Questioned debt - received reply. What next?

benson98

Hello Everyone,

I have a few outstanding debts that I have neglected and I am trying to pay off. I have debt agencies chasing me and sending letters demanding payment.

This is the first reply. It is an outstanding phone bill. Lowell Portfolio I are asking for the money.I have sent the following letter asking to prove the debt.

You havecontacted us regarding the account with the above reference number, which youclaim is owed by ourselves.

We wouldpoint out that we have no knowledge of any such debt being owed to ...........
We are familiar with the ‘Office of FairTrading Debt Collection Guidance’ which states that it is unfair to senddemands for payment to an individual when it is uncertain that they are thedebtor in question.

We would also point out that the OFT say underthe Guidance that it is unfair to pursue third parties for payment when theyare not liable. In not ceasing collection activity whilst investigating areasonably queried or disputed debt you are using deceptive/and or unfairmethods.
Furthermore, ignoring and/or disregardingclaims that debts have been settled or are disputed and continuing to makeunjustified demands for payment amounts to physical/psychological harassment.

We would ask that no further contact be madeconcerning the above accounts unless you can provide evidence as to ourliability for the debt in question.
We await your written confirmation that thismatter is now closed. Otherwise we will have no option but to make a complaintto the trading standards department and consider informing the OFT of youractions.

We look forward to your reply.
This is the reply they sent:

Thank you for your recent correspondence regarding the above matter.

Your comments have been noted and after conducting an internal trace procedure, using various credit reference agencies, we do believe you are in fact our debtor. If you believe this information to be incorrect then we would advise you to contact the credit reference agencies.

The outstanding balance relates to an Orange mobile phone contract with the original reference number ****. The mobile number assigned to this contract was 0****. The contract was taken out over an 18 month period and the chosen tariff was ****.

The last payment made to this account was for £392.72 which was received on the ***2010

Please refer to the attached statement as verification of our claim.

Lastly please note that this account is being managed by Advantis Credit Limited, who can be contacted using the following details.

We trust this clarifies the situation.

So... The attached "statement" is only a print out of their account and payments that were made before. It is not on the phone companies paper or have any reference to it. I have never paid anything to the agency.

How do I respond?

Thanks again. I look forward to your replies.

rizla_king

Tell them you are now reporting them to the OFT for refusing to provide proof of a reasonably queried or disputed debt.

benson98

Thank you rizla king!

Are there template letters for this?

I've also had replies from other agencies about different debts. They have replied saying that they are no longer dealing with it and give details of a new agency. Is this a good sign?

Thank you

benson98

Good morning mse people,

Are there template letters for reporting to oft re. provide proof of a reasonably queried or disputed debt?

Thank you

happy_bunny_2

Morning

Not seen any templates. Just use plain English.

These are the guidelines, an interesting read if you have time:
http://www.oft.gov.uk/shared_oft/consultations/OFT664Rev_Debt_collection_g1.pdf

Also write to the company telling them they should provide reasonable proof as per these guidelines and until they do they can go away and you are reporting them to the OFT.

HB