Debt collector turned up while I'm in hospital, need advice

Lum

Need some advice here. I (apparently) had a letter arrive from a lawyer notifying me of a debt. I do not dispute the debt and can easily pay it, but it arrived after I was admitted to hospital. When the lawyer then contacted me by phone (which was the first time I became aware of the debt). I informed him that I was unaware of the letter as I am currently in hospital and I will deal with it once I am discharged. He seemed perfectly fine with this.

Today, less than a week later, I have had a guy turn up at the ward from a debt collections&bailiff agency to hassle me about it. He presented a copy of a letter from the creditor authorising them to collect the debt as proof, which I have retained.

Surely this cannot be legal harassing someone who they know damn well is in hospital.

I really can't deal with this right now. Part of the therapy here is I am supposed to avoid all forms of stress so there is a good chance this will set back my recovery beyond the number of sick days I have remaining (currently I have 5 left and was hoping to be discharged at the end of the week) thus costing me money.

Do you have any advice for me? I have already asked the nurses to block all visitors except from a specific list. Better hope random relatives that I didn't think of don't turn up.

My partner is terrified. She thinks that someone with sufficiently low ethics as to harass someone in a hospital is also likely to break into our house. She is at work all day so cannot do anything to prevent this.

Sorry if this is the wrong forum, as it's more a legal question, but it seemed the closest and the one most likely to contain people with similar experiences.

redlady_1

My question is this...if you can easily pay the debt how come it has got this far?

Get well soon

RAS

Hi

What sort of debt is this?

What was in the letter?

Is this a bailiff or a debt collector; they are two very different things and have very different rights in law.

Lum

I don't want to talk too much about the debt as it may jeopardise ongoing legal proceedings. It's not likely to be covered under the consumer credit act though.

The company describe themselves as doing both bailiffs and collections. I am not sure under which hat they are operating in this particular case. I suspect most likely collections as my understanding is bailiffs require a court order and there is no such order in place.

Like I said, I have no issue with settling, it's just not possible for me to do so while I am in here and the first I heard about it is when I was contacted by phone after being admitted.

My main concern is finding some way to assure my partner that they will not be breaking into the house and going through our stuff, my secondary concern is that they stop bothering me at the hospital, though the staff assure me that if he comes back security will be called.

That is the bit I need to sort out straight away. I'm not going to de stress any time soon while my partner is living in fear.

RAS

Well if you cannot explain what was inthe letter or what sort of debt colelction is going on, the chances of getting advice are well nigh nil.

Debt collectors have no rights. bailiffs have some rights but it depends on the type of debt. As a rule they cannot break in but if ordered by the court for nonpayment of fines, they can bring a locksmith.

Lum

The letter I have seen is just a letter authorising the collection agency to collect on their behalf. The letter from the lawyer I have not yet seen, though I believe it just stated what they wanted.


edit: In any case, surely even bailiffs aren't allowed to turn up at the hospital ward, pretending to be a visitor?

beenthereanddoneit

Lum, what type of debt is it? As per RAS, it depends on the type of debt and what, if any type of warrant they have. If it is a Debt Collection Agency then you need not worry too much (easier said than done, I appreciate). If it is a bailiff then we can only advise if we know what the debt is for. Regards your hospital visits.. you will be surprised at where these people will turn up.

niccatw

Hi Lum

I hope to start to feel better soon.

RAS knows her stuff when it comes to this area. Perhaps PM if you don't want to post anything publicly?

RAS - is it possible to give an idea of the types of debts that would be dealt with with by one rather than the other? Am I right in thinking council tax debt could have a bailiff attached rather than a collection agency? Is it possible to give other broad "groupings" of debt, if there's such a thing?

I really don't know enough about this area I'm afraid though.

Lum, try to take a deep breath. I know there's little point trying to tell you not to stress - I know how I'd be feeling in your place. Big hugges. I hope your OH is ok too.

Lum

RAS, can I PM you as niccatw suggested?

DVardysShadow

Visiting you in hospital is harassment in my book - worth taking a look at this thread, which came to the top today: Complaining to the Financial Ombudsman about Debt Collectors. and considering whether to complain to the FOS

immoral_angeluk

How did they find out which hospital and ward you were in? Have they been discussing things with someone else without your consent?