If you genuinely didn't buy from that company or have anything on credit, I would like to jump in on this thread and say ignore the letters.
You won't get any visits.
You will get letters at fixed intervals, being sent automatically, all 'threatening' what might happen next if you don't pay - but the following letter will give you another chance, offer to clear everything for a discounted fee and - then - after you ignore those, more threats of a visit. You might even find that it comes from a different company (all related if you investigate) and the address moves from one far away to something nearer to you - perhaps to intimidate you into thinking they've referred it to local debt collectors who will now start to camp on your doorstep.
Check the wording very carefully (compare with letters on the above mentioned forum) and you'll see how it says things like 'might' or 'could result in' as they are clearly trying it on - and in many cases chasing debts that are statute barred (I think it's seven years not six).
What these companies are doing, having bought the debts for a very big discount, is try and get you to settle - and pay anything. I'm sure if you phoned up and offered to pay £50 to shut them up, they'd take it... but of course, you don't pay to stop being hassled - you just keep a copy of the letters and wait until they give up, which in my case (again, a debt from a company I hadn't dealt with) was about a year and a half - with a break of a few months inbetween.
Maybe they will try again, but I could see from the date that the debt would have been statute barred anyway, so for them to try chasing debts that aren't even legally enforceable shows how desperate they are. The fact is, they could NEVER go to court and so the most they can ever do is keep sending letters forever!
Oh, the other thing you'll notice is that the amount owed doesn't go up.
It's up to you to reply and ask them to stop, using a standard letter and threaten to take action for harassment and while that could work, it might also alert them to the fact that you do exist and for them to try harder to talk you into paying them to stop that harassment. If they think the letters are landing on an empty doormat, or being forwarded on to goodness knows where, I'm sure their computer has a set number of attempts before they move on.
Oh, and ignore any forum members on here that say otherwise (like the fact they can come and take anything they want), as it is total nonsense. Not that they'd visit you anyway, as that would cost them a fortune - sending a letter every 4-5 weeks is cheap, if they expect a 5 or 10% success rate (and, who knows, maybe they get more as people do get worried about such things and want an easy life - making them do silly things, like pay for a debt that isn't theirs).
I would check your credit files with Exeprion and Equifax and the other one I can't remember the name of it though to see if everything is still okay with them and to make sure no one has opened anything in your name or that this debt hasn't been registered against you.
To the previous poster who said ignore it it goes away after 6 years - 6 years is a long time especially if you need credit for anything. I had an old defaulted debt from when I was young and stupid on my file a couple of years ago that was going to come off in a matter of months and it caused no end of problems when I was applying for a mortgage even though it was almost 6 years old and I had been debt free for nearly 6 years.
But presumably this debt collector has bought up this debt because its already several years old. I have no clue when the debt is supposed to be from originally. But from my understanding this company collect very old debts.
Well Ive never had any mail before about debts from anybody so Im not sure how I could be on any credit blacklist. But I probably will have to check now because of this nonsense.
I should add that they won't place anything on file with a credit reference agency. That's another scare tactic.
Of course you may wish to check for your own peace of mind, but companies can't just put anything they want on your record. I am sure that Experian and Equifax are well aware of these companies too - although they do appear to change name, or have multiple names.
To clarify; I am only talking about companies that buy old debts like the example on this thread. Don't take this to mean that a genuine debt collector for a genuine debt that can be attributed to you wouldn't see added fees and court action, leading to a visit from bailiffs and being blacklisted.
Oh, and ignore any forum members on here that say otherwise (like the fact they can come and take anything they want), as it is total nonsense. Not that they'd visit you anyway, as that would cost them a fortune - sending a letter every 4-5 weeks is cheap, if they expect a 5 or 10% success rate (and, who knows, maybe they get more as people do get worried about such things and want an easy life - making them do silly things, like pay for a debt that isn't theirs).
Yes there are a couple of posters whose advice I shall ignore. The ones suggesting I should somehow comply with these collectors. No chance! Not only would I be a gullible idiot for paying a debt thats not mine but I'd also be encouraging them. I will ignore their letters...for now.
They stand no chance of getting a penny from me. However, I do worry that more vulnerable people do get conned by them. Especially the elderly who are probably scared by receiving such a letter. Then they probably get straight on the phone to them in a panic and have to deal with some intimidating yob. Or manipulative snake. Which leads them to pay up even if not their debt...out of fear and panic. Many people dont have the internet or anybody to seek advice from about what to do. Which means they probably walk straight into the debt collectors trap; phoning them or sending them a letter with their signature on. Two big no no's.
I got a penalty fare last year at a train station for not buying a ticket extension that I could not buy before boarding (and not because the ticket office was closed or a machine was out of order - it was because they physically couldn't sell ticket extensions).
Anyway, I argued and eventually accepted the PF and paid the bare minimum. I immediately put in an appeal and won immediately (they processed it incredibly quickly). I got a small apology but did follow it up to ensure it couldn't happen again, at least for me (I carry the apology with me in case I encounter such badly trained revenue officers again).
However, I've seen PFs being issued incorrectly and I have no doubt that people pay and just want the problem to go away. £20 to get someone off your back seems like a bargain, and I bet many people may intend to appeal but never get around to it.
You can't let these people win when they're trying it on.
Now, if someone was genuinely given a penalty fare, or chased for a real debt, then good luck to them. Take the offenders for every penny they have, but the companies chasing 'dead' or non-existent debts should be put out of business as they serve no purpose whatsoever. It's nothing less than legalised robbery, praying on the weak who will get (as you will no doubt get) the letter offering a discounted amount to settle, and be tempted to end the fear that someone will come around one day with a van to remove all your possessions - and idiots on here that suggest this could actually happen.
So, your solution is to take out loans with no intention of paying them back?
Remember there is a difference between a debt collection agency "trying it on" and a court instructed baillif.
I had intentions to pay them back, and for the 1st few months I did. Then I met someone whom asked me if I had any plans to go back to the UK, and said no. So after a piss up weekend, and spending too much money, I chose not to transfeer my money to my UK account anymore.
Yes I know the difference between a court summons to advise a baliff is coming, and I always paid these or paid the minium at least, this normally got rid of them once and for all.
Debt letters mate the majority of my waste paper collection.
I had a friend of mine whom worked in one, and advised of a great response I gave when one of their reps called me, and I said I was in Jamaica gone fishing. !
People like you caused the global credit problems.
Not the bank who lent you the money.
Not the government who allowed banks to lend money.
But yourself, the person who made the final decision to take the money, spend it and not pay it back.
By the way, I think you're trolling.
Yes its the banks fault. ( I had already had plans to leave the country)
me : Can I please extend my overdraft until the end of the month by 20 quid
Bank.. : No, we want to give you a new bank account, with an extended overdraft facility
Me : OK
Bank : Also we would also like to offer you a loan for 6700 pounds.
Me: OK
Bank : what do you intend to do with the money.
Me. I have had a job offer in " COUNTRY " and intend to move there.
Bank : Good luck, the money is now in your account.
Another thing, I did not have the best of historys with my bank prior to this, and run things like my credit card to the maxx limit month in and month out, normally they would not piss on me if I was on Fire, but I made sure I never missed a payment, or told them before hand if there was going to be a problem.
Banks fault.. not mine.
All they cared about when they offerd me the loan was the commison they was going to get of it. I loved the mid 00´s
Yes its the banks fault. ( I had already had plans to leave the country)
me : Can I please extend my overdraft until the end of the month by 20 quid
Bank.. : No, we want to give you a new bank account, with an extended overdraft facility
Me : OK
Bank : Also we would also like to offer you a loan for 6700 pounds.
Me: OK
Bank : what do you intend to do with the money.
Me. I have had a job offer in " COUNTRY " and intend to move there.
Bank : Good luck, the money is now in your account.
Another thing, I did not have the best of historys with my bank prior to this, and run things like my credit card to the maxx limit month in and month out, normally they would not piss on me if I was on Fire, but I made sure I never missed a payment, or told them before hand if there was going to be a problem.
Banks fault.. not mine.
All they cared about when they offerd me the loan was the commison they was going to get of it. I loved the mid 00´s
Stop being a immature twonk and take responsibility for your own actions. The bank made an offer but you accepted. Stating that you're planning on moving away is not the same as stating that you are not going to make a repayment.
If you can't handle something as simple as your finances then that is your fault, and finances are simple to handle. If you struggle to handle your finances then you are either incredibly unlucky, but more than likely stupid or greedy.
Yes its the banks fault. ( I had already had plans to leave the country)
me : Can I please extend my overdraft until the end of the month by 20 quid
Bank.. : No, we want to give you a new bank account, with an extended overdraft facility
Me : OK
Bank : Also we would also like to offer you a loan for 6700 pounds.
Me: OK
Bank : what do you intend to do with the money.
Me. I have had a job offer in " COUNTRY " and intend to move there.
Bank : Good luck, the money is now in your account.
Another thing, I did not have the best of historys with my bank prior to this, and run things like my credit card to the maxx limit month in and month out, normally they would not piss on me if I was on Fire, but I made sure I never missed a payment, or told them before hand if there was going to be a problem.
Banks fault.. not mine.
All they cared about when they offerd me the loan was the commison they was going to get of it. I loved the mid 00´s
Yeah sorry that you've been put into such a crappy situation mate - I'm going to agree with most of the of the other posts in this thread and say that you should definitely ignore it. If you do get in touch with the company - call them, and don't give out your name, but verify that you've recieved a letter and know it's a scam and see what they have to say to that. You also might want to check out one of the articles on http://www.creditreport.org that deals with debt scammers and what can happen if you fall for one of these traps. Good luck with everything!
If you do get in touch with the company - call them, and don't give out your name, but verify that you've recieved a letter and know it's a scam and see what they have to say to that.
uhm if I called them then it means Ive opened the letter addressed to me which therefore confirms my name. Which is, of course, what they want you to do. It does say on the letter that it should only be opened by the addressee.
I haven't contacted them at all and have heard nothing since. Still early days though, I guess.
I will certainly not be wasting any money on calling them...ever!
Don't under any circumstances call them. If you need to contact them, the template letter, sent recorded delivery, and unsigned. type out and print your name. Do not sign.
If you genuinely are certain that the few hundred quid is not owed by you and you have no idea why they think you do owe them money, theen there are two possibilities.
1. They have made a mistake
2. They are trying it on
Either way, it does no harm at all to send them a polite letter saying that you most certainly do not owe them anything and you assume that they have made a mistake.
If they have made a mistake that ought to be be the end of it. If they are trying it on, they might persist and send you a few more letters saying that they will come round to your house unless you phone them, take you to court unless you pay immediately, and so on.
You will have to make your mind up whether you reply or not to any of that. I would probably reply to one or two more just saying exactly the same thing again. Whatever you do will make little difference.
If they really do think you owe them it, they could easily and cheaply take you to court: for £300 quid+ it would be worth it. Of course if they are genuine and win they would get costs, so they would not hesitate. If you are genuine there is no need to bother about that because there is no way they will take you to court because for all they know you would turn up with a QC and it would end up costing them thousands in costs and of course their licence taken away.
If they are fairly sure they are right they might be quite persistent. Remember, it might actually be that they have bought a phoney debt: IOW it is actually them who have been ripped off.
As you can see by the several replies on here saying things like under no circumstances write, you might get bailiffs etc, a large proportion of people are daft, so that is why they try these things. Some people think 'it is worth paying to get them off your back'.
If people phone you and ask you questions because of the data protection act, tell them to write.
If you genuinely are certain that the few hundred quid is not owed by you and you have no idea why they think you do owe them money, theen there are two possibilities.
1. They have made a mistake
2. They are trying it on
Either way, it does no harm at all to send them a polite letter saying that you most certainly do not owe them anything and you assume that they have made a mistake.
.
well as Ive said, it would give them knowledge that I am the said name/address. Im just reluctant to give them anything or even acknowledge their ridiculous letter. That letter actually offends me as somebody who has always avoided any debt with a passion.
Of couse, at first my instinct was to contact them straight away and blast them about how absurd it was. But now I just want to ignore them and not give them my time. The debt is 100% bogus and Im confident they can't do anything to me.
If I thought for a split second that the debt could be something Ive forgotten about I would have a different approach. But it can't possibly be as Ive never owed a penny or shopped at that store(or catalogue, which is what it seems to be. Never bought from any catalogue). Plus if I had then I would have received mail previously from them requesting payment. Never had anything ever regards owing money.
I do differentiate myself from those who do actually owe the debt from years ago. A lot of horror stories Ive read about this debt collector are from those who did actually owe the money. Not for me to say if others should pay debts from over 6 years back. But in my case the debt absolutely isnt mine.
If they are trying it on, they might persist and send you a few more letters saying that they will come round to your house unless you phone them, take you to court unless you pay immediately, and so on.
Read the wording in the letters VERY CAREFULLY. Look at what they say, not what you think they say. They're very sneaky and want you to misread the words!
They'll be trying it on if they say lots of nasty things with 'may' or 'might' written. If you genuinely did owe money and failed to pay, they WOULD take you to court. If they say 'failure to pay this might lead to legal action' then I'd say ignore it.
When they write later on to accept a lower amount, or even appear to accept any offer (as if you're haggling in a market) then you can just chuck all the letters in the bin. It will go nowhere and after a number of attempts they'll give up.
We had a similar letter, with the similar sort of content.
Have written to them via recorded delivery , and they have acknowedged that there is no debt and apologised for blaa blaa blaa and if we wish to take the matter further we can send our complaint to the financial ombusdmen all further correspondance will stop.
Just as in all advice given, don't give them anymore information than they already have.
Comments
quite agree , try asking for a signed copy of the credit agreement and you can almost g'tee a tumbleweed moment
You won't get any visits.
You will get letters at fixed intervals, being sent automatically, all 'threatening' what might happen next if you don't pay - but the following letter will give you another chance, offer to clear everything for a discounted fee and - then - after you ignore those, more threats of a visit. You might even find that it comes from a different company (all related if you investigate) and the address moves from one far away to something nearer to you - perhaps to intimidate you into thinking they've referred it to local debt collectors who will now start to camp on your doorstep.
Check the wording very carefully (compare with letters on the above mentioned forum) and you'll see how it says things like 'might' or 'could result in' as they are clearly trying it on - and in many cases chasing debts that are statute barred (I think it's seven years not six).
What these companies are doing, having bought the debts for a very big discount, is try and get you to settle - and pay anything. I'm sure if you phoned up and offered to pay £50 to shut them up, they'd take it... but of course, you don't pay to stop being hassled - you just keep a copy of the letters and wait until they give up, which in my case (again, a debt from a company I hadn't dealt with) was about a year and a half - with a break of a few months inbetween.
Maybe they will try again, but I could see from the date that the debt would have been statute barred anyway, so for them to try chasing debts that aren't even legally enforceable shows how desperate they are. The fact is, they could NEVER go to court and so the most they can ever do is keep sending letters forever!
Oh, the other thing you'll notice is that the amount owed doesn't go up.
It's up to you to reply and ask them to stop, using a standard letter and threaten to take action for harassment and while that could work, it might also alert them to the fact that you do exist and for them to try harder to talk you into paying them to stop that harassment. If they think the letters are landing on an empty doormat, or being forwarded on to goodness knows where, I'm sure their computer has a set number of attempts before they move on.
Oh, and ignore any forum members on here that say otherwise (like the fact they can come and take anything they want), as it is total nonsense. Not that they'd visit you anyway, as that would cost them a fortune - sending a letter every 4-5 weeks is cheap, if they expect a 5 or 10% success rate (and, who knows, maybe they get more as people do get worried about such things and want an easy life - making them do silly things, like pay for a debt that isn't theirs).
But presumably this debt collector has bought up this debt because its already several years old. I have no clue when the debt is supposed to be from originally. But from my understanding this company collect very old debts.
Well Ive never had any mail before about debts from anybody so Im not sure how I could be on any credit blacklist. But I probably will have to check now because of this nonsense.
Of course you may wish to check for your own peace of mind, but companies can't just put anything they want on your record. I am sure that Experian and Equifax are well aware of these companies too - although they do appear to change name, or have multiple names.
To clarify; I am only talking about companies that buy old debts like the example on this thread. Don't take this to mean that a genuine debt collector for a genuine debt that can be attributed to you wouldn't see added fees and court action, leading to a visit from bailiffs and being blacklisted.
Yes there are a couple of posters whose advice I shall ignore. The ones suggesting I should somehow comply with these collectors. No chance! Not only would I be a gullible idiot for paying a debt thats not mine but I'd also be encouraging them. I will ignore their letters...for now.
They stand no chance of getting a penny from me. However, I do worry that more vulnerable people do get conned by them. Especially the elderly who are probably scared by receiving such a letter. Then they probably get straight on the phone to them in a panic and have to deal with some intimidating yob. Or manipulative snake. Which leads them to pay up even if not their debt...out of fear and panic. Many people dont have the internet or anybody to seek advice from about what to do. Which means they probably walk straight into the debt collectors trap; phoning them or sending them a letter with their signature on. Two big no no's.
Anyway, I argued and eventually accepted the PF and paid the bare minimum. I immediately put in an appeal and won immediately (they processed it incredibly quickly). I got a small apology but did follow it up to ensure it couldn't happen again, at least for me (I carry the apology with me in case I encounter such badly trained revenue officers again).
However, I've seen PFs being issued incorrectly and I have no doubt that people pay and just want the problem to go away. £20 to get someone off your back seems like a bargain, and I bet many people may intend to appeal but never get around to it.
You can't let these people win when they're trying it on.
Now, if someone was genuinely given a penalty fare, or chased for a real debt, then good luck to them. Take the offenders for every penny they have, but the companies chasing 'dead' or non-existent debts should be put out of business as they serve no purpose whatsoever. It's nothing less than legalised robbery, praying on the weak who will get (as you will no doubt get) the letter offering a discounted amount to settle, and be tempted to end the fear that someone will come around one day with a van to remove all your possessions - and idiots on here that suggest this could actually happen.
I had intentions to pay them back, and for the 1st few months I did. Then I met someone whom asked me if I had any plans to go back to the UK, and said no. So after a piss up weekend, and spending too much money, I chose not to transfeer my money to my UK account anymore.
Yes I know the difference between a court summons to advise a baliff is coming, and I always paid these or paid the minium at least, this normally got rid of them once and for all.
Debt letters mate the majority of my waste paper collection.
I had a friend of mine whom worked in one, and advised of a great response I gave when one of their reps called me, and I said I was in Jamaica gone fishing. !
Yes its the banks fault. ( I had already had plans to leave the country)
me : Can I please extend my overdraft until the end of the month by 20 quid
Bank.. : No, we want to give you a new bank account, with an extended overdraft facility
Me : OK
Bank : Also we would also like to offer you a loan for 6700 pounds.
Me: OK
Bank : what do you intend to do with the money.
Me. I have had a job offer in " COUNTRY " and intend to move there.
Bank : Good luck, the money is now in your account.
Another thing, I did not have the best of historys with my bank prior to this, and run things like my credit card to the maxx limit month in and month out, normally they would not piss on me if I was on Fire, but I made sure I never missed a payment, or told them before hand if there was going to be a problem.
Banks fault.. not mine.
All they cared about when they offerd me the loan was the commison they was going to get of it. I loved the mid 00´s
Stop being a immature twonk and take responsibility for your own actions. The bank made an offer but you accepted. Stating that you're planning on moving away is not the same as stating that you are not going to make a repayment.
If you can't handle something as simple as your finances then that is your fault, and finances are simple to handle. If you struggle to handle your finances then you are either incredibly unlucky, but more than likely stupid or greedy.
Sounds like your fault to me. However stupid somebody else acts it doesn't mean your actions are blameless.
Your debt is actually yours. Mine isn't.
You said "OK" , ergo your fault
uhm if I called them then it means Ive opened the letter addressed to me which therefore confirms my name. Which is, of course, what they want you to do. It does say on the letter that it should only be opened by the addressee.
I haven't contacted them at all and have heard nothing since. Still early days though, I guess.
I will certainly not be wasting any money on calling them...ever!
1. They have made a mistake
2. They are trying it on
Either way, it does no harm at all to send them a polite letter saying that you most certainly do not owe them anything and you assume that they have made a mistake.
If they have made a mistake that ought to be be the end of it. If they are trying it on, they might persist and send you a few more letters saying that they will come round to your house unless you phone them, take you to court unless you pay immediately, and so on.
You will have to make your mind up whether you reply or not to any of that. I would probably reply to one or two more just saying exactly the same thing again. Whatever you do will make little difference.
If they really do think you owe them it, they could easily and cheaply take you to court: for £300 quid+ it would be worth it. Of course if they are genuine and win they would get costs, so they would not hesitate. If you are genuine there is no need to bother about that because there is no way they will take you to court because for all they know you would turn up with a QC and it would end up costing them thousands in costs and of course their licence taken away.
If they are fairly sure they are right they might be quite persistent. Remember, it might actually be that they have bought a phoney debt: IOW it is actually them who have been ripped off.
As you can see by the several replies on here saying things like under no circumstances write, you might get bailiffs etc, a large proportion of people are daft, so that is why they try these things. Some people think 'it is worth paying to get them off your back'.
If people phone you and ask you questions because of the data protection act, tell them to write.
well as Ive said, it would give them knowledge that I am the said name/address. Im just reluctant to give them anything or even acknowledge their ridiculous letter. That letter actually offends me as somebody who has always avoided any debt with a passion.
Of couse, at first my instinct was to contact them straight away and blast them about how absurd it was. But now I just want to ignore them and not give them my time. The debt is 100% bogus and Im confident they can't do anything to me.
If I thought for a split second that the debt could be something Ive forgotten about I would have a different approach. But it can't possibly be as Ive never owed a penny or shopped at that store(or catalogue, which is what it seems to be. Never bought from any catalogue). Plus if I had then I would have received mail previously from them requesting payment. Never had anything ever regards owing money.
I do differentiate myself from those who do actually owe the debt from years ago. A lot of horror stories Ive read about this debt collector are from those who did actually owe the money. Not for me to say if others should pay debts from over 6 years back. But in my case the debt absolutely isnt mine.
Read the wording in the letters VERY CAREFULLY. Look at what they say, not what you think they say. They're very sneaky and want you to misread the words!
They'll be trying it on if they say lots of nasty things with 'may' or 'might' written. If you genuinely did owe money and failed to pay, they WOULD take you to court. If they say 'failure to pay this might lead to legal action' then I'd say ignore it.
When they write later on to accept a lower amount, or even appear to accept any offer (as if you're haggling in a market) then you can just chuck all the letters in the bin. It will go nowhere and after a number of attempts they'll give up.
We had a similar letter, with the similar sort of content.
Have written to them via recorded delivery , and they have acknowedged that there is no debt and apologised for blaa blaa blaa and if we wish to take the matter further we can send our complaint to the financial ombusdmen all further correspondance will stop.
Just as in all advice given, don't give them anymore information than they already have.