Debt collection threats

minigav · 31 October 2012 at 1:01PM

I am writing this on behalf of my father. We work together in the central heating trade. Late last year, we had a dispute with a supplier we had used for a few years. He owed us a credit for a defective programmer & we had asked him several times to sort it before we paid our bill which was little over £1000. Prior to this, he supplied us with the wrong cylinder for a job we had, which we then had to source elsewhere costing us the job eventually as the customer was upset.

In January we had a call from Clear Debt solutions saying we now owed them the money, plus £344.36. My Dad told them he wasn't obliged to pay the bill as there was an existing dispute. Also that we hadn't refused to pay him, but we wanted the credit for the programmer taking off the bill (which he did around 3 weeks later)

In the next 2 months I would guess we had over 50 threatening phone calls, 30 letters threatening debt recovery, doorstep visits, seizing good to the value etc.

My Dad posted cheques to cover the bill just before it was due to the merchant (Clear debt solutions said we should send them the money as we now owed it them!) & we thought that was that.

We still had letters, calls (7 in one day),threats etc to the point where they asked for proof we had paid him so my Dad sent photocopies of a statement from our bank showing the money going
in. The contact then stopped (this was around the end of March) until last week.
We had a call from Guardian recovery services (clear debt solutions apparently had a winding up order-but this is the same company) My Dad recognised the persons voice & told him he had paid it over 6 months ago & provided proof to them & asked was he from clear debt solutions & he stuttered & said "oh we're Guardian now" The person said he would make a note on the file my dad said he had paid the merchant.

We have since had 2 letters promising a door step visit within 7 days to recover the £344.36 we owe them. As far as i'm concerned this was dealt with ages ago & i don't feel they will ever stop threatening me or my father. I get the impression even if we paid them, we would get more letters asking for money down the line. My Dad is very ill at the moment & this letter is the last thing we need.
What I would like is some advice as to what we can do to stop them contacting us & also who we can report them to for harassment. I really feel they have caused my Dad & our small family business a great deal of stress, worry & anxiety over a bill that was disputed & has already been paid in full. We never entered into any agreement with either debt company or signed anything relating to the "debt" I really feel like turning the tables on them as they are so threatening & abusive, we have a folder full of letters from CDS & 2 from Guardian now!
Thanks for any replies and sorry for the long post!

DevCoder · 31 October 2012 at 1:11PM

It sounds like the merchant effectively sold his debt to Clear Debt Solutions, who then added their fee. Once they got paid they revert the initial amount back to the merchant.

Why didnt you pay the bill "under protest" and then claim for the programmer? The rest of the goods were correct I assume and you owed the merchant for those goods. You cannot really withhold funds for goods received against a disputed credit note.

Send Guardian a prove it letter which if they do then follow up on you can decide whether to respond with written proof you paid the merchant.

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.php?p=11570893&postcount=2

If you did withhold legitimate funds against a dispute of a different nature then you might find yourself liable although see how it goes with the above.

minigav · 31 October 2012 at 1:23PM

Thanks for your reply. The bill was paid before it was due, we left it until then as there was a dispute & the merchant had stopped contacting us. The strange thing is, we didn't say we wouldn't pay him & there was no falling out as such. We were quite surprised to get the initial contact from them. We bought from this merchant for over 3 years & spent thousands there so it's a strange situation. Surely as we paid the bill in full then that is it? Also why did we have no contact from March until late October after proving we had paid?

DevCoder · 31 October 2012 at 1:41PM

So you paid the original bill within the credit terms set out by the merchant (ie 30 days or whatever)?

If thats the case then you have a strong case, you just need the invoice showing the purchase date and proof of payment within the terms of the account.

Once provided with these then Guardian should shut up. You can also send a harassment letter (see the Debt Free Wannabe sub forum sticky) to them as they are violating code of business if the above is true.

dancingfairy · 31 October 2012 at 1:44PM

Write to them with proof it was paid and keep a copy as evidence? Tell them to stop harassing you for a debt that has been paid. If they persist then you will have to report them to the various bodies.
Debt collectors actually have no powers (especially for debts that don't exist), they can write letters until the cows come home. They can't break in or take goods (they are not bailiffs). You would only need to worry if real bailiffs turned up and that would have to be with a court order for the money. IF anybody turns up and is threating you tell them to go away or you'll phone the police, and clearly if they don't leave/threaten you etc then you phone the police.
In terms of the original debt then why did you not get advice at the time as to how to proceed with the dodgy items?
Hope you can get this sorted. Maybe a trip to your local CAB or local solicitor who may do half an hour free can come up with a letter that will tell these debt companies to back off?
df

Buzby · 31 October 2012 at 1:49PM

This is a business debt, so Consumer Protection etc will not apply in most cases. Are/were you a Limited Company?

The issue of harassment is difficult - one persons harassment is another's legitimate pursuit of debt, and will remain a civil matter. They will have to formally (not threaten) to take to court for a judgement. You will then get the opportunity to state your case. I would expect that if you tell them to push off and take you to court, that will be that.

minigav · 31 October 2012 at 1:49PM

Thanks, we will send the letter & see if that stops them contacting us. We already provided proof we had paid the bill to CDS. I think they are just trying their luck as they have changed the name of their company (i googled it & they were made insolvent) The irony is, if the merchant had been more co-operative we would probably still be using them! Thanks again for your reply.

minigav · 31 October 2012 at 4:38PM

dancingfairy wrote: »

Write to them with proof it was paid and keep a copy as evidence? Tell them to stop harassing you for a debt that has been paid. If they persist then you will have to report them to the various bodies.
Debt collectors actually have no powers (especially for debts that don't exist), they can write letters until the cows come home. They can't break in or take goods (they are not bailiffs). You would only need to worry if real bailiffs turned up and that would have to be with a court order for the money. IF anybody turns up and is threating you tell them to go away or you'll phone the police, and clearly if they don't leave/threaten you etc then you phone the police.
In terms of the original debt then why did you not get advice at the time as to how to proceed with the dodgy items?
Hope you can get this sorted. Maybe a trip to your local CAB or local solicitor who may do half an hour free can come up with a letter that will tell these debt companies to back off?
df

I think part of the problem is the merchant was (so we thought) a friend so we were taken aback when we had debt collectors making demands. At no time did we refuse to pay & with several years of us paying bills early with him we didn't think there was a huge problem. We have since heard quite a few people owe him a lot of money, far more than our bill & he has used the same company to pursue them. As we had already sent CDS proof of our payment to him & had heard nothing since March earlier this year, we thought the problem was resolved. With their winding up & changing name it seems like a huge try on to us as they have gone back to square one.

Debt collection threats

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