Hassled by a debt collection agency for a debt settled last year!

laddie123

Long story short. I lost a county court case by default last year and was ordered to pay the claimant in full, which I did within the timescale. The claimant processed the (cheque) payment, as evidenced by my bank statement, but a few weeks later passed the non-existent 'debt' to a DCA. Obviously, there was something amiss with the claimant's accounting procedures and I emailed him to inform him of the fact and - yes - the debt had been settled in full. I phoned the DCA to inform them of the same (conversation recorded). Both the claimant and DCA were adamant that the no payment had been received. Both demanded copies of my bank statement. I refused on the grounds of privacy (the account is joint). More DCA letters arrived. Again, I referred them back to their client. All went quiet for over 6 months until this morning when yet another DCA letter arrived, threatening commencement of further legal recovery action and the possibility of a home visit from an 'enforcement' agent. My question is this: do the actions of the claimant/DCA amount to harassment? I could easily pass over bank statement copies to either party but I'm damned if I'm going to let them pore over the personal financial information of both myself and my partner. Is this unreasonable? In any case, in whose time am I expected to 'prove' th the claimant that the 'debt' no longer exists? Thanks for reading.

pinkshoes

I don't get the issue. Just photocopy the bank statement and blank out all information other than your name and the money they has been paid to the claimant. 

If they turn up at your door, then you can just use the bank statement to prove you have paid then they have no right to chase the debt any more. 

Aylesbury_Duck

pinkshoes said:

I don't get the issue. Just photocopy the bank statement and blank out all information other than your name and the money they has been paid to the claimant. 

If they turn up at your door, then you can just use the bank statement to prove you have paid then they have no right to chase the debt any more. 

Quite.  This is one of those occasions where "I'm damned if I'm going to do something that stops the thing I'm complaining about, on the grounds of principle" is a bit silly.   You've outlined a perfectly reasonable solution.

laddie123

Sure I could, pinkshoes, but why should I? I have better things to do than waste time correcting the mistakes of others. I explained to both parties via email that I'd be more than happy to disclose evidence of payment to a District Judge 'in chambers' (together with a costs shedule; my time doesn't come free of charge).

Aylesbury_Duck

laddie123 said:

Sure I could, pinkshoes, but why should I? I have better things to do than waste time correcting the mistakes of others. I explained to both parties via email that I'd be more than happy to disclose evidence of payment to a District Judge 'in chambers' (together with a costs shedule; my time doesn't come free of charge).

Because you're fed up with being hassled?  Isn't that why you're here?

If you're not fed up with it, then go ahead and stick to doing those better things.

The last point always makes me chuckle.  People can be quick to tell us their time doesn't come free of charge, or they don't work for nothing, yet they're quite happy to expect others to provider consumer rights or legal advice free of charge, rather than paying a solicitor. 

MattMattMattUK

laddie123 said:

Sure I could, pinkshoes, but why should I?

To make your life easier.

laddie123 said:

I have better things to do than waste time correcting the mistakes of others. I

By the sound if it you have wasted a lot more time by refusing to send them a bank statement, when doing so would have made them go away, permanently. 

laddie123 said:

I explained to both parties via email that I'd be more than happy to disclose evidence of payment to a District Judge 'in chambers' (together with a costs shedule; my time doesn't come free of charge).

You would not get awarded money for your time, at best you might get your parking paid. 

laddie123

Aylesbury_Duck said:

laddie123 said:

Sure I could, pinkshoes, but why should I? I have better things to do than waste time correcting the mistakes of others. I explained to both parties via email that I'd be more than happy to disclose evidence of payment to a District Judge 'in chambers' (together with a costs shedule; my time doesn't come free of charge).

Because you're fed up with being hassled?  Isn't that why you're here?

If you're not fed up with it, then go ahead and stick to doing those better things.

The last point always makes me chuckle.  People can be quick to tell us their time doesn't come free of charge, or they don't work for nothing, yet they're quite happy to expect others to provider consumer rights or legal advice free of charge, rather than paying a solicitor. 

Strange. I don't remember asking you, personally, to do anything.

Aylesbury_Duck

laddie123 said:

Aylesbury_Duck said:

laddie123 said:

Sure I could, pinkshoes, but why should I? I have better things to do than waste time correcting the mistakes of others. I explained to both parties via email that I'd be more than happy to disclose evidence of payment to a District Judge 'in chambers' (together with a costs shedule; my time doesn't come free of charge).

Because you're fed up with being hassled?  Isn't that why you're here?

If you're not fed up with it, then go ahead and stick to doing those better things.

The last point always makes me chuckle.  People can be quick to tell us their time doesn't come free of charge, or they don't work for nothing, yet they're quite happy to expect others to provider consumer rights or legal advice free of charge, rather than paying a solicitor. 

Strange. I don't remember asking you, personally, to do anything.

Do you understand how forums work?

user1977

pinkshoes said:

Just photocopy the bank statement and blank out all information other than your name and the money they has been paid to the claimant. 

Or even better, get a copy of the cleared cheque from your bank.

laddie123

Maybe I've got this all wrong. I imagined a forum such as this would be a good place to start looking for helpful advice/opinion before seeking professional counsel. I ask the question: do the actions of the claimant and his agent constitute harassment? Instead of 'yes/no/ possibly' I'm getting the suggestion that I should be proactive in proving to the claimant that full payment was made (I suspect it's for the claimant to prove the opposite), together with a few snide, sarcastic comments. Yep. I definitely got this all wrong.

Aylesbury_Duck

laddie123 said:

Maybe I've got this all wrong. I imagined a forum such as this would be a good place to start looking for helpful advice/opinion before seeking professional counsel. I ask the question: do the actions of the claimant and his agent constitute harassment? Instead of 'yes/no/ possibly' I'm getting the suggestion that I should be proactive in proving to the claimant that full payment was made (I suspect it's for the claimant to prove the opposite), together with a few snide, sarcastic comments. Yep. I definitely got this all wrong.

What you got wrong was that you posed three questions and didn't set out what answers you wanted.  You've been given perfectly reasonable and practical advice as to how to resolve your problem, but it's not what you wanted to hear.  The answers to your questions are "no", "yes" and "yours", whereas the answers you seem to want are "yes", "no" and "theirs".

So here you are:

Yes, it's harassment, no you're not being unreasonable, and it's their time that should be spent on it.

Hopefully that's helped you resolve the problem?