Sergey from Balvi decided to prank the persistent seller of collectible coins by placing an order in the name of Raimonds Pauls with delivery to the Vatican, but it all turned unexpected: a year and a half later, he was contacted by a collection agency, reports the show Bez Tabu (TV3).
As reported by the show "Bez Tabu", he met with Sergey in his hometown of Balvi, although he had previously lived and worked in Norway. A reminder of Latvia in Norway was the company selling collectible coins — SIA "Latvijas Monētu nams", which regularly sent him offers via email.
According to Sergey, he got really tired of the promotional emails. So one day, while on sick leave, he decided to "prank" the coin seller for fun. He filled out the order form, providing blatantly absurd information: he listed Raimonds Pauls as the customer, the delivery address as Vatican, and made up a postal code — LV-6666. He sent this form from his email as a joke and forgot about it.
"Then I started receiving messages from 'Monētu nams' demanding payment for the order. I thought it was some nonsense and didn’t pay attention," the man recalls.
Sergey was very surprised when this autumn he received a 'hello' from the collection agency "Julianus Inkasso Latvija" at that very email. The collectors addressed the letter to Raimonds Pauls in the Vatican, trying to recover a debt owed to "Latvijas Monētu nams" along with their collection costs — totaling 184 euros. Later, they also sent a payment schedule for the debt — also addressed to Raimonds Pauls in the Vatican, but to Sergey’s email. Sergey just laughs at all of this.
"I just find it funny! They could have figured out that the order was fake; it was enough to just look at the information in the form. I just wanted to joke. If needed, I can apologize to [Raimonds Pauls]. And now here comes the debt repayment schedule. Well, let Raimonds Pauls pay it now. And I’m done!" Sergey said with a laugh.
Now he wonders if such companies even read the information they receive in orders.
"Latvijas Monētu nams" commented on the situation as follows:
"Our company automatically processes orders received through official channels, and if the form is filled out correctly from a technical standpoint, the system registers it as a valid order. In this case, although the information was obviously absurd, it technically met the formal criteria and was accepted for processing."
The collection agency "Julianus Inkasso Latvija" explained the following:
"When receiving cases from creditors, we do not assess them substantively — whether a contract was concluded or whether the order was made 'as a joke'. According to the law, we are obliged to take action to recover the debt, including sending reminders and notifications to the contacts provided by the creditor."
Sergey has now gotten a taste for it: he is genuinely interested in whether they will try to collect the debt from him. After all, the collectors only have his email — how are they going to reach him? Or will all Raimonds Pauls in Latvia suffer now? Or maybe they will find someone with that name in the Vatican? And in general — were the coins really sent there? These are the questions the joker is now pondering.
In communication with the show "Bez Tabu", the companies "Latvijas Monētu nams" and "Julianus Inkasso Latvija" confirmed: the debt collection procedure has been canceled.
