If you have no records (legitimately) of a debt, of course you don't pay it. But really, think hard within yourself. If you know you legitimately owe someone money, isn't it better to clear that from your conscious. There are without doubt scams where, for example, a 'store' credit payments plan i abused at the consumers disadvantage. Those '49 month interest free' things are brutal. See they charged you 'one month' (usually) in fees. Most consumers think f they pay the 'purchase price' within the first year or 2 then it's done. Two years later there is a debt collector at your door asking you for £1000's in payment on that £34 monthly due. Well after you add in monthly over due fees, account management fees, collections fees, then its worth them collecting. You DID sign the agreement. Rarely does unconscionable conduct holdup in a court though. Statute Barred Debts. That's a personal choice. I have. I knew I acquired the debt, I had a bad time. The creditor even 'wrote' it off. I lived with the guilt, and turned around one day and offered to pay it in terms way beyond statute. End result I ended up with a very generous supplier. It's good if you can turn a bad experience into a positive future. However I do NOT agree to the 'debt buyers' harassment. And as some people have discovered, once you settle on one matter, your name and detail go far and wide looking for more nasties to throw at you. Youc an be assured though, that many of the people in these 'service' companies with 'great oportunities' for you, have their own debt issues. I had a bulldog who thought they got onto a bloody bone because of something that made me ery visible once. I researched the peron and helped them find their own truth

HI. I just wanted to explain how to deal with many of thee types of companies. I know you have your 'Prove it Letters' and so on but they aren't necessary. Under the Data Protection Act, a signed authority is required by one party to give any information you give to a party, to another party. My partner had been hounded by BCW for a few months. They call from their 0845 numbers: 08453006900 and 05488780516. They let it ring a few times, when you answer it terminates. This is so YOU RING THEM and YOU PAY FOR THE CALL. Usually calls made from the 6900 number are made by an operator. They will ask "Hello, I'm calling to speak to XYZ Person" Most people foolishly say "Yes that's me" or "I'll just get them" NOOO! You say "May I ask who is calling?" They are then required to give their name. Always make a fuss over the spelling of their name "Is that with an A or an E, and do is that ending in ie or y" "May I ask where you are calling from" They will then give a company name. If they say "BCW" ask them to spell out the company name for you. "Can you tell me what your relationship is with XYZ please" They will say "It's a personal matter" "That's OK, I'm XYZ's personal managager, I'm not familiar with your name or your company, could you tell me what it is about please?" THey will say "I'm sorry I can't tell you anything under the Data Protection Act" "How strange, I have no records of you or your company having a relationship with XYZ, can you tell me where you got XYZ's name and phone number from" They will use the Data Protection Act line again. "I'm sorry, you woudl know under the Data Protection Act that XYZ would have signed a form when giving you XYZ's information, I'm not aware that has taken place, as you are unable to furnish me with such documents, I request under the Data Protection Act that you delete XYZs name, this telephone number and any other records of any kind, in computer, printed or written instanter. YOur failure to do so and confirm you have done this to me will result in a formal complaint being made pursuant to the Data Protectin Act and I am authorised by XYZ to file proceeedings in the Court." THey will try and make some excuse or even better ask you to hold and transfer you to a supervisor. Go back to the top of the script and start again! Take your time, they are paying for the call. After you get through the above monologue for the second time and they refuse you say: "Pursuane to Corporations Law and the DAta Protection Act please provide to me your registered office address, your telephone number, and your fac number. I will need these to make a formal complain as I have described above." I've never got past that. They usually say "Right we'll delete this number from our records." I reply with "You must delete all records relating to XYZ and provide me with a writen confirmation of this. Woudl you like an email address to send me this conformation forthwith?" THey usually go backto saying they will delete the number. Remind them "No doubt you are recording this call, I have noted the date and time for XYZ's records against your company name, your peronal names and the number you are calling from. The recording will be subpoenaed for use as evidence in any future discaplinary or legal damages proceedings." ANther thing, most mobile phones can record telephone calls if you go into the media section and activate the recorder. As you already know the number before you answer here's a really simple proceedure. Answer the call. "Hello can you please hold a moment" Pretend to mumble some random sentences as if you are in the middle of a conversation or giving instructions. Work thorugh your phone menu's and get the media recorder active. Get it recording. MAKE SURE IT IS RECORDING. SOmetimes you can let them know you are recording at that point, however I always tell them after I mention they must be recording the call, so I am too. They will usually say it's illegal to record the call. Just remind them that they are. They will say that it's only illegal for you to record the call without telling them, or that they are legally allowed to or whatever. The law is simple. You can record a telephone call provided YOU are the peron reocrding the call and YOU are the person in the conversation. YOu can not use the call for anything other than to 'refresh' your memory of the call. Of coure the simple solution to this is sit down, take your time and transcribe the call accurately. Listen and read it over a few times to make sure you have it correct. Mark the Transcript "Contemporaneous notes of telephone call with ABC on DATE and TIME" Now you have 'written records' of the call that are not illegal to be published or distributed. I take great joy in sending a copy to the caller, their management, their Board of Directors and so on. I have NEVER heard from anyone again after doing that. But that's because I follow my script EXCACTLY. Do NOT get heated, do NOT get angry, be pollite, laugh a little. Enjoy the call. It's fun! People who do these kinds of jobs prey on a psychologicall process of power and intimidation. It makes them feel powerful. THey get all flustered and confused and intimidated when YOU come back stronger. You are no longer the OMEGA dog being kicked and beaten by the ALPHA dog. You are in control and you have the power. Do NOT vary the script (unless you contact me first) and do NOT say anything outside the script. If they try to 'seed;' you with somehting like "You have a debt owing to HIJ company and we want to collect it" say go back to asking for a copy of the written authority for them to call and stick to the script. If they ask for your address, say under the Data Protection Act you are unable tio give them any details about any person as you have not been authorised to communicate said details to ABC company." See how simple it is! A word of warning though. DO NOT AVOID PAYING DEBTS. Even if you are stressed out. ALWAYS put forward a fair proposal to clear a debt. Even if it's £1 a week. If you MAKE an offer to clear a debt you know you have, then keep records of those offers and the names of persons who reject them. If your bluff of sending you documents is called by the caller, then ensure you have a nice spare hotmail address. Ask them to email you digital version of the documents to the hotmail address as it's the only publicly available address you have to offer them for correspondence. It only takes a monite to set up a few hotmail accounts. Never give out the same one to different parties. Hotmail now allows you to link hotmail addresses, so you can have 30 different addresses and link them all - one logging, and then move about your accounts. I regerister accounts with the calling party or companies name: [email protected] bcw - being, well we al know that one! 2009 - being the year 02 - being the month But make up your own methods of creating addresses. You might just have something like: [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] When you deal with companie: [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] get the idea? Come up with your own variation. Don't use initial or real names, they are a give away! And don't necesarily use anything with the same 3 or more character combination. It is common for databae to be earched for "smi*" for Smith. I am sick of people using initimidation to solve problems. It doesn't work, it causes suicides and homocide. It's also time people who claim to be acting under a law actually know the law. When they say "Under the Data Protection Act" ak them what section. Here is a link to the Data Protection Act Data Protection Act 1998 (c. 29) read it, learn it and discover it has not protection whatsoever, and any time you sign a form CROSS OUT the DATA PROTECTION ACT section and initial it. DO NOT allow people to hare your peronal referal information. We constantly hear about Identify Fraud, well I just need a Date of Birth and a Post Code and I can find out anything I want about a peron. It's not hard to 'fish' either. GUARD YOUR DOB! When asked for your DOB by anyone, ak them why they need it. They will say "to serve your age group better" just say "that's OK, my son might come in next week and want the same ervice so his age and my age won't help you, jut our opinion on the product or service, if youd like that I'd be happy to comment." NO ONE needs yout Date of Birth. No one needs your childrends date of birth on a record either. Good luck, have fun, lots of fun and remember PAY YOUR DEBTS, but don't let people hound you. ALWAYS MAKE DEALS! If they don't want to make a deal, then go to the Conumer Tribunal, file a claim to make payments by arrangement and offer your reasons. GET IN BEFORE THEY GET YOU. It's simple. If anyone wants to hear the recording I made today, or others I have (but haven't processes) so you can get a feel, let me know. If enough people demand, then I'll set up a secured web site with transcripts and so on. Of course I'll advise BCW that the recording are published pursuant to the Copyright Act for 'reporting and journalistic critic" and they are welcome to comment! They will of course, like BORG, adapt, but even the BORG can be beaten!