Written by John Kruse, one of the leading experts on Bailiff Law, this consumer friendly guide is essential reading for anyone who comes into contact with a bailiff.
The book is easy to understand and clearly explains the rights
a bailiff has, and also what they cannot do when collecting debts and repossessing goods etc.
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Re: Are you being harassed on the telephone by your bank or by debt collectors?
We will soon be announcing a recorder which will record calls from your ordinary landline telephone as well.
Can't come soon enough, but as with everything it has to be within our budget.
Any chance of hiring?
LTSB court date 25/7/07
17/7/07 I WON I WON I WON!!!! :grin:
HSBC court date 11/9/07 (stayed)
CapOne lba 7/1/08-15/3/08 WON.
Citicards lba 14/1/08
Read Read and Read Some More
If I've been helpful in anyway please tip my scales
Please note that this advice is given informally, without liability and without prejudice. Seek the advice of an insured qualified professional if you have any doubts.
Re: Are you being harassed on the telephone by your bank or by debt collectors?
Any chance of a freebie lol
I'm skint...
BB
"To love unconditionally is the greatest gift, laughter is a close second" .To give your time to help others after being helped here is the best way to show your appreciation to your fellow CAG members.
Please note that this advice is given informally, without liability and without prejudice. Seek the advice of an insured qualified professional if you have any doubts. All my knowledge has been gained here, for which I'm very grateful. I'm a Journalist, not a law professional.
If you do PM, make sure to include a link to your thread as I don't give out advice in private BB 13 - DCAs/banks and solicitors 0.
I get a fresh start to get on with learning to live with severe disabilities when they could have had something if they'd been understanding...
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Re: Are you being harassed on the telephone by your bank or by debt collectors?
I have a gem. Get someone else to answer that isn't authorised to speak on your account to talk to the DCA and tell them they want to pay in full. Their beady little eyes will light up and their greed will take over. After they break the Data Protection Act and tell you the figure you can report them and that's serious right? Any flaws in this plan?
Re: Are you being harassed on the telephone by your bank or by debt collectors?
When I answer the call, I correctly identify myself by name. When the debt agency then says 'I want to take you through 'security' and then ask me silly personal questions like my house number, I refuse. This stumps them because their procedures are wrong and the youngsters on the call don't know what to do.
The debt agencies bleat on about Data Protection Act requirements. Sure the DPA does require themto check its me when I ring them. They should check against information that they should already hold, such as my date of birth etc. But when they start the call, the tables are turned. I should ask them to verify themselves!
If you think I'm wrong, just think about it for a minute. You receive a call from someone who you have never dealt with before. They ask you for your date of birth or some other such piece of personal data. You willingly answer. How do you know they have the information to check against in the first place? On the other hand, if the call was from an identity fraudster, you have just started to give away some personal information, free of charge. No wonder ID fraud is growing rapidly.
DON'T GIVE OUT PERSONAL INFORMATION TO ANYONE YOU DON'T KNOW. IF A DEBT AGENCY CALL YOU, IDENTIFY YOURSELF CORRECTLY BUT DON'T SAY ANY MORE UNTIL THEY TALK TO YOU PROPERLY. So far, all the agencies I have dealt with have gone away empty-handed.
Re: Are you being harassed on the telephone by your bank or by debt collectors?
Originally Posted by remus
We will soon be announcing a recorder which will record calls from your ordinary landline telephone as well.
Can't come soon enough, but as with everything it has to be within our budget.
Any chance of hiring?
I am working on the whole project at the moment.
No chance of hiring, I'm afraid. We just don't have the resources to handle the logistics and support.
It will all depend on import duties at the end but I am confident of sub-£40 for a recorder which will monitor your phone calls and save the sound file to disk.
It should allow you to make notes of your call and to save them with the soundfile
We have been testing some recorders for a while and they seem pretty good but the software is a disaster.
We are having software written for the recorder right at the moment.
It should function as a pop-up and as long as your recorder is connected to the phone line and also to the computer - and as long as the computer is on, you shouldn't need to think about doing anything else as it will just record and save each file automatically.
In a way it will function as a hardware equivalent of CallBurner.
We'll see.
I can tell you that for the kind of hardware recorder and supporting software which we are hoping to supply the going rate seems to be at least £130-150 on the internet
Please don't pm me about specific questions unless you have posted and it has not been dealt with or unless the matter is confidential. Please include a link to the post you want me to look at. If you have received a defence, contact me.
Advice & opinions of BankFodder, The Consumer Action Group and The Bank Action Group are offered informally, without prejudice & without liability. Use your own judgment. Seek advice of a qualified insured professional if you have any doubts.
Re: Are you being harassed on the telephone by your bank or by debt collectors?
I'm seriously thinking about trying my idea out which is outlined in my previous post on this thread. I plan to answer the phone next time one of them rings and say that my dad is out. I will then ask them if it is about any money he owes, as I will happily pay it off. I will ask them for the figure and who the debt is with. If they supply me with that information and I record it how much trouble can I get them into? I will do anything to stick it up them. Obviously I will not be paying them a bean. I just want to know it is worth me doing and that the plan is sound. I am convinced some of them would fall for it. *Any comments appreciated please.*
P.S. If anyone is confused about why I don't follow my own advice of a number change (as advocated in a previous thread) it's because my dad wouldn't go for it! Mistake in my eyes, but it's his phone line...
Re: Are you being harassed on the telephone by your bank or by debt collectors?
Originally Posted by renegotiation
I'm seriously thinking about trying my idea out which is outlined in my previous post on this thread. I plan to answer the phone next time one of them rings and say that my dad is out. I will then ask them if it is about any money he owes, as I will happily pay it off. I will ask them for the figure and who the debt is with. If they supply me with that information and I record it how much trouble can I get them into? I will do anything to stick it up them. Obviously I will not be paying them a bean. I just want to know it is worth me doing and that the plan is sound. I am convinced some of them would fall for it. *Any comments appreciated please.*
P.S. If anyone is confused about why I don't follow my own advice of a number change (as advocated in a previous thread) it's because my dad wouldn't go for it! Mistake in my eyes, but it's his phone line...
They are good at passing on information to strangers as I found out, pity I did not record it. So yes I agree your theory stands a good chance of working. Breach of data protection with recorded proof is a serious offence and I would guess the DCA's will satisfy the ICO initially by sacking the member of staff to protect their own "reputation", however the more it happens then it will become obvious that it was not a one-off mistake.
I did find one thing on the data protection register that confused me, they all appear to be registered stating contacts with "debtors and their families". Personally I think this is nonsense as data is personal not for a family member to be informed by a 3rd party. My only guess as to the true meaning on the register is they can discuss with any party divulged on the CCA (although that is unfair contract terms as they often insist you name a partner when signing the contract). Anyone know what the register is actually saying?
Re: Are you being harassed on the telephone by your bank or by debt collectors?
Originally Posted by Docman
When I answer the call, I correctly identify myself by name. When the debt agency then says 'I want to take you through 'security' and then ask me silly personal questions like my house number, I refuse. This stumps them because their procedures are wrong and the youngsters on the call don't know what to do.
The debt agencies bleat on about Data Protection Act requirements. Sure the Data Protection Act does require themto check its me when I ring them. They should check against information that they should already hold, such as my date of birth etc. But when they start the call, the tables are turned. I should ask them to verify themselves!
If you think I'm wrong, just think about it for a minute. You receive a call from someone who you have never dealt with before. They ask you for your date of birth or some other such piece of personal data. You willingly answer. How do you know they have the information to check against in the first place? On the other hand, if the call was from an identity fraudster, you have just started to give away some personal information, free of charge. No wonder ID fraud is growing rapidly.
DON'T GIVE OUT PERSONAL INFORMATION TO ANYONE YOU DON'T KNOW. IF A DEBT AGENCY CALL YOU, IDENTIFY YOURSELF CORRECTLY BUT DON'T SAY ANY MORE UNTIL THEY TALK TO YOU PROPERLY. So far, all the agencies I have dealt with have gone away empty-handed.
Docman
I agree that security questions should not be answered. It is for them to tell you the security answers of your choice when they call you.
Re: Are you being harassed on the telephone by your bank or by debt collectors?
Originally Posted by make them aktiv runners
I did find one thing on the data protection register that confused me, they all appear to be registered stating contacts with "debtors and their families". Personally I think this is nonsense as data is personal not for a family member to be informed by a 3rd party. My only guess as to the true meaning on the register is they can discuss with any party divulged on the CCA (although that is unfair contract terms as they often insist you name a partner when signing the contract). Anyone know what the register is actually saying?
This concerns me very much.
I think that this would be worth bringing up with the IC for clarification.
Even though this seems to be the terms of the registration, DCAs would still have to show that they had obtained consent from the data subject - whether by contract or otherwise to reveal personal data to family members.
Of course even if those consents have not been obtained, it is still very possible that DCAs may still harass and give information to family members or other third parties and then try to rely on their IC registration if evidence were ever produced to show what they were doing.
Of course, evidence is nearly never obtained and this is why recording and logging calls is so important.
I expect that it could put an end to telephone harassment within weeks.
Please don't pm me about specific questions unless you have posted and it has not been dealt with or unless the matter is confidential. Please include a link to the post you want me to look at. If you have received a defence, contact me.
Advice & opinions of BankFodder, The Consumer Action Group and The Bank Action Group are offered informally, without prejudice & without liability. Use your own judgment. Seek advice of a qualified insured professional if you have any doubts.
Re: Are you being harassed on the telephone by your bank or by debt collectors?
Another new ploy they have adopted is if you bar their numbers is to send an SMS to your house phone from the number you have barred. If you hear the message from the lovely woman at BT you have recieved a message from 0123456789 and you know its a DCA that you have refused to deal with then press option 3 and delete the call without listening to it simple
Re: Are you being harassed on the telephone by your bank or by debt collectors?
If you record your calls then stop avoiding the DCAs.
Start taking your calls.
Every call, every insult or abusive comment, every call at unsocial hours is a further nail in their coffin,
Please don't pm me about specific questions unless you have posted and it has not been dealt with or unless the matter is confidential. Please include a link to the post you want me to look at. If you have received a defence, contact me.
Advice & opinions of BankFodder, The Consumer Action Group and The Bank Action Group are offered informally, without prejudice & without liability. Use your own judgment. Seek advice of a qualified insured professional if you have any doubts.
Re: Are you being harassed on the telephone by your bank or by debt collectors?
Some DCAs' are using automated calling without a 'real person'. Connaughts are one such agency that call and it's an automated message asking you to call them ...
I had someone call yesterday, a real person, that was extremely miffed that I hung up the phone. She called back and gave me a mouthful of abuse asking why I felt the need to hang up and what gave me the right to! My answer was that I pay for the phoneline and can terminate a call or choose to not answer it at my descretion. She mumbled something about it being illegal and deliberate avoidance for not supplying information relating to a debtor.
I applied a different tactic and left her to rant whilst I carried on vaccuuming the hallway. If they are paying for the call then they are welcome to shout as loud as they like on the telephone but nothing in law says that I have to listen to it.
It's your phone so it's your call in who you talk to and when. Log the calls but don't let them annoy you or make you feel that you have to give information. Turn the situation around and ask for their name, address, shoe size and if they would like a new kitchen or new UPVC windows fitted.
Don't be bullied and insist they put anything they have to say in writing.
Re: Are you being harassed on the telephone by your bank or by debt collectors?
Originally Posted by Steeley
Some DCAs' are using automated calling without a 'real person'. Connaughts are one such agency that call and it's an automated message asking you to call them ...
I had someone call yesterday, a real person, that was extremely miffed that I hung up the phone. She called back and gave me a mouthful of abuse asking why I felt the need to hang up and what gave me the right to! My answer was that I pay for the phoneline and can terminate a call or choose to not answer it at my descretion. Quite Right She mumbled something about it being illegal and deliberate avoidance for not supplying information relating to a debtor. I wonder what law that comes under. Certainly not one that I know or have heard of
I applied a different tactic and left her to rant whilst I carried on vaccuuming the hallway. If they are paying for the call then they are welcome to shout as loud as they like on the telephone but nothing in law says that I have to listen to it.
It's your phone so it's your call in who you talk to and when. Log the calls but don't let them annoy you or make you feel that you have to give information. Turn the situation around and ask for their name, address, shoe size and if they would like a new kitchen or new UPVC windows fitted.
Don't be bullied and insist they put anything they have to say in writing.
Re: Are you being harassed on the telephone by your bank or by debt collectors?
I've just read everything here, but i can't see what happens next. When you've recorded everything and logged everything, what do you do with the information?
Re: Are you being harassed on the telephone by your bank or by debt collectors?
chris w, not information, evidence of how Banks/DCA's are acting beyond the law, and when you complain to TS OFT etc or when you take said companies to court for harassment you have proof of how despicable they really are.
There is no need to ring people constantly making peoples life a living hell
And maybe cc to the media
LTSB court date 25/7/07
17/7/07 I WON I WON I WON!!!! :grin:
HSBC court date 11/9/07 (stayed)
CapOne lba 7/1/08-15/3/08 WON.
Citicards lba 14/1/08
Read Read and Read Some More
If I've been helpful in anyway please tip my scales
Please note that this advice is given informally, without liability and without prejudice. Seek the advice of an insured qualified professional if you have any doubts.
Re: Are you being harassed on the telephone by your bank or by debt collectors?
Hi Chris. You send them the telephone harassment letter which should also include the request to ONLY write to you. I really would send it special delivery and keep a copy of the letter and special delivery receipt and get a printout from the Royal Mail website with electronic proof of delivery. Then, after they keep harassing you by telephone (highly likely) you report them to TS, OFT and the media too. Every time they phone keep referring to the letter you have sent and spell it out to them again and again. Keep telling them you WILL report them and take them to court. Most importantly, I think, is to take them to court and sue for damages. I think if you do everything I have said and go to court armed with all the evidence you really could get substantial compensation. The beauty of it is they probably won't listen to you. Let them dig their own graves. I think anyone doing this has to give it a long think and not wilt after they start the process. After they have been sufficiently rogered they WILL get the message. I am planning my campaign now.
Re: Are you being harassed on the telephone by your bank or by debt collectors?
I am still having major problems with HSBC despite using the CAG template threatening Court Action and quoting the relevant Acts. I just don't answer the phone to them any more. They ring from an 0800 number so I have bought a caller ID phone, and just don't answer, but I am still getting calls from them at any time from 7.00 a.m. - 11.00 p.m. 7 days a week!
I am not with BT any more, as I got a cheaper deal from Bulldog. I rang them up to ask if I could bar the number from calling me, but they were a bit non-plussed and not too helpful. I wold reallly like some proof from them as to when this number has called, but I'm not sure Bulldog records are up to this. Has anyone else had a similar problem. I have started to log calls, can't record anything as I can't answer the phone to them any more, I am so fed up with this.
Thanks for reading - any advice will be very gratefully received!!
Re: Are you being harassed on the telephone by your bank or by debt collectors?
They are not allowed to phone you before 8-00am or after 9-00pm so if its them you have them by the bol***ks I suggest you ask for their official complaints procedure. Just ring the 0800 number fro a public call box to make sure it is them.
Are you being harassed on the telephone by your bank or by debt collectors?
Bank was involved in a court case and it seems that they paid an out of court settlement in order to bring the matter to an end.
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Originally Posted by remus
