Letter before action from Fredrickson International

DevDoo

Thanks again

So I'll be going with the spelling of the name they have used - do I mention the name is incorrect in the email or give them no indication that what they have is incorrect?

To clarify, the account did exist with orange. Opened in 2006 and terminated two years ago from what I'm told. Yet orange say they have no record of any debt that existed on the account. That said, I hope to have written confirmation of this once I write to the Orange collections and legal team as suggestion by their customer support.

fermi

Definitely don't give them any more info than they already have. They already have more than enough rope to hang themselves with,

killieminogue

I received a letter from Fredrickson International today.

"We have made enquires for confirmation of your current place of residence. Information has been received confirming that your address details have changed to this address.
Due to data protection legislation, details of the account are not included in this letter.
Please call us immediatley on 0845 8396067 quoting the above reference number for more information."

How should I respond to this letter?
Thank you.

fatbelly

killieminogue wrote: »

I received a letter from Fredrickson International today.

"We have made enquires for confirmation of your current place of residence. Information has been received confirming that your address details have changed to this address.
Due to data protection legislation, details of the account are not included in this letter.
Please call us immediatley on 0845 8396067 quoting the above reference number for more information."

How should I respond to this letter?
Thank you.

They're not very confident that this is actually your debt. So ignore them unless/until they come up with a specific allegation.

DevDoo

Hello all,

Days after sending the prove it letter back in Febuary, I received an update from Fredrickson saying they have put my account on hold. With the hoped for response so soon and more negative comments on the company online, I never got around to contracting Orange in writing regarding the account.

A few months on and now they are back, with what they claim to be proof from Orange and are again demanding the payment. The statement of account from Orange shows 4 transactions dated from 2006/2007, ending with the currently owed balance of just under £70. The account statement looks legit enough but is otherwise lacking information and knowing that my mother never signed or agreed to any of this, still leaves me uncomfortable with the idea of paying.

I can afford the payment and I've considered paying just to put the issue behind me but I don't believe in the ethics here and also fear it would perhaps encourage more attempts on other non-existant debts.

The most recent letter I've received is one heavily focussed towards paying the 'owed debt', stating in bold that 'THIS DEBT WILL NOT GO AWAY' and offering a paper payment card for my convenience and suggesting a range of payment options.

So now this presents the following questions:

1) Does the 'Statement Of Account' on Orange branded paper suffice as proof here? Should I request to see the original signed contract or other such document? (I don't believe there ever was one)

2) What are the company to do next, should the amount not be paid? Many similar stories online have followed the same journey that I have, with letters in the same sequence. Has anyone experienced what happens after Fredrickson have sent the barcoded paper 'payment card' letter?

3) Would it be advised for me to simply settle this debt and move on? Or should I continue to stand up for my morals and not encourage the company to continue the same tricks on myself and others?

Thank you all so much for the advice so far.

DevDoo

Giving this a little bump considering it flew off the first 5 pages,
hope someone is able to help.

GeorgeUK

Unless they have something with your signature on it, i would tell them that you still require proof that the debt is yours. There should have been an airtime agreement signed when you made the agreement. A piece of paper with some data that they could have gotten from their database is not proof that this is your debt. Have you checked your credit file to check that this account is not on there?

FireWyrm

Nope, they are still trying to frighten you into paying - a payment card and a range of options....please! I'd go back to square one and send the letter that Orange advised. Since Orange have no record of it, then you're in a better position since its up to them to provide proper proof of the debt. George is right, some statement that they could have mocked up in Excel isnt proof. You require a true signed copy of the credit agreement showing your mother's correct name and address (preferably date of birth) along with a signature. Since they cant even spell your mother's name correctly, I'm betting this is a fishing exercise and your mother has a similar name to some other person who does owe the debt.

Also, if the statement is from 2006, they are running out of time to collect which is why they've crawled out of the woodwork now. Keep them busy for another few months and it will be statute barred in 2012ish.

DevDoo

Thank you for the responses, greatly appreciate the support. It's reassuring to know there's genuinely helpfull people out there to balance the low lifes that seem to run these debt collection agencies. I'm now writing to Orange regarding the account, asking for all information they have, which I will pass on to Fredrickson once obtained.

In the meantime, I shall respond to Fredrickson stating that the 'Statement of Account' sent to me is not valid proof and that I require a copy of a signed agreement, of which I know does not exist. Are you able to link me to more information on this? (further information on an airtime agreement being necessary proof).

Thanks again!

nottoolate

you need proof that they entered into an agreement with orange

something that would stand up in court

a printed statement proves nothing. i could print you one out on headed paper now saying that you owed me lots of money. it wouldnt be legal proof of any kind though.

ask for a copy of the agreement that they intend to submit to the court to prove liability for the account. not that they will go to court, but they will get the message that you are serious.

phones are not covered by credit agreements. just service agreements. so make sure you ask for that. if you ask for a credit agreement they will just fob you off saying it isn;t covered by one.