Scotcall - What are my rights if I don't owe?

Tixy

You original advice was to simply ignore the whole issue - all that I and others are suggesting is that he needs to consider other implications - such as his credit file.

He needs to establish if it is on his credit file and if so who is reporting at the moment, the original creditor, scotcall or even a different debt collector. All are possible.

You may have found in your experience " Arguing with a DCA is futile" and "I just point out that it's a total waste of effort negotiating with a debt collector." however this is not everyone's experience from the many threads on this forum. Not that I would suggest 'arguing' with a debt collector, simply requiring them to prove the debt exists. But plenty of people have had success with getting a debt collector to stop chasing and to remove negative information from a credit file.

nottoolate

Tixy wrote: »

Most of the large branded gyms report to the credit reference agencies as standard (just the same as mobile phone contracts).

yes. they do


experian: The term "credit" covers every account that gives you something of value - money, goods or services - that you can use today, on the understanding that you will repay the lender at a later date. That's why you'll find items such as utility and mobile phone accounts here, as well as credit cards, loans and mortgages.

gym contact is a service. if they allege you have had the membership longer becasue you didn;t cancel in time then non payment for that period can go on your credit report

give_them_FA

I don't think I advised him to ignore "the issue" Tixy, I advised him to ignore Scotcall. If the "issue" includes his credit file then he does need to look into it,but with the gym. Though I am still far from convinced that he wasn't paying in advance for this gym membership (I did) rather than being given credit. When I joined a leisure centre I had to pay my first month up front and from then on I was paying in advance. No credit involved. Maybe Ashleigh can tell us whether his worked the same way.

All I am saying is that I have had dealings (if you can call ignoring them having dealings!) with over 30 debt collection agencies and ignoring them has got rid of them all, without exception.

People on here pay far too much respect to what are in reality a bunch of cowboys staffed largely by monkeys.

ashleigh_w76

Well I have just checked my credit report and nothing on there as yet.

Tixy

give_them_FA wrote: »

People on here pay far too much respect to what are in reality a bunch of cowboys staffed largely by monkeys.

I don't think many people on here have any respect at all for DCAs. Recommending not just to ignore them doesn't mean someone respects them, just accepts that some people prefer to deal with things upfront and people have different circumstances. By contacting them as long as you know how to deal with them and your rights and the guidelines they have to follow it shouldn't cause a problem. Contacting them does not make things worse for the alleged debtor.

ashleigh_w76 wrote: »

Well I have just checked my credit report and nothing on there as yet.

Which credit reports have you checked? I'd suggest you check all 3 agencies to be certain.

ashleigh_w76

Tixy wrote: »

I don't think many people on here have any respect at all for DCAs. Recommending not just to ignore them doesn't mean someone respects them, just accepts that some people prefer to deal with things upfront and people have different circumstances. By contacting them as long as you know how to deal with them and your rights and the guidelines they have to follow it shouldn't cause a problem. Contacting them does not make things worse for the alleged debtor.



Which credit reports have you checked? I'd suggest you check all 3 agencies to be certain.

That was just through Equifax. So I should also check Experian and....? Who's the 3rd one?

Cheers

Tixy

ashleigh_w76 wrote: »

That was just through Equifax. So I should also check Experian and....? Who's the 3rd one?

Cheers

I would - you don't want this to come back to bite you if you try to get credit in a year or so.
Callcredit (which is also branded as noddle)

Gordon_Hose

This "ignore, ignore, ignore" attitude is very bad advice.

The best thing for anyone to do when confronted with letters and calls from a DCA is to always get them to prove it first, regardless of whether you think you have a debt or not. There are template letters available for this reason, and provided you don't physically sign it is considered ok to write to these companies.

Don't speak to them on the phone at all. There is no way of proving what they've said over the phone, so calling them is always a bad idea.

If you stick to writing, beginning with the "prove it" letter you'll be fine. If there is nothing owing and you can prove it then do so.

A DCA can TRASH anyone's credit report, they often get the wrong person and it has been known for them to record incorrect data to CRA's because of this. That is why it is important to get them to prove any such debt exists, otherwise they are just going to assume you're trying to hide and slap a fat default on your file. You don't want that.

DCA's often start court proceedings, even without the correct paperwork, in the hope of securing a judgement by default. It can, does and has happened. Saying this won't go near a court is also very bad advice.

So, to summarise, get them to prove there is a debt, in writing. Then go from there. There are lots of things you can do, but you need to start at the beginning and find out what they actually have on you.

ashleigh_w76

Thanks very much for all your input everyone!

So when I send them the 'prove it' letter, would I be best to leave off my current address? Should I inform them that I'm no longer at the address they've been sending correspondence too?

nottoolate

Gordon_Hose wrote: »

This "ignore, ignore, ignore" attitude is very bad advice.

if you apply it to this obvious troll it's very good advice.