Yeah i suppose! I didn't think of it like that! but at the start of the call they asked to speak to Mr xxxx and he confirmed he was speaking! They then asked for personal information without confirming who they were!! (It could have been any fraudster on the phone who had got his number in a phone book and looking to steal his identity!!) The agent would not need to say what the call was in relation to, they would need to say....Its Andy from the Westcot group. In doing that they would not be breaking any data protection act and also not be breaking their code of practise which states they can't reveal information that may embarrass the debtor! By saying they are from the Westcot group they are not implying it is a debt!! But i agree they should have sent a letter rather than phone again every 20 minutes!!

Hi By not telling you who they are the company was breaking the law....so to speak! In the code of practise for debt collection and consumer credit agency's they must say who they are, who they work for and what their role is. If any company doesn't comply with this, i would contact them asking for an explanation about the phone calls you have recieved, and register a complaint. If you do not recieve any satisfactory information back then register a complaint with the office of fair trading. Wescot are also a member of the 'Credit Service Association' (if you want more details on this they have a website!). By not disclosing who they were on the call they broke the code of practise, to which they could be reported for. I also find it really bad practise for the agent to quote the Data Protection act, this has nothing to do with them saying what company they are calling from, it is a blatent misuse of the act. I think is is horrible that Debt Collectoin agencys can intimidate people in such a way, i hope you get on ok with this!! Thanks

Hi I had exactly the same problem with the Student loan comany years ago. I didn't send my deferment form in until May, but by that time they had already passed the debt onto another company. I called both the Student loan people and this other company to say that i was earning under £10,000 and really couldn't pay...but didn't get anywhere. I contacted the Debt collecton agency and offered to pay them £25 a week...so about £100 a month which they point blank refused. They said if i didn't pay the full amount they would take me to court for it and i would have to pay their fees. It was horrible!! I went to court and explained that i had tried to offer a payment and gave a breakdown of my earnings and outgoings...the judge decided i would pay £5 a week. It amazed me that the Debt collection agency would rather accept £5 a week after going to court than my offer of £25 a week!! I also had to pay £500+ on top of my original debt for their legal fees! I always wondered if that if why they took it to court!! Anyway, i am not meaning to give you a horrible horror story, but i was really worried at the time thinking how i could pay for it! But it ended up better, i was only paying £5 a week!! Also, they never sent balliffs, came to my house (other than the delivery of court papers!!) the only bad thing to come from the whole experience was a CCJ...!! I can't give you any advice, as i went to court, What i do know is that it ended up being the student loan litigation department who i had to deal with! I, like you, was told at the begining the debt had been sold to a DCA and had nothing to do with the student loans people!! I would suggest contacting them to discuss repayments (or deferrment) rather than going to court. Make sure that you talk to the litigation department as the front line agents normally refer you to the Debt Collection agency. I hope that you get on ok with this, but as i said! It was a relief after it went to court and i only had to pay £5 a week! They had given me the impression that if it went to court i would have to pay the full whack straight away!! But do talk to the student loan litigation department and the DCA and find out if you can do anything to avoid court so you don't get a CCJ and have to pay their fees!!

Hi I recieved a letter from the Royal Bank today explaining that the charges were fair and transparent and that they would not refund them. I sent a reply (the LBA letter) today. I'm not 100% sure if i should have left it another 7 days before sending this or not. On my understading in the first letter i gave them 14 days to respond, as they responded (even though it wasn't positive) I can send off a letter saying im not happy with their response! Is that right?! I hope so! I have been reading through the progress of everyones claims and think it is an amazing form of 'People Power'. The support offered by people in this forum is great and very positive. I am slightly daunted at the prospect of having to go to court as i am in Scotland, the small claims process seems complicated. However, reading through the posts is giving me the confidence to continue!! Thanks again...

Hi I have just finished my letter claiming £1328 in charges over the last 5 years, i'm quite surprised how much it is, all those £28 here and £35 there sure add up!! Anyway I sent them the initialletter asking for the £1328 and sent them a breakdown of the charges and dates they were charged to my account (i hope thats right!). I've posted the letter recorded delivery to: Royal Bank Of Scotland Senior Customer Relations Manager The Forthstone 56 South Gyle Crescent Edinburgh EH12 9JN Fingers crossed i will hear back in the next 14 days! Its wierd, but i actually like the Royal Bank...though i don't like them enough to give them £1300!!! I'll keep the board updated on the progress. Thanks for all the advise!!