OLD DEBT-COLLECTING TRICK.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXXX, Issue 13103, 17 June 1913, Page 7

OLD DEBT-COLLECTING TRICK.

ACTION BY LAW SOCIETY.

(Per Press' Association.) AUCKLANI);^ast night. The use by a debt collector of a document having somewhat the appearance of a legal instrument was the subject ol a case brought by' the Auckland Law Society m the Magistrate's Court this morning, before Ma* C C. Kettle, S.M.-, against William Theodore Utting, carrying on business as "The Universal Mercantile Agency." Mr J. K. Reed, X.C, , appeared for tbe Law Society, and Mr J. F. Pullen for the defendant. Mr Reed explained that the action was brought under section 1 of the* Police Offences Act, which provided a penalty of not more than £10 against any person sending through the post" or otherwise a -document which was intendedor likely to convey to any person ignorant of the law that it was a step or process m or preparatory to legal proceedings. Mr PiiJlen intimated that^ defendantadmitted that he made use of the document produced, so that the case was merely one for argument. Mr Reed said that the document had been, forwarded to a Mrs J. McDonald by defendant on behalf of Mr W. H. Woollam3, chemist. Mrs MoDonaJd, who olaimed that she had paid the money, was under the impression that the document had a legal effeotj and put it into the hands of her solicitor, Mr Brookfield, who handed it to the Law Society. The document (produced) was on foolscap size paper, printed m red and black, and was headed "Final notice ;befor,e suiit." It commenced: — "District of Auckland, Dominion of New Zealand. Woollams, W.H., plaintiff v. McDonald, J. (Mrs), defendant. ,To the abovenamed defendant.— First, you will please take notice that the above-named plaintiff claims that you are indebted*' to him m the sum," etc., and concluded with n statement m formal terms that unless the defendant remitted the money or appeared at the office of the Universal Mercantile. Agency before a, certain hour i on a certain day legal action would bo taken. It was signed "Universal Mercantile Atreqcy, for the above plaintiff." Mr Pullen. explained that defendant, was a student of an American debt-col-lecting organisation, which sent out^ a number of model forms of notices. The document m question was one of these, and was widely used m the United Stntes and New Zealand. Ho was not allowed by -the Act, said counsel, to prove that recipient was not deceived by it, but defendant would swear that he did not use it with any deceptive intent. He added that defendant ceased using the document three months ago, as soon a.s "he knew that proceedings were being taken. Mr Reed: The society has taken up this case, your Worship, as large miimber of such documents are being sent out to poor people; but they very seldom come under the notice of the legal profession. •

j Defendant was called, and stated that ' he took the document on trust as it was supplied to him by one of the leading American mercantile agencies. Mr Kettle remarked that the document might be legal m the United States, but it was not m New Zealand. He would assume that defendant did not intend to deceive, but there 'was no doubt that the document was of the sort against which the clause of the Act was directed. He had received a number of similar documents, which he had forwarded to the Justice Department. He would impose a' moderate penalty of 20s and costs, but subsequent cases would be dealt with more severely.