'Not Cooperating' letter response

freeclimber

Hi DFWs

Seems like certain letters from certain companies are doing the rounds at the moment. I recently received the 'Not Cooperating' letter as outlined in japanesegirl's thread here and am sending my response (recorded, natch) as below.

I've made it really easy for them, by including a pre-written reply and a SAE...

Sorry for the long post.

Dear Sir/Madam, ref XXXXXX

I refer to your letter dated XXX, in which you claim that I am not cooperating with you, and that I have not responded to any of the attempts you have made to contact me.

Unfortunately, we both know that this is not true. Your records will show that I have informed you of my position by letter, that most recently I spoke with your operatives by phone on XXXX at 1720, and XXXX at 1540, and that you have been contacted by, and received payments from, my appointed third party.

I can only conclude therefore that your letter has been sent for one of three reasons, namely:

- that you are running an automated system that bears no relation to case history, and therefore is intended to pressurise and induce distress uniformly and arbitrarily without cause or reason contrary to Section 40 of The Administration of Justice Act 1970, and by conveying false information represents in this instance a criminal offence under The Malicious Communications Act 1988 part 1-(1)(a)(iii), or

- that the letters have been sanctioned by someone within your organisation and you are deliberately attempting to apply pressure without cause or reason, or to pressurise me into making payments I cannot afford contrary to the Office of Fair Trading’s guidelines for debt collection, point 2.6(f), or

- that you are operating your collections department with ignorance of the facts or gross incompetence, which do not provide for a defence at common or statute law, nor under the guidelines for creditors laid down by the Office of Fair Trading and the associated explicit and implied rights of debtors.

Your letter suggests that you are now entitled to make further attempts to contact me, including, but not limited to, telephone calls at my place of work, and personal visits to my home address. In view of the information I have supplied above, and in reference to the contact history you hold on file, you have no reason to employ these tactics, and I consider the threat of such action to be a breach of the aforementioned guidelines and potentially a criminal offence under the aforementioned Acts.

With this letter I am informing you, as is my right, that you must remove my work and personal phone numbers from your system, and that I will only accept reasonable communication in writing to the current address registered to the account. All letters will be forwarded directly to my appointed third party.

Please note that I shall henceforth be recording ALL telephone conversations with your company without further warning, and that ALL attempts to contact me other than in writing will be considered possible breaches of the Acts and guidelines referred to within and outwith this letter. Further, I shall be making copies of ALL correspondence received, and I reserve the right WITHOUT FURTHER NOTICE to forward recordings, transcripts, letters and any other materials in any medium to the Office of Fair Trading in the form of an official complaint. ANY or ALL materials may also be used as evidence against you in the event of further legal action on either side.

Please return the enclosed letter, signed and dated where appropriate, in the stamped addressed envelope provided. Failure to do so within 14 (fourteen) days from signatory receipt of this letter will be seen as a deliberate attempt to avoid reasonable communication and an unwillingness to cooperate as per your own letter, and could result without further notice to a complaint being lodged with the OFT, as well as possible pursuit of further legal action.

Respectfully yours

and their pre-prepped reply ready for signing:

Dear XXXXX

Ref: XXXXXXXXX

We accept that our letter dated XXXX, in which we claimed you were not responding to our attempts to contact you, was in fact not a true representation of your case history as demonstrated by our records. We therefore accept that, whether sent deliberately or by mistake or through an automated process, our letter could represent a criminal offence under Section 40 of the Administration of Justice Act 1970 and The Malicious Communications Act 1988, and a breach of the Office of Fair Trading guidelines with regard to creditors’ and debtors’ rights and debt collection practice.

We note that you have formally requested all telephone contact details to be removed from our files, as is your right under legislation designed to protect your rights, and that all our systems will be updated immediately to ensure you are only contacted by letter to the current address registered to the account, and only when reasonably justified. We also recognise that we have a duty under OFT guidelines to correspond directly with your appointed third party on all matters relating to the account.

We accept that you may record any or all future telephone conversations without warning, and that all correspondence and details of any contact we make with you in any medium may be presented as evidence in the event of a complaint, either to ourselves, to the OFT, or to the courts.

We agree that we have a responsibility to act within the law and within the guidelines laid down by the Office of Fair Trading, and that any failure to exercise reasonable and fair practice may result in a complaint without further notice, which could lead to an investigation into our suitability to hold a Consumer Credit Licence, and/or possible legal action.

We confirm that we have taken a copy of this letter, signed and dated, prior to posting, such that it may be called on as evidence of our cooperation and agreement in the event of this letter not reaching the addressee for any reason. We also accept that responsibility for the burden of proof with regard to this letter rests with us, and that proof of postage alone will not constitute proof of receipt within the 14 (fourteen) day time limit expressed in your letter dated XXXXXX.


Signed: , for and on behalf of MBNA Ltd and all subsidiaries

Date:

Name (please print): Position:

japanesegirl

absolutely brilliant....... lets us know whether and how they respond.

Tootsie_Roll

Should give them a good laugh at least.

freeclimber

I'm aiming to be their 'Letter of the Month' for April. If it gives them a laugh, great - it'll be nice for them to have something to smile about for a change, the poor dears. As long as they reply, of course.