Mackenzie Hall / CCJ

rog2

somebodyhasmyusername wrote: »

How can this company get away with sending intimidating letters and make what seems to be fraudulent claims against people?

They 'get away with it' as they are relatively safe in the knowledge that the majority of 'alleged debtors' are totally unaware of the Limitation Act and the rights that the act gives them.

In my opinion, ALL Debt Collection Agencies should be obliged, by law, to include a paragraph in their 'letters' stating that 'alleged debtors' should take independent advice on any alleged debt.

I'm glad that you were able to use the rights that the law gives you against the totally unprofessional rabble that is MacKenzie Hall.

Apprenticemillionaire

Hi, This company made me soooo mad this morning! Now I see there have been many of you having similar experiences.
Rude telphone operators.
No explanation of who they are, and what they think I owe them!
Eventually told me that I owe them £300 + due to a store card debt from 14 years ago! Unbelievable! I have never had a store card!
I have reported them to Watchdog and intend to send MH the letter suggested several times in this thread.
I'm so angry that they think they can ask me to pay for a debt, I know nothing of, without any details or evidence of the debt!
My main concern has been the threat of "field collectors". Of course after reading this thread I can see that they have no rights to send round bayliffs.
AAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!
Thats a little better.

Spire128

Hi

I have a friend who is a debt collector, and I recently had a letter from
Mc Hall , I had a word with my friend and he told me that they do not have a field collection force, and that nobody would turn up on my door step.

rog2

Apprenticemillionaire wrote: »

Eventually told me that I owe them £300 + due to a store card debt from 14 years ago! Unbelievable! I have never had a store card!

This is just typical of the way that MacKenzie Hall operate.
They know that, providing the 'alleged debtor' tells them that they will not be paying such a 'debt' because it is 'statute barred' then they can no longer pursue the 'debt' through the courts.
They (MH) also know that the percentage of 'debtors' who are aware of the implications of the Limitation Act is extremely low.
They are vultures, pure and simple. They use intimidatory tactics to bully people into paying hundreds, sometimes thousands, of pounds for a 'piece of worthless paper' that they probably purchased for a few pence.
I am amazed that the OFT still allows them to eep their trading licence.

lowellcrooks

somebodyhasmyusername wrote: »

I took your advice and checked out the letter layouts available and jigged it around a bit.

I explained that I have made no contact or payment to anybody in regards to the credit card debt they were chasing me for... etc etc etc.. said that due to this being over 6 years old, it is statute barred. I threw in a few law quotes for good measure and thankfully I received a formal 'colour' letter a week or so later explaining that Mackenzie Hall will NO LONGER contact me about this matter and no further action will be taken.

How can this company get away with sending intimidating letters and make what seems to be fraudulent claims against people?

Thanks again for your help.

DON'T think you're out of the woods yet (you are legally don't worry!) I mean Mackenzie Hall won't contact you, but a pound to a penny somebody they pass it on to will, or an 'alternative trading style' (i.e. different name but still them) will. Or, YOUR NAME WILL be given to various associated secured-loan at six-thousand percent type companies.

lowellcrooks

stef37 wrote: »

I just like to add this forum about mackenzie hall because about a couple of months ago i started to get withheld numbers on my cellphone throughtout day and night upto 9pm this scots git would say could i have your credit card number D.O.B and postcode but i told him where to get off this went on for a month i got really annoyed at this stage i asked who he was but he repiled with abusive language so about this week monday evening he has phoned a ex directory telephone number which belongs to my parents and asked for a full payment to me i think they are a bunch of misfits relying on peoples stupidity i highly recomend DO NOT FALL FOR THIS CRAP i have got onto the F.S.A as they say mackenzie hall are well known for this behaviour and trading standards are also investigating this matter.

I would complain to OFCOM too, no one wants TO HAVE TO LISTEN TO A JOCK ON THE PHONE!! Seriously, log the dates/times/durations of the calls, tape them if possible and ask tehcaller to identify themselves,go straight to the police if the calls are consistent and file a complaint of harassment.

Pinches

Hi

I was just wondering if anyone could advise of the out come of there dispute with mackenzie hall,

My 70 year old mother in law has recieved a letter from them in her previous name (she has been known by another name for over 13 years) and she has no idea what the debt is in relations to, we have been unable to get in touch with Mackenzie Hall.

The letter received is a poorly writen later and has very few details on but we have managed to find out that the debt relates to shop direct, who have no record of my mother in law.

I am just trying to find out how we can resolve this and other peoples feedback is not good so I am not filled with confidence, I have read that they bully you in to paying and in some cases have appeared to pluck debt out of thin air.

Any outcomes would be grateful

Thanks

rog2

Pinches wrote: »

I am just trying to find out how we can resolve this and other peoples feedback is not good so I am not filled with confidence, I have read that they bully you in to paying and in some cases have appeared to pluck debt out of thin air.

MacKenzie Hall are a totally unprofessional bunch of chancers who will do anything in the hope of extracting easy money from people, whether or not they are the original debtors.
Tactics that they use will often include writing to everybody with the same, or similar, surname in the hope of 'netting' the actual 'debtor'. Sometimes, this 'tactic' will be enough to frighten even innocent people into paying MH, just to get them off of their backs. MH don't mind where the money comes from, as long as it lines their pockets.
They will, also, attempt to collect old 'debts', that are out of 'statute', where, providing the 'alleged debtor' is aware of his rights and tells MH, these debts can no longer be pursued through the courts, and are therefore unenforceable.
In the case of your mother in law, there are several options open to her:
The first, since she is unaware of any debt, option would be to write to MH requesting a true copy of the original signed consumer credit account, as is her right under the Consumer Credit Act, 1974. Without this information, then MH can not enforce the 'agreement' and, therefore, can not pursue, or collect, the 'alleged debt' from her.
In the unlikely event that MH were able to provide your mother in law with a true copy of the cca, then this would give her the information she needs to establish whether or not the 'debt' is genuine and whether or not it is enforceable/collectable by MH.
One of MacKenzie Hall's biggest 'earners' is the 'Statute Barred' debt This is a 'debt' to which the 'alleged debtor' has made no payments towards, nor written acknowledgement of, for a period of six years (five in Scotland). Once the 'debtor' is armed with this information, he can/should inform MH that he will be making no further payments owards the debt, because it is 'statute barred' (the only reason he need give) and MH can, no longer, pursue this debt through the courts, and should, also, cease any attempts to pursue the 'debtor'.
Most 'statute barred' debts will have been virtually 'written off' by the original creditor, and MH 'buy' these 'debts' for a few pence in the pound (it's a bit like the 'floor sweepings' at a tobacco auction) in the hope of 'earning easy money' by harrassing and misleading the 'alleged debtor'. Since MH are totally devoid of morals, they don't mind if the victim that they choose to pursue is the original debtor or not.
That said, MacKenzie Hall are obliged to follow the guidelines for debt collection, as laid down by the Office of Fair Trading; http://www.oft.gov.uk/shared_oft/business_leaflets/consumer_credit/oft664.pdf
Failure to do so could result in the OFT withdrawing their licence.
These guidelines clearly state that a Debt Collection Agency should provide full details of, and up to date statements of, any alleged debt on request.
They also state that DCA's should be absolutely certain that the person, that they are pursuing, is the actual 'alleged debtor' and should not be contacting everyone with the same, or similar, name in the hope of 'netting' the actual debtor.
The first 'line of complaint' would be to complain to the Trading Standards Office. For best results, I would suggest the Trading Standards Office nearest to MacKenzie Hall:

Trading Standards Services
East Ayrshire Council
London Road
KILMARNOCK
KA3 7BU

Tel: 01563 521502 Email: [EMAIL="trading.standards@east.ayrshire.gov.uk"]trading.standards@east.ayrshire.gov.uk[/EMAIL]

Bearing in mind the age of your mother in law, it may be advisable for her to talk with one of the Debt Counselling Charities, who could contact MacKenzie Hall, and the relative authorities, on her behalf. There are several such charities, who will offer free, professional and confidential advice. These include:

Citizens' Advice Bureau: http://www.citizensadvice.org.uk

Consumer Credit Counselling Service (CCCS): http://www.cccs.co.uk Tel: 0800 138 1111

National Debtline: http://www.nationaldebtline.co.uk Tel: 0808 808 4000

All of the above charities, and others, are fully endorsed by Martin Lewis and will not charge your mother in law one penny for their advice/help.

andrewman

I had a letter from Mad House saying they recentley wrote to me about a debt from someone called creative from 1991,i beleive this is statue barred and they were told when they first contacted me in 2004, last contact from them was on 25th february, when i had trading standards contact them to find out what they are upto, i spoke to them first and told them the debt is statue barred,they say i made a payment in 2004 and would not listen,i passed the phone back to the advisor,she told Mad house {mackenzie hall) to provide me with details of debt and who is the claimant. they was given 14 days to comply, well 14 working days have passed yesterday (friday 14th) nothing heard, tell the truth i did not expect to hear from them,because in 2004 i sent a written letter informing them of the statue law. so if i had made a payment in 2004 like they said why has it taken a further 4years to tell me that. what a bunch of plonkers they are. i am having a laugh at their failure.:rotfl:

santay5036

I sent a letter to MH on August 29th asking for full details of the debt. No reply. Then last week a debt recovery firm (JB Debt Recove ry)wrote to me asking for money with 7 days or they would take legal action.

What do I do? Please help.