Two DCA's chasing - Legal?

d0nnyoz

I have read somewhere (on this forum somewhere I believe) that two DCA's chasing a debt is illegal. Is this correct and if so, what can I do about it?

I have some debts that I am trying hard to bring under control but it is very confusing and ultimately hard to control when you receive letters and telephone calls from two different companies asking about the same debt!
When I challenged a solicitors firm who called me about a debt, they said that the other 'company' was just a different department!

Any advice?

rayday2

I had two DCA after me what I did was send them both a letter requesting a CCA with a cheque for a £1, straight away one admitted they didnt have it and send the cheque back. The other said they didn't need to show it I had to pay it, eventually they said they did not have it and it went back to the original creditor - a catalogue!

It is against OFT guidelines for two companies to chase. I don't have the link to the letter but I can guarantee hold tight and someone will pop along with it!

rayday2

Account number - xxxxxxxxxx

This letter in no way acknowledges that I hold a debt with your organisation or any other.

With reference to the above account, I would like the following information provided to me at your earliest convenience.

1. A true copy of the alleged agreement you refer to. This is my right under your obligation to supply a copy of the agreement under the legislation contained within s.78 (1) Consumer Credit Act 1974 (s.77 (1) for fixed sum credit). Your obligation also extends to providing a statement of account. I enclose a £1 postal order in payment of the statutory fee, PO Serial Number XXXXXXXX.

2. The deed of assignment allowing you to collect this debt

3. A statement of account

I would request that this data is provided to myself within the next 28 days, if you are unable to provide this data then I must insist that you cease chasing this unsubstantiated debt.

rayday2

Found it, when I sent the letter I did not enter into any other correspondance nor did I pay them, they wrote to me insisting I had missed a payment and thats when I replied with a copy of the letter I had sent and I got referred higher up DCA and they adimitted they could not chase me. I did get a letter from a so called solicitor saying I had not paid and I wrote to them saying that the DCA had admitted they could not supply me with a credit agreement when asked - touch wood not heard a thing since!

RAS

Using two DCAs is in direct breach of the OFT Debt Collection Guidelines, to which they should, but often don't, adhere:

http://www.oft.gov.uk/shared_oft/bus...dit/oft664.pdf

See above and report them both to the OFT and to the Trading Standards closest to their office.

d0nnyoz

Thanks very much for your responses and the OFT guidelines, which I read with surprise.
In section 2.6.c it deals with more than one DCA, but what is questionable is what constitutes a separate DCA? I had a solicitors call me (Bryan Carter I believe) and when I stated I was dealing with this debt through Fredrickson International, the woman on the phone stated that this was "just a different department" and then decided to end the call! As far as I'm concerned, I get two letters from two different companies.

Also, section 2.6.e deals with informing me when a debt is passed on from a different DCA. I had/have a debt which I think was with Mint credit card and it was passed to three different DCA's without my knowledge at all. It finally ended up with Interim Justicia. I complained to them about the debt being passed around and that I couldn't keep up with it all, but they were the worst DCA to deal with. They simply weren't interested in any dialogue.

For the record, I've cleared two debts through Interim Justicia at much reduced rates, so I'm happier.

Thanks again.

rayday2

It was Intrum Justitia and I think CRA or something that were chasing mine, Intrum were the ones who sent it to a solicitor after saying they could not chase it!

I have dealt with Fricksons too, in fact I will be entering disupute with them soon they say I didn't pay one month and I did, they don't listen and correspondance bares no reply to what I write to them about!

I would still send the letters off as even if they are the same company you need to know which company name to pay! And you never know they just may not have proof to chase it - who knows!