Being harrassed by 08453015446 and more

ryuken21

Hello I am looking for some advice please.

The situation is I have gone over my overdraft limit by quite alot and a while back Natwest collections rang me to organise a suitable payment plan to recover their money. We agreed for me to pay them £250 a month to hopefully get me back into my normal overdraft by october time. The thing is I had to use £500 of that money(2 months of recovery payment) that I agreed to pay them to pay off debts on a credit card (also with natwest). Obviously this is is a difficult situation for me as I am getting no regular income (lost my job) and I am finding it hard to manage my money. Currently until I get some more income it is my mother paying the £250 per month until I can get myself back on my feet.

Anyway, the above number keeps ringing me (9-10 times a day) I know it's natwest collections team (atleast thats what i've been told) and the first time they rang i did answer and they asked me to confirm alot of personal and account details over the phone which I will NOT do. I don't mind if it's in writing but they said they will just keep phoning until I sort it out. I have ignored there other calls for the time being until I figure out what are my options.

Obviously it's stressing me out big time and I WANT to get this sorted out ASAP. What should I do from here? I know I owe them money and I will give it back but only when I can afford it. Like i said my mother is paying off £250 a month but they are obviously chasing me up for that £500 I dipped into.

I know I did wrong but please if anyone can give me some constructive advice as to what I can do from here or inform me of what my options are then I would love to hear. I'm not expecting to get away with it or have it easy but I just want to take the stress off a little bit.

ryuken21

Will they be understanding and freeze the charges for the time being while my mother continues to make the monthly payments or will they be like 'Fk you, you owe us money and we want it all back now'.

If I had it, I honestly would just pay it off no problem but as I don't have a pound to my name I really don't see how I can make this easier. I'm sure if I asked my mother she could increase the payment amount to £300 per month, would they except that as a counter offer do you think? I have some money coming in to me personally for an injury in the form of a cheque, should get the money towards the end of July it is expected but there is no way they will hold off until then or even take my word for it will they?

Surely they must have alternate ways of helping you along with it other than pressurising you for money you have not got instantly.

Lokolo

Your mum is paying for your debts that you are hiding from?

You got a nice mum.

You want it sorted ASAP but you won't pick up the phone?

Why don't you go into branch and speak to someone?

Mark_In_Hampshire

You're quite right not to answer the security questions. Giving up personal details to anyone who calls is not a good idea, unless you have caller display and can authenticate who it is using that. Even so it's not 100% secure.

I'd suggest you write to them and explain. Even if the only response you're able to give is "I can make token payments for now", at least you've been honest and forthright and made contact. You have done what you can. If you do not take that step and either you've defaulted on a previously agreed plan or have no plan, then it's not unreasonable that they keep trying to contact you to establish one. Dealing by letter is the best option and you get to keep a copy.

As for the calls - this is easier to sort if they're calling you on a mobile. My old Sony Ericsson T610 used to allow you to put people into groups, and then specify which groups can and cannot call you. So you'd enable "Friends" and block everyone else, which had the effect of disallowing anyone except the people in your friends list to connect, everyone else just got cut off as if the number was dead (including withheld numbers). I had the phone like that permanently anyway - no caller ID, you don't get to speak to me - email me instead

An alternative which works for both landlines and mobiles is to have the number changed, though that's cheapest if you're talking about a PAYG mobile - new SIMs are frequently free these days. Otherwise, sometimes you can get a number change free if you state the reason as nuisance calls.

Or, simply don't answer it. I realise the fact that the display is flashing "Natwest collections" is stressful, but it's not the end of the world - if you've discussed a plan with them and are keeping to it, then just smile to yourself and if a mobile, just press the down volume key or whatever it is that stops the ring tone and carry on with what you were doing before.

If it is a landline you can get caller ID added for a small or no extra cost, but you'd need a caller ID handset for that to be of any use.

Creditors are not allowed to harrass you: if you have no plan to repay then they are entitled to keep trying to get one from you. If you have outlined the situation to them and been as forthcoming as you can, however, they are not entitled to continue calling excessively to try for some improvement in that. So be upfront now, face the situation, and then in that respect you can clear your conscience about ignorning their calls.

ryuken21

Lokolo wrote: »

Your mum is paying for your debts that you are hiding from?

You got a nice mum.

You want it sorted ASAP but you won't pick up the phone?

Why don't you go into branch and speak to someone?

Yes I won't pick up the phone because I know they are asking for personal details over the phone and regardless if they are a bank or not I will not give out such info just to be sure. I don't think it's a scam company as the calls have only just started since I got myself in this situation.

Yes my mum is lovely and she will get her money back in no time from me

I will go into the branch and discuss this.

ryuken21

Thanks for your helpful reply mark. Next time they ring I will answer but also make it clear i will NOT divulge such info over the telephone but if they wish to write to me I will be happy to sort it ASAP. I understand exactly why they are calling and I don't blame them, I have spent their money! I'm not ignoring them because I want to hide and hope it just goes away as I know that will not happen. I'm simply not picking up the phone incase it is a scam, you never know.

My mum does not know about the juggling finances and how much debt i'm in, if she did know it would hurt her a bit as she has been nice enough to make these payments for her. However it's not like i'm spending her money on luxuries for me I am simply sorting out one problem but it appears to be opening up others. So what I need is to somehow get the charges frozen for a short period of time and pay off what I can, even if it is as little as 20-30 pounds a months because in all honesty, for the time being that is ALL I have to offer.

Mark_In_Hampshire

One further comment - if you have other debts which are in arrears, or likely to go into arrears - you need to work on them all together and at all costs, resist the temptation to capitulate to one payee who happens to shout the loudest giving them what they want, when 1. you can't actually afford it (this is why companies are keen to pressurise you into an agreement on the phone) and 2. it means you then can't pay someone else. There's some good stuff in the debt forums.

stclair

If you have doubts whos calling you could always call natwest on any of there call centre numbers and ask to be put through to collections to discuss your account.

ryuken21

I will answer their next call, however I don't think they will be too nice with my situation. I will just have to offer them a small amount each month until I get back on my feet, can they decline offers?

samjef11_2

ryuken21 wrote: »

I will answer their next call, however I don't think they will be too nice with my situation. I will just have to offer them a small amount each month until I get back on my feet, can they decline offers?

Yes they can but if you go to a debt advisor they can arrange for your creditors to accept anything for as liitle as £1 i think etc

stclair

ryuken21 wrote: »

I will answer their next call, however I don't think they will be too nice with my situation. I will just have to offer them a small amount each month until I get back on my feet, can they decline offers?

Remember the collections advisor is on a target to how much they can get back in so there not likely to ask you how your day is.

Just offer them a reasonable amout you can afford to pay ie £4.00 a month is the min that will be accepted.