Mackenzie Hall - advice appreciated

Chompina

Mackenzie Hall have just started chasing my partner regarding a mobile phone debt from 5 and a half years ago. They sent a letter earlier this week asking him to call, which he did. They were incredibly rude and unreasonable. After saying he knew nothing of the debt they gave him 72 hours to look into it. In this time we have seen all these threads and are glad we are not alone! We are sending the prove it letter today by recorded delivery, but already they are calling and texting and sending letters claiming field operatives will be calling in 10 days. He is more than happy to pay the debt if it is real, however we are not prepared to do this without some relevant documentation to prove it and confirm how the figure was reached.

I have told my partner not to answer there calls and to ignore their letters until they respond to the prove it letter. I hope I am giving good advice, he is very worried about the amount to phone calls and letters they are sending. They are very clever with their words and never say we will be doing.... or this will lead to.....but instead say it could, or it might. They certainly know who to put the fear of god into people.

Can someone please reassure me we are going about this is the correct manner and someone isn't going come and empty our flat!

Jesthar

Hi Chompina,

Yay, a thread of your own! Just copying over the previous responses for you:

Jesthar wrote: »

Relax, they can't send in baliffs without a court order, and from their extreme bullying behaviour it sounds as if they know they haven't a hope of getting one! There is a VERY small chance that they might send a 'doorstep collector' round, but if they do then he has exactly the same legal rights as the paper boy (i.e. none whatsoever), and by law HAS to leave when told to - so IF that happens just tell them to stop trespassing and leave, and if they fail to do so call the police. As I said, from the way they are behaving they are trying to scare you into paying money for a debt the can't actually prove, so you are definitely doing the right thing.

As far as paying off the debt if it is your goes, well, I am usually an advocate of paying off all monies owed to anyone as it is the correct moral thing to do - as long as the debt is with the original creditor, anyway. However, if a debt was passed to a Debt Collection Agency (and thankfully I have never been in that position), all bets would be off and I wouldn't be paying them a penny until they could prove they were legally entitled to it, as that is what they have bought (usually for peanuts) - the right to legally enforce collection of a debt. So if they can't legally enforce it, as the debt was not run up with them originally, I would feel no moral obligation to pay them!

Hope that helps,

~Jes

RAS wrote: »

Hi

it would really be best to start you own thread, but as an emergency answer.

You are quite right - the operative words are "might, may, could" because the possibility is either remote or non-existant.


You have given your partner the right advice, but I would add:

1. Logg every call from MH

2. Send the telephone letter above, regsitered post but put

"I do not acknowledge any debt to your company" at the top and attach a copy of the OFT guidance to MH on the back.

3. If either of you answer a phone call, refuse to answer the security questions and tell them that you are recording the call. They will most likely ring off.

4. Seriously consider a complain to the OFT based their behavipour so far.

Chompina

Thank you for all the advice so far. Would love to hear from anyone who has had experiences from MH before and how they got rid of the harassment from them.

Thanks again!

RAS

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=114858

Chompina

Just thought I would update anyone interested in our victory!

Yesterday there was a dreaded letter from MacKenzie Hall on the doormat. With nervous trepidation we opened it and read on......

The letter stated in 3 very short sentences that they had received our correspondence (the prove it letter, and OFT guidelines), and that they would be no longer be pursuing the debt and that we will hear no more from them!

I feel we have been very lucky, not to have received some of the problems other people have but am so pleased this has now gone away. We would never have been able to achieve this without in invaluable help from the members here. Thank you all so much!

phil80

congratulations and well done on not just giving in and paying up like so many do who do not know their rights.

Jesthar

:T Fabulous! Thanks for letting us know! :T

One word of advice, there is a chance they might try and sell the debt on to another DCA, but if that happens just do exactly the same as you did with MH, and you should hopefully get the same result...

~Jes

BlondBoy

Indeed, well done Chompina.

Don't want to be a harbinger of doom, but, as Jesthar says, beware of them selling it on. I had the same thing with them - they chased aggressively for a debt that a. I knew nothing of at all and b. would have been statute barred in any case, even if it had existed.

Got MH to back off, and they sold it on to some bunch of clowns in Truro who were frankly even worse. In the end, had to report them to Trading Standards, who were terrific. Stopped them right in their tracks about this time last year. Haven't heard a thing since.

So, like Jesthar, I'd say well done, crack open a beer and celebrate for now. But bear in mind there's still a chance you'll have to do the same thing again IF they sell it off. Only an IF mind...