10 yrs on DCA what do I do?

hollypolly678

Hello in 2000/2001 I ordered many items from a catalogue somereceived and paid for them some of the items were curtains liners and tie backs which were never received I was chased for payment so at the time i had not received them I asked for proof of delivery ie signature before i paid for them. (thought maybe a neighbour had taken them in) These details were never provided so they kept chasing me and I kept going back to them asking for proof of delivery eventually they stopped chasing and I assumed it was resolved. I got a credit alert from credit expert showing a default on my account from the catalogue dated 25/5/2002 for £79. As time passed I was never chased again and it became statute barred. Then out of the blue 8/4/10 Robinson Way sent me a letter asking me to pay this debt, which I dont owe because I never received the goods, after 1 very stressful telephone conversation explaining the story and getting nowhere I asked for proof of delivery (which I know does not exist) and was told it was up to me to prove I didn't owe it!!! and was told a 'field agent' would come to my house, I told her that was not allowed without an appointment and I didn't wish to make an appointment. I sent a letter by recorded delivery saying the debt was not owed by me and in any case was statute barred and I would complain to the OFT if they sent someone. Got a letter yesterday 14/4/10 as a formal demand for payment, which by the way is only £79 but I refuse to pay for something I've never had. and saying they 'may send a local collector in the next 10 days' and 'I could make an appointment if I wish'

What do I do now, this is wasting so much of my time, causing me stress and if it carries on its going to cost a fortune in Recorded delivery.

Shoul I keep replying, ignore them, or something else????????

RAS

Hi

exactly what did you send?

if the letter was properly worded, the next action is a formal complaint copied into the OFt and the FO.

And hence forth do NOT ring them ever. There is no way they would dare tell you a field agent was coming in a letter because they know they would be in trouble.

By ringing them you offer them the opportunity to bully you and to make all sorts of "allegations" that are legally incorrect.

Tixy

Hi

Did you send the SB letter to Robinson way? Is it Robinson way who have contacted you again? - Try the 3rd letter in this link - http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.html?p=11571227&postcount=3

and as Fermi advises report them to the OFT and trading standards.

hollypolly678

The letter I sent by recorded delivery is:

April 9, 2010

Robinson Way Limited
London Scottish House
Carolina Way
Salford
M50 2ZY

I DO NOT ACKNOWLEDGE ANY DEBT TO YOU OR ANY OTHER ORGANISATION OR COMPANY YOU CLAIM TO REPRESENT,
which in any case is well over 6 years old and under section 5 of the limitations act 1980 deemed statute barred. The Office of fair trading states that it is unfair to pursue a statute barred debt.
I shall keep a log of any communication between myself and Robinson Way Ltd. Including time and dates.
Under the rules set out by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) a ‘field agent’ can only visit me at my home if I wish to make an appointment, I have no such wishes. If an employee/representative of Robinson Way Ltd attempts to visit me at my home it will be considered as harassment and the matter will be dealt with accordingly. I will only communicate via mail.
If Robinson Way Ltd persist to press for payments after I have declared that I will not pay the debt because it is not owed by me and in any case considered statute barred then it is harassment according to the OFT.
I trust that this puts an end to the matter and the only communications I expect from Robinson Way Ltd is to state that the matter is closed.
Yours faithfully

And they replied

11/4/10 (so they should have had my letter but may claim overlap)

FORMAL DEMAND FOR PAYMENT

Your unpaid debt has been passed to us. We intend to recover the full amount that you owe. In the next 10 days I may arrange for our LOCAL COLLECTOR to call at your home to arrange an affordable payment plan with you.

If you would prefer to pay direct to this office, you must CALL US without delay.

If you wish to make an appointment for our representative to visit, please call us.

Yours faithfully

Collections Manager.

The Full caps are theirs not mine!

So what should my response (if any) be ?

Thanks for your help.

Katrina

GeorgeUK

I would write an official letter of complaint to them as they are not allowed to continue requesting payment after they have been notified that the debt is SB and you will not be paying. If after a month this has not been resolved, complain to TS, OFT and FOS.

In your complaint i would also include a section 10 notice under the Data Protection Act which requires them to stop processing your data. If they refuse to do so, then you can complain to the ICO who will hopefully use their teeth a little more effectively than the others have been known to do.

hollypolly678

RAS - sorry don't know how to quote but you said

"There is no way they would dare tell you a field agent was coming in a letter because they know they would be in trouble."

as their letter states above they say they may send a local collector round in the next 10 days

Can they do this??

hollypolly678

Thanks George, you have helped me a couple of years ago with this same matter. But at the time it was coming up to being statute barred.

katsu

Katrina,

From reading this board I believe it is a trick where they say call at and you assume visit when actually the person telephones.

magpiecottage

Use my template letter on this thread. They will not know the rules. It is FOS you should complain to, not the OFT because the OFT does not look at individual complaints.

Unfortunately, most FOS adjudicators don't know the OFT guidelines so if you do need to take it to FOS you will have to tell them exactly which guidelines have been breached.

RAS

katrina1977 wrote: »

as their letter states above they say they may send a local collector round in the next 10 days

Can they do this??

Unless there is a CCJ for this debt (and even then only if this was taken out less than 6 years ago), they have shot themsleves in the foot.

Make sure that you send a copy of the letter with your complaint.

hollypolly678

There is no CCJ and nobody has threatened court action - most likely because the goods were never delivered so they have no proof.

The letter from them copied above is typed word for word.

I will complain to the OFT and the FOS?

Thanks