Letter- Is it fake or serious?!

Joe_Bloggs

@Jambosans
Your welcome OFT link offers guidance to debt collectors and all. But let us hope that there are more than just words of guidance but reform in the pipeline.

What is the point in selling on debt if innocent parties are harangued in to paying it through stress inducing techniques ? Surely this must harm the reputation of the debt vendor if this practise became an industry standard.
J_B.

pqrdef

http://blogs.mirror.co.uk/investigations/2010/11/debt-collectors-aktiv-kapital.html

Joe_Bloggs

Quoting ,selectively, from the reference supplied by pqrdef.

The wrong person being pursued for a debt is a common theme in complaints about the debt collection industry received by the OFT. This is often rooted in inaccurate or incomplete data being passed on by the owner of the debt when a debt is sold or its collection is sub-contracted.

I suggest that a general attack based upon surnames pays more than a specific focus on an individual debtor.

J_B.

Loughton_Monkey

A foreign friend of ours stayed with us years ago, for about 4 months, and didn't bother to finalise her O2 account.

The first string of letters were from O2, which we sent back "Not known at this address". Then a legal firm started sending letters, most of which we also sent back "Not Known".

They seemed to have stopped now (after about 3 years) but I note that the debt transferred to at least 2 more firms. I suspect they change hands like this all the time, but surely there are limits.

Any company like O2 would presumably get some debts paid with their letters, but I can't believe the dregs would be sold for anything more than about 20 pence in the £. I suppose solicitors' letters mus make a small profit on this, and then sell their dregs for 2 pence in the £. I dread to think what the third, and last, firm actually pays.

But I expect these are only letter writing operations. I don't think anyone will call, unless it is £1,000+