Agent chasing

sportbeth

Interesting one....

I had a note last night through my door from a collection agent saying I owed Thames Water £600 odd over two accounts and he will call back on Saturday.

Now I know I was a bit lax last year due to job issues, but I'm sure it's not that much!

Have called the agents number today and got answerphone, so I have left a message and I called the head office (Interim Justicia) and they said the amount is £66 odd.

Two issues - the note says he will call back saturday, which I don't want as my partner might be there, and I am not sure that I owe that much!

Can I ask him to clarify the amount and then look into it before he calls round again, and can he actually call on a saturday?

If it is £600 should I offer a reduced settlement?

Thefunkygibbons

Have you tried Thames Water?

That seems like a huge amount

sportbeth

It is a huge amount - I'm a tad more concered about stopping the agent calling again first! Isn't there something where you can say all correspondance must be in writing and they're not allowed to call?

Thefunkygibbons

I would not panic just yet

The water companies are not allowed to cut you off

Previous advice on the board is not to let the agents etc into your house

It may seem embarressing to be in the street but don't let them in

barbie_babe

could you ring the water board and find out if it is just 66 pounds .if it is that amount would you be able to pay it over phone .then ask them not to send anyone out again.if it is 600 you sould be able to make an arrangment to pay this off over phone.i.e 20 pounds a month.then you still wont need any one knocking on your door .i would try today before they shut for weekend .so they can also get hold of man to stop him coming.

Lawbag_2

sounds like a small bill, but ramped up due to extortionate debt collection fees. sometimes I wonder whether these guys are no different from the cowboy car clampers or loan sharks!

sportbeth

Well. Having phoned the company and querying everything and then e-mailing them to state that I had no idea what the debt was and could they clarify everything, blah, blah, all correspondance in writing in future etc, they e-mailed me back saying "we understand from our agent that you are happy for him to visit"

I e-mailed back saying I certainly had said nothing of the sort, that he wasn't to visit until everything was clarified.

So I get home on Thursday and there is a note through my door with the company name, the debt details, my details, Thames water and red threats all over it saying "Pay it now or loegal action will ensue". No envelope, just a scrawled note.

So that went down really well with hubby to be when I explained it. (He came home before me and found it).

Doesn't Data protection cover this? Aren't they obliged to not reveal the details of the debt to anyone else. I mean there aren't any more details to be told as far as I am concerned!!!!

elliemoo

As far as I am aware collection agents must enclose any correspondence in a sealed envelope. They don't sound like a very professional outfit. I would keep on with the water company to try and sort things that way!

caffeinehit

If you have no joy with Thames Water, it's worth calling WaterVoice (the water consumers' body). They're generally very helpful and the water companies listen to them.

I know of people who've contacted WaterVoice when their water company's debt collection procedures weren't up to scratch. They've managed to get the company off their backs and into a sensible discussion.

Contact details are at http://www.watervoice.org.uk/aptrix/ofwat/publish.nsf/Content/customerservice#wvthames

sportbeth

That's very useful, thankyou. I have sent a very stiffly worded message of complaint to the head office of whoever he works for but doubt I will get much response.

regalia06

hi everyone im new to this site today
i phoned up justirim justicia(however you spell it)to ask them for a letter of confirmation of a debt that i had cleared .
the advisor said that she had no record of the debt ,but a new debt had been noticed,i asked what was this debt and she said it was to do with avon.
i said i have never done avon,she then said it was at yr old adress in blackpool,and the debt was £600,i nearly fell of my chair with shock,i said i can assure you that is not my debt,i asked her if there was a phone no that was given as she said i spoke to them in march and april of this yr,again i said it was not me ,and why dont you phone the no that was given to you
and then you no you arent speaking to me,but she said no she couldnt.anyway that was that ,then i phoned them back and another lady answered and i explained to her the situation,she then had a look and said that she was very sorry but that debt was not in my name ,so i was furious,i said what if it was an elderly person that was told they owed a debt of £600
all through an advisor giving the wrong information.i phoned avon up to try and sort the matter out but couldnt get through ,i phoned the police for advise ,because as far as i thought it was someone using my name to get things ,so to me it was fraud,but thank god it was sorted out eventually
that advisor should be reprimanded or sacked:mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: