To just block this number that appears to be from a debt collection agency?

[imeandmyself]

I've been getting regular calls on my mobile from The Zinc Group. It asks I call them back quoting my reference number. I've had one text message too.
Some messages say they are calling on behalf of NatWest, some the Royal Bank of Scotland.
They never mention my name.
I've had no letters.
I certainly don't have a reference number.

I've googled them and they are a debt collection agency. I have no debt as far as I'm aware.

I even registered for an Experian credit check earlier in case it shed any light on something I was but aware of lurking in the shadows. Nothing untoward on there at all.

So, just block and forget about it?

Yeah scammers send these types of messages all the time.

If you had a genuine debt OP then the institution/ company you owed it to would have contacted your several times before passing it to someone else. So if that's not happened, you can safely ignore.

I've had some of these claiming I owe money for an account with a bank I don't bank with. 🤣 This one didn't even use your actual name. So yes, ignore it and block.

It does sound like a scam, but Zinc are very real, and I would be inclined to call them via the number on their website to double check.

I think I have have had one or two letters from them over the years (British Gas sent me a paper invoice for a £60 repair once and I didn't notice it because I am paperless with them, and they sent it to Zinc or similar!) and they were super nice on the phone. I would just call to be SURE.

If it’s a legit debt collection agency I wouldn’t ignore. I’d call them and find out whats going on. My husband received a letter from a debt collection agency which he knows nothing about. After weeks of chasing them it transpired that the person who had incurred the debt shared a name and birthday with my husband and a DVLA check returned our address. Could it be a similar case of musk taken identity, or someone giving a fake phone number which happens to be yours? At least you could get a hold on the account while they investigate.

And just to add that we didn’t have any of the preceding communications about the debt, as it was only sent over to us when the debt collection agency took over and did the DVLA check. The first we heard about it was a letter threatening bailiffs would be at our address immenently if we didn’t pay, so I wouldn’t assume as a pp said that if you’ve not heard anything about this before you can happily block and ignore.

But @toastofthetown as you say that debt wasn't yours. Their mistaken records are their problem. I have enougj to do in life without doing other people's jobs for them. They should be doing DVLA and other checks to uncover fraud before hassling random people. I'm not going to soend my time responding to something I know if fake, whatever the reason, whether a scam or a debt collection agency with the wrong end of the stick or whatever.

True, the debt wasn’t my husband’s and it wasn’t his fault the debt collection company’s tracing system was crap (because apparently no two people with the same first and surname can share a birthday), but it became his problem when they said if the debt wasn’t paid by a certain time bailiffs would be coming to our house. I don’t know what other info they have on the OP’s debt, or what the next steps of the company are but it’s worth figuring out if it’s just a wrong phone number on file or if it’s a scam and when she calls the company they have no record of it, or if it’s a forgotten debt that does belong to her. At least so she knows what’s going on.