Letter out of the blue from Wescot

Mackle

Good morning,
I have received a letter out of the blue from a company called Westcot, on behalf of a company that I have never heard of called Idem Servicing.

The letter is claiming that I owe £170, and need to contact Westcot within 10 days. There is no details of what it is for, how long ago it was, and who Idem Seriving are. When I've checked my credit score online, I can't see anything outstanding against it.



I've never received anything like this before, so I don't know if it's a scam or if I've been a victim of fraud - I have no idea what to do next?

The letter in full reads:-
IMPORTANT: NOTICE OF DEBT COLLECTION
Please read the front and back of this letter carefully.

Dear <TITLE> <FIRST NAME> <LAST NAME>
Wescot is a specialist debt collection agency and we have been instructed by our client, Idem serciving, to make contact with you to discuss the oustanding balance on this account and the repayment options avaiable based on your personal circumstances. These include:
-Paying the debt in full
-Contacting us to agree an affordable repayment plan

By contacting us you will be able to take control of this issue and we will base any repayment arrangement on what is afforable to you. The additional benefits of contacting us and agreeing a way forward are:


-You will not receive any further debt collection letters or calls from us regarding this account
-While your account is with us you will not incur interest or fees
-You will be taking positive steps to improve your credit rating

It is essential that you contact us within the next 10 days to resolve this matter and prevent further recovery action. You can do this using the details at the top of this leter.
If you need free and impartial debt advice regarding your financial circumstances the reverse of this letter contains details of organisations which may be able to help.

Yours sincerely,
Wescot Credit Services Ltd

fermi

If you feel you need to respond then there is a letter here:

---> Letter when you know nothing about about the debt - AKA "Prove it" letter

sourcrates

Hi,
Its just a standard DCA calling card, introducing themselves if you like, it may be an old forgotten debt, it may not even be your debt, only way to find out is to send the "provit" letter in Fermi`s link above.

YOU MUST RESPOND IN WRITING, DO NOT EVER PHONE THESE PEOPLE.

This is a way of finding out why they are contacting you, without formally acknowledging the debt.

They wont tell you what it is about until you ask them.

Once you have a response to this, post back if you need further clarification.

Oh, and those time limits are theirs, not yours, they are meaningless, and only serve to get you to contact them sooner.

Mackle

Many thanks


I presume that "in writing" means sending a letter, rather than an email?


Looking at the letter, I can only see an email address, phone number, and website address.

sourcrates

Mackle wrote: »

Many thanks


I presume that "in writing" means sending a letter, rather than an email?


Looking at the letter, I can only see an email address, phone number, and website address.

Yes a good old fashioned letter is the only legally recognized way of challenging a debt.

Wescott are local to me.

There address is:

Wescot Credit Services Limited
PO Box 137
Hull
HU2 8HF

fermi

You can try it via email, but much of the time these companies refuse to deal or give any info via that, so normally best to go via post.

Mackle

Thanks. I've sent a recorded delivery letter using the above template, so will see what threats I get back.


(I say threats, as I've done a bit of googling on Wescot - I see on some other forums people have received letters back in the last year or so with "Thank you for sending a commonly available internet template with no basis in law", so maybe I'll have one of these back!).

fermi

The letter here is legal and correct, and is based on the one from National Debtline who are professional debt advisors.

https://www.nationaldebtline.org/EW/sampleletters/sole-letters/Pages/Complaining-to-debt-collection-agencies-that-you-do-not-owe-the-debt-%28sole-name%29.aspx

The replies you are talking about are ones to people who have used templates from sites run by the far looney side of the internet, and which are most certainly a load of old bo**ux.

Mackle

Tracked letter and it was collected from the PO BOX, signed for by a completely illegible signature. Par for the course I guess.

Mackle

A week later and no acknowledgement to my letter at all.


However, their "within 10 days" period hasn't yet expired.


How do they normally deal with things such as the debtline template? Do they try ignoring it?

fermi

Sometimes. Sometimes they just go quiet and you never hear again.

If they continue to hassle you take it further.

See: http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.php?p=57703407&postcount=3