Black Horse collection activity fee!!!!!!

sdoherty1000

Basicially, we asked black horse for a lower monthly installment due to a change in circumstance and they agreed to lower it by 50%. The agreement has now come to an end, we rang black horse and they have been charging us £30 a month for a "collection activity fee" alongside the payment that we agreed. They have referred the entire debt to a collection agency as they claim they have no record of us ringing to agree to the payments going back up to the full amount. On the 28th January 2012 we recieved a letter stating the overdue amount was £853.88 but as of today its £1193.56 even though we have just paid a payment of £126.00 on the 28th Feb.

Black horse have refused to talk to us about the account but I want to know a few things before I take this further

1) Can they charge us the £30 even though we agreed to pay the reduced sum?
2) If I can show (by itemised bill) that I did speak to them will that hold any weight in court?
3) How can the account balance rise from £853.88 to £1193.56 even after £126.11 on the 28th Feb 2012.

I would appreciate anybody that reads this to make a comment- I am not going to sit there and let black horse walk all over us. We have never been charged before for reducing any payments

thanks

sdoherty1000

Can anybody help?

happy_bunny_2

Hi,

I am no expert, but here is what I would do.

Send them a formal complaint, signed for.

Complain that they added charges when you had called (List date and time) to arrange a plan and made payment.

Complain they failed to respond to your requests to discuss the account.

Ask for a detailed breakdown of charges added. Also check your agreement to see what they can add, but you could challenge if unreasonable and £30 seems a bit high when you consider £12 was deemed fair for credit cards.

You could also submit a Subject Access Request to get all info they have on you, including phone calls.

if they fail to respond to your complaint to your satisfaction within 8 weeks, you can complain to the FOS.

One thing to note is that you say they have sold the account to a DCA, so they may now just pass the complaint on to the, as they may now own the account, which is why the refuse to discuss with you. they should still answer the SAR mind.

Good luck

HB