carphone warehouse - help?

bibbadybobs

Hi all,

Long time lurker, first time poster - so i hope i'm in the right part of the forum.

My dad recently got contacted by a company called McKenzie Hall, regarding an 02 contract phone that apparently was in arrears. When we looked in to it, it turns out the phone number it was connected to was mine, so i called them today to find out what the problem was.

Apparently i owe over £100 for a contract that ran between 12.10.04 - 27.11.06, which was signed for in my dads name.

I used 02 up until Jan 2010 and as far as i'm aware never actually cancelled my contract and just kept renewing it. So can't understand how they've figured out i owe that much money as i was in credit when i cancelled.

Has anyone else had this problem? How am i supposed to know what happened nearly 5 years ago? Should i ask to see anything from carphone warehouse with regards to this phone or should i just pay up??

Any help would be great.
Thanks, xo

FireWyrm

If you have the money, the quickest way to make this go away is to pay it. However, MH are under obligation to prove that you owe the debt, not the other way around. You could send them a Prove It letter. Alternatively, it seems like you might be on the cusp of being Statute Barred, so, you could hide for another few months, by which time, you can tell MH to sling it....those are your choices essentially.

bibbadybobs

Thanks for your reply.

I don't really have the money to pay them so i'm reluctant to part with any money until i know exactly what is happening. I've asked them to email me over details of the contract and bills etc, and they've said they'd get back to me.

What would i put in a prove it letter? And what is statute barred?

elaine12022

If the debt hasn't been acknowledged in any way for 6 years then it becomes statute barred which means it cannot be enforced through the courts.

the 'prove it' letter can be foundon this site and the National Debtline website. Basically asking the company to prove you owe anything. The details you have given, that they have given you, sound very iffy. If the phone number was yours but the name on the account was your dads?! In fact, if it's your dad's name they have, he should be chasing them up himself!

I would definitely not pay them a bean unless they can produce a contract..

bibbadybobs

Thanks

I thought it was funny that after 5 years they've decided to chase us up now!

The contract was for me, but was took out in my dads name as i was only young at the time and my dad doesn't remember anything about it and is rubbish with things like this so asked me to have a look into it.

Shound i send the letter to the debt management company or to carphone warehouse?

elaine12022

Well, I would write (if they have used your dad's name, use that name to write back, you don't need to sign it). Have you found the 'prove it' letter? It's quite short and sweet.

http://www.nationaldebtline.co.uk/england_wales/debt_advice.php#6
(complain to debt collectors when you do not owe the debt).

The only thing I would add is to give the debt collectors a time limit for replying, however long you feel - 10 days, 14 days etc.

Also send the letter recorded delivery.

chanz4

ask for the copy bills, they dont have to provide a copy of a service agreement the same as a cca

bibbadybobs

thanks, I'm waiting for him to get back in touch with me regarding the copy of the bills etc. If he doesn't send them but calls again then i will send a copy of the letting out (thanks for the link!)

Thanks for all of your help