Nationwide Collectors

Mike_A_2

saltnvinegar wrote: »

I do agree that the OP could call their DMP company to ensure that payments are still being made. If they are then that just reinforces what I have said above.

This is my point. If the Creditor has accepted the terms of the DMP and has been happily accepting the payments for x amount of months / years and then suddenly sent out a letter, then it indicates that something has gone wrong.

Although the OP doesn't state whether the DMP proposals were originally accepted by the creditor or not. I would still recommend contacting the Creditor either directly or via Payplan to check what is wrong here.

Regards,
Mike

saltnvinegar

Mike_A wrote: »

This is my point. If the Creditor has accepted the terms of the DMP and has been happily accepting the payments for x amount of months / years and then suddenly sent out a letter, then it indicates that something has gone wrong.

Unfortunately it doesn't indicate that anything has gone wrong at all. The problem is that DMP's are agreed with your creditors purely on goodwill. When a creditor realises after a few years that they are getting a very poor return on their investment (i.e. your DMP is going to take a looong time to pay the money back) they ditch the agreement and these computer generated threat-o-grams can be the result.

Your suggestion for the for the OP to contact his DMP (Payplan) is fine but the OP had already done that and was still 'un-nerved'

Whether something has gone wrong or not with the DMP is irrelevant as a creditor can still carry out collection activities even if a DMP is in place.

Therefore to prevent a doorstep collector from turning up unannounced you have no choice but to demonstrate to the creditor you are aware of your consumer rights in this area and state that you do wish to make an appointment with such a person 'to discuss your situation'.

If the creditor were to now send a doorstep collector after receipt of that letter they would be leaving themselves open to being sued for harrassment especially if a DMP is in place.

And dealing with creditors rule #1 is that you never contact them by phone.

You only have to read the thousands of posts on this board by people left in tears/suicidal/agreed to pay more than they can afford etc after calling their creditors.

All correspondance should be kept in writing and sent recorded delivery.

SnV

Mike_A_2

saltnvinegar wrote: »

Unfortunately it doesn't indicate that anything has gone wrong at all.

Of course it does, otherwise they wouldn't be sending out the letter. Even if it indicates that the creditor is no longer accepting the DMP, then that is still indicative of a problem.

Whether something has gone wrong or not with the DMP is irrelevant as a creditor can still carry out collection activities even if a DMP is in place.

Again, it is relevant in this case as it could be something that is very simple to resolve, such as a payment has been missed, the DMP has come up for its annual review etc. Basically there are many reasons and it could be a simple case to put it right and get the DMP back on track.

And dealing with creditors rule #1 is that you never contact them by phone.

Maybe this works for you, but I find it much quicker and more efficient to speak by phone rather than messing about with letters that take days to reach them. Also by speaking to them, it gives you the chance to discuss things, get updates on my balances and just generally keep in touch with my finances.

Mike

saltnvinegar

Mike_A wrote: »

Of course it does, otherwise they wouldn't be sending out the letter. Even if it indicates that the creditor is no longer accepting the DMP, then that is still indicative of a problem.

Have a good read through this forum. There are many instances where creditors restart collection activities and start sending out letters for no reason at all to people on DMP's.

In fact one of my own creditors have recently just done the same, so I have personal experience that this does happen!

If the creditor is no longer accepting the DMP then this is another issue (see my point further below) and they would have stated this in the letter wouldn't they? Not simply threatened a doorstep visit!

Mike_A wrote: »

Again, it is relevant in this case as it could be something that is very simple to resolve, such as a payment has been missed, the DMP has come up for its annual review etc. Basically there are many reasons and it could be a simple case to put it right and get the DMP back on track.

Then the letter would state what reason is wouldn't it?! The letter the OP refers merely threatens a doorstep collection visit. It makes no mention of the reason for the visit.

OFT guidelines on debt collection clearly state that threatening doorstep visits should not be made when an account is deadlocked (definition of deadlock is where a debtor has offered or is making payments and the creditor does not agree with the payment plan).

Relevant section from OFT guidelines below:

2.12.f - visiting or threatening to visit debtors without prior agreement when the debt is deadlocked or disputed

This letter is nothing more than an intimidation tactic that is recognised by the OFT and is considered an unfair business practise!

Mike_A wrote: »

Maybe this works for you, but I find it much quicker and more efficient to speak by phone rather than messing about with letters that take days to reach them. Also by speaking to them, it gives you the chance to discuss things, get updates on my balances and just generally keep in touch with my finances.

If this works for you great. However this is in complete contradiction to widely accepted, and used, advice given to people on dealing with their creditors.

Creditors frequently will make statements and use pressure tactics on the phone that they would never consider placing in writing. Creditors are also well known for 'disputing' agreements that were made on the phone.

Recent examples on this forum include:

A lady dealing with Northern Rock who agreed a 'Full & Final' settlement figure on the phone only to be told a couple of days later that they hadn't agreed to this!

Another poster who paid a 'full and final' settlement figure over the phone with a DCA only for the DCA to then sell on the balance to another DCA who are now pursuing them for the remainder of the debt.

This on its own should be enough to convince you everything should be kept in writing - proof of what has been discussed/said.

SnV

saltnvinegar

Hi

LOL - ran out of time this morning to finish my post, I had to get to work!

:rotfl:

There is also the other point which if the matter was so urgent why hadn't the creditor called the OP?

Surely they would have done that wouldn't they if it was so urgent and phoning is the easiest and quickest option?!

So consider the scenario where a creditor cannot call someone because they no longer have a phone number (because it was changed for example). So what, as a creditor, can you do to obtain that telephone number?

You send out a threatening letter intended to provoke a reaction - that reaction is to call them!

So this is how the conversation goes:

You: Hello I am calling about the letter you sent

Creditor/DCA: Ok. But before I talk to you I need to go through some security questions

You: Ok.

Creditor/DCA: Can you tell me the first line of your address and your post code

You: I live at <blah blah blah>

Creditor/DCA: Can you confirm your telephone number

You: My telephone number is <blah blah blah>

Creditor/DCA now is thinking *we have your telephone number so we can now call you 4-5 times a day and harrass you into paying more than you can afford and call you at 8:59 in the evening, waking your children, and harrass you some more*

And if you lie about your phone number and haven't witheld it when you called them they will have it anyway as almost all of them use caller display!

So you have now unwittingly given out your phone number, allowing a creditor or DCA to hound you relentlessly until, you either change your phone number or are forced to send out more letters threatening court action under the Harrassment Act unless they stop.

The sort of letter the OP refers to are fishing exercises nothing more. The contents of these letters are almost identical between creditors, I know I see enough of them. There must be a creditor threat-o-gram school where they get them from.

They are best dealt handled with the contempt they deserve.

Best

SnV