Debt Collection Agency

kjh139

Hi,

I am new to the forum so I hope I am posting in the right place.

I bought a car from a friend who recently split from her partner (he has a new girlfriend ) and has one child.

The lady owed me £1500 that she had borrowed, so we agreed that I would have her car and also give her £500 for the balance of the purchase price of £2000 in full and final settlement.

She phoned me a few minutes ago to tell me that she has just had a debt collection agency ring her to say that 'She' owes £1400 to Sky media (inclusive of charges). This is the first she knew about this as it should have been in her partners name. Apparently he put it in her name without her consent and has failed to pay the bill.

She has not watched or used Sky as he took the box and he told her that he had cancelled the contract, that is why she had not seen any bills regarding this account.
He has refused to pay any bills or maintenance and she is surviving on £142 per fortnight for herself and her son. Hence the reason I have paid her £500 and wiped out her debt of £1500 that she owed me.

Apparently the EX- partner was also contacted by the agency, as he had been dealing with them without my friend knowing and has told them to take her car as the debt is in her name, and the debt collection agency has said they will give her till this Thursday to pay. She has no money.

She has explained that she has sold the car and sent off the documents to the DVLA to transfer it to me. The gentleman from the agency told her this does not matter as he can still take MY car. I cannot pick it up until next week due to working in London and the car is in Northampton.

Can anyone tell me where I stand legally as I have made the payment and we have a signed agreement between us for the sale of the car.

1. Where do I stand with the debt collection agency taking what is now my property?
2. What can my friend do regarding her Ex-partner taking out an account in her name and not paying the bill? who can she gwet to help give advice as she rang her local CAB but has to wait for a 'call back'.

Any advice and help would be much appreciated as I have never had to deal with this before and neither has she.

Regards and thanks,

Kaz

Tixy

A debt collector cannot take an asset to pay a debt. The only people who could take an asset belonging to her are bailiffs.

Has the creditor taken this to court and obtained a CCJ against her - if yes they could be bailiffs, if no then they are not bailiffs.

Did this agency visit in person at her property?

It is your car and a bailiff should not levy on it now. It would be preferable if she could park it somewhere away from her house until you can collect it. It will just be easier if bailiffs are trying to collect this debt.

So if its not a bailiff then she should write to them to dispute the debt and state that she never took out the contract and ask them to provide proof of the alleged debt.

If it is a bailiff then she needs to not let them in her house and keep the door locked. Then get a copy of the judgement against her (the court that issued it will be able to provide it to her) Then seek advice from one of the debt advice charities.

kjh139

Hi,
Thank you for replying, sorry it is the Bailiffs that called. It has got worse, she has found loads of paperwork all unpaid bills. She is at her wits end. Can anyone advise the best places for her to contact/deal with this situation. Her EX just laughed when she finally spoke to him on the phone earlier. How he can treat his 2 year old son like this is beyond a joke.

Tixy

Ok - thats worse that it is a bailiff.

Have the levied on the vehicle? (put levy paperwork through her letterbox). If so she needs to write to them to state that the vehicle they levied on is not hers and was sold to you on x date).

They cannot take a car that belongs to you, but she needs to prove it no longer belongs to her - a copy of the signed receipt would be useful, or something like a copy of your insurance document showing you insured it from x date (before the date of the levy) would leave no room for any doubt. Have a read here http://www.bailiffadviceonline.co.uk/canthebailiff.htm

Hopefully the bailiff has not been in her house. If that is the case she needs not to let them in under any circumstances (and keep doors locked / windows shut etc).

Has she seen a copy of the CCJ relating to the sky debt?

She needs to try to get together all paperwork in relation to all the debts and I would suggest making an appointment to see a money advisor at her local CAB.

I'd also suggest she gets copies of her credit files to see if there are any other CCJs, and what other debts are in her name (not all debts will necessarily show on her credit file but it is a good starting point. She can get free access to her noddle file to start, and either pay £2 to access experian/equifax or could sign up to the free trials if she hasn't used them before and if she will remember to cancel them before they start charging.

ValHaller

kjh139 wrote: »

She phoned me a few minutes ago to tell me that she has just had a debt collection agency ring her to say that 'She' owes £1400 to Sky media (inclusive of charges). This is the first she knew about this as it should have been in her partners name. Apparently he put it in her name without her consent and has failed to pay the bill.

On just this little snippet, if the detail is true, then she should deny the debt and make Sky prove it is her debt - but if it is bailiffs, it seems to have gone to court.

I don't know what to make of this, but you need to bear in mind that she could be scamming you.

FireWyrm

You cant solve this with chinese whispers. Get your friend to register on here and we can advise her directly.

As fermi says, the Bailiff cannot take 'your' car as you now legally own it. She needs to prove this to them etc.

In the meantime, £1400 is ALOT to owe Sky, so how long has this all been going on exactly?

P.S her ex sounds like a charming piece of work. She needs some professional advice from CSA regarding forcing him to pay his share for their child.

spacey2012

Agree persuade her to come here, If sky can not prove she took out a contract they will be paying her.

Gordon_Hose

There is absolutely no way anyone can transfer existing Sky services (contract) into a new name. The existing contract would have to be cancelled and any early termination charges would be have been paid, then a new contract would be taken out in the new name.


Sorry, but something about what she's saying doesn't ring true.