Phone calls phone calls phone calls

mikewebs

Hi there
Basically, I need to know can a creditor phone me on a Sunday to try to get payment. I didn't think they were allowed to but they say they are. Any help would be appreciated.

TIA
Mikewebs

james32_uk

I've read on here that they're not, but I dont know for sure. Why not make a call to the CAB as they will be able to help out with getting these stopped either on a sunday or totally if you need help with your credit problems.

Good luck!

iolanthe07

They 'phone on a Sunday because they're more likely to find you in.

Macduff_3

They are NOT allowed to call you on a Sunday.

http://www.oft.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/B3999175-A9BC-469D-AD5B-BA284DE36E01/0/complaint.DOC

Go to this link and report them to the Office of Fair Trading. The more people who complain about this behaviour, the better.

mikewebs

Hi there,

Just a quick note to thank you all for your replies. I found a very Office of Fair Trading 'Code of Practice' for Debt Collectors that I think many would find interesting. Here is the link

http://www.oft.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/50F06527-9FC5-4610-B385-999D6E2A8950/0/oft664.pdf

Once again, thank you MSE-ers for your help and advice - Thank God for this site!!

Tootsie_Roll

Macduff wrote:

They are NOT allowed to call you on a Sunday.

http://www.oft.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/B3999175-A9BC-469D-AD5B-BA284DE36E01/0/complaint.DOC

Go to this link and report them to the Office of Fair Trading. The more people who complain about this behaviour, the better.

Yes they are.

No where in the OFT guidlines does it say you can't - it only mentions 'unreasonable times' and the guideline suggests looking at them on case by case basis although like a lot of the 'guidelines' that is far too subjective. It is even OK to call on a bank holiday.

Macduff_3

Tootsie_Roll wrote:

Yes they are.

No where in the OFT guidlines does it say you can't - it only mentions 'unreasonable times' and the guideline suggests looking at them on case by case basis although like a lot of the 'guidelines' that is far too subjective. It is even OK to call on a bank holiday.

2.23 There was a degree of consistency from respondents that contacting debtors between the hours of 8am to 9pm Monday to Friday would be reasonable. There was greater disparity over what is reasonable in respect of contact made at the weekend and on public/bank holidays etc. There was also greater disparity over what constituted reasonable intervals with opinion ranging from daily, every couple of days to weekly. A number of respondents including Citizens Advice and the Credit Services Association stressed the importance of giving debtors a reasonable time to respond.

This is copied from the OFT guidelines.

EllieB_2

Macduff - this was a report on the consultations - not what the Guidelines actually came up with which was actually quite nebulous. There is nothing in law or in the OFT guidelines (disappointingly in my view but there it is) to say that debt collection calls cannot be made on a Sunday. They are of course governed by the law on harassment reagarding frequent calls or calls at unreasonable times - but I don't think there is anything to say they cannot call on Sundays.

Tootsie_Roll

EllieB wrote:

Macduff - this was a report on the consultations - not what the Guidelines actually came up with which was actually quite nebulous. There is nothing in law or in the OFT guidelines (disappointingly in my view but there it is) to say that debt collection calls cannot be made on a Sunday. They are of course governed by the law on harassment reagarding frequent calls or calls at unreasonable times - but I don't think there is anything to say they cannot call on Sundays.

Exactly.

Thank you.

Macduff_3

EllieB wrote:

Macduff - this was a report on the consultations - not what the Guidelines actually came up with which was actually quite nebulous. There is nothing in law or in the OFT guidelines (disappointingly in my view but there it is) to say that debt collection calls cannot be made on a Sunday. They are of course governed by the law on harassment reagarding frequent calls or calls at unreasonable times - but I don't think there is anything to say they cannot call on Sundays.

If you complain to Trading Standards they will usually take up your case as although there are no specific guidelines about Sunday calls it is viewed as being unacceptable.

MrsTinks

lol i've started doin this to double glazing phone calls... it's great! I ask them to hold on for a sec and then put the phone down and carry on watching telly or working on the pc... when the phone gets put down (roughly about 8-10 mins later) I'll hang it up for some reason I'm not getting many repeat calls from these companies