disputed debt

pink_fairy_5

hello i have recieved a letter from a dca demanding £54 from an old sky account. i disputed this with the previous collectors (as i dont believe i owe it, thought i had paid final amout and guess this must have been added after)and have heard nothing until now.

i understand that if its in dispute it shouldnt have been sold on but am tempted to offer £20 as f & f in order to get rid of it, am sick of being hounded.

what do you think?

by offering full and final does this admit to debt? or is it ok if i add that i do not acknowledge the debt however....?

can anyone point me in direction of link to a letter regarding disputed debt?

thank you

Pink_Fairy

CCCS_Sarah

The creditors should not be collecting on a disputed debt as this is against the OFT Debt Collection Guidelines. I’m sure I have a letter somewhere will post it if I find it

tallyhoh

Dont do it, why should you if you dont owe it. If you want to give £20 away you can have my address.
Dont make it easy for these companies to bully people by using DCA's instead of sorting the problem out properly.

pink_fairy_5

CCCS_Sarah wrote: »

The creditors should not be collecting on a disputed debt as this is against the OFT Debt Collection Guidelines. I’m sure I have a letter somewhere will post it if I find it

thank you i thought i had read that somewhere but wasnt certain

tallyhoh wrote:

Dont do it, why should you if you dont owe it. If you want to give £20 away you can have my address.
Dont make it easy for these companies to bully people by using DCA's instead of sorting the problem out properly

lol thanks, i know what you mean in one sense im thinking no way but in another im just thinking if it will get rid it will be worth it, when i hadnt heard back last time i though it had been sorted and then i get this through the door.

fergyxx

Interesting - I will be watching the response to this one. I am in a similar situation with H3G. I had a mobile phone contract with them that ended in Nov 05. As far as I was concerned, any remaining bills had been cleared and I had no reason to believe otherwise. I even have a copy of my credit report from several months ago that said that my account with them was settled on 30th Nov 05 (my contract ended on the 25th).

Now, almost 3 years later, out of the blue, I have received a number of threatening letters from DCA's requesting payment - despite asking on 3 seperate occasions for an invoice showing where this alleged debt has transpired from.

I also think it seems a bit fishy in that, when checking my credit report last week H3G has completely disappeared (despite the fact that accounts are supposed to stay on your credit report for 6 years) and the DCA has appeared on it saying that my account with them began in November 05 - although I have never received any correspondence from them until 1st Aug 2008.

Any advice? I have sent the DCA a letter and copy of my credit report showing that the debt was marked "settled" and once again requesting a duplicate invoice for this debt. I am awaiting a reply from them for now.

I have trawled through online banking statements to try and find evidence of a final payment, but I have changed my bank account since then, and cannot get access to any older statements.

Ames

I don't want to offend anyone, but I think the attitude of paying up just to get them off your back is what causes us a lot of problems. If a lot of people do that it means that harrassment has paid off, and so DCA's use it even more since it's effective. Especially if people pay up when the debt's in dispute.

pink_fairy_5

fergyxx - ive also had one from h3g dca (and my oh, both got contracts at same time) i also thought was finished. both accounts similar amounts. makes me wonder if they just pick names out of a hat to send the threatening letters! got enough trouble sorting out the ones i do owe at the moment without people trying it on!

Ames wrote: »

I don't want to offend anyone, but I think the attitude of paying up just to get them off your back is what causes us a lot of problems. If a lot of people do that it means that harrassment has paid off, and so DCA's use it even more since it's effective. Especially if people pay up when the debt's in dispute.

no offence taken, thats why i asked on here for opinions first. im only considereing it because its a 'relatively' small amount. and after the replies i wont and just send a disputed letter and hope it doesnt pop back up in another couple of years gggrr! i totally disagree with the tactics of these companies and certaonly dont want to encourage them.

pink_fairy_5

CCCS_Sarah wrote: »

The creditors should not be collecting on a disputed debt as this is against the OFT Debt Collection Guidelines. I’m sure I have a letter somewhere will post it if I find it

did you manage to find this letter? have had a search and cant find a template. if there is one can anyone point me towards it please?