DMP - just signing up to one

lyndsey80

Hi, sorry another question to you lovely people!! I am continually getting phonecalls this morning on my mobile and I am not answering them. They have rung my work AGAIN and I put it down, despite telling them I will not talk to them at work.
I get some money on Friday from my part time job - do I make token payments, how do they know they're token payments??? I normally do internet transactions from my account to theirs. Don't know when my DMP will start. Will they get off my back once I make some kind of payment on Friday???

saltnvinegar

Hi Lyndsey

Have you sent off the letter suggested by Pott5y? If not then send it recorded delivery, this should stop the phone calls.

If the phone calls continue you can escalate things with the two template letters below.

What have CCCS advised you to do regards token payments?

Unfortunately I doubt they will stop calling you if you make a token payment but things should settle down once the DMP is in place.

The important thing is to get the letters sent off demanding contact in writing as you then have a legal recourse to pursue them in the court for harrassment should they continue calling you at work.

Try not to let this stress you out - that is the intention of the phone calls so you pay up (they won't care if you cannot afford it) to stop the harrassment.

Best of luck

SNV

Telephone harrassment follow up letter

Dear Sirs,

Account No: XXXXXXXX

I am writing in relation to the quantity and frequency of telephone calls that I have received from your company, which I deem to be personally harassing. I have verbally requested that these stop, but I am still receiving calls.

I withdraw my consent (under s.10 of the DPA) for you to process my personal data with respect to my personal or work telephone numbers registered with you or stored on your systems/records. The processing and use of these numbers is causing significant distress.

Advice from The Consumer Credit Counselling Service and the Information Commissioner indicates that your retention of contact details in the form of a correspondence address is sufficient to fulfil contractual obligations.

This request supersedes any contractual provision that you may claim exists, and any attempt to claim otherwise will not be accepted or tolerated.

Under the DPA you have 21 days to respond to this request, and 28 days to cease processing and/or remove the data from your systems. Future use of my telephone number will be recorded and will indicate a breach of my request under the DPA, this will result in a complaint being raised with the Information Commissioner.

You will be deemed to have been served notice of my request and I will deem it served by *Enter date 23 days from date of letter*. I am advising you that any calls received after this date will be recorded with the intention of them being used as evidence.

Yours faithfully
Sign digitally


Legal Threat Template - Personally I would not send this unless you really have the intention of following it up



OFFICIAL COMPLAINT UNDER THE CONSUMER CREDIT ACT 1974 / 2006

WARNING - IMPENDING CRIMINAL PROSECUTION

Dear Sirs,

Account No: XXXXXXXX

I have on numerous occasions, informed your company that I am unwilling to communicate by phone and also notified you that all phone numbers listed are to be removed from my personal details.

I have also asked that all correspondence should be in writing only for which, under OFT Guidance on Debt Collection, you are to obey any such reasonable request. I have sent you an official warning by way of a 'Harassment by Telephone' letter which is dated: xx/xx/xxx, a copy of this such letter is attached for your perusal which also confirms and proves that I have given you ample opportunity to cease this unwarranted and illegal harassment.

The frequency of calls received from your organisation have been recorded for independent adjudication and I hereby place you under notice that if I receive any further calls from your organisation on any telephone number you have listed against me, I will take immediate legal action against you. Similarly; if you continue harassing me via intimidating phone calls, I may without further notice ask the court for permission to bring a private criminal prosecution against the directors of your firm.

I hereby formally place you under notice, s.7 DPA(1998), thus you must immediately and without delay update your records to reflect my request to remove all telephone numbers listed notwithstanding the major fact that I do consider your actions to be a significant breach of the law.

I reserve the right to seek an injunction against your organisation should the phone calls continue at the same frequency and I similarly reserve the right to bring a formal complaint against you to OFCOM, the Police, The FOS, the FSA and the OFT along with any other relevant regulatory Bodies. Further, please note that this letter constitutes a formal complaint and, should I not receive a satisfactory response to this complaint within 7 working days from the date of this letter, I will seek adjudication from the regulatory organisations noted above.

Yours faithfully
Sign digitally

lyndsey80

Thanks. I need to see what the pack says at lunchtime as I only signed up yseterday. I have no money to send the letters unfortunately, at least until Friday but my part time wage really isn't much! Do you send it to their Customer Service address?

lyndsey80

Sorry another silly question. I am writing letters and saying I will pay £1 token payments on Friday. This makes sense for my credit cards, but how do I go about telling my loan and banks (overdrafts?) I am going to open a new account tomorrow (forgot my passport today). So do I write to the actual bank and tell them? A bit reluctant to do this until my new account is open and I have taken all my money out of my current accounts.

lyndsey80

I've also just noticed that on my MBNA statements it says Co-operative bank. Think I should steer well clear of the Co-op to open my account. Barclay's it is then!

DGJsaver

dont forget gas and electric are priority debts and wont come under your DMP , you need to make arrangemnts with NPOWER direct

lyndsey80

Yes, they have my details so they will just change the amount. I will contact them again with my new bank details once I have them.

goingforward_3

lyndsey80 wrote: »

I've also just noticed that on my MBNA statements it says Co-operative bank. Think I should steer well clear of the Co-op to open my account. Barclay's it is then!

I dont think (and after searching on here a couple of threads agree) that the MNBA and CO-OP are linked .. I think its more of an agreement so you can pay over the counter using the giro slip attached to the credit card bill (ie Co-op are the clearing bank for MBNA.)

I thought MBNA was American owned where as the Co-op is independant.

saltnvinegar

lyndsey80 wrote: »

Thanks. I need to see what the pack says at lunchtime as I only signed up yseterday. I have no money to send the letters unfortunately, at least until Friday but my part time wage really isn't much! Do you send it to their Customer Service address?

Hi Lyndsey

Apologies if I was being a little insensitive to your situation. I know what its like not having the money to do these things myself so should have been more considerate. Once that letter is posted though you can be more confident in answering those calls because if they continue then you can sue them for harrassment.

How did you get on opening that parachute account?

To answer your question re: the loans and overdrafts I would only tell them once your parachute account is set up. To be on the safe side I would also withdraw any cash you may have and keep it safe to deposit into your new account. If you leave it where it is (and not in your purse/wallet) they may help themselves to it!

SNV

lyndsey80

I didn't think you were being insensitive at all.
I spoke to CCCS and I can make £1 payments on internet transfers, so will do that tomorrow then withdraw my cash from part time job.
Next Tuesday I get paid from full time job and reluctant to take out all my cash as I have DD's coming out - rent and mortgage (shared ownership) plus utilities etc. So don't want to miss the payments. How do you get around that?
Went to Barclays and get a new account, put a cheque in that I had and going to put all cash I withdraw into there as soon as I withdraw it.
Feel better already, although they said DMP probably won't start until October. They should have got all my forms today. I bet I forgot to include something!