Am I responsible for this debt?

nom_de_plume

kiyamr2 wrote: »

I lived with my Dad in a rented council house, I've applied to take over the tenancy.
The bed and chair are up stairs.
The bank account has £500 in it, this is his private pension that was put in on the night he died..I'm expecting them to take this back at some point so I'm not touching it.

Just a thought. Did you act as guarantor to the finance agreement or was it all completed solely in your father's name?

If the goods were purchased in his sole name, I would be inclined to turn the tables on the finance company and, once the tenancy is changed, write and advise you are going to charge them for storage.

With regards to the bank account, I would advise not touching that under any circumstances. If DWP want any refund, let them deal direct with the bank. If not, just leave it be, at least for the foreseable future.

Malthusian

Ikano Bank is a regulated company (passporting in from Sweden). Make a formal complaint to them that they lied by claiming you are liable for the estate's debts when you are not, are harrassing you for a debt that you do not owe, and causing you distress and inconvenience during a time of grief.

If they do not shut up and offer you appropriate compensation within 8 weeks, complain to the Financial Ombudsman.

AnotherJoe

kiyamr2 wrote: »

Thank you for looking into it.

Should I send the same letter to Ikano and Willowbrook or just to one or the other?

Although Willowbrook have apparently told you they don't want the items back , I guess that was by phone so I see no harm in copying to them.

I agree with Malthusian. Unless you were a guarantor to your fathers loan agreement, send a seperate letter making a formal complaint that their representative lied to you and caused you distress (noting the date they said this in the letter ) and that unless they make it clear they will retract their position, you will be making a complaint to the FO.

kiyamr2

nom_de_plume wrote: »

Just a thought. Did you act as guarantor to the finance agreement or was it all completed solely in your father's name?

If the goods were purchased in his sole name, I would be inclined to turn the tables on the finance company and, once the tenancy is changed, write and advise you are going to charge them for storage.

With regards to the bank account, I would advise not touching that under any circumstances. If DWP want any refund, let them deal direct with the bank. If not, just leave it be, at least for the foreseable future.

Finance was solely in Dad's name.
Bank account is being left well alone for the foreseeable future.
Interesting point regarding carging for storage..

kiyamr2

No letter from Ikano today.

kiyamr2

Still no letter from Ikano. I am tired of worrying and waiting, so I just called them, asking what is going on.

So, a lady called Nadine answered, I explained about the 1st phone call from last Friday stating again that the estate is insolvent, but yet I was still asked if I would like to pay an amount there and then, and that when I declined a letter was being sent to me with a figure for final settlement.

So Nadine went off and explained all this to a supervisor/colleague, and came back with an apology for the phone call last Friday, stating that the person I spoke to should not have asked me for a payment or sent a letter with a settlement figure.
I have been advised to ignore said letter.

She did say that re-training will be on the cards for the other lady from Fridays phone call.

A new letter is now being sent out wanting details of the insolvent estate, Nadine could not explain further what will happen after this, but she did say that I shouldn't worry about it.

I am writing a letter of complaint about this situation I have found myself in with Ikano, if you listen to the recorded message from the Manager at the start of any phone call to them, it is all about how they want to help and make life easier for the caller. Well that has not occurred yet thanks to incompetent staff.

Do I send the complaint now, or wait until I get the letter from them wanting estate details?



Here is the number if anyone wants a listen 0371 7813080.

fatbelly

I honestly think you should leave them alone. You owe them nothing. They know you owe them nothing.

YoungBlueEyes

I agree with fatbelly.

Remind me of one of the nuggets of wisdom father was always giving out - "Don't go looking for people to give money to. If you owe it, they'll find you".

kidmugsy

Point out to them that you are aware that harassment can be a criminal offence.

Savvy_Sue

Definitely do nothing until their next letter arrives - and then it's probably not worth doing anything. They say one of their staff got it wrong, they're addressing that - move on.