dealing with creditor

gleeb

Hi,

I have an old barclaycard debt that was passed from agency to agency over the course of a year, finally settling with me paying them £10 per month. I paid this for a year or so then moved house. Anyway to cut a long story short the debt got passed to another debt agency Apex Credit Management, and they have contacted me via letter to my new address insisting that i phone them. I wrote to them to tell them i had been paying the other agency and i was willing to pay them if they let me know their payment optiions etc and all i get is a letter back saying to phone them.
I always come off worse when phoning these people so i would prefer to contact them by letter but i am feeling pressured by them threatening me with court action etc.
Do I HAVE to phone these people :mad:, why can i not deal with this in a letter ? I am concerned that they will needlessly start court action or bailiffs when i AM willing to pay !

thanks for reading.

N

Deep_In_Debt

You can deal with them in writing. I never speak to a DCA on the phone. They want to speak to you on the phone so that they can bully you. If you get everything in writing then you have back up as to what has been said.
I'd write to them again and insist on dealing in writing. If they call you, refuse to go through their security questions and say that you will only deal in writing and hang up. You'll find you'll go round in circles for a while. Offer to pay them what you can afford.

Good luck

Debt_Robot

Hi gleeb,

Firstly, I am sorry to hear that you are in this distress.

I think that in this case it would be best to call them as they specified and calmly tell them that from here on out, you will be dealing with them via letter and keep up the payments.

Just keep the phone-call short and sweet because the agency may get suspicious if they feel that you are not replying to them how they want.

I know it is painful but it will just be easier in the long run if you go through with it initially then you can liaise with them via letter after they know that is your preferred mode of conduct.

If you think you will get angry with them on the phone, why don't you write a script out before of what you will say to avoid having a heated discussion.

Debt Robot xx

tallyhoh

I had one of those. Emailed them to tell them I couldnt use the phone but my 6 year old son could & so if they phoned between 5 & 6 pm they could sort things out with him.

gleeb

I did toy with idea of informing them that i had a speech impediment that would make it difficult to talk to them..
My partner said i should just phone them but i know in my own mind that if they are pushy they will manipulate me into a corner, as i have had that happen in the past with things such as this.

frugallass

I know exactly what you mean - I'm not very good at dealing with [finance] people on the phone, I begin to feel all inferior (forgetting that I probably earn more than they do) and cannot say what I want to say

Hubby however deals with them like a pro - I wish I had his way with words !

If you don't want to speak to them, then don't - deal with them in writing and state specifically in your letter that you request all future communications to be in writing (don't feel that you have to make excuses up).

Good luck x

Deep_In_Debt

They will try and back you into a corner and bully and threaten. I never speak to them on the phone. I just ignore their calls and wait for them to write to me and then I write back. As long as you are paying what you can afford then they will just have to accept it. I'm going through a similar thing at the moment. A DCA keeps writing to me to ask me to phone them and I just write back and say no I won't phone and they write back with the same response and round and round we go!!

DCA's don't like dealing in writing as they know that you have control that way and not them. I just play games with them now.

gleeb

@Deep in Debt
My partner is concerned about me playing games with these people though. especially with their threats of bailiffs and court action. I am not paying them anything at the moment as i do not know their payment details.

I will write them again, i feel inferior enough without them making me feel worse over the phone.

thanks

Deep_In_Debt

They can't sent bailiffs unless you have defaulted on a court order. I wouldn't set up a direct debit if they request it as they could take what they like - it's best to set up a standing order with them so that you have control over the payments and they don't have your bank details.

gleeb

I received more letters insisting i should phone them etc .. i have written straight back asking for payment options etc .. i hope this does'nt go on too long !
One of them was a letter from a solicitor with almost the same address but slightly different postcode, asking that i phone the number and that if i dont they will recommend their client to start court proceedings.
Very scarey when you open something like that. Thing is I have written plenty of letters saying i am willing to pay if they let me have details for me to set up a standing order.. so infuriating !

Deep_In_Debt

Have you spoken to any of the debt charities such as CCCS, National Debtline or CAB as to how you should respond?

May be worth asking for their advice. NDL are open until 9pm but are very busy so you may have to sit in a queue or keep pressing re-dial. I got through eventually, just gotta be patient.