DMP & Mutual Support Thread - Part 8

Standingtall

scared-sick wrote: »

Ok, so I have been getting a few phone calls but for one reason or another I have not been able to answer them.

Today phone rang and I had all my stuff (cccs ref no etc) ready.

Anyway, I have decided that when receiving these calls I am going to log name of company, person spoke to, date, time and result of call. This is purely so I can quote all this back to them in a letter to stop harassing me if it all gets too much.

So anyway the call went like this:

Bank: hello can I speak to .....
Me: speaking
Bank: My name is sinead and I am calling from santander, can I please point out calls may be recorded for training and quality purposes.
Me: yes thats fine
Bank: I just need to go through some security questions
Me: Thats fine but first can you please tell me your surname and which department you are calling from
Bank: Sorry?
Me: can you tell me your surname and which department you are calling from please
Bank: erm no I cant give you my surname
Me: Ok thats fine, but just to advise you I can now no longer proceed with this call
Bank: errr but you will still keep getting calls
Me: ok thats fine but I can no longer proceed with this one
Bank: err ok bye

Haha...sorry but it was so funny, she just didnt know what to say or how to react. I was perfectly plesant. I dont know why she could not give me her surname as they obviously do when they write to you.

I just thought, you know how it is when you speak to these companies, then someone else rings and you say oh I have already discussed this with your colleage. They say do you know who you spoke to? Yeah I spoke to a guy named steve. did you get a surname. no. Which department. I dont know. Well we have about 100 steves here and there is no record of that phone call on your file.
So I am trying to be pro-active!

So next time they ring will be the same and if someone does eventually get past my 'security questions' (lol) then I will simply refer them to cccs. Simples!

That's truly brilliant:rotfl: on a serious note too, I have talked to people in this situation and then realised that they could be anyone - could be fraudulent!

scared-sick

Bettingmad wrote: »

Well done, there is no reason as to why they should not provide you with a name.

Thats what I thought. Like I said, they put their full names on any correspondence, why should this be any different!

Hopelessly_Hopeful wrote: »

Fabulous! Well done, that's made my day

HHx

It made mine too!! I felt great when I got off the phone!
I was surprised at my own audacity! Haha

Standingtall wrote: »

That's truly brilliant:rotfl: on a serious note too, I have talked to people in this situation and then realised that they could be anyone - could be fraudulent!

Well if they want to confirm I am who I say I am, why cant I do the same!!

Standingtall

scared-sick wrote: »

Thats what I thought. Like I said, they put their full names on any correspondence, why should this be any different!



It made mine too!! I felt great when I got off the phone!
I was surprised at my own audacity! Haha



Well if they want to confirm I am who I say I am, why cant I do the same!!

Yes, I agree with you absolutely. What I mean is that you have no proof they are from Santander and yet they want you to answer security questions. For instance, anyone walking past my house on bin day could easily find out who I bank with and then ring me pretending to be from the bank. They could ask me my date of birth, to confirm my account number, mother's maiden name etc.

I was absolutely agreeing with you but I think you thought I was backing the bank...:rotfl: trust me, that will NEVER happen

Finshopefulmum

Bettingmad wrote: »

Just want to chip in with my two pennyworth regarding the calls. I was very proactive in dealing with the issues when I knew I was going down the DMP route and went on the front foot. I followed up my token payments with phonecalls to each of my creditor giving them my Payplan Ref. I made token payments for 3 mths with no recourse at all. I used the surlus o catch up on things I had fallen behind with and to put an emergency fund behind me. Of my 5 creditors I only received one call from Egg who were very nice when I explained that I was entering the DMP.
It can be a frightening prospect regarding the phonecalls, what I can say is that I imagined monsters on the end of the phone, what I got was nice human beings who understood and accepted that I was entering a DMP, no nastiness or pressure at all when I provided my Ref No.
You can minimise the risk of phone call by getting a payg sim card (I used Asda) load it with a small ammount of credit. If you have online accounts change the numbers to your new PAYG and when phoning them ask them to update the records with your new number deleting the old ones from the system.
Another way is to look at a device such as Trucall which filters telephone numbers

Now that sounds like a brilliant idea. I would much rather be making the calls than receiving them. I'm not that worried about the conversation that will have to take place, I'm more worried about them phoning me at work. I thought I may add a line into my letter with the token payment that if they do need to call me to do so on my home phone after a certain time, but now I will def follow up myself. Thank you!

scared-sick

Standingtall wrote: »

Yes, I agree with you absolutely. What I mean is that you have no proof they are from Santander and yet they want you to answer security questions. For instance, anyone walking past my house on bin day could easily find out who I bank with and then ring me pretending to be from the bank. They could ask me my date of birth, to confirm my account number, mother's maiden name etc.

I was absolutely agreeing with you but I think you thought I was backing the bank...:rotfl: trust me, that will NEVER happen

Aww, no I absolutely knew what you meant chick.

You are so right though. It has always been something I have wondered about. They ask you all these questions that I freely answer, but then I think, oops if you are not who you are supposed to be then I have just told you far too much! Scary really!!

BlushingRose

That was brilliant and, if we get any phone calls, I may start doing the same.

In regard to surnames, however, having worked in a call centre myself in the past (although not for a bank or anything like that) we were always told that *on no account* were we to give out our full names. This was for our own security. I never actually questioned it, but I suspect they are the same.

Issuma

Scared-sick - thats great, I rang Blair Oliver Scott last week to make a payment on one of my accounts, got a young lad on the phone very pleasant but didn't sound 100% sure of what he was doing, anyway he was determined to talk me into setting up a 'continuous payment' arrangement as this would be 'much better for me' (don't think so !!) by the time the call ended at which point I had continually declined his very kind offer of the 'continual payment' arrangement I felt like I was teaching him how to do his job and had totally tied him in knots - don't mean to sound unkind but everytime I ring them I come off the phone smiling !!!!

scared-sick

BlushingRose wrote: »

That was brilliant and, if we get any phone calls, I may start doing the same.

In regard to surnames, however, having worked in a call centre myself in the past (although not for a bank or anything like that) we were always told that *on no account* were we to give out our full names. This was for our own security. I never actually questioned it, but I suspect they are the same.

I actually understand them doing this to a certain degree. However, if she said this to me I would have replied, in that case if you wish to discuss my account, can you please put me onto someone more senior who will give me their surname or perhaps you would prefer to contact me in writing!

It was a lovely game!! :rotfl:

Issuma wrote: »

Scared-sick - thats great, I rang Blair Oliver Scott last week to make a payment on one of my accounts, got a young lad on the phone very pleasant but didn't sound 100% sure of what he was doing, anyway he was determined to talk me into setting up a 'continuous payment' arrangement as this would be 'much better for me' (don't think so !!) by the time the call ended at which point I had continually declined his very kind offer of the 'continual payment' arrangement I felt like I was teaching him how to do his job and had totally tied him in knots - don't mean to sound unkind but everytime I ring them I come off the phone smiling !!!!

Its daft really but the little victories we win are brilliant. It may not last long, but it makes you feel so much better!!:)

BlushingRose

scared-sick wrote: »

I actually understand them doing this to a certain degree. However, if she said this to me I would have replied, in that case if you wish to discuss my account, can you please put me onto someone more senior who will give me their surname or perhaps you would prefer to contact me in writing!

It was a lovely game!! :rotfl:

Oh yes, I agree. I'm not sure why we weren't supposed to give our our full names, although I think it depends on seniority.
I must admit, so far we've only had a couple of calls from the Yorkshire Bank and that was sorted out quickly, however had there been a third I'd have request that they contacted us in writing.

I can't wait to hear about any more calls you get! :rotfl:

mary_hinge

Hello all :wave: new girl on the block please can I come and play? :rotfl:

I am in the process of setting up my DMP with cccs :eek: and am looking at almost 17 years to my DFD.

I have had 12 letters from creditors in the last 3 days and this is the first month I have not met my minimum payments, the phone has rung at least 15 times today and I can't face answering it.

Mrs H x