Debt collectors

Bigbump_2

Hi,
This is my 1st post so please be easy on me! Ive been reading this forum for a while, and using the advice gleaned on here I went on to tackle the debt I couldnt afford to pay when hubby lost his job. I called National debtelpline who advised me that as we are on JSA at the moment to offer all my creditors a token payment of £1. I did this, and eventually 3 of them agreed to accept this for a 6 month period :T . Unfortunatly the 2 debts (Cahoot debt) which were passed onto Moorcroft debt recovery have not been so successful. I have constantly written to them, explaining my situation and giving them my income expenditure sheet. They seem to completely ignore all this and continue to demand payments of £60 per month and threaten to send their collectors to my house. Finally I thought i was getting somewhere with them when they wrote to me and asked for me to send them a payment offer which is affordable to me. I received that letter 2 days ago. Then last night at 7.30pm one of their collectors appeared at my door. She was totally unaware of the fact that I had been in constant contact with the company and accused me of being unwilling to pay. I explained that id love to pay my debt but my hubby is out of work at the present but is doing everything to find work but was sure she understood that I was NOT unwilling. She looked around the driveway and stated 'its ok .... you've got a car, thats assets, we can take that!!' Then she proceeded to try to get me to agree to pay MUCH more than i can afford to. I didnt agree to anything, stood my ground and told her I would call the National Debtline and the CAB today to get some advice. She had never heard of the National Debtline and thought that going to the CAB meant I was going to Trading Standards about her

Now, does anyone have any advice on how to deal with this? Do I have to deal with a doorstep collector? I have told all of my creditors I will only communicate by letter as my nerves wont hold up to talking on the phone. I refused to give the collector my phone number last night which she wasnt happy about as it means she will have to drive 20 miles to my house if she wants to talk to me :rotfl: And are debt collectors allowed to appear at my door at 7.30pm, are they allowed to come whenever they want? To top it all off, im 35 weeks pregnant, due to give birth in a few weeks and really I could do without the stress and anxiety of all this just now. In the end she walked off saying 'i'll give you a week and then i'll be back. If you're still not willing to pay i'll see you in court' :mad:

Please, what can I do here??? Oh and thanks if you've made it to the end of my post without falling asleep!!

Pigeongirl

I'm no expert on debt collectors I'm afraid but I just wanted to give you some moral support cos being heavily pregnant is enough for you to deal with without that miserable cow turning up on your doorstep :mad:

I'm sure it's a case of lack of communication on the part of the debt collection agency which obviously doesn't help matters for you but I am sure it will all work out ok; you are obviously willing to pay as much as you can afford.

Personally I would say just don't answe the door to them - they can deal with you by letter or on the phone. Let that stupid bag have a wasted journey! :rotfl:

I'm sure someone will be along in a minute to give you some experienced advice.

Good luck with the rest of the pregnancy...don't know if you already have kids or not but being a mummy is the best thing in the world! :T

headchef

Hi Bigbump
I had a collector turn up on my doorstep but my OH just laughed at him - 'Powers? What powers?' Then my OH explained to him how he'd had to go to the High Court to employ a Sheriff to claw back unpaid salary awarded through an industrial tribrunal - now Sheriffs DO have powers to walk in (Baliffs don't) and seize whatever they like and I don't think anyone of us is ever going to bump into one of those! Not unless we've been very naughty
Debt Collection agencies use debt collectors purely for intimidation (i'm assuming this debt hasn't gone to court, even then Balifs have limited powers). They are trying it on. They can't just take your car etc, but what she was hoping for was you'd be so embaressed or intimidated you'd hand over the keys!
If the other 3 have accepted your offers then photocopy those letters and send them to the two akward ones. Just stick to your guns. You'll probably find that once they've tried the 'collector on doorstep' tack and it's failed they won't try again.
There are laws against intimidation (and this cleary was) but I'm not clued up enough so try looking through past threads. Even the ones on Baliffs might help.
Well done you. I started by paying £1 a month to each of my creditors (keep paying this by the way, even though they are trying it on), then £30 a month pro rata.

Harassed_2

Do I have to deal with a doorstep collector?

In one word, NO. If they appear again, tell to **** off or even be polite. They are merely go-fers, agents with NO powers whatsoever.

State you have no intention of discussing anything with them; if they do not leave at once, tell them you WILL call the police to have them removed.

Send another letter, by Recorded Delivery to Moorcroft incorporating the following in the body of the letter.

Note that personal callers will neither be admitted nor spoken to. The Police will be called to remove nuisance callers and a complaint will be lodged with the relevant statutory authorities. I trust that I have made myself clear on this point. You communicate with me in writing or not at all.

Any further personal visits WILL be considered harassment and responded to as such. Legal action may be taken and/or a complaint will be made to the Office of Fair Trading under section 40 of The Administration of Justice Act 1970.

headchef

Well there you go - well answered by Harassed who obviously is clued up

Nice and straight to the point I feel. That's sure to put a smile on Bigbumps face :T

wifeforlife

Hey bigbump!

Just want to offer you sincerest support, dont take no !!!!!! from anyone and as the previous posts said you do not have to talk to these people.

I started paying just £1 pm aswell and slowly but surely have increased it ever so slightly so know exactly how you feel, keep your head high and continue to stay online here you'll get through it

Goodluck with the last few weeks of your pregnancy too! I know how that feels too!!! lol

Cath

Bigbump_2

Hey, thanks everybody for your support! Its good to know I dont need to deal with the collector at my door and i'll send a letter using the bit from Harassed in it. Im not scared to stick to my guns as long as I know im within my rights to act in this way, and I definetly wont be frightened into paying more than i can afford. Am I right in thinking that nobody could touch the car anyway as its in hubbys name (I cant drive) and the debt is in my name?

chilli_dog

hey big bump,

tell this collector to go away..

they have no power whatsoever and she is trying to bully you into paying more than you can afford. The collectors are normally paid around 20% of what they collect so its in their interests to try and get you to pay more. By the way Moorcrofts collectors are supposed to inform the inland revenue of their income because its all cash how many of them do you think do?

No one can touch your car, certainley not this parasite. infact me thinks that she may even be harrasing you? you dont need this when your pregnant.

good Luck

Martin