Moorcroft at the door!

visidigi

skint81 wrote: »

one months bill its from 2006. i have had to move four times since. the disconnection whacked it up so much

Are you saying you took out a £40 a month 24 month contract and after one month you stopped paying it? (its the only way from the complete lack of information you can get to the £1,000 termination fee (£960 to be precise...) unless that amount is additional fees for termination or additional debt collector fees (which will still be going on and on with each visit...)

fluffnutter

You need to remember who the contract was with. It's always advisable to deal with them rather than the debt collectors (who incidentally have no powers). It's difficult for you to find out what position you're in because you ditched all the letters. I assume you've not been taken to court?

tomwakefield

Do you know what your standard contract was, and how many months you had left on it, after you got disconnected. Who was it with? Most likely you've been charged for the remaining months at the contracted rate, but £1000+ seems an awful lot just for this.

fluffnutter

Basically I doubt you're in a position to pay this - certainly not as a lump sum. If you don't care about your credit rating being shagged forever you might consider letting them take you to court where you can arrange a payment plan that you can afford. What you need to do (for your peace of mind, particularly as you've suffered with mental health problems in the past) is stop ignoring this, get the debt collectors off your back (nasty bastards) and sort this out properly. Have you thought about getting some debt advice from CAB?

skint81

no i didnt move because of the debt. private rentals. first place unsuitable for baby, 1 sold, 1 landlords daughter moved in, one noisy neghbour.moving costs crippled me each time- agents fees etc. yes its screwed up my credit rating which i have to live with.
it was 2year contract with 3. paid 3 months. disconnection and fees bumped it up.

skint81

i was just frightened when the man turned up, they didnt say they would. i have had police out this week because ex turned up shouting and swearing. i live alone with 3 year old. hate unnannounced visitors.

visidigi

agree with others, face up and answer the debt - they'll keep finding you so you can't ignore the money - start by setting up the appropriate repayment plan like advised - you owe the money - did you keep the phone you got with the contract too?

fluffnutter

Get in touch with the company. Find out what exactly the debt comprises. The figures that the debt collectors quote will be of no use - they'll bear little resemblance to the original debt. You can legally ignore the debt collectors, but you must contact the phone company and try to sort this out. You could try asking if you can pay back your debt in instalments. You could let them take you to court. You can try arguing that this debt's unreasonable because of the original belief it was capped. TBH, there are many, many things that might be appropriate here. It's difficult to know what to advise.

Alternatively (but I'm not recommending this) you could wait a bit longer - this type of debt can no longer be chased after six years but I'm not sure when the six years begin - from when they last contact you or from when the debt accrued. But if you do this you'll have a shagged credit rating. Out of interest, do you currently have a phone contract?

WhiteHorse

Is there a court order? If not, then the use of debt collectors could be an offence under the Protection from Harrassment Act 1997.

fluffnutter

skint81, quite a few people have asked you questions so that we might better advise you. Have you been taken to court? Do you know who the contract was with? How long did you have the contract? Did you keep the phone? etc. You need to answer these questions or we're not going to be able to help you.