Lovely start to the day- I had someone at MH call me a very rude person and put the phone down on me. I'm laughing heartily. But after to speaking to another operator I've been told that they are no longer dealing with my account. My email yesterday worked but their excuses as to how they have got my mobile number and sent me a text 2 minutes before I called then were feeble.

Excellent stuff Thank You.

To think I was gonna let the complaint go cos they'd left me alone- gonna start working on it today. Its gonna take a while though- can I complain about 4 companies in one go? I'd read all about MH when they started calling me last week- so I knew ringing em wouldn't achieve much other than I was really in need of shouting at someone. I really did quite enjoy it Edit: Oh and I didn't bother corrected her when she told me my account was regarding a Blackberry card. 1. Is that a real thing? and 2. They don't seem to have a clue what they are even collecting on...

I wish I didn't have to say this but despite everything Cabot have now decided to get Mackenzie Hall involved- just when I thought all had gone quiet. 3rd Agency they've sent after me even though Equifax has been in contact with them and they know that Barclaycard have confirmed the debt is not mine. I don't normally ring DCAs but after all this harrassment I recieved a letter from MH saying they are going to send Bailiffs round in 10 days. So I decided someone needed to bear the brunt of my rage- just spent a satisfying 10 minutes shouting at one of the agents, the few times I let her get a word in edgeways, I had a nice answer for everything. Man I feel so much better. Now to do things properly and put it all in writing......

Thought I'd give you guys an update. I got my credit report from Equifax and found that not only Barclaycard had put a default on my file but also Cabot. I emailed Equifax and asked them to investigate the duplicate default that Cabot had filed. Today Equifax emailed me back and they had gone straight to Barclaycard who have agreed to remove the default when they do their updates in April. I'm over the moon!

I think it is but then again I still don't know if it's even mine as no one seems to want to give me any information. I'm pretty relaxed in the knowledge that they can't take any action against me. I'm just angry that they would start threatening people in my household.

I am soooooooooooooooo furious it's untrue. Ruthbridge just rang my house and spoke to someone in my household, who told them they need to put everything in writing to me. He then told the person in my house that since they lived there he could discuss the account with them. He waffled on about how because there is a default on my credit file then that is enough proof that the debt exists. He then told the person on the phone that they should get themselves a solicitor as they are sending the bailiffs round on Friday. Are they seriously out of their minds? I overheard the call and he was pretty agressive. And talking to a third party like that, who isn't even a financial associate of mine? Why on earth would they need a solicitor? Just sending them a CCA request now just to make everything official as they seem to not care about the fact that the debt has been in dispute for well over a year now. Normally I would just brush it off and laugh about their behaviour but they have overstepped the mark this time. I am LIVID!!

I knew they wouldnt go quietly. Just received a letter from their pretend company 'Express Delivery'. Are they seriously out of their minds?

Fantastic thanks! I just noticed that the last letter I received from them is almost identical to the repeated letters Gingerheid received from 1stcredit in their infamous staff training thread- so I won't be expecting any kind of human response anytime soon. Its gonna take a bit of effort as I have 3 companies to complain about- Ccscollect for the blatant harassment, Ruthbridge for the threats to make me redundant and Cabot for never bothering to contact me directly and repeatedly selling a disputed debt on. This will be fun.... lol

I'm slightly confused as to what I should do- I've read lots of stickied threads advising how to file complaints with the OFT and FOS, and encouraging people to do this, but from the advice I've been given in this tread I was under the impression I wasn't able to make a compaint directly. Please could someone please help me and let me know what I am actually able to do so I can get the ball rolling?

I work in a Medical Records department and we have people who are employed solely to deal with requests for Access to Records. If your hospital has the same then its best to go direct to them. There is usually a charge for the service though.

Ok shall do that- thank you!

Thanks- I'll be sure to let you know what I receive next in the post. I usually get a letter within 4 days of the last. What a waste of paper Funny thing is (and I think I forgot to mention) is that despite these companies repeatedly going on about Cabot Financial- I have never had any direct contact from them.

CCSCOLLECT stopped calling back in May 2008 when they realised they had no way of proving the debt when the CAB agreed with them the June deadline. Ruthbridge have NEVER called me despite claiming they have several times. I work evenings so I'm in the house all day long and so is my Mother so its not even possible we missed the calls (we also have call waiting). I just keep getting letters every couple of days from them, and no doubt this won't be the last I've heard from them.

Thanks for your quick reply. So I reckon my best course of action is to follow this up with the CAB and see if they can do some legwork for me. The guy who dealt with my case at the CAB was particularly interested in it and took copies of my diary of communication so I'm sure he'd be happy to take a look at the new developments. It's just incredibly sad that in this day and age companies get away with such a,cavalier attitude towards their conduct and the way they treat innocent people. My family made me aware of the media interest this week so hopefully this is the start of some kind of action (maybe that's wishful thinking). I'll keep a hold of all my information for as long as I have to because I'm ready to pass it on to anyone who could have use for it.

Hello There For over a year now I have been having frustrating dealings with first CCSCOLLECT and now out of the blue the delightful Ruthbridge. If it wasn't for the fantastic advice on these forums I wouldn't have been able to stand up for myself and assert my rights so first off Thank You so much (I shall be donating to keep this place alive). At the start of last year I was celebrating being debt free after paying off bank debts etc that I had run up when I was a struggling student. Then out of the blue in March I receive a phone call from a debt agency asking if I've received their letter and could I prove who I am- I say No I have not received your letter and I'm unhappy to pass my details over the phone. A few days later I receive a letter from a company called CCSCOLLECT claiming I owe Cabot Financial £819.57 and that I need to pay in full immediately. I had to laugh at the "DO NOT SIMPLY WRITE IN, OUR TIME LIMITS ARE VERY STRICT", because of course I'm going to write in and ask what the hell this is all about. Little did I know this was the start of a rollercoaster ride.... I have kept a diary of every phone call and letter I received to cover my butt. I start receiving phones calls up to 6 times a day, my parents who I live with at the moment field them as they know I can't prove what is said in these calls. CCSCOLLECT shout at my family and start using threatening language to them, when my Dad tries to request names of staff they slam the phone down. All the while I am sending them letters asking for proof of the debt, and everytime they deny receiving them. each time I sent a letter I enclosed a copy of every letter I had sent previously and sent them recorded delivery and tracked them until they were signed for. Still they claim I am ignoring their "fair" requests to settle the debt even though I have rightly disputed it. Gradually through their letters I piece together that this debt is supposedly with Barclaycard from October 2002. I'm still none the wiser but happy that even if it does exist it will very soon become statute barred. After nearly 3 months of daily phone calls and getting no proof that a debt exists, I lose it and head to Citizens Advice Bureau (not before receiving, that morning, a cleverly disguised CCSCOLLECT letter claiming to be a solicitor) to get some back up. I have to advise that anyone having trouble with agencies to get to the CAB and get so assistance! Because of my comprehensive diary the CAB guy was able to piece everything together pretty quick and phoned the company directly. They agree that they have 1 month to send me proof or they have to cease collection, and he advises them of the unprofessional nature in which they have dealt with. They advise the CAB guy that at least £200 of the debt is fees they have administered themselves and that will be removed and that they will pass my case back to Cabot to get this proof. Deadline of June 20th 2008 comes and go and I never hear a peep from them again. Until a few weeks ago.... I receive a letter from Ruthbridge on 15th January (truly wonderful human beings :S ) telling me theyve got my account from Cabot and that they are going to commence court proceedings against me if I dont pay up. I ignore this letter, and then I receive a new one on 22nd which is clearly one of their famous template letters as they claim they have been trying to contact me by letter and phone (no phone calls at all!) and that I am ignoring them. they are going to make me bankrupt if I don't pay £880.76 (interesting amount indeed) right away. I send them a letter explaing my dealings with CCSCOLLECT, the June deadline, how I am aware of their bullyboy tactics, how I won't be paying a penny, how I find it sad that they pray on innocent people hoping they won't know their rights and that even if they could prove this debt ever existed then it would be Statute barred anyway so they don't have a leg to stand on. I tell them that they CAB is aware of this case and that my next course of action will be to report them to the OFT. I send this recorded delivery. today I receive TWO letters in the post, one dated the day I sent my recorded delivery telling me again they are going to make me bankrupt - but if I pay £572.49 they will write it off and even as an "added incentive" will tell credit reference agencies that the debt is Satisfied (omg their generosity knows no bounds). The second letter however is dated the day they received my letter - and they want me to contact them immediatly to "deal with the issues you have raised in your correspondence". I don't know how to take the last letter but I'm finding it all very amusing. I did think about sending another letter back but I had already told them that they shouldn't bother contacted me as I won;t respond so I'm going to stand firm with that. I'm so glad I had all the good advice to go on and knew where I stood, also I'm a pretty strong person and won't be bullied in to paying what can;t be proven I owe. But I feel sad knowing that a more vulnerable person would have cracked way before and paid up whether they owed it or not - I have to admit that my nerves were a tiny bit jangled after so many phone calls. We started screening every single call just to be sure and its not fun. If at any point they could have proved I owed any of this money I would have been happy to pay, but I'm not aware of the debts existance and it seems noone can prove where it came from. I honestly thought I heard the end of it after the June deadline passed and it went quiet for 7 blissful months. that was pretty long-winded I'm sorry, but I wanted to share what you helped me achieve. And I would also like to know my best course of action for lodging my complaint to the OFT (and anyone else who might be interested) as I'm not gonna let this one lie. I so carefully kept track of every call and letter and do not want these cowboys to get away with it. Would be nice if my experience could stop someone else being bullied in future. Any help would be appreciated and keep up the good work!