Private eye costs

[drizztdourden]

Hi,

 

I had been paying an old debt back at £25 a month for some time. I then changed jobs/banks and subsequently forgot about this debt for a couple of months. Apparently the solicitors collecting the money wrote a letter, which again I must have mist. However, then then sent a man to the house who asked my wife if I lived here. Naturally she said yes and with that he left.

I didnt think anything of it but by coincidence remembered about the debt and phoned the solicitors up and arranged to resume payments. By my reconing there was about £250 left to pay so only 10 more payments..Oh no they said we have added nearly £500 to the bill as we had to pay for a private investigator to confirm you still lived at the address you had given us...

Is this perfectly acceptable practice and its just me that this its way way over the top. As I now have a debt of £750 instead of £250. Are debt collectors etc allowed to just add whatever cost they deem neccesary and just add them onto the bill?

 

P

[diskmandave]

That's not acceptable, and is against OFT guidelines.

 

Losing your home: OFT debt collection guidance

 

Charging for debt collection

 

 

Charges should not be levied unfairly. Examples of unfair practices are as follows:

• Claiming collection costs from a debtor in the absence of express contractual or other legal provision
  
• Misleading debtors into believing they are legally liable to pay collection charges when this is not the case, e.g. when there is no contractual provision
  
• Not giving an indication in credit agreements of the amount of any charges payable on default
  
• Applying unreasonable charges, e.g. charges not based on actual and necessary costs
  
• Applying charges which are disproportionate to the main debt.

Applying a £500.00 charge to a £250.00 debt is completely unreasonable!

 

Regards, Dave.

[ODC]

You are still living at the same address and are on the electoral register why do they claim they need a private detective to confirm information which is in the public domain. Would YOU spend 500 quid to recover 250 quid.

[ukaviator]

They could have written to the occupier, your address, to see if you do infact live there. This is an unfair charge , as the guys have said.

[ODC]

Personally I think they are trying it on. In the unlikely event that this ever went to Court the greedy barstewards would have to prove they made a £500 outlay and I doubt the man at the front of the Court would make little boys out of them for their apparent GREED

[Markiemark1]

£500!!! They are having a laugh. I would suggest that this work would have been carried out by an enquiry agent for £50 max. If there are potential clients out there who would pay £500.00 for an occupancy check, please email> Don't need too many of those a month!!!

[drizztdourden]

I have to admit I did think it rather steep meself.

I shall send them an SAR and then take it further once they have responded. Yuod have thought that as a firm of solicitors they would know what is and isnt acceptable, but then again they are probably hoping I don't question it and just pay.

Cheers for replies, youve all just confirmed what I had a suspicion about.

 

P

[diskmandave]

Why waste a tenner on a SAR ?!

 

Paste the OFT guidance into a letter and tell them if they don't remove the charge that you'll be complaining to Trading Standards and making a claim against them to the FSO.

 

Regards, Dave.

[ODC]

A solicitor probably never saw the letter let alone signed it, You didnt say who the solicitors were but sounds to me like an in house DCA shower. Go with DMDS advice and see what shamblic response they come up with

[sequenci]

PLEASE complain to the FOS about this one.

[drizztdourden]

Well, to say gobsmacked would be an understatement.

I thought Id try phoning them first....got through to a young lady..I asked as to why they had added such a large amount to the bill and what the justification was for it. She said 'hang on' and went away.

Next thing I know a chap has taken over and is apologising for the mistake?? He confirmed that the outstanding balance is as it should have been with no added charges, and he would send me a letter in the post to confirm outstanding balance. He didn't even put up a modicum of a fight.

I wish Citicards were so understanding about refuding my charges!

Cheers guys, I couldn't have hoped for a better result!

P