First Abbey + Wescot, now RBS + Wescot

[mrkhm]

Hi,

About 3 months ago, i received a letter from wescot on behalf of abbey claiming a sum of £646, which is part of a sum i am disputing with abbey in bank charges so i wrote back the usual letter of this account is in dispute etc..

Now 3 weeks ago they sent me a new letter, now on behalf of ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND for £588.53 with the usual threats, which i ignored, but am now taking seriously as they have left about 10 messages on my mobile, morning day and night and today i received the notice of litigation which i suppose should not really be ignored.

Here are important facts:

I have never had an account with the royal bank of scotland
I have never borrowed money from the royal bank of scotland
I have never engaged or even stepped into a branch at the royal bank of scotland
Who is the royal bank of scotland? (just jokes)
The two figures are different i.e. £646 vs £588.53

I tried to research to see if the royal bank of scotland recently acquired abbey national, can't find anything along those lines.

So how do i respond to this notice of litigation, should i let it go ahead all the way to court as i am confident that they cannot provide any evidence of my name tied with rbs? or any good letters i have not seen yet?

Thanks in advance

[MilkTrayMan]

Hi mrkhm!

Personally, I would just send off a £1 CCA 1974 Request Template Letter to Wescot for the 'alleged' debt to RBOS.

From what U have Posted, it is obvious that Wescot have either made an error, or else are deliberately trying to wind U up.

For the sake of the cost of sending the above letter, it would immediately put THEM onto the back foot, with regards of having to provide U proof of the 'alleged' debt, instead of them attempting to overduly worry U with proving to them that U don't!...


...

[abroadgirl]

hi
i had the exact same with a diffrent bank how dare they here is what i sent i will go and get a copy for you now when you have sent this you will get a reply then send them letter no 2
i will go and get them for you
you are welcome to look at my threads and abroadgirl v abbey i have a couple mopre by abroadgirl
ok im off to get the letters for you
abg

[mrkhm]

hi thanks every one for your help so far, dear abroadgirl, patiently waiting for your templates... (you're probably on easter holiday)

[Lula]

Hi, Are Wescot saying that the RBS debt is a bank account or a Credit card? If a bank account a CCA request will not help you, you will need a Subject Access Request which can be found in the templates section. But before you start on this route, they have to prove to you that the debt is yours, send them the following letter.

Dear Sir/Madam

You have contacted me/us regarding the account with the above reference number, which you claim is owed by myself/ourselves.

I/we would point out that I/we have no knowledge of any such debt being owed to (insert company name).

I am/we are familiar with the Office of Fair Trading Debt Collection Guidance which states that it unfair to send demands for payment to an individual when it is uncertain that they are the debtor in question.

I/we would also point out that the OFT say under the Guidance that it is unfair to pursue third parties for payment when they are not liable. In not ceasing collection activity whilst investigating a reasonably queried or disputed debt you are using deceptive/and or unfair methods.

Furthermore ignoring and/or disregarding claims that debts have been settled or are disputed and continuing to make unjustified demands for payment amounts to physical/psychological harassment.

I/we would ask that no further contact be made concerning the above account unless you can provide evidence as to my/our liability for the debt in question.

I/we await your written confirmation that this matter is now closed. Otherwise I will have no option but to make a complaint to the trading standards department and consider informing the OFT of your actions.

I/we look forward to your reply.

Yours faithfully

If they keep hassling you after that, come back and we can work out what to do after that.

[MilkTrayMan]

Why spend £10 on a S.A.R. to prove the DCA's error to yourself Lula??...
The OP has already stated their non-association with RBS.
The onus would ALWAYS be on Wescot to prove the 'alleged' Debt, in any event.

From a personal point of view, Wescot could do whatever, but if I already knew that THEY were wrong, I wouldn't be spending any more than is necessary.
I would just go ahead + make an Official Complaint to the relevent authorities.
...But, admittedly, I'd have a bit of fun stringing them along beforehand + allow them to dig themselves into a deeper hole over this particular issue.

Importantly, the OP needs to be wary of a false DEFAULT being placed on their Credit Report by Wescot.
...A quick check with the CRA's would be better use of their money well spent methinks!...


...

[Lula]

I think, if you read my posting correctly, I stated that "before you start on this route" you send the "prove it" letter.

[pt2537]

Hi there

The Office of Fair Trading guidance on debt collection clearly states

2.8 Examples of unfair practices are as follows:
a. sending demands for payment to an individual when it is uncertain that
they are the debtor in question, for example, threatening debt recovery
action to 'the occupier' or sending a payment demand to all people sharing
the same name/date of birth as a debtor in the hope that contact with the
correct debtor will be made.

and

i. failing to investigate and/or provide details as appropriate, when a debt is
queried or disputed, possibly resulting in debtors being wrongly pursued

Therefore , send the letter that Lula Suggests as the first port of call. they MUST prove that the debt is legitimate and that YOU are the debtor if they are to be able to pursue you for the debt, otherwise they are acting outside of the OFTs guidelines and they could have the Consumer Credit Licence revoked

i trust this helps

Regards
paul

[MilkTrayMan]

U did Lula...But U know as well as I do, what type of letter Wescot would reply to the OP with.

From a personal point of view, I wouldn't reveal my strategy to the DCA too soon, especially if it cause me to be unnecessarily out of pocket, both with my time + effort, as well as finanically.
I would wait until I had more damming evidence from the DCA, before I made my Official Complaint.

Two sides of the same coin methinks!


...

[Lula]

Strategy, what strategy? When confronted with a letter like that Wescot will more than likely do a volte face and retire injured.

[mrkhm]

ok everyone, many thanks for your help, have sent Lula's letter today.

[abroadgirl]

i am sorry it has taken a while lulu ty thats the letter i was trying to find i have come across this one as well

REQUEST FOR COPY AGREEMENT

I refer to your communication asking 1st Credit Ltd to provide you with a copy of the relevant agreement.

We are advising our client of your request. This document will be sent to you as soon as possible. We will not seek to enforce the agreement until we have dealt with your request.

Once you have received a copy of this agreement we would expect you to contact this office immediately to arrange settlement of this debt.

Please call this office should you wish to discuss this matter.

The reply to my partners request went like this:

YOU HAVE RAISED A DISPUTE / QUERY

I refer to your recent communication advising 1st Credit Ltd that you have a dispute / query in relation to this debt.

We will shortly be contacting our client to advise them of your comments. We will contact you with our client's reply in due course. This process may take at least one month.

Unless you are disputing the full balance we must ask you to contact 1st Credit Ltd immediately to discuss payment of the debt amount you accept is due and payable.

Please contact this office to provide a suitable contact number.
This will ensure we are able to deal with this matter quickly and efficiently.

Both our (identical) CCA requests started:

I DO NOT ACKNOWLEDGE ANY DEBT TO YOUR COMPANY OR ANY COMPANY YOU PURPORT TO REPRESENT.

With reference to the above account, I hereby request that you provide me with the following documentation:

1. A true copy of the original executed credit agreement.
2. A true statement of account.
3. A signed true copy of the deed of assignment.

I understand that under the legislation contained within the Consumer Credit Act 1974 (Sections 77−79) .....etc. etc.

[abroadgirl]

hello well i have a reply frome the lowells your not going to believe this
i am having to type it as scanner is playing up

heres it is
carnt wait to read your comments

futher to my letter dated 31st dec i have now investigated your complaint fully and will respond as follows (they have to cover themseves and put there norm dont they

Your comment that you have no knowledge of this debt has been noted as you are aware this this debt was purchased from our client in the later part of 2007 (the liars still i guess they have to cover themselves)

we have recently carried out futher enquires on reciet or your recent correspondence the result of which cofirms the above
your comments that we have breached various regularty guidlines as outlined in your correspondence are therefore not accepted as we have addhered to industry and regulatory guidelines in our attempt to recover this debt which we believe you are liable for (lies) lol
i acknowledge your request for documentary evidence that proves your liability for this debt
unfortunatly we are unable to provide you with this documents (i wonder why)
relating to this account due to the age of the account (now they said above 2007 mmm strange)
whilst investagating your comments it has also come to light now that this debt is now subject to secrion 5 of the limitation act 1980 (does anyone know what it is plz)
following from above the above the decision has been taken to cease collection activities and close the account forwith you should no longer be contacted with regards to this matter please be informed that this decision has been made for the reasons outlined above and not as an admission of any wrongdoing whatsoever
please note that under the terms of our complaints proceedure this is our final responce should it be the case that you remain dissatified you may refer your complaint to the financial ombudsman please see the enclosed guide you need to do this within 6 months of the date of this letter for more info please see the the enclosed leaflet etc etc
chido asirgbu

tyvvm for all your help hugs
abg
vbrep_register("1318253")

[mrkhm]

haha! abg! good for you, just sounds like a diplomatic way of saying "yelp"

[MilkTrayMan]

Originally Posted by abroadgirl

...whilst investagating your comments it has also come to light now that this debt is now subject to secrion 5 of the limitation act 1980 (does anyone know what it is plz)...