Debt management company calls

lameplanet

Hi, not sure whether this is the right forum, but...

My ex-wife recently received a call from a debt management company claiming that they had obtained from a credit reference agency a list of people with debt, and that the owner of the house had £15k of debt which they would, of course, like to help with.

When she protested that she had no debt, they claimed that she or someone else must have, because the address was on their list from the credit agency. She asked for details of whose name the person's debt was in, but they refused to tell her claiming data protection.

As the house she lives in used to be ours jointly she was asking whether I had some hidden debt somehow "registered" against the house. Which of course I don't - not having lived there for four years.

Is this claim of them having a list from the credit reference agency possible - and in which case how do I investigate this further? - or is it just a scam from a dodgy debt company?

Thanks!

Tixy

No, not possible.

They are just trying it on, random calls I'd bet. £15k is a reasonable amount to guess at, hoping people will say 'no I'v e only got £8k', or 'its more like £20k' etc etc

Numpty_Monkey

If you put the phone number into google you should find out who it is
if no number or international number it will be one of them telemarketing mob

Hannah_10

It's a fishing call, cast enough worms something will bite. Ignore it, if they really had anything then they'd be sending letters.

Some Debt Collection Agencies (DCA's) buy statute barred (SB) debts. What this means is that under the laws we have then if a debt has gone for 6 years without acknowledgement or payment then the owner of the debt can not take any action to recover it. No CCJ can be issued, it can not appear on your credit file, and if you tell them to stop contacting you in the right language then they have to do that too. Effectively a 6 year old debt doesn't really exist.

But consumers are not well informed creatures and as people suffer from human weaknesses like pride, worry and so on then if you phone 200 numbers then a percentage will pay up at least in part. Some because they had no idea they didn't have to, or because they were frightened or credit-rating damage or court, or because the DCA said (insert from selection of empty threats here) or so on. Buying up SB debts is something some DCAs specialise in because it is cheap and potentially lucrative. With it not being legal for them to bother the debtor then you can imagine what the general level of thier buisness ethics is like!

I think you may well have got a call from one of these bottom feeders and they're fishing, plain and simple. Ignore calls (there is no law against swearing/hanging up you know... even though I have heard of DCAs who said there was!) unless they get to be a problem, in which case come back to us. If you get a letter then the onus is on them to prove the debt, not on you to prove you don't have it. We can help with that too, there are some excellent template letters here.

bottleofred

Hi Lameplanet,

They are parasites who will get some success due to peoples desperation. If they call again tell them to get lost.

lameplanet

Thank you everyone who replied. It's definitely set a few minds at rest.

Debt management people are such low life.

DarkConvict

They are indeed, they ring you to profit off you.

Anyone who knows a thing about managing debts know they cost you money, and they profit by keeping you in debt.

The credit references agencies and probably the debt management firm would be in a serve breach to be selling on that information, as it is an offence to get someone elses credit file without a legitimate reason.