Am I obliged to provide credit card statement to debit recovery company?

hc76

Hi,

I bought 4 computers from Dell in March 2009 and paid on credit card. They charged the wrong amount to the card (only about half the correct amount) but I didn't hear anything from them until March 2010.

It was clear that they didn't really understand all the facts at this point as they were aware they had undercharged but didn't know how much. I told them that I had authorised them to take payment on my card when the order was placed and that if there was an issue they needed to take it up with my card company.

I heard nothing else until about 3 weeks ago, when I had the same conversation as above.

They have now passed the issue to a debt recovery company. I have explained to them that the order was placed and payment authorised and that I cannot balance the outstanding figure they are claiming I owe. They are now asking to see a copy of my credit card statement to see how much Dell charged.

My view is that this now 16 months ago and that they should know how much was charged and if they cannot prove anything they should drop it.

Are they entitled to ask for this information? Is there a time limit on how long they can chase debt? Should I just admit that I was undercharged?

Am I going to get a bad debt rating if I don't play ball with them? I don't want this as I am self employeed.

Sorry for such a long first post!

stephane_2

No you don't have to provide credit card statements to the debt recovery company, but if I were you I would be honest with Dell and pay the remaining which after all you agree to pay in the first place. Dell has 6 years to claim the money from your credit card

PNPSUKNET

they could always take it to court, and you get a ccj. I notice you are self employed, what would you do if you were dell.

lisyloo

what would you do if you were dell

Hmm.....well if dell take his to court without being able to prove how much he owes then they are going to look pretty silly in front of a judge.

If the OP doesn't owe the amount the debt recovery firm are claiming then why should he pay it?
It's a false claim.

Of course depends how much agro he/she wants.
These people can call you 20 times a day.

So one option is to pay what is owed.

The other option is to dispute the false claim but it might involve lots of hassle and going to court.

PNPSUKNET

lisyloo wrote: »

Hmm.....well if dell take his to court without being able to prove how much he owes then they are going to look pretty silly in front of a judge.

If the OP doesn't owe the amount the debt recovery firm are claiming then why should he pay it?
It's a false claim.

Of course depends how much agro he/she wants.
These people can call you 20 times a day.

So one option is to pay what is owed.

The other option is to dispute the false claim but it might involve lots of hassle and going to court.

Dell are not the ones disputting the amount, the op is the one trying it on, dell know he has under paid so dont think the court would look kind on him.

the_insider

If the balance is with a debt recovery company your credit rating will already be shot. Especially if they have set up a separate account for each computer. They may not be able to confirm how much was underpaid right now but I can guarantee that they will have all the figures before they start court proceedings. And as the OP has admitted that he underpaid then it's unlikely that the ruling will be anything other than a CCJ.

Degenerate

the_insider wrote: »

If the balance is with a debt recovery company your credit rating will already be shot. Especially if they have set up a separate account for each computer.

The OP didn't apply for credit with Dell, they just purchased items from Dell with a credit card. There is no credit agreement or account to show the debt, so there should be no affect on credit rating yet.

OTOH, if it gets to the point of a CCJ, then that certainly will murder your credit score. It all depends on whether they can prove the debt in court. If their records are consistent, why did they not take the correct amount in the first place?

Ultimately, I see the OP losing this one, because the financial records exist to show the amount that was paid. It would probably have been better to argue that the amount paid was correct, and that Dell's accounting for their special offers is at fault. They would have difficulty proving that the amount paid was not the price advertised at the time the purchase was made.

lisyloo

Dell are not the ones disputting the amount, the op is the one trying it on, dell know he has under paid so dont think the court would look kind on him.

My understanbding from the first post, is that Dell don't know what they've charged and the debt recovery form are asking for the wrong amount.

Did I mis-understand it?

stclair

If it was passed on to a debt recovery agent is it not upto them to prove you owe the money and not the other way round.

hc76

Degenerate wrote: »

It would probably have been better to argue that the amount paid was correct, and that Dell's accounting for their special offers is at fault. They would have difficulty proving that the amount paid was not the price advertised at the time the purchase was made.

Thanks for all the replies.

I haven't admitted to anything yet - I have just challenged them to prove that I owe them money. The response to this from both Dell and the debt recovery company is to ask for my credit card statement. This suggests to me that their records are in a mess.

If they had come back to me after one or two months I would have been a bit more simpathetic to them. I feel that coming back to me more than 12 months after the event and asking me to prove what I paid is taking the mick a bit.

I'm sure they are still legally entitled to chase the debt although I'm not sure I have to show them my credit card statement. I could have lost it by now anyway, it was 16 months ago...

On the other hand if I refuse to play ball what will their next step be?

hc76

lisyloo wrote: »

My understanbding from the first post, is that Dell don't know what they've charged and the debt recovery form are asking for the wrong amount.

Did I mis-understand it?

Just to be clear, the debt recovery people are asking for the wrong amount, although they are not far off.