Creditor Harassment

FiFiFu

I have multiple health problems which resulted in the loss of my job 2 years ago. I had about 6k of credit card and mail order catalogue debt when I lost my job.

At first, I was able to pay the minimum payments even though my only income was contribution based Employment & Support Allowance. I have a partner who is self employed and our finances were always separate.

The effect on our household budget following the loss of my 30k a year job meant my poor partner, unknown to me, ran up his credit cards trying to pay for things that I used to pay for. In the end when I found out I offered to stop paying my creditors and pay towards the household bills as I didn't know he was struggling so much.

We now know each other's financial position and have agreed who should pay for what. This might sound odd that we were together for 6 years before doing this but it was never an issue before when money was plentiful.

In July 2011 wrote by recorded mail to all my 9 creditors and offered them £1per month each as when I completed a Consumer Credit Counselling Service Debt Remedy income and expenditure, it showed that I had nothing to offer. I set up standing orders and have paid this amount without fail ever since.

Only one creditor (Sandander) have accepted my offer and the rest have hounded me mercilessly by phone and letter. I found out that I could legally choose how they contact me and asked them all to write to me only.

Fashion World has continued to phone despite my request and their messages fill up the answering machine meaning that my partner is losing customers as no one can leave a message.

On top of my other health problems (I needed spinal cord surgery, have other neurological problems as well as kidney problems), I recently contracted a painful condition of my mouth (Erosive Oral Lichen Planus) which is not curable. I also had a biopsy to test for cancer. The biopsied site had stitches in it. This made it extremely uncomfortable to talk so I tried to make Fashion World stop phoning from their dialer which just plays a recorded message asking to press 1 if it is me, 2 if not. I tried pressing the 2 option but a message just states it was them that called!

I've emailed (as recorded postage is expensive) and pointed out again that I have a legal right to choose not to be phoned. On each occasion, I've received an email stating that my number (which is actually my partner's phone contract) has been removed from the dialing list but within 24 hours the calls have started again.

Over the last week I have emailed 5 times and had 4 emails confirming that my number has been removed from the dialing list but they started again last night.

What do I do now? They are ignoring the fact that I can't talk and just sent me a form to complete for someone else to deal with my account whereas I just want them to write to me!

Another creditor (Very) who is using Moorcroft Debt Recovery is adding a £12 charge each time they write to me which I see is a way of punishing me for not speaking to them on the phone.

I just having nothing else to say to them other than I am paying what I can.

I'm more than happy to go to court with all my creditors as I don't see how a court would insist I pay any more as my income is so low.

In fact in April 2012 I think my benefit will stop altogether as I will have had contribution based ESA for more than 2 years. The Benefit Helpline told me that I wouldn't get income based ESA unless my partner earned less than £98 per week. We claim Working Tax Credits as his net profit is only about 5k a year but this would be counted towards his income. What do I do when I have no income whatsoever? I feel lucky that my partner wants to keep me as I wasn't so ill when I started our relationship.

I've been threatened with home visits and legal action and Moorcroft Debt Recovery have sent 2 letter addressed to my neighbour's address but luckily the postman still put them through my door as he recognised my name.

The additional charges that some creditors are applying have more than doubled some of the amounts which were only a few hundred pounds (although 3 are larger). The total amount owing has gone from about £6k to £10k.

I'm sorry this post is so long but I thought I knew my rights but I don't know what to do when they are being ignored and I have no money to pursue this legally.. To recap my main problems are:

*what do I do about Fashion World who will not stop phoning?
*what do I do about a £12 charge being added to my debt every time Moorcroft Debt Recovery write (the letters come quicker than I can respond)
*what do I do when I have no income at all ? (presuming the legislation is passed in April 2012)

Anyone's advice would be greatly appreciated.

Tixy

hi
1) have you sent a formal section 10 notice under the data protection act to remove your numbers? (quoting the act) if you have done this and they are still phoning report them to the ICO for breaching the DPA. Report them to OFT for harrasment. If yiu ahevn't yet sent a section 10 then I would send that (so that you will subsquently be able to report them if it still doesn't stop them).

2) do you think moroncroft are just acting for the creditor or have bought the debt? if just acting them I would write to morons and copy in the creditor stating that you are currently unable to offer any more as you only have benefit income. Ask them again to freeze charges on the account.

3) speak to one of the charities again, if you don't own your own house you could consider a debt relief order perhaps - in fact you could look into that even now to see whether you wuold qualify and whether it may be a sensible option in your situation.

The lower part of this post has the section 10 stuff http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.php?p=11571485&postcount=4

pip10

Hi,

I actually just posted this on someone's elses thread but read yours and thought it may be useful for you too.

Thought i would let you know my experience.

I am now on a dmp with CCCS. I have 4 creditors. I wrote to them all (prior to starting the DMP) requesting that they stop interest & charges. From what i can remember 2 did this no questions asked, and another one did it after a few letters and was a bit more hassle.

MBNA were the hardest to deal with. They kept ignoring what i was saying/asking in my letters. Sometimes they just ignored my letters completely, even though i sent them by signed for post. I remember they wrote back a couple of times just asking me to fill in I & E forms even though i had already done this!!

Eventually i sent them this as part of one of my letters:

I am sorry that you have not agreed to suspend interest and charges on the above account. My other creditors have agreed to the offer of payment and suspended interest and charges still accruing. They have accepted that to continue to charge interest would not assist me in my present financial difficulties, and can only serve to increase my total debt.

In the light of my other creditors agreeing to suspend interest and charges, please would you consider stopping interest and any other charges on my account to help me during my financial difficulties.

The lending code, which MBNA subscribes to, states that:

‘224 - Subscribers should consider reducing or stopping interest and charges when a customer evidences that they are in financial difficulties. Such reduction/suspension decision should be based upon an income and expenditure statement indicating that they are unable to make repayments sufficient to meet contractual terms. Where a customer is able to make only token payments, their debt should not increase as a result of interest and charges levied. The assessment should reflect the customer’s lack of ability to pay rather than the stage an account has reached in the arrears cycle or whether they are using free sources of debt advice. Where a firm declines to allow concessions, they should be prepared to explain why to the customer or their adviser if requested to do so.’

If you are unable to stop interest and charges during my financial difficulties, can you please explain why?

I look forward to hearing from you as soon as possible.

It did the trick and they soon stopped the interest and charges. It may only be suitable for someone who is in 'financial difficulty'. I am no expert but this worked for me.

I am currently not paying any interest/charges to any of my creditors I do not know how long this will last but it has been about 9-12 months so far. Be prepared to be persistent. Send all letters by signed for post just so you have a record of everything you have sent and don't speak to them on the phone would be my advice. If i get a call off unknown or 0800 i just ignore it. If it is important they will leave a message. I respond to any letters as quickly as i can within a few days and reply by signed for post.

There is a letter requesting not to contact you by phone as well, so send that:

Dear Sir/Madam

I am writing to ask that you no longer contact me by telephone as your calls are causing me considerable stress due to the frequency, and they are being made at inappropriate times. Please remove my telephone number from your database and send all future communication in writing to my home address.

In my last letter I provided you with a copy of my income and expenditure to make you aware of my current financial situation. I will continue to make my payment of £1 every month and will keep you informed of any changes in my circumstances as I am keen to resolve this issue as soon as possible.

I understand that following this request if you continue to call I can contact the Office of Fair Trading to make a formal complaint.

Please confirm in writing that your records have been amended.

I look forward to hearing from you as soon as possible.

Hope this advice is useful.

FiFiFu

Thanks for your reply and having the patience to read such a long post!

I will send a section 10 notice though suspect that the 28 days before they remove my number will be worse than ever!

Does sending this by email, where an acknowledgment is received, count as having served the notice? Sending items by recorded post is about £3 each and I have 8 creditors who are harassing me so just don't have the money to spend on this (If not, I'll do them gradually.).

With regards to the creditor which Moroncroft are acting for, is there any legislation regarding the £12 charge that they are adding to my debt every time they write? Can I submit a similar charge to negate it when I respond?

Thanks again.

Tixy

If its just a small letter it should be just be postage plus 77p to send - you can even do it second class which should be 36p plus 77p, I think, might be worth checking with royal mail website. (still not cheap I know but shouldn't be as much as £3 a time I'm sure).

Not sure if an email counts for serving the section 10 notice - I'd have thought probably not but I'm not certain - maybe someone else could suggest.

nottoolate

should only be £1.10-20p in total for registred post i think?

send by post and email. email for quickness. by post to formally back it up

chanz4

I would post, emails can get lost and likely will.

FiFiFu

Moorcroft (who are acting for 2 creditors) have also asked for an income and expenditure breakdown even though I've already supplied one to all my creditors in July 2011 (by recorded post). Moorcroft always state in their letters that they are acting on behalf of the original creditor so I'm assuming they don't own the debt.

I askied them to obtain a copy from the original creditor who should have it on file. Although I acknowledge the original debt, I do not agree to the charges since then which has doubled the debt in some cases and greatly increased it in others.

Should I send a copy of the CCCS income and expenditure I supplied in July 2011 and state that my circumstances have not changed? I do not want to agree to the charges added since so don't want to show the increased totals on the part of the form that lists my creditors.

Am I allowed to recoup the costs for my paper, toner and postage? Moorcroft are charging me £12 for each letter but it probably costs me more than it does them (although nothing like £12!).

MusicalLawyer

Recorded delivery for a normal letter is £1.23

Moorcroft cannot charge you £12 for sending you debt collection letters. That is an unfair charge, of which I am in the process of claiming back from Littlewoods. If the charges are for missing / late payments, then they can add those on. It doesn't cost them £12 to send you a letter.

FiFiFu

I've had enough harassment from Fashion World and Moorcroft's charges are extortionate.

I hope the email history from Fashion World is sufficient evidence that they are ignoring my wishes not to be contacted by phone as I'd like to report them any way.. They won't do me any favours so don't see why I should give them notice of my intention to complain .

Is there any way to claim compensation for such insensitive treatment at a time when I was waiting for the results of a biopsy for mouth cancer? Obviously, if that was possible, I'd use any compensationn to pay off the debt.

Who should I report Fashion World to for phoning when I've repeatedly asked them not to?

Who do I report Moorcroft to for charging for writing to me and posting 2 letters to my neighbour's address?

I've seen the list in the template letters but not sure if I should report them to all the bodies listed (Office of Fair Trading, Trading Standards and Information Commissioner's Office).

taxiphil

Yes, there is a way to claim compensation - a claim for damages in the county court under the Protection From Harassment Act.

Their behaviour has crossed the line of what is considered to be lawful activity.

Note that the more evidence you have, the stronger your chances and the more damages you will be awarded - so keep every letter they send you, a diary of events, records of phonecalls, records of your own attempts to stop the harassment, witness statements off friends/family etc.