Mackenzie Hall / CCJ

rog2

em5669 wrote: »

HOWEVER, today I have received another letter, this time in a perforated leaflet style, almost like a wage slip. This letter states that I must contact them by 17 September and they need to speak to me urgently about a specific reference number.

Hi Em - At the end of the day MH are a DEBT COLLECTION AGENCY - nothing else. They have absolutely no powers to tell you what you MUST do, they can ONLY ASK.
I would strongly advise against telephoning them - If you feel that you wish to contact them, do so in writing only, and preface any letter with the words - 'I do NOT acknowledge any debt to your Company'.
The fact that they have NOt included any reference to the 'alleged debts' in their correspondence to you, would indicate, to me, that they are either unsure that you are the person they wish to contact, or that they are 'fishing' and would like to try and get you to admit to a debt that may be unenforceable.
You need to find out what they want, but perhaps the best advice is to go to CAB, or phone National Debtline, to ask them how best to find out what MH want.

pinkmoon70

I received my first letter from this company asking me to contact thema bout a personal matter and did a bit of research to find out more so i have decided not to reply and not to acknowledge them full stop.

For the life of me i cann't think of any debt, are Mackenzie Halls debts always over 6 years ago and has anyone ever had a visit from bailifs or been taken to court by them.

Am i correct in thinking they can do nothing until i admit any debt?.

Thanks in advance.

rog2

pinkmoon70 wrote: »

For the life of me i cann't think of any debt, are Mackenzie Halls debts always over 6 years ago and has anyone ever had a visit from bailifs or been taken to court by them.

Not ALL of what MH tries to collect relates to Old Debts - My first encounter with this 'species' was over a debt, to BlackHorse, which was in dispute.
MH seem to specialise in 'alleged debts' which are either difficult to collect or unenforceable.
They certainly have no respect for the OFT guidelines on Debt Collection, to which they should adhere, and would appear to be trained in the art of 'contradicting the law'.
You are not, technically, right in thinking that these pondlife can do nothing until you admit a 'debt' - they can do their best to make your life a misery - but it is true that their 'powers' are minimal.
As with ANY dca it is THEY who need to prove that you owe any 'alleged debt' and NOT up to you to prove that you do not, although they will do their utmost to convince you otherwise.
Mackenzie Hall have absolutely no powers to 'send in the bailiffs'. This can ONLY be done by a Court and whilst Mackenzie Hall would be happy for us to believe that they are above the law - they are not.

superghoul

Hi all,

I received letter from MH demanding £300 last week - didn't know where/who it was from.

Received another letter yesterday offering reduced settlement offer of £250 which made me suspicious. Yesterday's letter showed original creditor as Barclaycard.

I had a Student Barclaycard 7/8 years ago! They were practically giving them away at Freshers Week(first week of university) with a limit of £350. Stupid me saw it as free money and spent way more than the limit and they just let me. Couldn't pay repayments and they closed account. I learnt my lesson when my credit rating got messed up and no one would give me an overdraft/loan or credit card.

I have been very careful and debt free for the last 6 years at least. Over the last two years I have been re-building my credit rating after years with just a basic bank account and have started to get accepted for credit.

Halifax have just added an extra grand to my credit card limit, HSBC GAVE me a mastercard with my current account without me asking and thats just a few.

For years I said no to store cards and credit cards in fear of being refused and now I am still very selective and careful where I accept credit.

So you can imagine how anxious and terrified I was at receiving this letter from MH. I phoned Barclaycard (don't know my card no. or have any paperwork anymore) but they still found out I had a card and said they sold my original debt to Lowell Portfolio 1 Ltd - who I don't remember paying anything to either. They said they don't own the debt anymore and gave me a number for Lowell.

After reading all your posts I will NOT be calling either as I have worked so hard and am scared of them re-applying the 6 year period. I have also read that MH have made numerous searches on individual credit files and generally causing people trouble.

I am going to ignore anymore letters and I hope thats the right thing to do and to think I almost phoned to pay them when I received that second letter yesterday becasue I was so scared of messing up my file.

I have seen my experian/equifax credit files and have never had any CCJs against me and am showing up to date with all my credit accounts so MH can go jump! I will not stress about this anymore.

Hubby and I are saving are saving a deposit and soon hope to get a mortgage and these evil 'people' (for want of a better word) better not screw up my life again because I've been to rock bottom and back where money is concerned.

pinkmoon70

Thanks for the advice Rog even though it was slightly more cautious than replies i got on another forum but probably for the best as i don't want to get too complacent and lulled into a false sense of security.

Would you or anyone else advise me to ignore them completely whilst they "fish", i have got the standard letter about contacting them about a personal matter and nothing else so i am clueless to what debt i supposedly owe.

I am releuctant to check my credit file as i have heard stories about credit checks and how they are not safe and i don't want scum like MH finding out any more so i'm reluctant to pay my £2 and possibly alert MH and others of that ilk.

Thanks in advance.

rog2

pinkmoon70 wrote: »

Would you or anyone else advise me to ignore them completely whilst they "fish", i have got the standard letter about contacting them about a personal matter and nothing else so i am clueless to what debt i supposedly owe.

I would, MOST CERTAINLY, advise you, or anyone else who may be in danger of falling victim to the 'Great Mackenzie Hall Scam' to completely ignore any letter which asks you to call a 'phone number' on a 'personal' matter.
IF they are so sure of their facts, then they should say, in the letter, exactly what they wish to talk to you about.
They are, indeed, an evil bunch and will stop at nothing in order to 'ensnare' yet more victims. :mad:

inmypocketnottheirs

superghoul wrote: »

I am going to ignore anymore letters and I hope thats the right thing to do and to think I almost phoned to pay them when I received that second letter yesterday becasue I was so scared of messing up my file.

I have seen my experian/equifax credit files and have never had any CCJs against me and am showing up to date with all my credit accounts so MH can go jump! I will not stress about this anymore.

Hubby and I are saving are saving a deposit and soon hope to get a mortgage and these evil 'people' (for want of a better word) better not screw up my life again because I've been to rock bottom and back where money is concerned.

Firstly, never telephone any debt collecting agency.

If you get any of these fishing letters, in order to head them off you can send this letter:

Dear Sirs

Further to your letter dated --/--/-- ref ---, I do not acknowledge ANY debt to your company.

I require you to supply the following documentation before I will correspond further on this matter.

1. You must supply me with a true copy of the alleged agreement you refer to. This is my right under your obligation to supply a copy of the agreement under the legislation contained within s.78 (1) Consumer Credit Act 1974 (s.77 (1) for fixed sum credit) - your obligation also extends to providing a statement of account. I enclose a £1 postal order in payment of the statutory fee, PO Serial Number xxxxx.

2. A signed true copy of the deed of assignment of the above referenced agreement that you allege exists.

3. You are notified that you are obliged to supply these documents, whether you are the original creditor or not.

Non-compliance with my request is a criminal offence under the above Act and will result in a report being submitted to the relevant statutory authorities.

As you are aware, a credit agreement that is not properly documented and signed by the customer is totally unenforceable under the CCA and therefore is a complete defence to any court claim that is issued.

Take note at this stage, that any legal action you may contemplate will be both vigorously defended and contested.

Yours faithfully


As long as you preface the letter with, I do not acknowledge any debt to your company, the six year period does not start again. It can be worth sending the letter, because I have yet to hear of anyone (and I stand to be corrected) who has had the statutory information supplied.



HTH

pinkmoon70

Just wondering if anyone has been taken to court by Mackenzie Hall re a debt of over 6 years if so what happened?, has anyone had any replies from trading standards or OFT about them?.

rog2

pinkmoon70 wrote: »

Just wondering if anyone has been taken to court by Mackenzie Hall re a debt of over 6 years if so what happened?, has anyone had any replies from trading standards or OFT about them?.

I have not heard of anyone being taken to Court by MH for a debt which is 'statute barred' although it could be possible if the 'alleged debtor' was unaware of the terms of the Limitations Act 1980. I doubt whether the courts would check every claim to make sure that the debt is legally recoverable - especially at the fast-track courts, such as Northampton, which these scum tend to favour.
The problem is that most people are unaware of their rights, under the terms of the limitations act, and many, unfortunately, would tend to pay on receipt of a summons, or fill in the admission of guilt and make an offer of payment, simply to avoid a CCJ.
It is sad, really, that people like MH are allowed to get away with this approach - they rely totally on the fact that the overwhelming majority of the 'Great British Public' are unaware that there are, in fact, laws which govern the collection of certain 'alleged debts'.
If MH were operating out of Nigeria there would be many and frequent warnings of the 'scam' that they are, in fact, operating from the relative 'protection' of the British Isles.
I would say that the number of cases that are reported on this, and other, debt forums, does not even scratch the surface of the total number of ordinary people who become unwitting victims of this disgusting con trick.
The Trading Standards Department, at Kilmarnock - where MH is based - is inundated with complaints about the tactics that MH employ, and, whilst they do their best to investigate each and every complaint, more people will pay up, rather than complain, so, in pure percentage terms the number of complaints made about the behaviour of MH will always be outweighed by those who simply 'keep quiet and pay'.
The 'Old Debt' business is a goldmine for unscrupulous debt collection agencies, of which MH are pretty much at the top of the festering pile.

KITTYKAT8_2

Received today one of their letters like a payslip, if they had anything under 6 years or with a CCJ, would they be more direct or still work in the same way.

I have had one letter signed by Dianne lennox

and now a sealed payslip type.

whats comes next does anyone see a pattern.


kittykat