HFO

cjgoodsell

Hi,

After a week of HFO ringing my phone claiming that I owe Barclaycard over £4500, which I never had today I received a letter from them! I Understand that this may just be idle threats and states in there I have wait for it 3 days to initiate payments! Goes on about getting a warrant etc to seize my goods!

I have looked on my credit file (equifax) and they have a previous address that I moved from in 2004 and have a total different first name for me as well and has a default date of July 2005!

When they phoned me they claimed that I gave barclaycard the number they have but I did not get this phone number until 2005 when i changed my phone and in December 2009 I transferred the number into my partners name when she took out 2 contract phones under her name as I was declined for a phone!

I have spoken to my insurance company today as I have legal cover with them and await a call back on Monday from them and they advised in the mean time to not do anything.

What more can we do against these people?

Culex

cjgoodsell wrote: »

After a week of HFO ringing my phone claiming that I owe Barclaycard over £4500 (which I never had) today, I received a letter from them! I Understand that this may just be idle threats and states in there I have wait for it 3 days to initiate payments! Goes on about getting a warrant etc to seize my goods!

Can you post a redacted version of the letter - the contents but without any personal details? It may be helpful and informative, if not also rather entertaining and/or amusing.

I have looked on my credit file (equifax) and they have a previous address that I moved from in 2004 and have a total different first name for me as well and has a default date of July 2005!

In other words, they are singularly lacking in clues.

When they phoned me they claimed that I gave barclaycard the number they have but I did not get this phone number until 2005 when i changed my phone and in December 2009 I transferred the number into my partners name when she took out 2 contract phones under her name as I was declined for a phone!

Now you know why you were declined for a phone. It should not be too hard to stablish that you may have suffered financially as a result of false data being recorded against you.

I have spoken to my insurance company today as I have legal cover with them and await a call back on Monday from them and they advised in the mean time to not do anything.

What more can we do against these people?

It would be nice to suppose that the OFT might be aroused from its slumbers for long enough to clean up the debt collecting racket and to revoke the licences of a few of the more egregious examples pour encourager les autres after the manner of the unfortunate Admiral Byng, but I doubt that anything will achieve that.

cjgoodsell

Hi,

Best I can do is to type the letter on here...

Here goes:

I have attempted to contact you several times recently, with the offer HFO has for you in connection with your account. The c/balance is £4456.32.

Your debt is now due for immediate repayment and we require to initiate payments within 3 days.

After 3 days the account will be escalated to legal desk for legal action against you for the total balance, with applicable court costs and solicitors fees.

Your dossier indicates that you can make contributions towards this debt. Once HFO obtains judgement against you, we will seek to enforce our judgement by the way of a Warrant of Execution. goes on about my address etc. Or HFO may also instruct its solicitors to secure an order to obtain information against you. then more threats about court taking stern action against me.

Then finishes nicely!

Culex

cjgoodsell wrote: »

I have attempted to contact you several times recently, with the offer HFO has for you in connection with your account. The c/balance is £4456.32.

Your debt is now due for immediate repayment and we require to initiate payments within 3 days.

Well, that's what they'd like you to do.

In the absence of any better advice from your legal wallahs who may call you on Monday, I'd suggest sending a letter by 1st class Recorded Delivery (if not Special Delivery) inviting HFO to prove that you owe the alleged amount on the card they have alleged you to have had, and also seeking to verify when "that account" was put into default by its provider.

After 3 days the account will be escalated to legal desk...

Translated: after a week or so, your file will be handed back to my supervisor, who will then apply a rubber stamp to the cover and pass it across the room to where the really nasty liars sit.

...for legal action against you for the total balance, with applicable court costs and solicitors fees.

That's a fib - the Civil Procedure Rules limit the costs that could be added to the alleged debt; even in a defended case, they'd not get more than £150.

Your dossier indicates that you can make contributions towards this debt.

Oh, really? I wonder what the Information Commissioner might have to say about that, as it would appear they have been collecting data (from whom or from whence?) about someone with whom they have no contractual relationship, from whom they are not yet collecting money and from whom they have not even tried to obtain consent.

You could get a copy of your "dossier" for £10.

Once HFO obtains judgement against you, we will seek to enforce our judgement by the way of a Warrant of Execution.

Another fib, this time by omission; a warrant of execution could not be issued at the same time as a CCJ, as the losing defendant would be given time to pay.

goes on about my address etc. Or HFO may also instruct its solicitors to secure an order to obtain information against you. then more threats about court taking stern action against me.

In other words, its a fairly standard threat-o-gram, no doubt complete with SOME WORDS EMPHASISED and some in red, written to stop one's mind working logically.

Then finishes nicely!

Such apparent schizophrenia is customary and commonplace in such letters; it would not be wise to presume that its author was a suitable candidate for the funny farm.

cjgoodsell

Thanks Culex

The have put in bold where they mention 3 or 3 days along with some of the "scary" words... I will wait until around 5pm tomorrow before i post that letter by special delivery when I take works post out to the post office. I'm going to pay for the SD myself so they cant trace back to my place of work thru the franking machine. Mind you if they ever did and carried out their evil threats it would be amusing!

When I checked out my credit file this account went into default in july 05 under a name that may be linked to me! So who ever's debt it is surely its really old and they are doing this like others have said on this forum!

fermi

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2607247

Mrs_Ryan

they sent the same letter to me. Panicked mightily and then decided to let my DMP company deal with it...

cjgoodsell

Mrs_Ryan wrote: »

they sent the same letter to me. Panicked mightily and then decided to let my DMP company deal with it...

Did they fight your case that this wasnt your debt?

cjgoodsell

Hi

Just an update I sent them this:

You have contacted me regarding the account with the above reference number, which you claim is owed by myself.

I would point out that I have no knowledge of any such debt being owed to Barclaycard.

I am are familiar with the Office of Fair Trading Debt collection Guidance which states that it unfair to send demands for payment to an individual when it is uncertain that they are the debtor in question.

I would also point out that the OFT say under the Guidance that it is unfair to pursue third parties for payment when they are not liable. In not ceasing collection activity whilst investigating a reasonably queried or disputed debt you are using deceptive/and or unfair methods.

Furthermore ignoring and/or disregarding claims that debts have been settled or are disputed and continuing to make unjustified demands for payment amounts to physical/psychological harassment.

I would ask that no further contact be made concerning the above account unless you can provide evidence as to my liability for the debt in question.

I await your written confirmation that this matter is now closed.

I look forward to your reply.

That was on the 18th April (the letter was copied from another thread).

Today i get copy statements from July 2005 with last payment in July of that year.

I have not asked for this, this shows me the account is/was live and they sent statements.

What more can i do?

fermi

cjgoodsell wrote: »

Today i get copy statements from July 2005 with last payment in July of that year.

I have not asked for this, this shows me the account is/was live and they sent statements.

What more can i do?

Yes, but is it/was it your account?

Do these statement prove or disprove that it was?

Are they real statements, or just something that HFO have cobbled together?

cjgoodsell

fermi wrote: »

Yes, but is it/was it your account?

Do these statement prove or disprove that it was?

Are they real statements, or just something that HFO have cobbled together?

In my eyes it has never been my account as I have never had a barclaycard.

When looking on my credit file its was on there as attributable data with a different first name and 2 initials and then 13th may was updated with an abbreviation of my full name. These statements as under just 2 initials and my surname.

They have conveniently sent me statements and the first one was showing last payment. I never requested this.

I tried calling Barclaycard when this first came to light and they had no record of me!

So I am thinking of re-sending them another letter along the lines of the prove it letter and adopting it where I can be more threatening that I will take it further!