Mercers - Can they do this ?

cado1

I have been dealing with Mercers re my Barclaycard and have advised them on several occasions that I only wish to communicate in writing.

So last month I wrote to them advising of how much I coudl afford to pay (£100pm) and have made payment.

Today I recived a letter from them thanking me for my payment but advising that I MUST CALL THEM so that they can discuss my payment plan and until I do CALL them they will keep adding charges and may send a heavy round!

Am I within my rights to dispute any charges added due to this and does anyone have any experience of them ? how likely are they to send someone round ?

Thanks :mad::mad::j

fatbelly

They're not going to send anyone round. Try this:

Dear Sir/Madam

Account No: 4563210025897412

Thank you for your letter of DD-MM-YYYY concerning the above account. We are sorry that you feel unable to suspend interest and charges on the above account. The majority of our other creditors have agreed to the offer of payment and agreed to suspend any interest and charges still accruing. They have accepted that to continue to charge would not assist us in our present financial difficulties, and can only serve to increase our total debt.

As you are aware, we have already paid considerable sums in interest and charges to our account. If these continue, the monthly instalments we are paying will not even cover that interest. Also, the cooperation of our other creditors who have agreed to freeze interest already would be put at risk.

We would therefore be grateful if you would reconsider your decision not to freeze the interest. This would mean that the monthly payments we make would actually reduce the balance outstanding to your company.

We request contact in writing only and note that paragraph 144 of The Lending Code (January 2011) states 'Where a customer requests that the subscriber deals with them in writing or e-mail (providing that facility is available) rather than by telephone, they should do so as long as the customer remains co-operative and in regular dialogue.'

We look forward to hearing from you as soon as possible.

Yours faithfully

In due course you may have to complain about them so keeping everything in writing, keeping copies and sounding completely polite and reasonable is the way forward. Best of luck.

Jinx

All the debt collectors say YOU MUST CALL US........ or we may take you to court/send someone round/add charges/add a charge to your house.......take your pick!!

You are doing the right thing dealing with them in writing. If you are paying regularly then they wouldnt even take you to court - especially if you're paying 100 quid a month. And chances of even a doorstep visit are slim.

I've got a folder full of letters from Barclaycard, Mercers etc. They are just standard threat letters. I keep mine and file them and only send updates to my creditors when my circumstances change - their money has gone up and down over the years in line with work etc.