When faced with  an unjustified payment of  $230 because your car  is towed    the decision you have to make is  how much will it cost me to  fight it, if you employ a lawyer  the very  first hour will see  you shy of more than the  payment  is worth and   there is no way that a lawyer will resolve the issue for less than  $230.  therefore  it is uneconomic  to dispute it  and that is  how many fines are   enforced.. strictly through scale of economy ..  and nothing to do with justification and fairness.

Today there is an article in  the herald   which  gives the story of One man  who  challenged   his  fees and one    Car-parker takes on towies and wins.

Significantly the man was   a lawyer and knew what to do .....far too often  it is   the fact that people are not sure of their rights and the possibilities which exist for them  which limits their ability to fight back.

I have long maintained that if you don't know your rights  you don't have any  .

Just as economy plays a part in  your decision to pay an unjustified  sum  , the other party will also have to decide if  Economy plays a part  in   the legal challenge that you put up to them.

You do not have to be a lawyer   to  take on challenges such as this, you simply need to be aware of the availability of the disputes tribunal   or what ever relevant tribunal for your matter.

It is time that we all stood up  to  bullies  who enforce  their own  private little rules  , if we  make it difficult for them and uneconomic  then we will see a shift   to actions which are fair and reasonable.

Start by doing a Google search sites such as the neighbourhood support sites have useful information and provide downloads such as this one Download this fact sheet as a PDF (191 kB) Illegal parking and car towing

The consumer web site also has an interesting article    and they also   suggest challenging excessive fees  in the disputes tribunal.

If you  need a  hand  in protecting your rights  , give us a call,  we  can help you put the evidence together   and point you in the right direction for an economical solution .

The also provide a brochure with suggestions as to how you should go about it.

But the reality is that no matter how careful you are you cannot prevent someone from stealing your identity.

Take for example the following story The stolen identities of dead children were allegedly used by an elderly man to scam taxpayers of $450,000 in a rare type of benefit fraud.” How do you think the dead children or their parents could have prevented someone from stealing their identities?  Well you are right they were entirely   helpless.

The amazing thing is that while some government departments have realised years ago that Verification was the only thing that stands in the way of fraud, there were others which took a lot longer to cotton on. I am happy to read in that same article that verification is now being carried out but we are only part of the way there.

Let’s look at warrant of finesses as an example.

This is a small piece of paper which is stuck to your windscreen and indicates   that for the current period the car is fit to be on the road.

Once upon a time there were only two ways to get this

1. You had to get the vehicle tested
2. You bought one in a pub.

With the advancement of technology option 2   can be avoided and you can go straight to your colour printer   and print one off and stick it onto your windscreen.

So why don’t people do this?

1. With the advancement of technology the police    also have a data base and before they have even stopped your car they already know if you have a valid WOF or not and the copied warrant will only serve to make your life miserable. Not only will you get a fine for not having a warrant you will be fined for having a false warrant.
2. Additionally if you have an accident even if it was not your fault you will not have insurance cover.

Therefore there are two   criteria to the decision to use false particulars and or documents.

1. The risk of being caught
2. The consequences of being caught.

If the risk of being caught is low then there is an incentive to attempt to dupe the other party

If there are no consequences or the cost of the penalty is less than the proceeds   of the fraudulent activity then economically speaking, the gamble is worth it.

What can we do to stop identity theft?

While you should never be complacent about your identity you have to accept that   protecting your personal details is largely outside your control. Your name date of birth and your address are the three   points of reference to identify you and there are many who have access to those details

1. . Whenever you ring up organisations to query your bill e.g.   Telephone, insurance companies etc.  you will be asked security questions.. So what do they ask you.. Your name, address and  date of birth
2. When you open an account or obtain a loan they  get your name ,address and  date of birth
3. Go to the doctor the hospital, get a  speeding ticket – name ,address and  date of birth
4. Entering a competition. to qualify  you need to provide name ,address and  date of birth

While the privacy act requires each company to take care with your   personal details   there are many cracks in the system and are others who are quite reckless with your identity    and in so doing your details can fall into any ones hands.

1. There is no guarantee of the integrity of the person at the call centre  , and with  many call centres off shore  the  ethical standards and levels of enforcement    may not be the same as here in NZ
2. The storage of records in companies you trade with. It can be as simple as them selling the photo copier which has your stored details on the hard drive which can be recovered    in the future by unauthorised third parties.
3. The documents which are sent out in the mail, I have received them form the insurance and of late the registrar of elections.   The  specially marked envelopes makes these documents which contain all your personal  details an easy target  at any stage  between  leaving  the   electoral office  and  it arriving safely within your home .

It is therefore not the person whose identity is being used   who has an issue it is the person who is dealing with the person who has assumed the identity.  If everyone verifies who they are dealing with    then    the cycle of identity theft will be broken.

It is our politeness and our “not wishing to offend” which facilitates identity fraud.

Verifying who you are dealing with is easier than you think, I can come to your business   and teach you how to go about it  or you   can  contact us for the next  How to verify work shop .

The most common type of Bullying I see is where a lawyer makes a demand for something and expects compliance with the demand because he knows that   it would be uneconomical for the other party not to comply.

It is a bit like a game of Poker   the person with the money can make the demands  because the  party  with the best hand  usually   being the  truth and the integrity ,  is often in a situation where  they cannot  afford to  pay to protect the truth  and  has to withdraw  because the stress the   ridiculous  associated court costs are simply not worth it.

This would not happen if  Lawyers  were  held accountable to any claim they  made or threatened to make.  I see this so often  people create  any  kind of  document  or allegation   and “ sanitize”  it through a lawyer.

Because the lawyer  is an officer of the court and must not mislead the court  , it is assumed that the lawyer has  checked out and asserted the  truth behind the matter.  In reality   this does not occur.

So when a lawyers letter arrives people panic   and  think that they are about to be sued.  They comply with the demands just to make the issue go away. If they do not role over the lawyer  initiates action , this brings about  costs for the other party for many thousands of  dollars . In my mind this is bullying.

I have a simple solution   I stand up to bullying and  by using the law   address the issue. Lawyers are not law enforcers ,  they are  simply a weapon employed by  bullies as a tool for bullying , effectively  they  are nothing  but a  base ball bat used to beat the other party into submission.

of course this is all done in the name  of justice and  in a manner which prevents the freedom of speech  and the ability for us to warn any one  about  those in our society who  are actively seeking to rip others off.

It is therefore my sincere opinion that the officers of the court  those who are supposed to be seeking justice are actually facilitating and assisting  criminal activities by  siding with the bad   guys and not checking out their facts  before they act.

It has also been my experience that  for many lawyers  Justice is  the last thing on their  mind , and far too many are driven by  nothing more than the  all mighty $$$$.

One of the rules for lawyers and solicitors is that they must not allow their practice to be used for fraud, But when they don’t check the facts and defend their client no matter what they are often  the catalyst which facilitates   fraud   but they are pretty safe as  The Police appear to be loathed to take action against lawyers and the Law society protects their own.

When I was a police officer   we had to act according to the law,  I  just wonder why this does not apply to lawyers , instead they misapply and misuse the law to scare people into submission

The truth is that  by the very nature of crime the Bad guys  have far greater propensity to  pay for lawyers than the good guys who are slogging away for a wage  and don’t have $500 per week to spare let alone $500  per hour for a lawyer.

This kind of puts an imbalance on  things  and tips  justice and  integrity of our society out of kilter. .. and the  bad guy  benefits  from their action.

For that reason I do not  give in to bullying and  I stand up for my rights  because if we don’t stand up for the right to warn others of criminals and their methods of offending then   we all lose.

I recently wrote about Jonathon Mann a convicted fraudster who has manufactured and is selling a cream called fix to which he attributes  healing powers .

The  recommendations on the  FIX web site   are dubious   , many of the recommendations are  anonymous and at least one of the recommendations from  “ Paul Ashcroft“  is from a  name which Mr Mann has been known to use himself.

Jonathon Mann  alias  Jonathon Macdonald  has convictions  for   Fraud  and   has assumed   a number of  careers including  Physiotherapy which he  has convictions for.

The product IHO Fix  is  trademarked under pharmaceutical and medicinal preparations but is not listed  on the medsafe web site which has  to be a worry in itself.

I call people who pass themselves of as something   which they are not  “Con men” It appears that I am now being put on notice for defamation.  Truth Hurts   See the full letter and my reply on the transparency web site .

What these people    illustrate is  that no matter  what you are involved in   you need to check out who you are dealing  with.

Jonathon Mann has  been very successful in  getting flatmates involved in  his business ventures  ensuring that they put  up all the money and he makes all the profit , there are many  who don’t want to talk about it because they  feel   rather stupid looking back.   There re however enough with the courage to speak out    these people are saving the necks of many   who have not yet had the misfortune of meeting up with the   Mann . Jonathan Mann   is also known as  Jonathon McDonald

Then there is Nicole Margaret Jones, who was employed in her married name as Nicole Collins.

The lesson we have to take forward is that  con artist change their names  either legitimately or by design,  what they don’t change is  their   habits  and  future behaviour is often predicted by their actions in the past.

A pre-employment screen   by Verisure  seeks to verify the information which you have been provided     and    can identify   just who or what you are dealing  with.

Can you afford to take the risk? It’s not just the money  it’s your reputation  and  your time  that these people  steal as well.

Between them these people have conned, Investors,   land lords. Flatmates,  businesses, employers , educational providers.  Each  person who interacted with  Mann and Collins    could have been saved the misery   for less than $200.

I recently moved all my telephone services from Telstra Clear, it wasn’t the telephone services which gave me concern  but rather that they kept on losing my payments .  I then had to spend time talking to someone in the Philippines  to  attempt  to sort the issue out  which resulted in   wasting much of   my time  but not in finding the payment .

By the  time  I shifted to another  provider  the account  still wasn’t sorted out and I simply refused to pay a further cent until they located the missing payments and a comprehensive  statement of accounts had been sent to me showing payments and invoices.

Finally they did a reconciliation and   I settled the bill  .

This week  I received a call from someone who claimed to be a  debt  recovery company.

My reply was simple  I told them that  I did not have to tell them anything   and if they did work for Telstra to check the facts with them.

Four days later I receive a letter  from credit consultants debt services -this is where things get really interesting.

Look up  www.creditconsultants.co.nz I have tried for 2 days now  and I  continually get the response “The connection has timed out”

Look up Credit Consultants Debt Services in the companies office and You will find that it was struck off in February this year. Therefore there is no such entity as Credit Consultants Debt Services.

Further the given  0800 number 0800500628  responds  with a message asking for you  to leave   your details – very convenient and all the  hall marks of a scam.  All the other phone numbers on the letter also have the same message.

Credit consultant’s debt services have absolutely no legal standing they cannot make any demands off you or seek any information from you.

If they phone you   hang up if they write to you throw it out.

There is no proof at all that they have any authority to collect money for and on behalf of any one   and   then there is the slight technicality that they don’t   legally exist.

If you have a letter demanding money   consult with us   and we   will advise you  if it  is fact or fiction  and how you should deal with  it.

Please note  not all demands are scams    .. never pay any one  except the person to  whom you contracted and keep a record of  your payment  receipts.

I have  received   communication from a Mr Foster  his  email and   my response are  on http://www.transparency.net.nz/

It therefore is some relief that I read that Former iwi social services boss found guilty of fraud.  Could this be the start of making   those receiving  grants accountable  ?

I have assisted several charities   at the request of the  honest members to help sort out the    flow of  finds into private coffers. The  problem they face is that   whoever  is providing he  funds  does not  take kindly to having a private Investigator involved  because in the end  they fear that they will be in the firing line for not  ensuring accountability. And so the frauds continue

To give an example of what I have seen  was

1. A lady receiving  wages of 60,000 per year  and driving a $40,000 vehicle  she ran the  incorporated society and   fired the  executive   when they   came to close to the  mark and took on  new people  who did not have the faintest idea  or were in on the deal.
   1. The at risk  kids   were  the  Kapahaka group   most of whom weren’t at risk but served as bodies and names for her registers.. but since confidentiality is such an issue  this is easily done.
2. A society which  receives health funding being plundered by lawyers  who  see the funds in winding the society up as  their nest egg.  The  funding in this organisation has  now been  stopped  but there is no doubt about it that the former executive ran it in a most corrupt manner  only to be removed by the court  and have the current   leadership continue in a similar vein.

It appears that any trust or society  which has money Is an easy target of the unscrupulous, those who question  the wrong doings  are  attacked and silenced, they leave in disgust.

A   lot more could be done   but somehow the government is not big on prevention.

If you are  being  removed from a trust or society   which you have a passion for and can’t believe what is occurring.. give us a call we  can    give you suggestions.

Needless to say my client was more than a bit gobsmacked and  was fear stricken . That is exactly what the letter intended but instead of panicking and complying with the false demands, my client phoned me.

What many forget is that Lawyers have no special legal powers, they do however have a great gift of the gab  and the  ability to spin  and contort words.  After reading  the letter I stamped it with my special stamp ..

So a reply was called for   and we penned a short and sweet reply  and within 24  hours the  whole matter was  history   .

It is simply amazing  what quoting the law to a lawyer can do.

Lawyer’s letters need to be addressed properly   and  VeriSure we can help eradicate bullshit with facts and provide a reality check  for  lawyers that you are not a  push over.

VeriSure  are not lawyers and have no intent in prolonging your  agony   We want to see people’s rights preserved quickly and efficiently to make the stress go away.

Lawyers letters  are  generally 98% bluff  or 100% accurate    when there is a case you need to  deal with it  when   its bull shit the lawyer needs to  be reminded of their legal obligations .

If you have received a lawyers letter ..  give us a call for a  cost effective solution .

TRUST  -  we trust total stranger to tell us the truth  and we trust them to such an extent that we do not verify .

Verification appears to be a lost art , it should be  the no 1 item on any  businesses agenda.. verify verify  verify.

In this news item alone there are three  examples of where verification could have prevented the embarrassment

• More than 150 international students gained fraudulent qualifications in less than a year from API Institute of Education, which closed last year. Almost half were “ghost” students, who paid for qualifications but never attended classes.
• Last year Massey University’s Albany campus had to get rid of about 50 students who enrolled in its business degree with fake diplomas from local schools.
• Kingsland Institute has been barred from taking new students after two senior staff were charged with immigration fraud last July.

Significantly the article states “NZQA has advised the Government that it has found dishonest practices, particularly over the sale of qualifications and falsification of results. “

When accepting degrees   they have to be verified.  I spoke to a  Bangladeshi  lady recently  who advised me that in   countries such as hers it is common for the wealthy to have others sit exams for them.

We cannot claim to be the  least corrupt  county in the world  when we are blind to truth. We have to set up systems which make   people accountable to the truth.

Verisure  will help you set up  a verification system and allow you to train your staff so that  you  can  easily verify   the existence of degrees yourself.

The letter  and envelopes from national pen had me puzzled as to who they are, where they are from, and which Po box they use.

The letter uses PO box 9111 Newmarket   telephone 0800440816 which  is answered by  an  answer phone   with a distinct Irish accent.

The reply  envelope for the  order bears  Po Box 201236 Auckland airport   but the return address on the  original  envelope   has private bag 92901 Onehunga.

The  mail authority is spring global mail Po Box 91958 Victoria street West.

Call me old-fashioned but I am used to dealing with companies which have   just one address,  and are something more than a name. National pen is   not a New Zealand based company and there is no indication of where it is a company or even if it is a company.

This is a great way to trade as you will never be  able to find accountability if something is  wrong with the product or if it starts to glow in the dark   and it’s not meant to.

Richard Grant   who supposedly signed the    letter as  Vice president sales has a sufficiently generic name  which means  that  he , if he exists cannot be identified.

As for the web site www.pensnewzealand.com   is registered  to  a San Diego address website registered in Melbourne with a Swedish admin address.

If I do want pens  I think I would rather deal with some one local then I would know  who I am dealing with  and if the pens  turn out to have no more than 5 drops of ink in them  then I have some where to  address the fact under the fair trading act.

I f you would  like to know how you can find out who or what your next offer is   from and if it is safe  place contact us at Verisure and  find out when we run our next   finding the facts workshop   .

Had Kurtis Haiu not made the common  mistake of trusting some one who promised greater riches  and had done his  home work  he would have seen warning signs  before things  went bad.

Very few people check out these property dealers .  It’s all in the sales pitch – your future depends on who you choose to believe.

New Zealanders have to learn  to question and do  due diligence  it is far  cheaper than  the fall out from a bad decision. It is far cheaper than trying to resolve things  later on.

It would have cost him Less than $500   to have had some background information  that would have ensured that  he made a sounder decision.

It is still not too late Verisure  can  still provide  him and his fellow  investors with  investigation assistance which  could turn the  tables around  but    like a ball of wool  it always takes longer  to untangle the mess.