Capquest writing out of the blue

Davo84 · 17 June 2013 at 9:17PM

Hi all,

last saturday I received a letter in the post from a company called CapQuest saying that I owed the sum of £68 without any other information.

I called the company and they said that could not provide any other details other that this debt was contracted in 2010 with orange.

Interestingly to my knowledge I never had any debt with Orange (or other company for that matter), as I only had a rolling phone contract in 2009 for the sum or £10 a month I think, which was closed by june of that year. In 2010 I only had pay as you go phones with another provider.

Regardless the lady said that if I want more information I should send £1 by recorded delivery with a letter asking for more information and a copy of the bill.

This whole thing sounds fishy as hell (I also got a mortgage no question asked in the meanwhile), what should be the procedure here? Just asking for the bill will cost 10% of what they ask.

Any advice is highly appreciated.
Best,
Davide

ValHaller · 17 June 2013 at 10:24PM

Pay them £1? Don't - they will use it as a payment to and admission of the alleged debt.

If they write to you with the name of the creditor, an account reference and an amount alleged to be owed, you should write back with a 'prove it' letter. Someone will post a link

rizla_king · 18 June 2013 at 8:14AM

Either they prove it unconditionally, or CapQuest can get stuffed.

Davo84 · 18 June 2013 at 9:48AM

Thanks guys,

I had another look, the letter is sent from another company called PastDue, while CapQuest is the client.

It doesn't provide any information about the debt expect for case number, client ref (all say nothing to me) and say "It is important that you repay the amount by 22 June 2013 at the very latest. This will avoid further calls and letters from Past Due Credit solutions to recover the money owed to our client...."

So I won't pay the £1 they ask for, is there a specific letter I should send asking for proof of the debt they claim? Any timeline they or I should meet?

fermi · 18 June 2013 at 9:50AM

---> Letter when you know nothing about about the debt - AKA "Prove it" letter

Davo84 · 18 June 2013 at 10:10AM

That's just perfect, thanks!

Davo84 · 18 June 2013 at 1:53PM

So, I sent the letter above, and now awaiting reply from them.

I also subscribed to Experian for their free trial, and see if something comes up. Will keep you posted.

Davo84 · 24 June 2013 at 8:13PM

Hi all,

I just received a response from PastDue the letter says:

Dear Mr Davo84,

I write in response to your recent request for evidence of your liability on the aforementioned account. Unfortunately, we will be unable to provide this document until the administration fee of £1.00 is paid, once received we will issue a copy of invoice to you within 28 days.

If you require an update on the process of your request please contact us to discuss this on 08448113701 an operator will be able to assist you...blablabla

I sent them the prove it letter suggested by fermi, can they still ask for £1.00 admin fee for providing proof?

fermi · 24 June 2013 at 8:38PM

Davo84 wrote: »

I sent them the prove it letter suggested by fermi, can they still ask for £1.00 admin fee for providing proof?

No, they can't. That is complete twaddle from them.

You are disputing the debt, and under OFT guidelines they are obliged to provide proof (without a fee), or otherwise crawl back under their rock.

See the suggested reply by fatbelly here: http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.php?p=57703407&postcount=3

Davo84 · 25 June 2013 at 10:19AM

Thanks Fermi, I will try that response, although is annoying to have to pay money for this nonsense!

Also I checked through Experian and this debt is lowering my credit score considerably, that justifies a lot of issues I had (getting a phone contract, getting a normal gas account instead of a pay as you go, mortgage etc..).

Is there any way to have the debt removed from the credit file? Anything about notification of the debt? (I had no knowledge of it for years!)

Davo84 · 25 June 2013 at 11:03AM

Also, I was wondering about.. should I deal straight with CapQuest (they own the debt currently) rather than PastDue?

Capquest writing out of the blue

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