advice please

never_too_old

advice needed please,

my dh was informed he owed money to a merchant last year,his work is hit and miss at the moment due to this blasted recession.he cant afford to pay it back in one go . we had a few visits from a couple of heavies who said they had vested interest in the company and had been sent to collect the money. we offered to pay them back at £100 month by standing order and if things improve it could be increased or if we had extra if they gave me there details i would pay extra into the account, form wasnt recieved, spoke to them again on numerous occasions and was told form would be sent. couple of weeks ago i sope to accounts and said again what we could afford at the moment and she said she would get back to me. sat dh received a letter saying no communication had been made on our behalf and no offer made and that if after 7 days they didnt here from him, doorstep collectors would come around and they would add 8% above the basic bank of england rate to the debt.
no credit agrrement was signed on this account so i sent them a letter from a template on here,
i want this paid off whether the account was set up right or wrongly, just want them to agree a plan .
i had a phone call message this morning saying dh had stole from them. i phoned them and he put the phone down on me.accounts then phoned me saying that my offer wasnt enough, i informed her of my letter and she said she hadnt seen it and would go and look at it. the two men that came around intimidated me , i dont want them coming around again.they would have had at least £600 by now if this had been done in the begining.

what can i do?

so if this is garbled im shaking like a leaf.

never_too_old

sorry im bumping this as im desperate for you clever peoples advice.

Verbatim

How much do you owe in total to them? have you put the £100 away each month?

This sounds dodgy to say the least. What sort of agreement was it?

never_too_old

Verbatim wrote: »

How much do you owe in total to them? have you put the £100 away each month?

This sounds dodgy to say the least. What sort of agreement was it?

thanks for replying.
he owes £4000 and no havent put that money by, have been ploughing all extra money into other debts to try and get everything paid off so we can be debt free. ( we dont have credit cards but have car loan ,van loan and have agrreed to pay £ 150 extra to mortgage company due to missing a few payments due to bad weather, drop in earnings due to recession) these are being paid.

ps bank withdrew our £2000 overdraft last summer so we had to pay that back in full so now dont have an overdraft

dancingfairy

o.k so he's admitting he does owe them money? why do they think he's stolen it - are they just being a complete pain and making things up to get the money back?
It might be worth trying to set aside the 100 pounds a month so if it goes to court he has the money set aside and can prove he genuinely wants to pay.
Have you spoken to any of the debt charities eg National Debtline or CCCS or your local CAB? ? have you spoken to business debtline that can advise on business debts?
It sounds very much like either the loan company/supplier is dogdgy or the method of trying to get the money back is but if they are not proper court bailiffs then I don't think they have any power - have a look on National Debtline's website or phone them.
It might be worth him going bankrupt if business is as bad as you say it is.
In them meantime I would send the company another letter reiterating that he is paying all he can do and that you request bank details so you can set up a standing order - get proof of postage and keep a copy of the letter as well.
df

bargainbetty

I would also contact your local Safer Neighbourhood Team and make a complaint against the company under Section 4 and 5 of the Public Order act - harassment and threatening behaviour, even if he owes the money, is illegal and should be handled as such.

Search for the template on here about attendance at your property, add in the section about organised repayments and send it recorded delivery so they cannot deny receipt. Inform them that any further intimidation will be met with police attendance, as they cannot force you to give them money you do not have.

If there is a formal agreement for the debt, show the police a copy of it. You are not saying what the debt is, so it is hard to receommend advice on the CCA route etc.

fatbelly

Sounds like this is one for Business Debtline

DVardysShadow

For goodness sake, stop dancing around trying to negotiate an agreement with these people and waiting for them to send their silly form. If you can pay £100/month, then pay them £100. The more you dance around trying to make an agreement before paying, the more it looks like you are trying to avoid payment. To a certain extent, this may be their tactic to make you look bad before they take it to court. £4000 is plenty enough to take to court

never_too_old

DVardysShadow wrote: »

For goodness sake, stop dancing around trying to negotiate an agreement with these people and waiting for them to send their silly form. If you can pay £100/month, then pay them £100. The more you dance around trying to make an agreement before paying, the more it looks like you are trying to avoid payment. To a certain extent, this may be their tactic to make you look bad before they take it to court. £4000 is plenty enough to take to court

will do, will send them £100 tomorrow:(