Debt Collector Home Visit

confused76

alastairq wrote: »

I've had the Mercer raceabout as well....I ignored them to the point of boredom...however, I did receive two personal visits......but whoever it was made darned sure nobody was in before ringing the bell.

Two strange cards left through letterbox, both with unintelligble writing on....


Another ''implication'' these DCA's like to hint at, is that htey MAY knock at hte 'wrong' door, thereby, by implication, let your neighbours know you are in debt.
QUOTE]

the wrong door? wow that's disgusting behaviour!!!:eek:

RobertoMoir

Mr_Bojangles wrote: »

I'm in the process of saving up the £510 fee so I can declare myself bankrupt, I should have it by the end of November. But I have this morning received a letter from Mercers Debt Collections who are working on behalf of Barclaycard.

The letter says my account is overdue and they have been unable to contact me so they state
"We will be instructing a local debt collector to visit you at the above address to collect payment"

Now what powers does this debt collector have and what is my best way of dealing with him when he arrives?

Thanks

No "powers" at all. A "debt collector" is not a bailiff, and even bailiffs have limts to what they can do anyway.

The best way to deal with them? "I' removing any implied invitation for you to be on my property. You are now trespassing, please leave" then close the door and ignore them. If they make a pest of themselves then phone the police and ask for them to be moved on.

As others have said, a lot of debt collection companies are long on bluff about people visiting and very short on actual knocks on the door. They want people scared after a phone call because they don't know the difference between a debt collector and the worst horror stories you hear about "bailiff visits gone wrong"
and if they actually had toothless debt collectors turn up on too many doorsteps without the ability to do anything then word would soon get out more that you could ignore them. Last thing they want to happen: Bluff, BS and bluster are their 3 favourate tools.

markandkate

Whether Mercers or nay one else visit is very unlikely but if they do as others have said they have no powers. For nay one to be able to seize your goods they first of all have to get a CCJ ( County Court Judgement). If you then don't pay on the judgement then the creditor can instruct a county court bailiff. These are different to cerified bailiffs as they are paid a wage by the county court not self employed like the other lot. They therefore do not need to lie or make threats.

To get to this point we are talking several months by which time you will have found your money for the fee. If Mercers should visit they may threaten you with bankruptcy and then you can say yes please. You don't need to let them in but there is no need to be rude either just politely tell them that you are going bankrupt and ask them to leave.

alastairq

prior to a creditor being granted a CCJ...does the Court not have to contact the alleged debtor, to enquire whether they accept the debt as correct?


plus, does the Court not require the Debtor to submit a SOA..to enable the Court to set a resonable re-payment rate, should the debt be acknowledged?


And the only way a creditor can simply 'turn up' clutching a CCJ which might prove a problem to pay, is if the debtor simply ignores the Court's request for information?


and the Bailiffs only then get involved as above??

Does the debtor therefore not get plenty of warning??


Am I right, or am I off me rocker again?

blind-as-a-bat_2

alastairq wrote: »

prior to a creditor being granted a CCJ...does the Court not have to contact the alleged debtor, to enquire whether they accept the debt as correct?


plus, does the Court not require the Debtor to submit a SOA..to enable the Court to set a resonable re-payment rate, should the debt be acknowledged?


And the only way a creditor can simply 'turn up' clutching a CCJ which might prove a problem to pay, is if the debtor simply ignores the Court's request for information?


and the Bailiffs only then get involved as above??

Does the debtor therefore not get plenty of warning??


Am I right, or am I off me rocker again?

In theory yes, they get plenty of warning.....as long as the creditor gives the court the correct address for the debtor......and there is not a postal strike to boot:rolleyes:

alastairq

as long as the creditor gives the court the correct address for the debtor

If they do not.....then surely the CCJ must be held-over, if it comes to the notice of the Debtor that an incorrect address was submitted by the creditor....wilfully?

In other words, if the Debtor can prove to the court they have lived where they do for a reasonable length of time, and that the creditor would have been aware of that fact..[the letters demanding payment??]

Plus, how would the bailiff know where to find the defaulter, if the address submitted by the creditor was profoundly incorrect?

I think, within reason, the Courts would give everybody concerned an opportunity to have their input?

I believe the debtor has about two weeks to respond?

and the CCJ can be overturned or reduced subsequent to imposition, by the debtor submitting evidence to the court?

After all, the Court is the fair arbiter?



But I can see why professional creditors would like us debtors to be ignorant, and fearful of contact with the courts.....wouldn't do if we all adopted a ''bring it on'' attitude?

Deep_In_Debt

For what it's worth, Mercers did send someone to me. I'm female and live on my own and I soon sent the idiot away. In fact, when he called, i was in the middle of cooking my tea so left him standing in the pouring rain for 20 mins whilst i had my dinner (well he did call uninvited and at an inconvienent time!), so he ended up looking a bit of a prat! He soon got the message and slung his hook!

MrsTinks

As mentioned - they have NO power WHAT SO EVER If you want to really upset them then send them a letter stating what RobertoMoir said about implied right to access etc Send it recorded and point out in the letter that any "collector" setting foot on your property will be seen as trespassing and you will take appropriate action through the courts against them and the person concerned personally

Not that I think they have the slightest intention of going through with sending someone out at the moment anyway

Trom

Ah, good old Mercers. It'll take some time before they do anything other than threaten. In my case it was near 5 months after I started token payments and 6 weeks or so from when I completely stopped answering their phone calls (and there were plenty - and texts and letters) to 'pass on my account' to Calder Financial and send someone around from something called ScotCall. I wasn't in and they left a card. Never came for a second visit.

The most frustrating thing was all the silent voice mails. I was tempted to send them a bill for every time I had to check my mobile's answer phone to find a blank message.

Calder still ring me now even though I've given them my BR number etc and the OR's address, because they say they can't find me on 'the website'. Not sure what they're talking about; don't care.

If you're feeling stressed by the whole thing, give them a call I suppose and try to stall them a bit. They'll keep you on the phone for a good 30 minutes going through the same things over and over with you, but that may get them to put a stop on your account for a couple of weeks.

Deep_In_Debt

Trom wrote: »

Ah, good old Mercers. It'll take some time before they do anything other than threaten. In my case it was near 5 months after I started token payments and 6 weeks or so from when I completely stopped answering their phone calls (and there were plenty - and texts and letters) to 'pass on my account' to Calder Financial and send someone around from something called ScotCall. I wasn't in and they left a card. Never came for a second visit.

The most frustrating thing was all the silent voice mails. I was tempted to send them a bill for every time I had to check my mobile's answer phone to find a blank message.

Calder still ring me now even though I've given them my BR number etc and the OR's address, because they say they can't find me on 'the website'. Not sure what they're talking about; don't care.

If you're feeling stressed by the whole thing, give them a call I suppose and try to stall them a bit. They'll keep you on the phone for a good 30 minutes going through the same things over and over with you, but that may get them to put a stop on your account for a couple of weeks.

Oh yes! I had it all - silent calls, extreme telephone harrassment from them on Bank Holidays, more than at weekends (obviously the staff get paid more to work on a BH), Easter Sunday last year, text messages asking me to call so & so for a chat...fact is, I didn't know the person so why should I want to call a complete stranger for a chat...? Numpties! Then the visit...all this whilst they were in default of my CCA request and sent me a total "shocker" when it arrived :rotfl:

Oh, how I had fun with Mercers...