Not sure what to do

cif85

Hello everyone, long time lurker, first time poster.

Apologies if this is a bit long...

I have a debt with Gothia debt collectors and set up a payment plan with them for £75 per month. I did this via an email they had sent me - entered my card details, and they took the first payment on the 15th September. All good so far.

Today I received this email from them:

Good Morning cif85,


We can see that you have made your 1st payment online for £75.00 on the 15th September 2011.


You have entered the card details online to make payment on the 15th of every month thereafter, however due to a technical issue on our side, we are not able to extract the details from our online service to set the plan up on our system in the office.


In order to get your ongoing plan in place for the arrangement of £75.00 per month please supply the following details:

You can call us on 0844 248 0258 to set this up via debit / credit card in the next 48-hours or by Direct Debit, if opting for Direct Debit please supply the following information so we can set it up with your Bank:


· Bank Account Number:

· Sort Code:

· Bank Account Name:

· Your chosen payment date:


Please note your first Direct Debit payment date must be at least 7-days from today's date in order for us to set it up with your bank. Upon receipt of your banking details we will send you confirmation this has been done and further action will be suspended.


Regards


I'm a little concerned about this and not sure what to do. I've quickly put this reply together (based on the advice I've seen on this forum ) and wanted your opinions on it:


Thank you for your message.
As I'm sure you can appreciate, given that this has occurred due to a computer error on your side, I am wary of supplying alternative payment methods as this may result in my account being debited twice on my chosen payment date.
Before I supply any further details I would like confirmation that my debit card details have been deleted from your system, and any Continuous Payment Authority has also been cancelled.
I would prefer the option of setting up a Standing Order from my own bank account to arrive with Gothia by 15th October and the 15th of each month thereafter until the debt has been paid. I am more than happy to confirm such an arrangement in writing sent by recorded delivery. I accept that if I were to default on such an arrangement in future, then you may insist on me paying via other methods (such as debit card.)
Given that this error has occurred on your side, and I am co-operating fully with Gothia to arrange a suitable payment plan, I also politely request that you do not threaten me with 'further action' as this will be taken as harrassment according to the OFT guidelines.

I look forward to your response,
cif85


What do you all think??

Tixy

Sounds reasonable to me, and standing order is definitely a better idea. If you commit to making sure it reaches them by the 15th of every month make sure you allow time for processing and weekends any bank holidays etc.

fatbelly

It's a very polite and reasonable response. I agree that you should not do anything until the cpa is confirmed as cancelled (very dangerous giving them this - what were you thinking of?).

There's no reason why they should not give you their details for you to set up a standing order, so:

I would prefer the option of setting up a Standing Order from my own bank account to arrive with Gothia by 15th October and the 15th of each month thereafter until the debt has been paid. Please supply account number, sort code and reference number.

cif85

fatbelly wrote: »

It's a very polite and reasonable response. I agree that you should not do anything until the cpa is confirmed as cancelled (very dangerous giving them this - what were you thinking of?).[/I]

Yes, I know, I think I just panicked as that was the only option they offered at the time - looking back, I think I've been thrown a bit of a lifeline!!

Thanks very much for your replies, I appreciate it