name they have. Once they are sure that they are talking to that person they will tell you they are going to get you a bank charge refund.
They will assure you that they are not going to sell you anything. This is not true.
Then they will start to demonstrate that they have some fairly intimate knowledge of your bank details (like who you bank with). However they will have gotten this information from the public records and from you during the phone call.
Now they will start in with the details confirmation. They will suggest that they know your bank card number and will read out part of it and ask you to finish the number off.
They do not yet have your bank details.
During the conversation they will also ask for the three digit number on the back of the card.
Once they have enough information to take a payment they will deduct £49.99 from your account. UPI (UK) Ltd will then send you a bank charges reclaiming pack and leave you to do all of the work.
It is my understanding that the information in this pack is available for free on the World Wide Web.
The cold call starts normally enough. They will want to speak to the person whose name they have. Once they are sure that they are talking to that person they will tell you they are going to get you a bank charge refund.
They will assure you that they are not going to sell you anything. This is not true.
Then they will start to demonstrate that they have some fairly intimate knowledge of your bank details (like who you bank with). However they will have gotten this information from the public records and from you during the phone call.
Now they will start in with the details confirmation. They will suggest that they know your bank card number and will read out part of it and ask you to finish the number off.
They do not yet have your bank details.
During the conversation they will also ask for the three digit number on the back of the card.
Once they have enough information to take a payment they will deduct £49.99 from your account. UPI (UK) Ltd will then send you a bank charges reclaiming pack and leave you to do all of the work.
It is my understanding that the information in this pack is available for free on the World Wide Web.
If you feel your bank details have been leaked call your bank right away.
Other things UPI may claim
What else have UPI (UK) Ltd reportedly claimed?
Based on things other people have written and on my own contact with UPI (UK) Ltd these are some more things that they might claim.
- That they are a Law Firm. My caller actually said to me "sir, we are a law firm, we are not allowed to ask you for your sensitive data"
- That they are regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA). I understand that it is a criminal offence to claim to be regulated by the FSA when you are not.
- That they are regulated by the Ministry of Justice. They do have a MoJ registration number which is CRM7863.
- That they are working in association with your bank. This was not claimed to me but others report being given this impression.
- That they have access to your sensitive data. This appears to be part of the trick they use to get your debit card details.
Why are they calling me - what did I do?
Why are they calling me?
Don't feel victimised by UPI
A lot of people feel that they might have done something to merrit special attention from UPI (UK) Ltd and they feel vulnerable and hurt.
I can't blame people for feeling like this. I felt like that too.
Yet not half as much as when Keith Penhalagan the man behind UPI (UK) Ltd phoned me up on one Sunday while I was at home. It seems that he took exception to the fact that a visitor to my blog had written his home address in the comments. Keith was most threatening and not exactly nice.
I wrote about it in a follow up post UPI: How far is too far?
It was only then that I did enough research to discover that they aim to sell 5,000 packs in the next 6 months. I estimate that they will need to call over 1,000,000 people to make that happen. So it really is nothing personal.
I can't blame people for feeling like this. I felt like that too.
Yet not half as much as when Keith Penhalagan the man behind UPI (UK) Ltd phoned me up on one Sunday while I was at home. It seems that he took exception to the fact that a visitor to my blog had written his home address in the comments. Keith was most threatening and not exactly nice.
I wrote about it in a follow up post UPI: How far is too far?
It was only then that I did enough research to discover that they aim to sell 5,000 packs in the next 6 months. I estimate that they will need to call over 1,000,000 people to make that happen. So it really is nothing personal.
Stay Calm - Say no.
Say firmly "no thank you. I am not interested in your offer, please do not call again" and hang up
Make it stop
How to stop UPI (UK) Ltd from legally calling you again
Due to such protections as the Data Protection Act (among other things) it is not legal for a UK based company to continue to hold your details after they are no longer of use. Additionally if a you tell a cold caller to remover you information they are obliged to do so.
So it is quite important that you are firm and clear.
"No, Thank you. I am not interested in your offer" is a clear no and should allow the call centre to move on to other people and leave you alone.
Adding "Please remove my details from your database in accordance with the Data Protection Act" should complete the job.
You may now safely hang up.
If they call you back say firmly "I will have to report you now" (something that makes no explicit promise but let's them know they have gone to far). Then put the phone down and walk away (ideally to another room). After exactly five minuets return and hang up without saying anything.
You are now free to complain to someone.
So it is quite important that you are firm and clear.
"No, Thank you. I am not interested in your offer" is a clear no and should allow the call centre to move on to other people and leave you alone.
Adding "Please remove my details from your database in accordance with the Data Protection Act" should complete the job.
You may now safely hang up.
If they call you back say firmly "I will have to report you now" (something that makes no explicit promise but let's them know they have gone to far). Then put the phone down and walk away (ideally to another room). After exactly five minuets return and hang up without saying anything.
You are now free to complain to someone.
Who to call?
So you have had a call from UPI (UK) Ltd and you ar not happy to let things just go. Maybe you feel threatened or angry. This is fairly normal and nothing to be ashamed of. Listed below are some of the organisations you might want to call.
This information is specific to the UK and might not apply in other parts of the world.
This information is specific to the UK and might not apply in other parts of the world.
- If you feel that your bank details have been compromised then you must call your bank right away. Tell them what happened and that you fear that they might take money from your account. Banks have processes in place to deal with this for you and they will be happy to help.
- If you feel threatened or in danger you should call the police. The UK emergency services number is 999 or you may wish to use the number of your nearest station.
- You can call crime stoppers on 0800 555 111. You do not need to give your name.
- You may wish to speak with the office of Fair Trading (OFT) on 08457 22 44 99
- Consumer Direct may also be able to help and their number is 08454 04 05 06
- If your UPI caller claimed UPI (UK) Ltd was regulated by the FSA then you might want to tell the FSDA about this. The Main switchboard is 020 7066 1000 and the Consumer Helpline (including Central Register authorisation queries) 0300 500 5000.
- You may also wish to discuss matters with the Ministry of Justice on 020 3334 3555. The UPI (UK) Ltd registration number is CRM7863.
UPI (UK) Ltd blog mentions.
What are the independent media folks saying?
A Google Blog search for "UPI (UK) Ltd" most recently returned these results.
- UPI: How far is too far?
- We are talking about UPI (UK) Ltd (213 New Road, SA10 6EW). It is my opinion that the person who owns and runs this company is, in my experience rude and not-a-nice-person-at-all. You are likely to be called by UPI in the next few ...
- upi uk ltd
- i got a phone call tonight from charles knight at upi uk ltd. he informed me that he was a representative of the company and that they were authorised by the ministry of justice to attempt to repay bank charges back to their customers. ...
- UK-based UPI to expand operations at InfoCity: BPO Watch India
- We are now expanding our operations by floating a new project with Etech," said Cyril Keith, director of UPI (UK) Ltd. Under the new project, UPI will be offering new financial products for its customers. ...
- Are UPI Limited criminals or just somewhat unethical?
- I just had a 15 minute chat with a very convincing scammer. I knew the call was coming because of...
Twitter mentions of UPI
Twitter is a micro blogging service. It is often used to discuss news and current events. This section of the page tracks what people have been saying about #UPIUKLTD if you are a twitter user you may wish to comment here if not skip past and leave us a (longer) message.
Has anyone else been called by UPI (UK) Ltd making claims about bank charges?
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UPI and you
Have you had an encounter with UPI?
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- analiza analiza Jul 30, 2009 @ 2:24 pm
- yes he called me earlier, and my biggest mistake i gave him all my details and im so worried now, 50quid is big money for me. and i dont know what to do now. i dont have time to go to bank in the next 5 days. are they going to take 50 quid from me now?
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- David David Jun 18, 2009 @ 3:59 am
- I have been following these closely for a while after getting ripped off by them, and I did a search on the address and came up with the following websites linked to UPi - www.yourcreditcrunchers.com and www.cheaper-than-mobile-phone-insurance.co.uk. It seems he is expanding his operations.
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- David Peter Brown David Peter Brown Jun 8, 2009 @ 1:41 pm
- U P I Phoned me today,and said they would claim my bank charges, After 10 mins of claiming they had the full backing of the government, and were %100 legal,The Indian fellow give me his name Steven Hall, He became very short tempered when I would not give him my bank details,He gave me a number of customer service 0845 6041893,and claim regulation, c r m 7863,When I reminded him that I was 55 not 5,he lost his temper and said I would be sorry but still insisted that I gave him my acc number, I said what part of no dont you understand.I feel so sorry for the elderly or gullible people taken in by this CHEAT, I live 17 miles from theyer so called office if one of my family got duped by U P I , I WOULD VISIT THE OFFICE WITH A SLEDGE HAMMER, So if any member of U P I are reading this you have been warned and I dont need your bank details to pay you a visit from Llandybie x
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