Debt Collectors help.

fuzzy_dunlop

Hey all. I received a phone-call yesterday from a sternly-voiced debt collector. He informed me that I owed £470 that had been from a credit card and was now in their hands. The above amount is from when I was a student and naive (to put it kindly) with credit cards.

I asked to pay the fee back in installments and suggested £100 a week until cleared. He strongly refuted the suggestion and claimed that it was now 'beyond all that'. He then proceeded to give me until the end of business hours tomorrow to clear the account fully or further action would be taken, to include bailiffs entering my parents' house. He suggested I ask friends and family for money.

Is this within his power to do this? I physically cannot acquire the entire amount by 5pm tomorrow. What can/will happen then? Can anyone advise me on what to do?

Many thanks in advance.

poorandindenial

He is being unreasonable. £100 a month is a perfectly good offer and they may well have paid £100 or less for the debt. Threatening bayliffs is completely out of order, they would have to take you to court first which would cost them loads and then you may get a ccj for what was considered a reasonable amount (probably less than a hundred a week) THEN if you defaulted on that bayliffs may be involved

How old is this debt?? If there has been no acknowledgement of it for 6 years (5 in Scotland) it may be unenforceable.

Grrrrrrrr this man sounds like an absolute c***. He is using scare tactics that he can't back up with action.

Ask him to prove that you owe the debt, if he is a pain then send a request for a CCA (agreement under the consumer credit act) it is unlikely they will be able to produce one and if they can't then they can't enforce the debt.

I will pop up a link to some posts about doing this unless someone gets there first.

fuzzy_dunlop

Thanks! I am really new to this and this has been bothering me since I got the call. I have no problem with paying it back, but I have no means to do so like he demanded.

The debt is about a year old - I thought that he would have no problem with me paying it like I suggested.

I paid £100 straight away; then hung up. I then got a call minutes later from a colleague of his, who was equally unpleasant. She acknowledged that I had paid £100 but was calling to ensure I knew that it didn't change anything; that the whole balance had to be cleared by end of business tomorrow. Again, this is unreasonable?

dancingfairy

They are trying to push you into paying it now matter what and will say whatever it takes to get you to pay up. I am sure they have no rights and if they do (which is highly unlikely - talk is cheap after all) you must not let them in under any circumstances, keep you windows closed, move you car down the street so they cannot see which is yours.
I am sure someone with more info will be along in a bit but don't panic.
df x

poorandindenial

Yes - grrr, they are making my blood boil

Right, here is a link to a letter to request your CCA (and notice of assignment if the company has changed), they aren't paying fair so why should you? LINK The downside is that as the debt is fairly recent they may be able to supply one. Not sure if the fact you have paid somethign chnages anything - hopefully one of the gurus of these things will be along in a mo.

I am going to look for the OFT guidelines on DCA behaviour. You have made a more than reasonable offer and they have harrangued you and used scare tactics on you that they can't back up (by the time they got it to court you would have cleared it anyway based on your payment plan)

It is also worth a mooch around the www.nationaldebtline.co.uk website. They have loads of factsheets and template letters etc there. A mine of information.

poorandindenial

OFT guidance on behafiour of DCAs

http://www.oft.gov.uk/shared_oft/business_leaflets/consumer_credit/oft664.pdf

Read 2.6

gettingsorted

Hi fuzzy_dunlop
A debt collection agency do not have any power to come to your house and demand payment. A case has to go to court first and even then they have to send bailiffs and that is only if you default on a payment plan.
Tell this company that you have sought legal advice and from this point on they are only to contact you in writing and they are to send any correspondence by registered post.
Also tell them if they continue to harass you you will take it further as they are actually breaking the law by doing this. Write to them and explain that you will be paying £100 per week that way should they take you to court, Which they won't, they dont have a leg to stand on. Photocopy this letter for your own records and send recorded delivery so they cannot dispute it.
Don't forget that debt collection agencies are full of nasty people ignore them if they were stood in front of you they would not be that awful, and lets be honest if you punched them in the mouth they would bleed like the rest of us i.e they are human (kind of)
Should anyone turn up on your doorstep they have no legal right of entry and do not let them trick you into entry i.e can I use the toilet. Don't open the door and tell them, through the window, if they don't leave you will call the police hope that helps

halight

Hi mate Good luck with this dont let the Bas$£%DS get ya down

fuzzy_dunlop

Hey thanks to everyone for the help!
You lot have set my mind at ease considerably.
I'm going to just proceed and make payments weekly like I offered.

I hope I can return the favor sometime.

:j