Harassment by Credit Solutions - Help!

caramel_syrup

Hi all,

A neighbour of mine, Molly has been harassed by Credit Solutions Ltd. She is currently with Three Mobile and has always been on top of her payment. All of sudden Three passed her details to Credit Solutions without any reason and now she is stuck. Every time she tried to explain to the brainless people Credit Solutions that she did not owe Three any money, they refused to listen and refused to investigate with Three directly.

I had suggested Molly to complain to these organisations:

- Office of Fair Trading
- Credit Services Association

Do you think she can also complaint to these orgs?

- Financial Ombudsman
- Information Commissioners - for having incorrect info on record?

Is there anything else that we missed here?

Ta muchly x:T

fermi

Trading standards perhaps?

Have they written formally disputing the debt?

Do they have written confirmation from 3 that nothing is owed?

caramel_syrup

fermi wrote: »

Trading standards perhaps?

Have they written formally disputing the debt?

Do they have written confirmation from 3 that nothing is owed?

Thanks Fermi - Will let her know about Trading Standards as well

From what Molly told me, they had written to her and threatened to visit her property to seize assets.

Three has been pain in the neck apparently, they keep on telling that it is currently being investigated - has been months now!

fermi

caramel_syrup wrote: »

From what Molly told me, they had written to her and threatened to visit her property to seize assets.

Without a court order, doing that would be illegal.

So if they literally say that, then they need to be reported to everyone that you can.

It's more likely though that they have said things like "we may take this to court" and "if a court order is obtained, then we may instruct bailiffs".

i.e. a lot of unlikely 'mays' and no 'we will'.

Well, the first thing would be to dispute the debt formally in writing.

Letter here: http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.php?p=11570893&postcount=2

Adjust to suit the dispute and add details of it if appropriate.

If they are harassing them by phone, then there is also this:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.php?p=11571485&postcount=4

If would also be useful for you to read the OFT guidelines here:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2992820

If CSL are acting on behalf of 3, then you can also complain to 3 about their conduct as they would be responsible for the conduct of the people they contract to collect their debts. At the very least, if the debt is disputed and being investigated then they should call off debt collectors.

caramel_syrup

fermi wrote: »

Without a court order, doing that would be illegal.

So if they literally say that, then they need to be reported to everyone that you can.

It's more likely though that they have said things like "we may take this to court" and "if a court order is obtained, then we may instruct bailiffs".

i.e. a lot of unlikely 'mays' and no 'we will'.

Well, the first thing would be to dispute the debt formally in writing.

Letter here: http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.php?p=11570893&postcount=2

Adjust to suit the dispute and add details of it if appropriate.

If they are harassing them by phone, then there is also this:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.php?p=11571485&postcount=4

If would also be useful for you to read the OFT guidelines here:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2992820

If CSL are acting on behalf of 3, then you can also complain to 3 about their conduct as they would be responsible for the conduct of the people they contract to collect their debts. At the very least, if the debt is disputed and being investigated then they should call off debt collectors.

Thanks Fermi! You're a star!!

One question remains though: Do you think Molly can complain to the Financial Ombudsman?

browneyedbazzi

Definitely try the local Trading Standards team, if a debt collector are acting in an aggressive and harassing way then it can be considered an aggressive commercial practice under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regs (2008)...TS may ask your friend to sign some forms allowing them to deal with the company on their behalf. Once that is done at the dca have been advised they shouldn't contact your friend again at all. Also, once it's brought to their attention that the way they are behaving may land them in court facing criminal charges they are often much more amenable to finding a solution and getting to the bottom of the situation.

Hope it works out x

caramel_syrup

browneyedbazzi wrote: »

Definitely try the local Trading Standards team, if a debt collector are acting in an aggressive and harassing way then it can be considered an aggressive commercial practice under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regs (2008)...TS may ask your friend to sign some forms allowing them to deal with the company on their behalf. Once that is done at the dca have been advised they shouldn't contact your friend again at all. Also, once it's brought to their attention that the way they are behaving may land them in court facing criminal charges they are often much more amenable to finding a solution and getting to the bottom of the situation.

Hope it works out x

That's great, ta muchly x

Culex

caramel_syrup wrote: »

From what Molly told me, they had written to her and threatened to visit her property to seize assets.

Oh, that is nice.

Is there any way you could get one of those threatening letters and put it up somewhere - with her details redacted, of course - so others may be enlightened by their business methods?

Three has been pain in the neck apparently, they keep on telling that it is currently being investigated - has been months now!

Molly should contact three (does that represent their mean IQ?) and tell them that, because of these shenanigans and the threats made by CSL, she will shortly end her contract with them.

hazelc56

My friend has had the same problem with her mobile phone company as well as other areas of her debt payments.She was inundated with offers and so called solutions to solving a few debts she actually had and some she didnt even have at all.Stupidly or should i say unwittingly she allowed some of them to help her sort out the debts she had she gave her bank details to them for direct debit purposes and now everything is up in the air and confusion reigns.Her mobile never stops ringing with more offers and so called debt collection agencies.
Regarding Molly's situation It sounds like this is some sort of opportunistic company looking to make some cash for themselves.
If Molly doesnt owe Three any money then she should just ignore thiese sharks or hang up each time they ring her.I'm sure they will soon get fed up.
My friend went to the Citizens Advice and they told her to do this and after a few times of ringing her they soon stopped.These telephone companies tend to sell lists of phone numbers to other companies to make money for themselves.I read somewhere that even BT does the same thing...ie. selling phones numbers inc.ex-directory numbers.
There is a site with a forum board talking about these people you mention.Its the...Consumer action Group.Type that in and inc..co.uk You may find something there to help.Or google Credit Solutions and see what they are up to in other places.
I personally would tell them where to go especially if i dont owe any money in the first place.Good luck to Molly.
PS. OFCOM might be able to help.

caramel_syrup

Culex wrote: »

Oh, that is nice.

Is there any way you could get one of those threatening letters and put it up somewhere - with her details redacted, of course - so others may be enlightened by their business methods?


Molly should contact three (does that represent their mean IQ?) and tell them that, because of these shenanigans and the threats made by CSL, she will shortly end her contract with them.

That's a great idea Culex - will tell her about that, thank-you... Knowing Molly for years now she is a very nice person and doesnt want confrontation. I even had "hard time" persuading her to put in complaints. If I were her I would have put all the names of the people that she had been dealing with for name and shame.

I forgot to mention that she had been in contact with Ofcom now and they asked her to put things in writing. Hope this will work out. Half of the brainless Three employees who did not want to listen to her explanation were actually from their India call centre. This is one of the reasons why customer services department should be kept in house in the UK!

caramel_syrup

hazelc56 wrote: »

My friend has had the same problem with her mobile phone company as well as other areas of her debt payments.She was inundated with offers and so called solutions to solving a few debts she actually had and some she didnt even have at all.Stupidly or should i say unwittingly she allowed some of them to help her sort out the debts she had she gave her bank details to them for direct debit purposes and now everything is up in the air and confusion reigns.Her mobile never stops ringing with more offers and so called debt collection agencies.
Regarding Molly's situation It sounds like this is some sort of opportunistic company looking to make some cash for themselves.
If Molly doesnt owe Three any money then she should just ignore thiese sharks or hang up each time they ring her.I'm sure they will soon get fed up.
My friend went to the Citizens Advice and they told her to do this and after a few times of ringing her they soon stopped.These telephone companies tend to sell lists of phone numbers to other companies to make money for themselves.I read somewhere that even BT does the same thing...ie. selling phones numbers inc.ex-directory numbers.
There is a site with a forum board talking about these people you mention.Its the...Consumer action Group.Type that in and inc..co.uk You may find something there to help.Or google Credit Solutions and see what they are up to in other places.
I personally would tell them where to go especially if i dont owe any money in the first place.Good luck to Molly.
PS. OFCOM might be able to help.

Thanks Hazelc56 - now this has given us a new idea - complain to BBC Watchdog he he :j