Collection Agency contacting neighbours

marleyboy

Its a fair point though, because does that mean they knock on your door and a)impersonate someone else in order to get such information, or b) withhold "why" they need to contact them, and assume your good natured enough to divulge such personal information to a complete stranger who knocks on your door?

terryw

marleyboy wrote: »

Its a fair point though, because does that mean they knock on your door and a)impersonate someone else in order to get such information, or b) withhold "why" they need to contact them, and assume your good natured enough to divulge such personal information to a complete stranger who knocks on your door?

I think it is unlikely that they will impersonate someone else to find out a debtor's whereabouts.

Are you really suggesting that creditors should take a "Gone Away" debtor as part of life's rich tapestry and not do anything to locate them? Remember that the debts not paid by these unethical types have to paid by the rest of us, be it council tax or mail-order catalogue firms or indeed anything.

terryw

olly300

marleyboy wrote: »

Its a fair point though, because does that mean they knock on your door and a)impersonate someone else in order to get such information, or b) withhold "why" they need to contact them, and assume your good natured enough to divulge such personal information to a complete stranger who knocks on your door?

Under the DPA they have to withhold why they need to contact them.

However they don't need to impersonate someone else as if it's a debt it is likely to have been sold on so you won't know the original company who the debt was owed to and lots of companies have Trading Names, and if it's not a debt then there is no need to impersonate anyone.

Also it doesn't mean it's sinister.

I rented a house where a former tenant for some reason decided not to change their bank details so their statements and cheque book came to the house. They were not in debt as one of my housemates had opened some of their letters to check. I returned all the mail "Return to Sender". About 2 months later someone from the bank phoned up to enquire if they still lived in the house and if not if they had a forwarding address. No one in the house knew this at the time. I later found a neighbour who knew the person's where abouts but it was too late.

Anyway the lady from the bank refused to state why she needed to contact that person but it was kind of obvious.

terryw

olly300 wrote: »

Under the DPA they have to withhold why they need to contact them.

However they don't need to impersonate someone else as if it's a debt it is likely to have been sold on so you won't know the original company who the debt was owed to and lots of companies have Trading Names, and if it's not a debt then there is no need to impersonate anyone.

Also it doesn't mean it's sinister.

I rented a house where a former tenant for some reason decided not to change their bank details so their statements and cheque book came to the house. They were not in debt as one of my housemates had opened some of their letters to check. I returned all the mail "Return to Sender". About 2 months later someone from the bank phoned up to enquire if they still lived in the house and if not if they had a forwarding address. No one in the house knew this at the time. I later found a neighbour who knew the person's where abouts but it was too late.

Anyway the lady from the bank refused to state why she needed to contact that person but it was kind of obvious.

A very good point.

It could also be the chap from the Premium Bonds office wanting to locate the individual as he has won the £1000,000 prize. The individual would be most upset if the neighbour did not pass on the new address.

terryw

olly300

terryw wrote: »

A very good point.

It could also be the chap from the Premium Bonds office wanting to locate the individual as he has won the £1000,000 prize. The individual would be most upset if the neighbour did not pass on the new address.

terryw

There was a program on the TV that keeps getting repeated about people who chase lost heirs to estates.

Again they are not allowed to state why they are searching for the person's heirs but do as much as possible to find out information about the dead person or the whereabouts of their living heirs.

The neighbours they show on the program are very chatty particularly if they considered the dead person a "nice old person" who didn't have any relatives living nearby.

skintchick

If it were illegal, it would prevent you or me knocking on the door of someone living next door to the former home of an old friend to ask if they know where they moved to as you'd like to get in touch again.

Of course it's not illegal!

Rain_is_Insane

I've had calls like this for neighbours of mine and they claimed to be "an old friend" trying to get in touch and could i pass on a number. As i knew the neighbours pretty well, when they phoned them back, they came and told me it was a DCA for someone else with the same name. If thats not "impersonating" another person, I don't know what is.

skintchick

In my experience (not as a debt collector) you don;t have to say who you are - people are usually happy to pass on a message having no idea who you are.

Rain_is_Insane

skintchick wrote: »

If it were illegal, it would prevent you or me knocking on the door of someone living next door to the former home of an old friend to ask if they know where they moved to as you'd like to get in touch again.

Of course it's not illegal!

This always amazes me skintchick. If i rang the gas board and asked where Joe Bloggs had moved to, it's covered by data protection and i would get zilch. Yet if i knocked on an old neighbours house they can give the forwarding addy out without any repocussions.

olly300

Rain_is_Insane wrote: »

This always amazes me skintchick. If i rang the gas board and asked where Joe Bloggs had moved to, it's covered by data protection and i would get zilch. Yet if i knocked on an old neighbours house they can give the forwarding addy out without any repocussions.

The law cannot cover every situation and it shouldn't do.

Only companies who fit certain criteria have to register under the Data Protection Act. Many companies don't have to register and neither do individuals such as accountants, book keepers, solicitors and IFAs. They only thing they have to do is abide by the principles.

In addition there are cases where if individuals were covered by the DPA crimes would never be reported or solved.

Edited to add there are cases where companies such as utilities have hidden behind the DPA and allowed fatalities to happen like a couple of pensioners who froze to death because BG refused to give out their details.