Newbie being chased by debt collectors

Pal88dog

Hi, 

Fully appreciate how fortunate I am not to have experience with dealing with debt and debt collectors, but I am a total novice in a situation which has now become overwhelming and stressful for me. 

Here is the background:

In Jan I hired a car through Hertz - was not given the car I originally booked and we picked up late at night. They made a big point of showing all the photos of pre recorded damage and telling us not to worry about checking the car over as it was dark. We did actually check the car and took a photo of the front of the car that was very slightly damaged but we did not report this to them. 

Returned the car the next day - the guy who took it immediately went to the front damaged area and said we had caused the damage. We denied this and they said that what would happen next is car would be assessed, we would hear in a few weeks and would be able to submit any evidence. We did not sign the damage report. As a precaution I cancelled the card I'd booked on. 

Fast forward to July - I receive a letter in the post with an invoice for £1200 for damage to the car. At this point, I've had a new phone as due to the length of time I assumed they had realised I was not at fault and had decided not to pursue it so no longer had any paperwork or photos relating to this. They sent a pack of photos but didn't provide any photo of the front of the car, close up enough to show not damaged, prior to our rental. 

I responded via Resolver, advising that I was raising a dispute and would pursue it further with the BVRLA if they still tried to claim the damage was caused by me. I received an automatic email back saying I'd hear back from them within 7 working days - then... Nothing. I never heard from them again. 

So once again assumed they had looked into it and realised that I hadn't caused the damage or managed to pin it on the next poor customer they'd managed to lease the car to. 

However I then received a call from EOS Solutions, on Friday last week, so 4 months since the last contact, telling me I owe this money and that their solicitors have checked over the paperwork and are confident its a closed case. 

I asked them to put this on hold as I'm in dispute with Hertz but they said there can be no dispute due to their solicitors confirming they have a case, and can only give me 7 days on hold for 'reviewing documents'. 

I am currently late into a high risk multiple pregnancy, have just moved house due to mortgage rates (Royal Mail redirection is on!) and am on statutory maternity pay with it being unlikely I'll be able to work for a good few years - so to say the financial timing is a bit crap would be an understatement and I am also absolutely fuming that I have not had even the decency of a basic level of contact from these companies - no professional letters, no emails, absolutely nothing and then having calls from debt collectors for the first time in my life. 

So I am completely clueless - what are my options at this point? I do not want to pay and don't think I should have to - but at this point in my life I really need this off my plate. Is there a chance this can affect my credit? Can I pay off just a small amount (I have some money saved for Christmas and the babies), or EOS did mention paying a small amount £10 per month for example. But do I have to enter into an agreement with them to do this?

Please if anyone can offer any advice on what my next steps should be it would be really helpful - I've been feeling sick with stress and I'm terrified it will affect my pregnancy let alone my future options when it comes to credit. 

Thank you! 

Grumpelstiltskin

Don't talk to these people on the phone, block their number.

If you get a letter by snail mail saying they are starting a court claim then come back here.
 
Don't let them get to you, they try to get people to pay.

Pal88dog

Thank you for responding. 
That sounds like a very scary and stressful option - surely they will not back down and will just continue to pursue me?
I have also moved house and whilst I have a RM redirection this is only for 3 months so after that I might not receive their letters?

fatbelly

You have told them that you consider that you do not owe the stated sum.

There is nothing to discuss unless you admit causing some of the damage, which you don't. 

So if they want money from you they must get a court to agree with them, rather than you. Before they start a court claim they must send the letter referred to in this article

https://debtcamel.co.uk/letter-before-claim-ccj/

Which is a requirement of the preaction protocol for debt claims.

Until you get one of them it is all hot air and empty threats

Should you eventually lose, and there's no reason to think you would, then a ccj is not registered if you pay it within a month. They have six years to start a claim.

Pal88dog

OK, thank you, that makes sense. 
However I am concerned that by ignoring it or telling them that I am not engaging in any conversations about it, they will be adding on additional fees, costs and charges?

sourcrates

Pal88dog said:

OK, thank you, that makes sense. 
However I am concerned that by ignoring it or telling them that I am not engaging in any conversations about it, they will be adding on additional fees, costs and charges?

EOS don`t own the debt, they will have been engaged to chase you for payment, only a debts owner can take legal action against you, EOS are all hot air, trying to imply they have power and authority, when in fact they have none.

They are simply a 3rd party instigator asking you to pay a debt they cannot prove is owed.

Hertz probably know they are on thin ice with this, they can`t add punitive charges to an already fictitious debt claim, you say you have evidence to the contrary of what they claim so I don`t understand why you are worried, if it came to a court claim, you could prove they were not being truthful.

My advice would be to send a copy of the picture you took to Hertz, and tell them to stop playing silly buggers, it will then likely just fade away.

Cloth_of_Gold

Pal88dog said:

Thank you for responding. 
That sounds like a very scary and stressful option - surely they will not back down and will just continue to pursue me?
I have also moved house and whilst I have a RM redirection this is only for 3 months so after that I might not receive their letters?

You can renew it. I have one at the moment and they should write to you 2-3 weeks before it expires giving you a reference number and you can renew online.

Pal88dog

Thank you - sorry I thought I mentioned that I no longer have any evidence regarding the damage, as all of this happened so long ago and I didnt think I had any need to hold onto it. Because they waited nearly 6 months to contact me, and I am someone who regularly updates and organises my paperwork/photos etc, I no longer have any records of the car hire whatsoever. They told me I would hear within a few weeks, which obviously wasn't the case, and in fact I have only heard from them once which just seems ridiculous considering the action they are now taking. 

When I received the initial letter from them, I tried to call on various numbers including the ones on the letter/invoice they sent me and despite calling maybe 20 times I was unable to speak to anyone about this, hence why I emailed via Resolver and just never received a response. So at this point I have no contact with Hertz whatsoever and wouldn't even know how or who to contact if I needed to! 

Pal88dog

I also have not been advised by Hertz that they were passing the debt on, so can I assume that EOS do not own the debt as you have advised. 
I am going to respond to their email and say that if they do not own the debt then I have no reason to deal with them therefore they can cease and desist contact with me?

sourcrates

The advice remains the same.

They say you owe it, you say you don`t, the debt collector has no power of enforcement, standard procedure with so called bad debts is to pass them to collection agents to chase up, the position on that remains the same, they don`t have ownership of the debt, so can do nothing but ask you to pay it.

If Hertz wanted to get serious, they would have to take you to court themselves, or instruct solicitors, then you would be able to provide a defence to the claim, and let the court decide who is right or wrong.

So unless you receive a 30 day pre-action letter in the post, I would say stay off the phone to them, and ignore them completely.

Pal88dog

Thank you, really appreciate the advice and will follow it going forward.