Sat here in tears

Katie~baby

Ive just had a phone call from a man at DLC debt agency. I owe them £599 and have been paying them £5 a month since january this year. This months payment didnt come out (its standing order) i dont know why it didnt and was only aware it hadnt when this man called me. I apologised and said i would look into it but could i pay the £5 now so i was not in arrears.

He refused and said that arrangement was no longer available and he wanted £70 now and £16 a month. I explained i do not have this but when i start my new job in october i could certainly increase to £16 a month. He stated he would take me to county court i said fine because at this time you cannot have what i dont have. He stated that the court would ask for all my outgoings i n proof ie receipts and bills etc i said this is fine he said they will check everything and want proof for everything! Again i said this is fine im happy to provide this as they will see what a dire situation im in. He then told me that im just better off paying them as the court would be able to tell i was lieing!! Ive not lied at all! I went to CAB and together we drew up a financial statement i took all my ingoings and outgoing proof with me then.

He said i could mention cab all i wanted but they were not recognised and the court wouldnt take there involvement and i was just using them as a get out clause. He said because he had to phone me for this months payment he was adding an 8% surcharge on as i was losing them money. Again i apologised and said i really didnt know why payment had not come out.

He then started shouting at me saying how i owed them money and he was going to get me for the full amount. I asked him to lower his voice and was told that he can shout all he likes as i owe them money. I told him to stop being so rude and again was told he can be as rude as he likes unless i pay the money. I said i didnt deserve to be spoken to like this and if he carried on i was going to report him, his reply 'on what grounds? your the one that owes money not me'...

Just to be clear, i WANT to pay my debts and have cleared 2 this year and am hoping to clear another in the next few weeks. I dont know what to do, until october i cant increase the amount and im sat here in tears. I dont want to not pay this debt i want to get it cleared as soon as possible should i just send payment for the £5 anyway?

Thankyou for reading x x

Kevicho

I hope you got this idiots name?

Snaggles

Oh Katie, how awful. Right, go and get yourself a cuppa, wipe your eyes, blow your nose, and I will be back in a few minutes with a template letter you can send to stop them ringing you any more.

Oh, and you're absolutely right about the courts, they wont make you pay more than you can afford.

Deep breath...and.......relaxxxxxx.......

Wont be long hon xx

Kevicho

I would have been tempted to say "If you cant keep a civil tone in conversation, id like to see if you could keep one in a letter, goodbye"

Snaggles

Here it is.....(((hugs to you))).....you don't have to put up with being spoken to like that. I'm not sure who posted this originally (Storm/Weller?) so apologies to whoever did for my 'borrowing' the letter without crediting you.


Dear Mr Horrible DCA.

I am writing to express my serious concerns regarding the telephone calls that I have received from your company.

I am now formally requesting that all further correspondence be made in writing only.

I demand that these phone calls stop immediately. I am familiar with the terms of Section 40 of the Administration of Justice Act 1970, and the Protection from Harassment Act 1970 and I believe your harassment places you in breach of these acts.

If you continue to call, you will also be in breach of the Wireless Telegraphy Act (1949) and, as such, I will report you to both Trading Standards and The Office of Fair Trading.

Take further note that continued telephone calls after the receipt of a request not to call may constitute a criminal offence under Section 127 of the Communications Act 2003.

You will be deemed to have been served notice of my request and I will deem it served by (FULL DATE), I am advising you that any calls received after this date will be recorded with the intention of them being used as evidence.


Yours faithfully,

benbenandme

:grouphug: Sending you big hugs sweetie .... have you checked your account to see whether the payment did go or not? And if it didn't do you know why? The guy is just a bully ... you're doing the right thing, you're trying to sort your debts, please don't let this bully get you down :grouphug:

madmoney_2

you are part of 99% of the population of this country in owing money - this guy had no right to shout at you the way he did, as jericho sed i hope you got his name so u can make a formal complaint, its totally out of order - they wont take you to court as it will cost them more in legal ffes than the actual amount u owe the, my advice would be sit tight until you start ur job then phone them with the new payment arrangement YOU have come to. hope this helps n keep us posted xxx:cool:

Broken_hearted

Use this statement 'all calls are recorded' it usualy stops them lieing and more often than not they hang up.

Snaggles

Then if you still get phone calls, there's this one you can send as a follow up:

Dear Toss-pots,

Ref. XXXXX

Despite my letters regarding ANY communication from your company, which stated that I require ALL communications in writing, your telephone calls continue.

This behaviour constitutes harassment; the letters stated quite clearly to you that I require ALL communications in writing for future Court use. Do not telephone me again - remove any telephone numbers you hold for me from your systems.

Your telephone calls are in breach of the Office of Fair Trading guidelines. If you continue with them after the receipt of this letter an official complaint, together with a log recording the times and frequency of the calls will be passed both to that office and to the Trading Standards office. For your information note that ALL telephone calls are taped.

This type of debt collection method is contrary to the ‘Administration of Justice Act 1970’ in that it is intended to cause alarm and distress to the recipient. Your methods will not be tolerated. A formal complaint, containing copies of all correspondence including yours, has now been submitted to the relevant authorities. This will be relevant to questions of your fitness to hold a licence under the Consumer Credit Act, whether or not it results in a prosecution.

Take further note that continued telephone calls after the receipt of a request not to call may constitute a criminal offence under Section 127 of the Communications Act 2003.

Communicate in writing and ONLY in writing, your telephone calls will NOT be answered.

HOWEVER, CALLS WILL TRIGGER COMPLAINTS TO THE REGULATORY BODIES.

I trust that I have made myself understood on this matter,

Yours faithfully,

akaddcmp

hi katie,

im not much use when it comes to debt/debt collectors but i think it would be wise for you to pay the fiver.

also threats and the like are tactics used by these so called debt collectors and its not something you should be crying about. you know what position you are in and how much you can pay them and the CAB are with you on this.

dont stress yourself over this. just pay the fiver and keep on paying every month.

Katie~baby

Thankyou for your quick replys!! And snaggles thank you so much for that letter im gonna get it sent this afternoon!
I know i owe them money and i know im in the wrong but i really dont think i deserved to be spoken to like that especially when i said i could certainly increase the first week of october. He also said i had defaulted on 5 out of 8 arrangements? I dont understand what he means? Ive upped the payments from £1 to £5 and was going to increase them again in october...

Im really worried now as he also mentioned balliffs?