02 refuse to correct my file - how much to sue for?

Nuclear_Tom

O2 have seriously damaged my file by putting on 6 months of default that didn't ever exist. Despite 3 letters from me asking to see the original signed credit agreement, and copies of all correspondance sent to me regarding the arrears, and threatening with court action and the information commissioner, they keep replying with the same standard letter - "You were aware of the debt and therefore we will not be removing the defaults from your file".

So now its action time. :mad:

So I was going to send off letters to the information commissioner and also OFCOM to hopefully get them wriggling a little bit, but I thought I would also put in a small court claim firstly to force the removal of the default, but also a bit of compensation for libel, deformation of character, humiliation when refused debt...

What are your thoughts on this? What should I sue for? and HOW MUCH should I sue for??

All comments gratefully received! Thanks in advance. :beer:

everythingblogcast

Contact Ofcom and the CAB and ask them this means that you have a "real" paper trail meaning that O2 can be really done. Also I would contact BBC Watchdog and get them to llok into it as well - this means that O2 will get a bit of BAD media (and will teach them a lesson). I would say that O2 has to remove and then as for compension a nice round figure of £5,000 for the stress dont forget if you are a bit stress go to your GP so you get a Doctors note.

Nuclear_Tom

Thanks for that Kurt.

I dont really have a paper trail - but the lack of it should be in my favour, surely? There is no paper trail as the debt never existed and I was never sent any correspondance about it.

I wouldn't have the cheek to go to a GP and fraudulently state I was stressed. I was thinking more hundreds than thousands tbh!!!

I don't fancy doing anything illegal tbh, although I'm sure that if I did it could reap huge rewards!

file_wizzard

You mention that you have threatened to escalate this matter to the Information Commissioner, however have you actually done this?

In 9 out of 10 cases they will resolve the matter with out the need to involve the courts, additionally if you do proceed directly to the court route and the court see that you have not attempted to adequately mediate the matter with the relevant regulator ( the ICO or OFCOM in this case) then they will not entertain the idea of making a ruling on the matter, and will probably just make a costs order against you.

Additionally with regards to an amount to “sue” for, this would be exceptional difficult as you would need to accurately demonstrate to the court your true losses, this would be either direct financial loss which you would be ask to document, or if you tried to claim for emotional damages then this would be even harder to quantify.

Therefore in this case the court route is neither necessary, or wise at this stage, If you are confident that you have exhausted the internal complaints procedure with O2 then you should ask for a letter of final response and use this along with your previous correspondence to submit a formal compliant to both OFCOM in terms of 02’s alleged poor performance, and the ICO in terms of the incorrect data .

everythingblogcast

Nuclear_Tom wrote:

Thanks for that Kurt.

I dont really have a paper trail - but the lack of it should be in my favour, surely? There is no paper trail as the debt never existed and I was never sent any correspondance about it.

I wouldn't have the cheek to go to a GP and fraudulently state I was stressed. I was thinking more hundreds than thousands tbh!!!

I don't fancy doing anything illegal tbh, although I'm sure that if I did it could reap huge rewards!

Are you worryed about what o2 has done. If so it is the beinging of getting stress, so its not illegal.

what o2 has done is illegal.

Nuclear_Tom

EXCELLENT!!! Just the info I needed, thanks for that.

I'm not trying to pull a fast one and get a shed load of compo, I just want the default removed. I've already got letters drafted for OFCOM and ICO, and sent a final letter to O2 as well. I will wait for the latter to be returned, and then I'll ping off the other 2 letters. Only then will I put a court claim in.

However, if it got that far, I think I'd be entitled to compo, even if its just for the sheer volume of time I've spent trying to sort this out. Could inflated interest rates on finance I'm paying be quantified too, as I wasn't aware of the default yet lenders still reflected it in offers of finance to myself.

file_wizzard

Yes, if it did get the court stage and the court awarded in your favour you could quite feasibly claim for your postage and reasonable time spent on correspondence.

In terms of the enhanced rates paid on other loans / credit agreements this would also be recoverable, however again you would need to ensure that you could accurately document the amounts in question, howevere in a lot of cases this is exceptionally difficult and risky, as if the defendant chooses to argue the calculated sums then matters can become very protracted and potentially costly.

piggeh

Can you actually claim for your own time spent dealing with any such matters? Seems like a grey area to me.

sandralovescats

You must report the matter to the Information Commissioner.

If you don't do this then you cannot take any legal action against O2.

sandralovescats

Nuclear_Tom wrote:

EXCELLENT!!! Just the info I needed, thanks for that.

I'm not trying to pull a fast one and get a shed load of compo, I just want the default removed. I've already got letters drafted for OFCOM and ICO, and sent a final letter to O2 as well. I will wait for the latter to be returned, and then I'll ping off the other 2 letters. Only then will I put a court claim in.

However, if it got that far, I think I'd be entitled to compo, even if its just for the sheer volume of time I've spent trying to sort this out. Could inflated interest rates on finance I'm paying be quantified too, as I wasn't aware of the default yet lenders still reflected it in offers of finance to myself.

No you are not entitled to compensation for your time and effort - that goes with the territory.
It does come across that you are simply trying to make a fast buck out of this.
If legal action were to be taken it would be the IC that did this, not yourself as an individual, so no compensation would be involved for you.

RibenaBerry_2

Can I ask a couple of questions? It's not about suing as such, more about what's happened.

Do you have an account with O2? Why do they think defaults exist (e.g. did you cancel and them keep charging, or is it an account which you think someone has set up in your name fraudulenently)? I know that you say that you have written to them asking for documentation, but have you also sent them a letter setting out all the background and complaining? If you think it's a fraud thing, shout that loud and clear.

The reason I ask is that I think a lot of companies who get letters saying 'where is the credit agreement, send copies of the letters' are starting to think that it's someone who knows about the debt and is just looking for a way to wriggle out of it. I wondered whether you had also sent them a long (and dull) two page letter setting out all the background. I did this with one of the banks when they put incorrect defaults on my account. Took them a couple of months to 'investigate', but they did give me a hundred quid or so for my time and inconveience - which was a bit of a result because I hadn't applied for any other credit in the mean time, so the only problem was really the time dealing with it.

Sorry if you've done all this already. Just trying to think of ways of helping.

BTW, I agree with the comment about moving straight to court action. If you don't want to get hammered for costs, exhaust other options first.