Debt recovery letter from Barrett Smith & Brown

ariarnia

avoint said:

So I am in a similar position to the OP here. Having sent them a Prove it Letter by email the replied that the debt is not FCA regulated and so it does not apply. I am requesting a copy of my account to reconcile the amount owed but they cannot supply this so I have no proof that this amount is due and they will only send a copy of the final bill. I have now asked them to only contact me by mail however today they send an email adding an additional Admin charge to the account.

I am in direct contact now with the receivers and have asked them to produce the necessary account breakdown to justify their requests but BBS are real cowboys.

thats a silly thing to say. if i loaned you 10 and you didn't pay me back i could pester and pester but eventually i would have to prove you owed me the money in some way if i wanted to enforce collection. suggests to me they can't prove it.  hopefully the receivers will be more help. 

FreeBear

avoint said:

So I am in a similar position to the OP here. Having sent them a Prove it Letter by email the replied that the debt is not FCA regulated and so it does not apply. I am requesting a copy of my account to reconcile the amount owed but they cannot supply this so I have no proof that this amount is due and they will only send a copy of the final bill. I have now asked them to only contact me by mail however today they send an email adding an additional Admin charge to the account.

I am in direct contact now with the receivers and have asked them to produce the necessary account breakdown to justify their requests but BBS are real cowboys.

If they claim they don't have to provide any proof, tell them to start court proceedings - A judge will rip them a new orifice without any evidence the debt is legit.

The debt will also have to be assigned to BSB, otherwise they would not be able to initiate any court action - There is a "due process" for assigning debts, and one of those will include notifying you of the reassignment. If they haven't followed the correct process, they'd be on shaky ground in court - The debt board would be able to offer better advice on those points.

[Deleted User]

I've had another of these emails quoting I owe UP money but now they're adding a £50 admin fee.
Never had anything in writing from them.

Wasn't even aware that I owed UP anything to be honest.

I always thought it was a bit strange that all they do is provide you with a payment link?

Last time I had this email a few months ago, I did call and leave a message, ask them to provide me with info etc but no-one ever called me back.

I am wondering if its just a massive scam to be honest.

ianccole

For the record - I'm being hassled by these bottom feeders also. This began in June for an alleged amount of £36. I left UP in 2019 and paid the outstanding amount on my account directly before transferring (indeed they blocked the transfer until I had paid). I would have thought that the 2 remaining years they were trading was sufficient time to contact me for any outstanding 

I called BSB a month ago and requested evidence but they did not respond. Today they have added £50 to the amount owing. I can see their game plan.

So I call again and request evidence a second time. I believe these tactics amount to psychological harassment.

I have used the template provided here: https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2607247/letter-when-you-know-nothing-about-about-the-debt-aka-prove-it-letter to the 'prove it' letter which I will send today. 

HBrom

I have just received an email from BSB that I owe £23.10 and they have added £50 admin fee.
I have never received a letter or email from them before.
I called the number given, no response and no facility to leave a message.
I've actually recorded a video to prove lack of response/means to communicate with them. You can't even email them! 
We were with UP for approx 2 months when we moved house, as far as I am aware we were paid up and went over to BG.....
Not really sure where to go from here

ariarnia

actually i'm confused. how can a debt collection business not be fca registered? i thought that was a requirement for debt collection in the uk. even civil debt collection. 

i would say anyone who feels harassed or who has asked for info about the debt they are entitled to recive should contact the fca to see what they say then maybe made a complatint to the ombusman if it keeps going on. 

here's the info i've found online: https://nationaldebtline.org/fact-sheet-library/harassment-by-creditors-ew/

Sammyd159

I’ve just found this thread, as I too today have had a threatening text and email saying I owe an extra £50 on top of the £53 I apparently owed. 

I moved house in August last year 2 days after my last direct debit and to my knowledge my account had been cleared and closed. 

I’m not paying these cowboys anything. 

DE_612183

Can you send them an "invoice" with an admin fee for processing their request?
See what they do with that!

FreeBear

ariarnia said: actually i'm confused. how can a debt collection business not be fca registered? i thought that was a requirement for debt collection in the uk. even civil debt collection.

Barrat Smith & Brown are FCA registered - https://register.fca.org.uk/s/firm?id=0014G00002gxTBrQAM - If Ashely Brown (email: ashley.barratt@thebsbco.com ) will not respond to your complaint satisfactorily, you can raise the issue with the FCA - https://www.fca.org.uk/contact

Then there is the ICO you could also register complaint on the grounds that they are processing personal data for the purpose of chasing a fictitious and non-existent debt - https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/

Perhaps even log it with Action Fraud - https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/reporting-fraud-and-cyber-crime - Harassing someone for a fictitious debt would be a crime on three counts at least (harassment, fraud, and sending a communication with the intent to cause distress).

ariarnia

FreeBear said:

ariarnia said: actually i'm confused. how can a debt collection business not be fca registered? i thought that was a requirement for debt collection in the uk. even civil debt collection.

Barrat Smith & Brown are FCA registered - https://register.fca.org.uk/s/firm?id=0014G00002gxTBrQAM - If Ashely Brown (email: ashley.barratt@thebsbco.com ) will not respond to your complaint satisfactorily, you can raise the issue with the FCA - https://www.fca.org.uk/contact

Then there is the ICO you could also register complaint on the grounds that they are processing personal data for the purpose of chasing a fictitious and non-existent debt - https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/

Perhaps even log it with Action Fraud - https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/reporting-fraud-and-cyber-crime - Harassing someone for a fictitious debt would be a crime on three counts at least (harassment, fraud, and sending a communication with the intent to cause distress). 

thank you. i think even if its not fictitious telling someone that the fca rules dont apply and continuing to chase and add fees when youve been asked for the details of the debt and not responded both seem like things that should be reported. its a regulated industry for a reason. they contact a lot of vulnerable people and that kind of behavour is just not on (imo)