In need of help!

AndrewKate87

Hi I was hoping that someone could help me with a company called Are You Owed Money (used to be called Sentinel debt recovery)
I had an outstanding debt with a garage for a repair which needed to be carried out on my car which in itself is a long story, but anyway i owed £900 and was contacted by sentinel to pay off this debt so we agreed to pay off £50 every 4 weeks as this was inline with my pay and the only way to set this up was by giving them my card details and they took payment every 4 weeks (first mistake). Around about September i didn't have enough cash to pay this so i contacted them to tell them around a week before and asked could they take it out 1 week after the original plan and then go back to the original payment plan which they agreed and said it was fine. Then to my surprise they took 2 payments out one on my original date which left me with the money i required to pay my council tax and then a second payment a week later i then contacted them and they did apologise and say it wont happen again. But this then happened 3 more times and i phoned them each time to tell them to stop it and reset the payments to the original plan but each of these times i was told that either the system was down or that someone would call me back (which they never did) Durin this time the company had change their name to Are you owed money i the phoned again to say that i wasn't happy and this is when i got a lady called Christine who was a very unhelpful she told me that "well i don't know who let you set this payment plan up as now the debt had risen to £1400 and we don't accept payments that low we will have to look into this and ring you back because you need to be paying this off quicker" this really did get me worried as i suffer from anxiety and depression (which i explained to them) really didn't help the matter, i did dispute the extra on top of the original debt but they just said "oh we will see what can be done with that when the majority has been paid off"

I'm a bit lost now because they kept taking payments outside of the agreed payment plan i told them that i was going to contact the bank and block them which i did so then they change the name of who took the money to vantige legal and took another payment so i got the bank to block them as well.

Now i have them sending letters to my old address even though i have told them i had moved at least 3 times demanding full payment and potential bailiff action.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

January2015

First thing I would do is cancel my card - that way no-one can take funds from your account using the old card details.

I would write and offer to set up a standing order for what you can afford. With a standing order you control who gets how much and the date they get it. If you find you don't have the funds one week you can cancel the standing order or change the date it is paid. You control the payments, not the debt collection agency.

As for the rest of your post - someone else with more knowledge than I have will be along to give you advice.

bargainbetty

Call your card provider and cancel the continuous payment authority or direct debit, whichever is set up - this will stop them taking further money.

Write to them - do not call them at all and do not take their calls, but do everything in writing and request a full statement of your account, with all payments detailed. Ask them to clearly identify any charges they have applied and request that they provide you with a copy of any agreement permitting them to add interest and /or charges beyond any original contract with the garage.

Also request their bank details so you can set up a standing order to pay them, or a payment book that you can use. Explain that due to their repeated failure to properly manage the deductions from your account you are unable to continue with that payment method. Tell them you will only deal with the matter in writing (email is fine) from now on.

Do everything in writing - nothing should be discussed by telephone. If they continue to call you, simply tell them you will only respond in writing and will not communicate with them by phone.

AndrewKate87

Hi There firstly thanks for the advice i have sent an email just now, although im not holding out for a reply as i have requested a statement from them previously but it never turned up.

sourcrates

Hi,
Ok, you have found out the hard way, how not to deal with a DCA.

(1) Never phone a DCA, things can be said on the phone, they would never back up in writing.
Always communicate in writing only.

(2) cancel the "constant payments authoritiy" on your card, with your bank.
I would also report the card as lost as well, get a new card, these two steps will stop them taking your money again.

(3) Check they haven't set up a direct debt on your bank account, another speedy DCA trick.

(4) They categorically cannot charge you interest unless the original contract specifys they can, as you won't of had a written contract with the garage, they are fleeing you.

Previous advise to get written statement of account is good, do this first before you part with any more money.

sourcrates

AndrewKate87 wrote: »

Hi There firstly thanks for the advice i have sent an email just now, although im not holding out for a reply as i have requested a statement from them previously but it never turned up.

No, email is not good enough or legally acceptable, it has to be in the form of a written letter.

AndrewKate87

the most recent letter i had stated;
Prior to issuing of a claim in the county court issued by Are You Owed Money Ltd.

UNLESS PAYMENT IS MADE BY RETURN
We will commence legal action against you in the respect of the debt detailed below.

Should you have any justifiable reason for withholding payment it is now in your own interests to contact us IMMEDIATELY ON 0845 470 6299.

In the event that the Solicitors are instructed to commence action any further costs with respect to this Action will also be claimed.

IMMEDIATE PAYMENT is therefore the only certain way of avoiding expensive legal costs.

Doing so will ensure that your account is cleared quickly and that No further Action will be commenced against you.

Failure to pay may lead to your credit rating being suspended

N FURTHER COMMUNICATION WILL BE ENTERED INTO BEFORE LEGAL PROCEEDINGS ARE COMMENCED.




I have typed this letter exactly as it is worded.

sourcrates

Looks like they intend to go the court route then, not as scary as it sounds, as long as you stick to the strict time frames applicable, a court won't make you pay more than you can afford.

AndrewKate87

Well I sent a letter (recorded delivery) off to these guys yesterday and explicitly said I would only deal with the in letter format and to my surprise they have been trying to ring me today but I blocked the numbers they use. We shall see what happens from here.