Random debt management calling....?

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Hey guys, wondered if you could help me.

My dad answered a call at home this afternoon from a company simply called 'DCS' (a google search yields no results to a particular company and phone number that match), and the person on the other end wanted to talk to me about my DMP.

Obviously when my dad asked how they'd got hold of my information, the person on the other end said they couldn't tell him. I'm going to call them in a short while to find out what it's all about, but does anyone know if a company such as this can legally get hold of my information without my knowledge or consent in order to ask me to review a DMP that was only accepted by my creditors about 2 months ago?

Or does this sound like one of the creditors has sold my information on in an attempt to pressure me into shelling out more per month than what was originally agreed?

It seems areas like this are legally a bit of a grey area as a lot of companies like this one work on the principal of data mining from others. But if it's about my DMP, surely they must have some pretty sensitive information if they got it from who I think they got it from?

Any help or advice much appreciated!

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As an update to anyone interested.....

The person who spoke to my dad said they'd be in the office until 6PM.

Called at about 5:05PM. Office was shut and answerphone was on; 'Welcome to Debt Collect, our offices are currently shut....'

Not very promising if their own staff can't remember their own opening hours!

Sounds like either some two-bob 'debt help' place got hold of my information off a credit search, or one of my creditors has sold on a debt without my knowledge and/or consent, despite agreeing to the terms of my DMP the other month.

Their office is apparently open until 9:00PM tomorrow. I'm going to call tomorrow more out of intrigue now....

Tixy

Sounds most like a debt collection agency, and that one of your creditors has passed on your account to a debt collection (not necessarily sold the debt, just handed over the debt collection activity).

Thats fairly normal when in a DMP, even if they initially say they have agreed to your DMP.
If they call again I'd just ask them put anything in writing to you, maybe Dad could say the same to them?

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Tixy wrote: »

Sounds most like a debt collection agency, and that one of your creditors has passed on your account to a debt collection (not necessarily sold the debt, just handed over the debt collection activity).

Thats fairly normal when in a DMP, even if they initially say they have agreed to your DMP.
If they call again I'd just ask them put anything in writing to you, maybe Dad could say the same to them?

It could be, I know the unhelpful bank tried handing my details to a DCA without my knowledge before but that backfired on them when I got the FOS involved and shortly afterwards re-did my SOA to show them I wasn't trying to shirk any debts and simply needed time to get my house of cards all lined up.

I don't see why they'd think it wise to do it again so shortly after agreeing to a DMP though. My SOA was re-done and sent to them in August, nothing will have changed within a month and a bit and there's no way I can afford to pay more to them - the person who spoke on the call said they wondered if I'd be interested in 'reviewing' my DMP - this got my back up immediately when I heard about it, because in layman's' terms, it sounded to me like they were saying "creditor X doesn't think you're paying enough, so they've asked us to ask you if you want to stump up more per month?"

Any advice on how to politely but categorically go and tell them if they wouldn't mind awfully going and fornicating with themselves? Unless I don't acknowledge the details they have in their system are related to me, and state that I won't deal with anyone else but the original creditor?

happy_bunny_2

You live at the same address as your dad?

Telling him they want to talk to you about your DMP breaks the data protection act.

Complain in writing and report them to the ICO.

Larac

I still get random companies ringing me offering to wipe out all my debts despite being in a DMP for two years. God knows where they got me details from. Got a call blocker on my home phone as got fed up with it and if they ring my mobile, they get short shrift.

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happy_bunny wrote: »

You live at the same address as your dad?

Telling him they want to talk to you about your DMP breaks the data protection act.

Complain in writing and report them to the ICO.

Yep, currently living at home with parents as my last flat-share didn't go according to plan. Not debt-related, ended up having a bit of a bust-up with the other 'flat-mate'.....

Would it be that simple to break the DPA? I definitely would have said so if they'd gone on to mention creditors' names, how much I owe etc, but does mentioning the nature of the call (even if he asked) quantify it, or does it nullify it because he said 'what's the nature of the call'?

I'll call them when I get back home from work tomorrow. More out of curiosity than anything else, I'm not giving them any additional information and if they probe I'll just tell them I'll only talk to the creditor directly as that's who I have agreed the DMP with, seeing as I've not been made aware of details changing hands.

Tixy

It would likely be a breach of the OFT guidelines 3.7q

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.php?p=47811943&postcount=8

q. acting in a way likely to be publicly embarrassing to the debtor, either deliberately or negligently (that is to say, through lack of care)

For example:

• using postcards, or other correspondence, or leaving answer phone messages (including via interactive voice messaging (IVM) 36) in a way which may disclose to someone other than the intended recipient the involvement of a debt recovery business
• asking others to pass on messages to debtors, and in so doing potentially revealing to them that the intended recipients of such messages are being pursued for repayment of debts
• posting messages on social networking sites in a way that might potentially reveal that an identifiable person is being pursued for the repayment of a debt.

36 Interactive voice messaging (IVM) and other similar means of communication should not be employed in the debt recovery process in the absence of sufficient safeguards being employed to prevent a debtor’s personal information being communicated to/accessed by a person other than the debtor (or his nominated representative).

poppasmurf_bewdley

Why do people now have what seems to be an inordinate desire to ring back to someone who has rung them? Time after time, I read on these forums and others that a strange telephone number has appeared on their phone and they have to ring back and find out who it is or what it is about.

Surely, if it is important the caller will call again, without the called person having to go to the expense to calling them.

At least one debt collector rings people using an 01902 or 0845 number, and when those numbers are called back they're told to call an 0844 premium rate number. Another scam which is currently doing the rounds is of an 070 number calling umpteen mobile phone and hanging up before anyone answers. About 90% of those called ring back little realising that an 070 number is not a mobile but a private number which can cost up to £1.50 a minute.

My advice is not to ring any firm back but wait for them to ring you again. If they don't ring back, you haven't lost anything. If you do ring back, it can only cost you.

I'm not getting at this particular OP, who seems to be a victim of mistaken identity. But surely, if it's important to this company, they will ring again. If they don't, then the OP has lost nothing.

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poppasmurf_bewdley wrote: »

Why do people now have what seems to be an inordinate desire to ring back to someone who has rung them? Time after time, I read on these forums and others that a strange telephone number has appeared on their phone and they have to ring back and find out who it is or what it is about.

Surely, if it is important the caller will call again, without the called person having to go to the expense to calling them.

At least one debt collector rings people using an 01902 or 0845 number, and when those numbers are called back they're told to call an 0844 premium rate number. Another scam which is currently doing the rounds is of an 070 number calling umpteen mobile phone and hanging up before anyone answers. About 90% of those called ring back little realising that an 070 number is not a mobile but a private number which can cost up to £1.50 a minute.

My advice is not to ring any firm back but wait for them to ring you again. If they don't ring back, you haven't lost anything. If you do ring back, it can only cost you.

I'm not getting at this particular OP, who seems to be a victim of mistaken identity. But surely, if it's important to this company, they will ring again. If they don't, then the OP has lost nothing.

Fair comment, but I run on the principal that some of these numbers need to be called back to make sure they're not about to do something untoward with your debt levels - I've had it on occasion before when the unhelpful bank 'rang me', I didn't call back (as I refuse to call premium rate numbers for their collections department - surely a breach of OFT regs as it is?), and they sent me a letter claiming that 'despite numerous attempts' to contact me, I had not responded so they were selling my debt to a DCA. Hence my earlier post about getting the FOS involved.

Anyway, as an update to this thread for anyone interested.....

turned out it was one of those 'we can solve your debt problems' hotlines who wanted to 'help' me with my DMP. In other words, now that I've done the hard work of setting the whole thing up, they want to 'manage' it for me. For a fee, of course.

Asked them where they got my information from. "Oh, we're sent details that are put onto our call list." Ok, but how can I trace back who sent that information to you? "Oh, I'm afraid you wouldn't be able to, we wouldn't know which company your details came from."

So, you're a data mining company then? "No, we're given client lists and contact them to see if we can help."

Yeah....... get rid of my details from your system, and if I hear from you again, I'll be pursuing you for harassment.

Be interesting to see if I get other calls from these 'help' companies. I'd like to find out how my details have become available to these companies. If I had to take a guess, this has the unhelpful bank written all over it.