What Constitutes Harassment?

Darandio

Bearing in mind that the CAB guidelines say that "contacting you several times a day, or early in the morning or late at night" can count as harassment..............

Now, this has only started today, but I am really finding it unreasonable already. I was due to pay back a loan today with Payday Express and was frantically trying to get the necessary funds up until late last night. I couldn't however, so PE duly tried to take the money overnight.

I first received a text at exactly 8am, confirming that the payment was rightly declined and to contact the office at the earliest opportunity. Given it was early, I did the usual morning routine of getting the kids ready and taking them to school, returning around 09:25. At 09:33, I received the first phonecall and spoke to a representative from PE, explained the situation, explained that the funds should be available next week to which they were very civil and said a note would be placed on my account and they would contact me again next week to organise payment. That should have been the last of it. Since then I have had the following:

11:12am - Phonecall from machine, requesting to contact them immediately.

11:26am - Phonecall from machine, requesting to contact them immediately.

11:32am - Text to suggest that I have ignored or not contacted them.

13:17pm - Phonecall from representative, told that already spoken to them this morning and received various other calls/texts. They were happy and promised no further contact until next week as agreed.

15:18pm - Phonecall from machine, unable to answer and voicemail was left.

15:44pm - Phonecall from representative once again, told that already spoken to them this morning and received various other calls/texts to which they just put the phone down.

15:57pm - I sent an email to customer services, outlining the receiving of several calls despite already speaking to them. As of now, there has been no reply.

16:43pm - Email received, implying that I have not made contact.

17:02pm - Email received, claiming that despite various efforts, they haven't been able to contact me. As you can see above, they already have, several times.

17:19pm - Text received, threatening that the account is to be passed on to the debt recovery section due to no contact.

I realise that this is the first day, and that others have it much, much worse than me, but is this really acceptable behaviour? Would it still even be acceptable if I had just been ignoring all contact? Given the fact that I have had direct contact, as outlined above, then this continuation of contact is surely unacceptable?

bigadaj

I think that is what you find if making a contract with the devil and then breaking it; is it fair, no, but this is the way these guys work and the only way they make their money as if they were nice and reasonable no one would pay back and they would quickly go bust.

Darandio

I have no argument with the fact that I have taken the loan and then failed to pay back. I also fully understand the tactics they will then employ to try and get their money back.

What I argue against is the way they have acted after I had spoken to them and agreed over the phone about the points stated above. I can only presume they have a less than robust system that kicks in when a payment is missed, and all systems go into automatic. That said, it's not my fault if their systems cannot talk to each other.

Apples2

Darandio wrote: »

. I can only presume they have a less than robust system that kicks in when a payment is missed,

Unless of course if that system is charging you for every call they make to you, every email / text message they send, in which case, their system sounds ideal.

You can write to them if you feel you are being harrassed but I can quite understand their perseverance.

tell_it_how_it_is

I agree it is somewhat ridiculous, although if there is one benefit to come out of it, it is that you'll be thinking very long and hard before considering taking one out again.

Darandio

Apples2 wrote: »

but I can quite understand their perseverance.

I could understand it as well, if nobody had been spoken to or I was purposely ignoring their contact. But that clearly is not the case here.

Pegjes44

They will keep phoning until you pay....Check the others posts about Payday Loan.

skintandscared_2

Apples2 wrote: »

You can write to them if you feel you are being harrassed but I can quite understand their perseverance.

Really? Whilst I agree totally that these payday loans must be repaid when agreed (to avoid the further astronomical charges that will be heaped on), how do you understand their "perseverance" at contacting the OP NINE further times, after the OP did exactly as they asked and called them, explained the situation and came to an arrangement? The OP didn't avoid them or ignore them. Why do they need to "persevere" for information they have already received and agreed to?

Darandio

skintandscared wrote: »

after the OP did exactly as they asked and called them, explained the situation and came to an arrangement?

I didn't actually call them myself, as explained above it was early so had to do the school run etc. Before I had the chance to make the call, they called me and I thought that was that.

Of course, it's irrelevant who called who, it would have been the same outcome anyway.

As it stands currently, I have had two further texts today at 08:52am and 12:07pm, both stating that they have unsuccessfully tried to contact me. Completely untrue.

A further text received at 13:19pm, again claiming that due to no contact (untrue), the account is to be passed over to the debt collection section. I now make that 14 seperate contacts in little over 27 hours with 12 of them coming after the contact was made and agreed.

It's completely unacceptable and I am logging and detailing everything that happens. Regardless of whether they are getting their money back or not, which they are, I am going to make sure this information is passed on. Whether anything is done about it is another question.

Apples2

skintandscared wrote: »

Really? Whilst I agree totally that these payday loans must be repaid when agreed (to avoid the further astronomical charges that will be heaped on), how do you understand their "perseverance" at contacting the OP NINE further times, after the OP did exactly as they asked and called them, explained the situation and came to an arrangement? The OP didn't avoid them or ignore them. Why do they need to "persevere" for information they have already received and agreed to?

I don't mean to suggest 9 times is acceptable, but then nor is taking a Payday Loan in the first place.

Their entire customer base is one which is likely to miss the repayment, I do entirely understand that they would be reluctant to have one short discussion with the defaulter and sit and wait patiently.

You have to remember who you are doing business with, a PDL is not a reasonable, respectable lender (not that there seems to be one of those around at present!!!).
This is the bottom of the barrell, they make lots of profit from chasing up all the avoiders, which the OP is one of.

The message is clear, borrowing from this type of lender is completely unnacceptable, they chase, hound, add extortionate fees and generally make life miserable. I don't see the point of complaining at all.
Harrassment can be prevented with a quick letter, if they continue to ignore that, then there are grounds for complaints.

bankhater_1965

Apples2 wrote: »

I don't mean to suggest 9 times is acceptable, but then nor is taking a Payday Loan in the first place.

Their entire customer base is one which is likely to miss the repayment, I do entirely understand that they would be reluctant to have one short discussion with the defaulter and sit and wait patiently.

You have to remember who you are doing business with, a PDL is not a reasonable, respectable lender (not that there seems to be one of those around at present!!!).
This is the bottom of the barrell, they make lots of profit from chasing up all the avoiders, which the OP is one of.

The message is clear, borrowing from this type of lender is completely unnacceptable, they chase, hound, add extortionate fees and generally make life miserable. I don't see the point of complaining at all.
Harrassment can be prevented with a quick letter, if they continue to ignore that, then there are grounds for complaints.

totaly agree here , just a short letter, if they are ringing, texting that many times its bordering on harrasment and it doesnt matter who the lender is they all have to stick to the rules, let them pass it over to a debt collector, a debt collector is powerless completly without the backing of the court and this is a long way from that ,