Payday loan - proof of residence

mkman

Hi There,

I was wondering if anyone could give me some advice.

I recently spoke to a debt collection agency regarding a debt that a member of my family had run up, as the debt collection letter had been sent to my parents house, even though the person with the debt doesn't and has never lived at that address.

Anyway, the person on the phone said that often proof of residence is not required to get a payday loan so I asked if that meant someone could give any random address and they said yes. I was astonished at how lax this is and wonder who on earth would lend money to someone without proof of knowing where they reside? Surely the risk of defaulting in such cases must be huge!

Any advice on this.
Thanks.

[Deleted User]

It's not your debt, so you can't be held responsible for it. Up to you if you provide new contact details for the other person.

mkman

I appreciate that it's not my debt, or indeed my parents, but am angry that it is so easy to obtain a loan without needing to provide evidence of where the person lives. It's no wonder this country is in such a financial mess!

Also, it may not be our debt, but we still have the stress and hassle of receiving threatening letters and having to phone the debt collection agencies to explain the situation. We shouldn't have to do this and should never be put in this position as a result of such a lax loan application system!

mkman

Incidentally, I forgot to mention in my previous post but we don't have any contact/address details for the person concerned (suprise, surprise) and are unlikely to find where they are very easily as they know full well that the loan/debt collection agency can't trace them as things stand and are probably quite happy to leave us to deal with the fallout!

DCFC79

mkman wrote: »

Also, it may not be our debt, but we still have the stress and hassle of receiving threatening letters and having to phone the debt collection agencies to explain the situation. We shouldn't have to do this and should never be put in this position as a result of such a lax loan application system!

What stress ?

Are teh letters arriving at your parents address ? No need to call the DCA, just put the letter back in the envelope and return as not at this address simples.

mkman

DCFC79 wrote: »

What stress ? You get stressed over a letter when its not addressed to yourself ? No need to call the DCA, just put the letter back in the envelope and return as not at this address simples.

It's not so much me getting stressed. It's more my parents who are pensioners and my father has health issues to contend with and could do without the hassle. With regards to 'not known at this address, return to sender', my parents have tried this repeatedly and have STILL received further letters from the company, usually stating that they are taking further action to reclaim the debt. It appears as though the only way to get them to listen is to phone them!

Imagine you were a pensioner and were not up to speed on current laws regarding liability for debts and credit blacklisting, and you received a letter threatening to send baliffs round to your house. Could you honestly say that you wouldn't be a tad concerned?

It's wrong and people that apply for loans should have to prove where they live. Don't you agree?

27col

The company can take all the "further action to recover the debt" that they like. It's still not your parents debt or responsibility, so whatever action they take will not affect your parents.
Threatening letters are quite easy to ignore especially if they are not addressed to you.
If the letters are addressed to the person who took out the loan, then why are your parents opening mail that is not addressed to them. Just send them back unopened, or, better yet just ignore them completely. They might accidentally fall into the rubbish bin.

mkman

27col wrote: »

The company can take all the "further action to recover the debt" that they like. It's still not your parents debt or responsibility, so whatever action they take will not affect your parents.
Threatening letters are quite easy to ignore especially if they are not addressed to you.
If the letters are addressed to the person who took out the loan, then why are your parents opening mail that is not addressed to them. Just send them back unopened, or, better yet just ignore them completely. They might accidentally fall into the rubbish bin.

Originally, my parents were doing exactly what you suggested, i.e. just returning the letters unopened. However, after repeatedly doing this only to receive yet more letters from the same company they decided to open them, mainly to get a phone number so they could phone the DCA in order to explain and hopefully avoid receiving further correspondence.

Just out of interest, could my parents have any claim for harrasment if they have contacted the DCA concerned but still continue to receive letters from them?

Thanks.

Apples2

Would that mean I can claim against all the pizza delivery rubbish which drops on my doormat?

mkman

Apples2 wrote: »

Would that mean I can claim against all the pizza delivery rubbish which drops on my doormat?

We should be able to claim against those !!!!!!s too!

Seriously though, I think there is a world of difference between receiving spam/junk mail on your door mat, and receiving threatening letters that worry the life out of pensioners!

Nice try though apples. ;-)

mkman

There must presumably be some logic that is way beyond me, but I still don't understand why any reputable business would want to loan money to anyone without verification of where they live. Sounds like a recipe for disaster to me!