Soo Depressed And On Payplan

preciousb

hi i have just gone onto payplan and will making my first payment soon.
Ever since i have had soo many phone calls. one in particular which i do not know what to do about. I have a loan with welcome finance and they rang and gave me a right ear full. saying i had no intention to pay the amount back at all. and if i was going to university then i should know the situation i will be in. also how going on payplan is wrong and that i should speak to them regarding my financial status. I just dont know what to do because the guy that rang made me cry with the stuff he was saying. I just dont know what to do. Should i talk to payplan or should i even go ahead with it? any ideas anyone i just cant help but feel soo depressed my life feels like its over before its even begun. PLEASE HELPPP !!!

catewithers

Oh precious I'm so sorry you've had such a rough time with them. They are just trying to get you to pay more. DON'T LISTEN TO THEM!!! You are completely doing the right thing. What he said to you was completely out of order and it may be possible to make a complaint about it - someone else on here will have a much better idea about that than me.

Don't panic - stay focussed on what you're doing and why you're doing it. Try and remember that once the DMP kicks in the phone calls will reduce and eventually stop. In the meantime, either don't answer the phone, get caller ID and only answer the numbers you recognise, change your number or simply tell them that you aren't prepared to discuss this over the phone and you want all communication to be in writing from now on. Tell them that Payplan are dealing with your account and you are not prepared to talk to them on the phone any longer. Then HANG UP! Be polite but firm.

Hang in there - it will get better and make the most of the support on here.

Big hug. X

southern_chick

Hi cant give you any advice sorry but just wanted to send you (((hugs))), someone will be along soon with lots of good advice

SC XX

mrsspendalot

that is awful

Crown

Hi Precious, Sorry to hear of your trouble with the phone calls.

You are not alone in receiving these annoying calls and I think we all have had them at some time or another and I know how cr*ppy they make you feel.

As already stated you are doing the right thing if you cannot afford to make repayments. they are just trying to get there money back and are not happy to be in a line of of creditors.

I have read some real horror stories on here and have also received my fair share of these calls and my advice would be to try to take what ever they say with a pinch of salt.

There are a few things that you can do with regards to this.

1) When they call inform them that you are going to be recording the conversation for future reference (even if you are not) and you will be amazed at the change in attitude as if they are caught giving you a hard time or incorrect advice then they will be fined if they area regulated company.

2) When they call refuse to give your security details. If you do not confirm your name, date of birth and the other normal questions they can continue the call by law due to the data protection act.

If you do this there is now need to be rude but just say you are not answering them and would like any further communications by post and then say thank you and hang up. you are not legally obliged to put up with any calls from them!

3) Try writing to them requesting that you are contacted by post only. I copied and saved this from somewhere so I do not take the credit for writing this letter.

Crown

"Dear Mr Horrible DCA.

I am writing to express my serious concerns regarding the telephone calls that I have received from your company.

I am now formally requesting that all further correspondence be made in writing only.

I demand that these phone calls stop immediately. I am familiar with the terms of Section 40 of the Administration of Justice Act 1970, and the Protection from Harassment Act 1970 and I believe your harassment places you in breach of these acts.

If you continue to call, you will also be in breach of the Wireless Telegraphy Act (1949) and, as such, I will report you to both Trading Standards and The Office of Fair Trading.

Take further note that continued telephone calls after the receipt of a request not to call may constitute a criminal offence under Section 127 of the Communications Act 2003.

You will be deemed to have been served notice of my request and I will deem it served by (FULL DATE), I am advising you that any calls received after this date will be recorded with the intention of them being used as evidence.


Yours faithfully,"

I think you might want to edit some parts such as Mr Horrible DCA but you get the general points made. they will be breaking the law if they continue to harrass you after this and you can then report them to the Office of fair trading ect

Crown

Just for reference purposes here is a copy of the act

Section 40 of the Administration of Justice Act

“S40 Punishment for unlawful harassment of debtors.
A person commits an offence if, with the object of coercing another person to pay money claimed from the other as a debt due under a contract he-
harasses the other with demands for payment which, in respect of their frequency, or the manner or occasion of making any such demand, or of any threat or publicity by which any demand is accompanied, are calculated to subject him or members of his family or household to alarm, distress or humiliation;
falsely represents, in relation to the money claimed, that criminal proceedings lie for failure to pay it;
falsely represents himself to be authorised in some official capacity to claim or enforce payment; or
utters a document falsely represented by him to have some official character, or purporting to have some official character which he know it has not.
A person may be guilty of an offence by virtue of sub-section (1) (a) above if he concerts with others in the taking of such actions as is described in that paragraph, notwithstanding that his own course of conduct does not by itself amount to harassment.”

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Office of Fair Trading Code of Guidance

Many activities could count as harassment. It is important to note that “anything done by a person which is reasonable” when trying to recover a debt, is not considered to be harassment. Both the Office of Fair Trading and Trade Associations (run by the credit industry) have produced guidance on what activities may be considered harassment and should therefore be avoided by creditors. The following list is taken from the new Debt Collection Guidance for holders of consumer credit licences.

Creditors are warned by the Office of Fair Trading under the Debt Collection Guidance that the following practices are "considered unfair":

“IT IS UNFAIR TO COMMUNICATE, IN WHATEVER FORM, WITH CONSUMERS IN AN UNCLEAR, INACCURATE OR MISLEADING MANNER.”

This includes:
Letters that look like court claims
Not making it clear who the company is or what their role is
Unhelpful legal language
Not giving balance statements about the debt when asked
Contacting you at unreasonable times even when asked not to
Asking you to contact them on premium rate phone numbers.

“ THOSE CONTACTING DEBTORS MUST NOT BE DECEITFUL BY MISREPRESENTING THEIR AUTHORITY AND/OR THE CORRECT LEGAL POSITION.”

This includes:
Claiming to work for the court or be a bailiff
Implying action can be taken that is not legally possible such as implying they could take your property
Using a business name or logo that implies they are a government body
Implying that court action has been taken against you when it hasn’t
Implying not paying your debt is a criminal offence
Threatening to take court action in England if you live in Scotland or the other way round.

“ PUTTING PRESSURE ON DEBTORS OR THIRD PARTIES IS CONSIDERED TO BE OPPRESSIVE.”

This includes:
Contacting you too frequently
Pressurising you to sell property or take out more debt
Using more than one collection company at the same time or not telling you when your debt has been passed to another company
Pressurising you to pay in full or in large instalments you cannot afford
Making threatening gestures or statements
Ignoring disputes about whether you owe the money
Trying to embarrass you in public or threatening to tell a third party about your debts such as a neighbour or your family.

“ DEALINGS WITH DEBTORS ARE NOT TO BE DECEITFUL AND/OR UNFAIR.”

Examples include:
Sending letters addressed to “the occupier” or discussing the debt with someone without knowing if they are you
Refusing to deal with an adviser acting on your behalf
Not accepting reasonable offers or passing on payments you make
Refusing to freeze action if you dispute the debt.

“ CHARGES SHOULD NOT BE LEVIED UNFAIRLY”.

Examples include:
Claiming collection costs when the original credit agreement didn’t allow this to happen and making you think you are legally liable for the costs
Not putting the specific amounts that can be added for collection costs in the original credit agreement
Adding unreasonable charges.

“ THOSE VISITING DEBTORS MUST NOT ACT IN AN UNCLEAR OR THREATENING MANNER.”
Collectors should explain the reason for any visit and give you notice of the time and date they will call
They shouldn’t visit if they know you are ill or vulnerable and if they find you are unwell or distressed they should leave
They should not come in if you do not want them to and should leave when you ask them to
They shouldn’t visit you at work or somewhere like a hospital.

Source: UK Insolvency helpline

gerturdeanna

I agree with the other posters. You are doing the right thing by asking payplan to help you with your debts. Yes the phone calls will come at first and even occasionally through the duration of the scheme. DO NOT LET THEM HASSLE YOU. Tell them to bog off in polite terms, that you want all further correspondence in writing. Explain that you are dealing with your debts via payplan and eventually they WILL get the message. They cannot force you to pay more than you can afford. HOLD IN THERE AND YOU WILL SEE A LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL!!!
As you can see from my sig, I've a long way to go yet!!1 But I'm dealing with it!!

Hope things get better for you soon.

chick-chick

Sorry you had such a horrible phone call I am familiar with Welcome Finance, and I know how rude they can be! I don't have any debt with them, my OH does.

A couple of days ago, I answered the phone, and told them my OH was at work. I got asked what time he'd be home, where he works, when are his days off etc. She got quite shirty with me when I replied I wasn't his secretary, and that she should put it in writing if she can't get hold of him.

Then she said if he doesn't return their calls, there would be a charge for a call to the property. I asked what this meant, and she said if they have to send somebody out, then they will charge for that. Well I thought she shouldn't be telling me anything about sending people out, as surely this is confidential information, this isnt my debt and what if he hadn't told me about it? Isn't there a data protection act?:o

Joek_2

Personally, if you in this conversation with a jumped up little idiot who's seeming on a superiority trip with you, I'd stop him in conversation, and ask to speak to a supervisor.

Point blank, CCCS has always told me to be tough. YOU dictate how the conversation should go (and I know it's tough, I'm useless at this sort of thiing ). You just tell them that they will need to speak to Payplan and that's that. Say you'll have nothing more to do with them, money IS being paid into their accounts at a manageable level and there's NOTHING more that can be done.

NO-ONE has the right to speak to you like that.

Don't stress about it, it WILL get better for you.

All the very best.

Crown

[QUOTE=chick-chick;4559126,_as_surely_this_is_confidential_information,_this_isnt_my_debt_and_what_if_he_hadn't_told_me_about_it?__Isn't_there_a_data_protection_act?:o[/QUOTE]

Yes there is the data protection act and if the person with the debt pursued the issue the DCA may be in a lot of trouble. noone has the right to tell anyone anything about ANY debt apart from the person who signed the original agreement