Help needed regarding debt collection

jambo1026

Good Evening all,
Sorry if this is in the wrong section

Ok, how do I start, basically my partner got a cold call in 2006 from 3Gmobile, and within a few days 2 new phones arrived by courier, which at the time she was unusre what she was signing for as the were boxed up, anyhow we linked this to the cold call,and she must of stupidly gave our address.

Once I realised I told her to contact them and get a courier to collect them she tried this to no avail and I also tried but still no collection, anyhow they were forgotten about till a few months later, when she used one for about 2 days then it was dumped in cupboard.

She recieved a bill and had paid half and then stopped ( this I did not know about), anyhow they were forgotten about again until last Decemeber when Lowells collection agency contacted her both by text (not sure how they got her number) and letters.

I told her to phone them and demand a copy of the signed agreement between her and 3G, they were stroppy so I spoke to them which they were reluctant anyhow they agreed.

We kept receiving a letter from them every month saying they were still waiting for the paperwork from 3G, finally today after 6 month we got a letter and a copy of a bill for £38.26, clearly not what I asked for as I know there is not a signed agreement.

They stated this is the outstanding balance and also a £520 charge for early cancellation of the contract and are again demanding payment.

Am I correct in assuming if there is no written or signed copies of a contractual agreement they don't have a leg to stand on, or has my partner messed up big style by hard selling bully boy tactics?

I was thinking my next point of call is a recorded letter to the agency but unsure wether the consumer credit act covers this type of agreement as its not a fixed sum.

Thank you so much in advance if anyone can help

Tixy

CCA does not cover this type of agreement, its a service agreement.

I would guess the fact that she has used the phone and paid something towards a bill might mean she is in a difficult position to argue the debt is not hers.

That said lowell have to prove the debt exists and a bill from 3G is not sufficent proof.

I would write to them using the prove it letter template. You might want to add in that you do not consider a bill proof that the debt exists, otherwise they will probably send a copy of the bill again. http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.html?p=11570893&postcount=2

jambo1026

Thanks Tixy, I had already wrote out a letter but now you have pointed out the CCA does not cover this it is worthless.

I just cannot understand how a company can send out items which 90% of people will sign for, and then you are the owner or contracted to an agreement without no written or signed contract.

buffy87

heya i work for tmobile and verbal agreement is fine, u usually get distant selling regulations which i believe is necessary by law under the same name, if these wernt provided there may be a case, the best thing to do is contact three mobile and request all the information they hold which costs £10 and details of the calls should be on there
i agree the use of the phone will make it difficult but i think this is a good option to look at
hope this helps

ViolaLass

I don't understand how there can be a cancellation charge when it appears you did not cancel the contract, just stopped using the phone.

PNPSUKNET

if you breach your contract a cancellation charge is added, all networks do this. In all boxes they have a 14 day cool off letter within, what attempt was made to return the phone after all keeping them just says you agree to it on its own. Also using the phone adds more weight, as they have issued bills and she has made payment before really any court would award lowell.

DizzleUK

Ok, I can understand your partner being duped into being sent 2 new phones along with a contract for their use thereof. (I will assume 1 contract and 2 phones for the purposes of this post.)

I can understand the attempts to get the phones collected and the company being an !!!!- happens all the time, sadly.

However, the problem lies squarely with (one of) the phone(s) being used.

Phones are not free, phone calls are not free. Aside from PAYG phones where you pay in advance, when you make a phone call from a phone in your name, you use a service which costs x amount and you agree to pay for it.

Your partner entered into the contract when she made that first phone call. Paying some of the bill when it arrived is even further acknowledgement that a contract exists.

Throwing the phone in a box in a cupboard and trying to forget about it hoping it would go away is poor judgement really.

Now the proverbial has hit the fan, it's time to pay up, regardless of whether you or she made full use of the term of the contract. She would have received all the paperwork which detailed monthly cost, early termination, what happens on failure to pay etc etc.

I don't think you have all that much chance of getting out of this, but as it is with a debt collection agency, try offering them 50% as a full and final settlement (if you have that to spare right now). If they won't budge on the total amount due, make an arrangement to pay that you can afford.

I'm sorry this may not be what you want to hear, but as already pointed out, this isn't a loan or credit card so isn't completely bound by the same rules. It is a service agreement, which very rarely results in a signed contract. My own mobile phone contract was all done online and I didn't sign anything. You enter into the agreement when you make the first phone call.

Without trying to sound judgemental or preachy, learn from this mistake, pay up and move on.

All the best.

vaporate

I support the OP 100% with this. The Op wife was obviously duped into using it and a verbal agreement doesnt really cut it, not in a court.

£520 for a 'cancelling' something they didnt want and got chucked an item lol

Who do they think they are, might as well make it a 1000 cos i wouldnt pay a penny either.

OP, dont pay a penny this is simply illegal in my book.

Fergie76

vaporate wrote: »

I support the OP 100% with this. The Op wife was obviously duped into using it and a verbal agreement doesnt really cut it, not in a court.

£520 for a 'cancelling' something they didnt want and got chucked an item lol

Who do they think they are, might as well make it a 1000 cos i wouldnt pay a penny either.

OP, dont pay a penny this is simply illegal in my book.

And what is your legal background to support that judgement?

I don't think 'Vaporate told me it was illegal on MSE', would stand up in court. I may be wrong of course! :cool:

HappyMJ

Fergie76 wrote: »

And what is your legal background to support that judgement?

I don't think 'Vaporate told me it was illegal on MSE', would stand up in court. I may be wrong of course! :cool:

As Vaporate said "in my book"...and I agree in my book it's immoral to ring someone up saying that they can beat the current price on your mobile contract without mentioning all the fine print that goes with a contract signed in store.

I've had them before. I was paying £20 per month. The salesman said they can do a contract for 99pence per month...yeah right it was actually £30 per month with a cashback schedule to be tightly adhered to. Cancelled that on the same day it arrived. No thanks.

OP it can't stand up in court just ignore it. If you want to spend more time on this you can request them to produce the original recorded telephone conversation where all the relevent T's and C's are mentioned and agreed to.

Fergie76

HappyMJ wrote: »

As Vaporate said "in my book"...and I agree in my book it's immoral

There is a big difference between immoral and illegal.