One of the most eye-catching things about Wonga's £2.6m bill to compensate customers is the news that the firm had sent letters from two third party law firms that turned out to be none another than Wonga itself.
"Chainey, D'Amato & Shannon" and "Barker and Lowe Legal Recoveries", which issued threatening letters on Wonga's behalf, sound realistic enough – and plenty of Wonga customers were understandably taken in by them. But it turns out that all the names used were, or are, employees of Wonga (who the firm say had nothing to do with sending out the letters).
Wonga was perhaps fortunate that the names of its employees sounded so convincingly threatening when used together for the purposes of extracting money. Brown, Flowers and Smiley might, for example, have been less convincing.
Casting round the Guardian Money desk, the most convincing combination I can come up with involves taking the name of three of our sub-editors: Onanuga, Frost & Grew. As individuals they are mild-mannered and kind, but the synthesis of the three is enough to send a of shudder fear into anyone's heart.
On Twitter people have suggested names such as Snitch, Gimlet & Thumscrew or Dooey Screwem & Howe might have been more even more apt.
What is the most convincing law firm you can conjure up from your office?
Comments (…)
Sign in or create your Guardian account to join the discussion