Debt Collection Agencies , Why o Why ??

cragdoo

Why is that Debt collection agencies telephones numbers are all 0870 or 0845 ? And why do they insist on sending out threatening letter on standard business post ? And why do soem of them charge £2 for taking debit card payments ? :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:

Ok here's the secnario . I fall behnd on payments for a credit card , the debt collection agency sends out letter dated November 4th , which I recieve today November 9th . THe letter tells me I have 7 days from the date of the letter to get in touch to dicuss repayment or the company will start court procedings. Exscuse me but 7 days from the 4th is the 11th , so no I don't really have 7 days I have 2 days !!! So I call the company on my mobile , as work wont allow us to use phone for personal business. THe number I have to ring is an 0871 . Local rate right ? Why aren't these numbers free call ? I understand the comapny has to make a profit , but asking us to pay for calllign them to pay off debts is a bit unnecessary. So any I speak to the nice lady on the phone and arrange a payment via my debit card , "oh there's a £2 charge for debit cards !" . So again I have to pay for making payments !

really annoys the !!!!!! out of me !

Astaroth

Lo-call telephone numbers (like 0845) do not generate revenue for companies (other than the telephone providers) unless you are a company much much bigger than any debt collectors. Lo-call numbers used to be preferable as it ment that anyone in the UK would pay the same price for the call rather than a geographical number which ment that people in the same area would pay one rate, people in neighbouring areas another and anyone outside of the area a third.

Obviously these days there are lots of offers that people can get for flat rate or free calls to geographic numbers but for a company to change its telephone numbers is a rather major step... the second "issue" is that non-geographical numbers are still considered more "professional" for a large company to have than an 01905 number (or such) and in a market sector where there are no clear major players they will use any ploy they can to give themselves credibility to attract clients.

Letters? Royal mail may be as much to blame for it as the class that it is sent out of cause... whilst UK Mail and other carriers are involved it is still our good friends RM that actually do the final sorting and posting through your letter box. Of cause the other consideration may be (dont know enough about debt collection law) that if they issue proceedings they then get more money than if people just pay up so there really isnt much incentive for them to give the debtor more time to pay.

As for charges for debit cards... I would imagine that they get a massive amount of charge backs and bounces against card payments... people paying to get them off their back and then phoning the bank to cancel the transaction or ensuring funds arent there for the payment to complete on. Both of these carry a charge for the collection agency - companies that have high charges get their T&Cs reviewed for accepting card payments and it could be a) the standard 30p charge has been inflated because of their high chargeback rates b) they have decided to put blanket charges on everyone paying by card to try and cover the fees rather than going uniquely after the offending individuals.

I can understand why it is annoying but things dont get passed to debt collectors after missing a single payment by a couple of days so can always avoid the annoyance by keeping up to date with your commitments

cragdoo

to follow up , yesterday (16th Nov) I received a letter from the Debt Collection agencies lawers, dated 8th Nov , informing me that legal proceedings have started and to contact , guess who ??? yip thats right the debt collection agency to make payment. So they decided to start legal proceedings the day before I received their 1st letter !!! And you're telling me that Royal mail took 8 days to deliver a business class letter , b*llcks !!!:mad:

Zebedee69

0845 Numbers actually cost companies money
0870 dont cost companies money

Simple, so dont feel your paying them to call.

Why do they send threatening letters???

A: They want you to pay lol! Dont feel bad though its what they do. Once you make sure you get on top of things youll be okay.

As for the charges I agree that Most people bounce card payments and stuff off them. Its probbly nota great way to make money lol!

Oh well, thats my two sense.

JohalaReewi

Zebedee69 wrote:

0845 Numbers actually cost companies money
0870 dont cost companies money...

I thought the OP said they had to ring an 0871 number?

Also, calls to 0845, 0870, 0871 etc. from a mobile can be more expensive than when using a landline and the company being called will either get a share of the revenue generated, and/or will get the benefit of advanced call handling and management for free.

JohalaReewi

cragdoo wrote:

... THe number I have to ring is an 0871 . Local rate right ? ...

Nope.
0871 usually 10p a minute at all times from BT line (but can be less).
Rates from mobiles will vary (probably more). Generates about 7p a minute for somebody.

richt71

Standard mode of operendi this for debt agencies. They buy the debt then they'll pressure you so they make money on the debt. Most agencies will wait at least 2 months before starting court action and you'll usually get more letters.

Glad

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Voyager2002

cragdoo wrote:

to follow up , yesterday (16th Nov) I received a letter from the Debt Collection agencies lawers, dated 8th Nov , informing me that legal proceedings have started and to contact , guess who ??? yip thats right the debt collection agency to make payment. So they decided to start legal proceedings the day before I received their 1st letter !!! And you're telling me that Royal mail took 8 days to deliver a business class letter , b*llcks !!!:mad:

They are probably bluffing, but if you do get a court summons then make sure that the court knows that you responded to the initial letter as soon as you received it, and so the company did not give you time to respond before commencing legal action. Courts do NOT like this kind of behaviour: in fact the case will probably be dismissed, with the company having to pay the court fee.