HFO chasing o/s debt

Barny_B73

Hi

New to this so don't know if this is the right place to post this but any advice would be greatly appreciated

I opened a letter on 10/9/11 from HFO services dated 30/8/11 saying that I owed them £4079 re a debt with Welcome Financial Services. I have never had any dealings with Welcome. It's a Reminder - Notice of Assignment saying I have 7 days from the date of the letter to make payment, it also states that I have already been informed that my account including all legal rights and obligations assosicated with it, have been sold by Welcome Financial Services to HFO Capital Ltd, I have never received anything not a phone call or letter before this letter came. I immediately rung thm, but as it was the weekend left a message with my phone number asking them to contact me back, I also followed this up with an email the following day stating I DO NOT ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THIS DEBT is mine and asked them to send me copies of these so call letters that I have received along with what this so called debt is for.

I then started looking on the net to investigate HFO and found the horror stories of how they go about trying to extort the money out of you, by saying they will start legal proceedings, etc. Today I have sent, recorded delivery, a "prove it letter" to there Surrey address where the letter came from as well as there REgistered Office address in Croydon. I am also requesting my credit reports as well to see if there is anything on there that relates to this debt.

I am aware that its going to be a long drawn out battle with them where everything I do needs to be in writing and no telephone conversations so that I have a paper trail.

What should I do now?

FTW

Barny_B73 wrote: »

Hi

New to this so don't know if this is the right place to post this but any advice would be greatly appreciated

I opened a letter on 10/9/11 from HFO services dated 30/8/11 saying that I owed them £4079 re a debt with Welcome Financial Services. I have never had any dealings with Welcome. It's a Reminder - Notice of Assignment saying I have 7 days from the date of the letter to make payment, it also states that I have already been informed that my account including all legal rights and obligations assosicated with it, have been sold by Welcome Financial Services to HFO Capital Ltd, I have never received anything not a phone call or letter before this letter came. I immediately rung thm, but as it was the weekend left a message with my phone number asking them to contact me back, I also followed this up with an email the following day stating I DO NOT ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THIS DEBT is mine and asked them to send me copies of these so call letters that I have received along with what this so called debt is for.

I then started looking on the net to investigate HFO and found the horror stories of how they go about trying to extort the money out of you, by saying they will start legal proceedings, etc. Today I have sent, recorded delivery, a "prove it letter" to there Surrey address where the letter came from as well as there REgistered Office address in Croydon. I am also requesting my credit reports as well to see if there is anything on there that relates to this debt.

I am aware that its going to be a long drawn out battle with them where everything I do needs to be in writing and no telephone conversations so that I have a paper trail.

What should I do now?

Nothing. Provide no signatures at any point, don't speak to them on the phone, and ignore anything from them that doesn't relate to what your letter asks.

If you've looked online about that company, you may also have found that :-

A) There is also much talk about debt assignments to 'HFO Capital' and 'HFO Services'.
That they're currently on the OFT's 'Minded to revoke/refuse' list.

FireWyrm

You've pretty much done everything you could. As FTW says, it's not your problem, you are not the person they are looking for and you dont have to prove a damned thing...they do. Just as a matter of course though, I'd be looking at my credit file and checking that this wasnt a case of fraud and that your security and identity are intact. You're in for a long haul I'm afraid. My parents got themselves into trouble with HFO and I can remember it going on for years and years. Just keep sending back the letters, dont sign, dont acknowledge and dont speak to them on the phone. If they start calling your number, report them to OFT, report harrassment to the phone company and demand a number change to be ex-directory. It's a hassle and frankly, you shouldnt have to do it, but there's little else you can do.

Barny_B73

thanks for this. Did your parents get the letter that they were been taken to court, etc or was it just reminders saying they owed money?