3 mobile contract passed to debt collectors - help!

katebl

Hi all,

Hope someone can help. In 2006 at some point my sister, at the age of 18, took out a contract with 3 mobile. The phone was stolen, but apparently (to the best of her recollection) insured and she believed the contract was cancelled once notifying them. She wasn't living at home at the time, and when a debt collector got in touch my parents asked me to pay what they believed was owed (£87.50) to Moorcroft, which was done in November 2006. My mum has asked me to help as it turns out that wasn't the end of it, and has given me letters from -

Wescot Credit Services dated April 2007 for £197.50,
Buchanan Clark & Wells dated November 2007 for £462.50,
HFO Services dated March 2009 for £472.50,
and most recently Roxburghe dated July 2009 for £489.75.

Can anyone tell me what I can do about this? I know we may need to pay something but wondered if there is any way to dispute the amount - I know there are ways for cards etc but have no idea if we can do anything to get this amount down as my mum and sister cannot afford that sort of money. Looking briefly I have seen people requesting some sort of agreement and a breakdown of charges, could that help here? Has anyone else had a similar experience and what did you do?

Thanks for any help...

GeorgeUK

As it is a phone contract, you may need to request the airtime agreement and a statement of the transactions that have brought the balance to this total.

If you were to send a subject access request (cost £10) to 3 mobile, they would need to supply you with all the data they held on you. This would allow you to see if there was anything outstanding, if it was more than the 87.50 that you paid to Moorcroft and if they still have a copy of the airtime agreement.

For those that are trying to colelct the debt right now, they are required to prove that a debt exists - you don't need to prove it doesn't.

emmington_2

Hiya,

I was in exactly the same situation with O2. The first thing to do is to contact all of the debt collectors and tell them that you are going to dispute the account with 3. They will then put the accounts on hold. Sometimes the debt collectors will only put the accounts on hold for 14 days so make sure you keep the dates and contact them on those dates to advise them if you need it extending i.e. if you haven't received a response from 3.

The next thing to do is to request a copy bill from 3. It may be best to do this by letter as you will need to ask them why money is outstanding when you paid the amount of £87.50 which you believed to be the final bill. 3 may turn around and say that 'they have sold the debt on to debt collection companies and therefore are not willing to help with your enquiry. In this instance quite simply you can contact the debt collectors and advise them that you have tried to contact 3 for a copy bill of which they were unable to supply. DO NOT PAY ANYTHING WITHOUT A COPY OF THE BILL.

If this is in fact the same as my experience, the debt had been sold by 3 to a debt collector, that debt collector sold it to another and so on and so fourth. This is probably the reason why you have 4 debt collectors chasing you. Bear in mind that there is only 1 debt and therefore you only pay one company. In my experience I had no letters from any debt collectors, I didn't even know the debt existed, and they kept selling it on to other companies which in turn increases the amount owing.

The best thing to do as previously stated is to get all of the debt collection accounts put on hold and to contact 3 directly (preferably by letter at this stage). If you can sort it out with 3 then they will contact all of the debt collectors and have the debt cancelled with them.

I hope that all of this makes sense.

Emmington.

katebl

George UK - what would happen if they didn't supply a bill and a statement of transactions? Would this be along the same lines as what Emmington is suggesting?

And Emmington, if 3 don't reply or say it has been passed on and they won't provide any info, than what happens? Does that mean I negotiate with the collector or that they then can't enforce anything?

Sorry I'm not completely clear on this but it's all new to me!

emmington_2

Katebl,

No problem I am quite new to the site myself but not new at dealing with debt collection companies.

Basically you are entitled by law to see a copy bill or invoice of the amount of money that you owe. If 3 decide not to play ball then go back to the debt collection companies and advise them of that.

The debt collection companies will either have to drop the debt OR source a copy of the bill from 3 and send it on to you.

Don't let them bully you; I have had lots of experience with debt collection agencies and they seem to only recruit people who are extremely rude. They will try and convince you to set up a direct debit payment DO NOT DO THIS WITHOUT THE COPY BILL.

They will probably try and sway you by saying - well the company have 6 years by law to chase any debt. This is true, but without any evidence of the debt i.e. the bill you are not entitled to pay anything.

What you want really is to be only dealing with one debt collection company, not all 4 of them. Can I ask, you noted that 2 of the debt collection letters are dated 2007. Did you and or your family member contact the debt collection companies at this time? And if so what did they say?

If the letters were received in 2007 and ignored the problem that you are faced with is that they sell the debt on to another company who in turn hike the price up. If however in my case where I never received any letters you have a valid argument to state that if you were never made aware of the debt and therefore are not liable.

The bill from 3 is the most important thing.

Stick to your guns

Emmington

katebl

Thanks Emmington,

That's really helpful. I'm not sure if there was contact with the two companies in 2007, I think my Dad may have tried to sort some of this out (not as far as paying them though) but he's since passed away so am back to square 1 effectively. How long is reasonable for 3 to take to reply? I'm guessing there's no legal time limit to this sort of thing... Will draft a letter today.

GeorgeUK

If you send a SAR to 3, they are required to supply the data within 40 days.

If you are requesting the DCA to prove that the money is owed, there is no time limit for them to answer you by.
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.html?p=11570893&postcount=2

emmington_2

No problem

I would suggest that you contact all 4 debtors as well and advise them that you will only be dealing with 1 of them, maybe the most recent one.

Good luck with it all - and GeorgeUK has answered your other question

Emmington

LeeSouthEast

Three's address for your recorded letter:

THREE,
123 ST VINCENT STREET,
GLASGOW,
G2 5EA.

Good luck.

katebl

I've thanked you all individually but just wanted to reinforce that, you've been more help than I could have imagined and hopefully I can update you with a happy-ish ending!