The most random phone call ever! - Scotcall

ridgers84

So.... yesterday I had a phone call from scotcall. I wasn't in so was left a number to call back. I did some research and it turns out they are some dca outfit. Anyhow, I did actually call them back, mainly because I've been debt free since feb (and mega chuffed about it!) and wanted to see what they're problem was. So I called and I confirmed my name and address bla bla! He then told me that the phone call was being recorded, at which point I also made him aware that I was also recording the phone call. I wasn't bothered about giving them my details as I had nothing to hide (for once ha!). The guy said 'it's regarding an overdraft on a HSBC account for £2250, how would you like to pay?' At this point I had to laugh, 1) he just expected immediate payment 2) no mention of how old the account was or anything. Now, many moons ago I did have an account with HSBC, however I never had an overdraft on it. I did however have a credit card from them and I think he may have been referring to that. Anyhow, one question was all I needed to ask to make this company jog on.... 'How old is the account?' To which the reply was 'it's from 1998'..... 'Think you'll find that its statute barred then'. He made me repeat myself 3 times before he got the message. I finished by kindly asking him to remove my details and to never ever call me again.

My point of all this is....if it wasn't for this awesome website and the awesome people that contribute, then I'm fairly sure I wouldn't have had a clue what to do in that situation a few years ago. But when I called them I knew exactly what I was going to say and what my rights were. With regards to the account I can't for the life of me remember if I owed them anything or not, It was 16 years ago!!

Don't let these crooks win. Know your rights, stay calm and succeed!

sourcrates

ridgers84 wrote: »

So.... yesterday I had a phone call from scotcall. I wasn't in so was left a number to call back. I did some research and it turns out they are some dca outfit. Anyhow, I did actually call them back, mainly because I've been debt free since feb (and mega chuffed about it!) and wanted to see what they're problem was. So I called and I confirmed my name and address bla bla! He then told me that the phone call was being recorded, at which point I also made him aware that I was also recording the phone call. I wasn't bothered about giving them my details as I had nothing to hide (for once ha!). The guy said 'it's regarding an overdraft on a HSBC account for £2250, how would you like to pay?' At this point I had to laugh, 1) he just expected immediate payment 2) no mention of how old the account was or anything. Now, many moons ago I did have an account with HSBC, however I never had an overdraft on it. I did however have a credit card from them and I think he may have been referring to that. Anyhow, one question was all I needed to ask to make this company jog on.... 'How old is the account?' To which the reply was 'it's from 1998'..... 'Think you'll find that its statute barred then'. He made me repeat myself 3 times before he got the message. I finished by kindly asking him to remove my details and to never ever call me again.

My point of all this is....if it wasn't for this awesome website and the awesome people that contribute, then I'm fairly sure I wouldn't have had a clue what to do in that situation a few years ago. But when I called them I knew exactly what I was going to say and what my rights were. With regards to the account I can't for the life of me remember if I owed them anything or not, It was 16 years ago!!

Don't let these crooks win. Know your rights, stay calm and succeed!

:T:T:T:T Well done chap !!!!!


don't be surprised if jonny scotcall rings back though, they take a while to get the message sometimes lol

matttye

Sorry but what a strange viewpoint you have. You think they're crooks for chasing a 16 year old debt? It may be statute barred, but that doesn't mean you don't owe the money (by your own admission you can't remember whether you do or not). It only means that it cannot be enforced in court.

There was nothing wrong with your post until you called them crooks.

Might I suggest you avoid opening any accounts with HSBC as they will be able to use their 'right to set off' to repay the debt if you do actually owe the money. I could be wrong but I don't think there is any time limit on their ability to use this right.

sourcrates

matttye wrote: »

Sorry but what a strange viewpoint you have. You think they're crooks for chasing a 16 year old debt?

Well yes I do !! they know its statute barred, yet they lie and try to convince the OP otherwise, regardless of whether he owes the money or not, the statute of limitations is there for the protection of the public against actions such as this, its the law of the land, we cannot pick and choose which laws we obey and which ones we don't, the DCA have had plenty of time to recover the debt in the intervening years, and they have chosen not to do so, should this guy be pursued forever ? maybe you think he should !!

ridgers84

My reasons for calling them crooks is just through past experience with the DCA companies. When some of them have been proven wrong and then still chase you for money then in my eyes they are crooks. Just my humble opinion of course :beer:

matttye

sourcrates wrote: »

Well yes I do !! they know its statute barred, yet they lie and try to convince the OP otherwise, regardless of whether he owes the money or not, the statute of limitations is there for the protection of the public against actions such as this, its the law of the land, we cannot pick and choose which laws we obey and which ones we don't, the DCA have had plenty of time to recover the debt in the intervening years, and they have chosen not to do so, should this guy be pursued forever ? maybe you think he should !!

The guy said,

'it's regarding an overdraft on a HSBC account for £2250, how would you like to pay?'

Where's the lie?!

The statute of limitations doesn't dictate how long you can be pursued for a debt out of court, only through the courts.

sourcrates

matttye wrote: »

The guy said,

'it's regarding an overdraft on a HSBC account for £2250, how would you like to pay?'

Where's the lie?!

.

Not technically a lie, but not the whole truth either, a more reasoned approach would go along the lines of :


"its regarding an overdraught on an HSBC account for £2250, however this debt is now 16 years old, and as no acknowledgement of the debt has been made in those 16 years, it is now statute barred, however, would you like to make a payment at all "

jmhgibson123

in my small opinion on these matters is that if the original creditor has written the debt off, why the hell should someone pay dca , as far as im concerned on a debt that old the original company probably had plenty of intrest from op on usage of the card and if they dont want to collect they debt why should someone else be able to do it....especially from so long ago

matttye

sourcrates wrote: »

Not technically a lie, but not the whole truth either, a more reasoned approach would go along the lines of :


"its regarding an overdraught on an HSBC account for £2250, however this debt is now 16 years old, and as no acknowledgement of the debt has been made in those 16 years, it is now statute barred, however, would you like to make a payment at all "

So if you lent a friend a tenner, when you asked for it back would you say, "So about that tenner you owe me, I know you didn't sign a contract so technically nothing will happen if you don't pay me it back but would you like to pay me it back?" ??

No creditor is going to highlight the fact that it's statute barred when they ask the debt to be repaid and nor should they.

What is wrong, and many DCAs do, is when they threaten legal action for statute barred debts. THAT is a lie.

sourcrates

matttye wrote: »

What is wrong, and many DCAs do, is when they threaten legal action for statute barred debts. THAT is a lie.

Well I`m glad we agree on something matttye lad !!;)

ridgers84

sourcrates wrote: »

Well I`m glad we agree on something matttye lad !!;)

+1 :T :beer::T