Commercial and Domestic Invesitgations

AshJack

Hi

I'm wondering if anyone can help.
I've just had a call from this company - in relation to a "debt".

I 'hired' a guy to do the plastering in the living room - he was good, on time and i paid him instantly.

The same guy i thought okay - seems to be good, i'll hire him to paint the hallway, living room, bedroom, sand and stain doors, skirting, etc - he sent me an 'invoice' same day he said he'd do it - the invoice didn't include the whole works, didn't include a vat number, addresss etc - so i told him, erm.. you may want to edit that and then send it back to me properly after the job. this was all back in may 28th. he started off the works by painting hallway, but then nothing else literally since then - i've had four months of excuses, he's got other work on, he's busy, he's not had a holiday. the payment was meant to start off after the work, in july - sept - he agreed to staggered payments after this.

Now, after giving him deadline upon deadline i gave him a final one via text on 27th August - deadline was 13th September - via text - I told him if he doesn't do it i will have someone else complete. He never picked up, he never gave me an address, he literally just made dates he didn't attend, or fobbed me off. His response in August via text was i'm busy, i'll get around to it don't worry.

I wrote him an email to state - the above and now he's passed it on to a debt collection agency.

I spoke to the agency who told me to send them proof, a part of me is seriously insulted that i should be the one to send them proof.. ? why? how dare they accept an invoice with nothing on it?

sourcrates

Tell them to get stuffed, you don't have to prove anything, it's up to them to prove you owe the money, not the other way around.
Ignore them, if the guy was stupid enough to start a court claim, you would have an excellent defence.

AshJack

Thanks for the support - i instantly panic at the thought of debt collection agency and i know this so-called builder was hoping for that response. I really don't want to go to court for this, but neither would i pay something I know i don't owe.

I also refuse to be put on the defensive which is what i thought when they asked me to prove it.

sourcrates

Cases such as this do not require you to physically appear in a court room, if it ever did get that far, it's all done online, or by post.
My suggestion, write to the DCA, never phone, give them a short explanation of the facts, tell them no debt exists, and invite them to either prove otherwise, or never contact you again.

AshJack

Thanks - i think in my mind i have the image of 'people coming round knocking on my door' and i instantly reacted with trepidation.

I'm going to try and create a short explanation and then leave it at that - the collection agency hasn't given me their address on the phone either (nice pattern i have for attracting individuals who refuse to do so) but i'll wait for a letter, before i respond. They only gave me an email address to send them the proof to.

Think i need to stop panicking and see what their next step is via letter.

Reassuring that if it ever did get that far that i wouldn't need to see this liar again.

National_Debtline

Hi AshJack

I agree with the advice from sourcrates. Just to put your mind at rest, even if a debt collector did knock on your door you could either ignore them or tell them to go away. They don’t have any bailiff powers.

You could base your letter to the debt collectors on this template:

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


James
@natdebtline

AshJack

Oh man.. - thank you.. James perfect timing. I was composing 'war and peace' to the debt collection agency, struggling what to write and what not to, where they may twist and turn my words.

I can use the template, pretty much word for word as i dispute the whole thing and send it when i get a letter, which i'm sure i''ll get.

But honestly, I can't say enough "thank yous", its such a relief to get help on this.

chanz4

Remind him that he had no written contract, which stated he could pass your details to a 3rd Pty. Tell the agency its dispute d and that no further correspondence will be entered Into

AshJack

Thanks Chanz4 - another thing that i can add to my list of craziness from this trader.

I've stopped communicating with the trader now, because his last written email to me was just basically threatening me with Debt Collectors, calling me a thief and taking me to court. He's not responding with any of my questions on why he is trying to invoice me for work he's not done, not to mention the invoice was incorrect in the first place and sent before the completion of any works. He ignored my question as to why it had no VAT number, no address, nothing, etc. I find it incredible that i'd have continued chasing him four months after the work was meant to have started, if he'd truly done the work as he claims. I'd love to get a clear answer from him on this, but i think you can probably tell i've reached the end of my tether with this and given up on any honesty from him.

I didn't think it would be productive to enter into an email brawl, i've said my piece and left it at that. I don't want to sound overly dramatic, but it makes me nervous enough that he knows where i live and i really hate that i've gotten to the point where i'm looking for his van outside my home.

I know that the guidance is to try your best to resolve it directly, but i think i've done enough over the period of time i've spent chasing him and really can't take anymore. And if he's just going to lie, then there's nothing to be said really.

I'm just now taking the advice i've gotten on here and waiting for the letter from the DC and then i'll respond with the standard template and then leave it at that.

Hopefully that'll be the end of it.

redux

Just to be clear, the first block of satisfactory work was paid for and he knows and has recorded this, or has he messed up his administration or thinking and is chasing you to pay for that first lot and that's also why he would not continue the rest?

Sounds disorganised, whatever the case.

AshJack

Hi Redux - the first bit - i.e. the skimming - he completed and it was paid for instantly. Now i think its because you can't leave a job when skimming..

During this time, he asked me who's doing the other bits and i said, I'm saving for it and don't mind waiting til i have the money. He said "oh I can do it for you now as I don't have any other work on and you can pay me in three stages afterwards". And i thought, okay sounds good. I'd had no issues with him.

So the rest of the job i wanted him to do, because he actually did a good job with the skimming (i could be petty and say i can now see where he's not fixed in a corner properly but its minor and can easily be caulked), there was no missed days. He didn't ask me for payment during, he was late a couple of days by a couple of hours but then he worked late, so i had absolutely no issue. I think this is why i'm so disappointed, I really never saw this coming.

In hindsight.. I should have remembered, during this period, he did get a lot of calls/text messages at the time, which he told me were from people waiting for him and he joked about it and said oh they are just being overly anxious, they know i'll do it - I thought he said this to me because he was trying to get across how much in demand he is.. now..

So I doubt he's confused, I think he really did think I'd hang around til he felt like it. I think he treated me like he treated everyone else chasing him and I think after four months of waiting, he really believed that i would continue to wait, regardless of what i told him/texted him. So when I didn't go 'okay - fine, come and do it' (that's if he really would have turned up as well, as he would say i'll come do it this date and then not turn up on the day) a week after the final deadline, he's now pulling a fast one.