SRJ Debt Recovery

1940sGal

I have been receiving several texts from this company and last week I received a letter, all of which have been asking me to call them quoting a reference number so that I can make an immediate payment. Now I have several problems with these correspondence:

1, I have no knowledge of any outstanding debt.
2, Not once have they stated how much this debt is.
3, In the letter, they say "We have made enquiries for confirmation of your current place of residence. Information has been received confirming that your address details have changed to this address." (Bearing in mind i've lived in this house for at least 20 years.)

Shouldn't my address/mobile number be under some sort of Data Protection? Or am i being really naive? I've read somewhere that these companies use a premium rate telephone number so i have no intention of calling them. But should i just ignore them?

Also, they don't state who their client is or where this debt is supposed to have come from...

Takingcontrol_2

Hello, I too received letters and text from this company, again with very little information attached! I sent them the "Prove it" letter from here and I have not heard from them since, this would probably be about 3-4 mths ago now. Perhaps this could be an option for you?

1940sGal

Takingcontrol wrote: »

Hello, I too received letters and text from this company, again with very little information attached! I sent them the "Prove it" letter from here and I have not heard from them since, this would probably be about 3-4 mths ago now. Perhaps this could be an option for you?

I was just thinking the same thing. Considering I have little else to do today I think i will!

Gareth19

May also be worth doing a recent check of your credit file just in case they have entered a default or anything. Rather see it now and challenge it than get turned down for credit later on........

Homeboy84

i have recieved a similar letter today it said the same thing "We have made enquiries for confirmation of your current place of residence. Information has been received confirming that your address details have changed to this address." and they want me to contact them quoting a reference but have not told me what its about, after googling the company i came to find that they are linked with fredrickson international and bryan carter solicitors.

i beleive it may be for a ccj made against me by mbna bank in 2006. i never had any intention of paying it as i was the victim of a scam where my bank account was used, i have never had any dealings with mbna bank.

its been over 6 years since this ccj was issued and i beleive exactly this month 6years ago was when i last spoke to debt collector about it.

im tempted to have a look at my credt file but am worried this might make me visible to the debt collectors, its a lot of money which i dont have.

any advice would be much appreciated, how did you guys get on with this company?

awayinchina

Homeboy84 wrote: »

i have recieved a similar letter today it said the same thing "We have made enquiries for confirmation of your current place of residence. Information has been received confirming that your address details have changed to this address." and they want me to contact them quoting a reference but have not told me what its about, after googling the company i came to find that they are linked with fredrickson international and bryan carter solicitors.

i beleive it may be for a ccj made against me by mbna bank in 2006. i never had any intention of paying it as i was the victim of a scam where my bank account was used, i have never had any dealings with mbna bank.

its been over 6 years since this ccj was issued and i beleive exactly this month 6years ago was when i last spoke to debt collector about it.

im tempted to have a look at my credt file but am worried this might make me visible to the debt collectors, its a lot of money which i dont have.

any advice would be much appreciated, how did you guys get on with this company?

Regardless of 6 years, if there is a CCJ it can still be collected after the 6 years. Have you ever thought that if it was a scam/fraud to report it and then get it investigated and also the removal of the CCJ? If it is 100% a scam/fraud remember they still have to prove you actually took out the debt (which the CCJ does as if you do not turn up it is awarded under default). Did you report the scam to your bank? also I would check my file as if this has happened once who is to say you have not been scammed more times?

even though the CCJ will drop off the CRA you can still be chased for the outstanding balance. So, it might be time to dig in and start digging out of this hole.

DVardysShadow

1940sGal wrote: »

they don't state who their client is or where this debt is supposed to have come from...

These are the criteria for ignoring them. Never phone and only write [with a prove it letter] if they allege a specific amount to a named creditor.

fatbelly

DVardysShadow wrote: »

These are the criteria for ignoring them. Never phone and only write [with a prove it letter] if they allege a specific amount to a named creditor.

I agree with this. We've seen a lot of posts where someone has said 'i'm sure this is XYZ that I owed in 200X'. Then engaged with the debt collector only to find it wasn't that at all!

Even if it was the debt you think, it's not certain that the DCA knows there was a ccj on it. You'd be surprised how little info is given about a debt when these things change hands.

It's not up to you to work out what this is. It's their job to tell you clearly why they have a legal right to demand money from you.

themull1

The company will normally follow that letter with a letter that mentions the company that the debt originally belongs to, i would hang fire, wait for the second letter, then send a 'prove it' letter to them, don't sign it. There are templates available that you can copy.

shedhead55

SRJ normally send out a phishing letter which reads as though it was written by a child trying to be clever, and claim that data protection legislation prevents them from giving details of the account to which it relates, this is the so called "soft" letter that they are required to send when unsure of the recipients identity.

If that letter is ignored then a couple of weeks later then they will forget their data protection and other obligations and send out a threatening letter giving client details and account numbers etc, and even claim to be acting on a clients instructions when they have bought the debt.

As others have said the best option is to send them an unsigned "prove it" letter.

Homeboy84

If i send a prove it letter and they prove it, where do i go from there? you see the problem is i dont want to pay it for 2 reasons i i did not take a single penny and the amount is over £5000 if it was something like £1000 i would have paid it even though i did not owe just to avoid the stress, is there any way of taking it back to court and having the decision changed? i suppose as its been over 6 years they would need the courts permission again to enforce it? i will be 28 this year and have been running from this all of my adult life, every now and then it comes back to haunt me and my life gets turned upside down.

is there anyone that can understand my pain? do i just pay it and take it as a loss?