Who can a DCA legitimately pass your details on to if they don't own the debt?

[2Grumpy]

There is a data protection clause on credit applications, saying who the bank can pass your details on to.

 

I think that if the DCA doesn't own the debt, then the only people that a DCA can pass your details to is another DCA, provided that isn't done in order to confuse the debtor, or a tracing agency if they don't know your address. These are connected with actually collecting the debt.

 

I suppose the bank might have delegated the update of CRA's to them as well.

 

I suppose they might also give details to the bank's solicitors if required.

 

I don't think that the dp clause allows a DCA to pass your details on to anyone not directly connected to the collecting activities.

 

For example, if the DCA passes your details on to their solicitors who write to say that they might start proceedings in the DCA's name (not the bank who owns the debt) then, because only the owner of the debt can start proceedings, that would not be an activity related to collecting, and so the DCA should not have passed your details on to their solicitor and so have broken the data protection act. The DCA would be mis-representing their position in this case and the solicitors letter would be harrassment.

 

Am I right. If so, can I take on the DCA for the breach of the data protection act?

 

Grumpy

[PriorityOne]

You need to keep hold of what your objective is in all of this, or you could get carried away with pointless legalities which unfortunately, get you nowhere in the real world.

 

Are you dealing with a particular DCA at the moment ? Has the account been passed from pillar to post ? Have you requested any CCAs ? If you can give a little background info., to you post, we will try and help you.

 

[2Grumpy]

Thanks for your comments P1.

 

My son's DCA has passed details on to their solicitor who say that the DCA may instruct them to start proceedings (in the DCA's name). The DCA does not own the debt.

 

I get the impression that this kind of behaviour is quite widespread, so I thought that a discussion here might be useful.

 

Have sent SAR with no results so far, but am trying to get everything lined up for a complaint to FOS / Trading standards.

 

I take your point about pointless legal battles - won't be doing anything more than a complaint, but I want that to be as strong as possible.

 

Grumpy

[Patma]

Hi 2Grumpy, I think you've raised a very interesting point that I'd like to know the answer to as well.

I'm wondering whether the fact that some DCA's are actually owned by the bank which the debt is owed to, makes any difference. At the moment I'm having personal experience of Barclays and a DCA called Calder Financial. On the bottom of Calder Financial's correspondence it gives the information that they belong to Mercers and we know that Mercer's belongs to Barclays, so it all gets very tangled.Now Calder s have passed my details on to yet another company called Scotcall. Calder's letter tells me they are passing my details to a local debt collectoin company so that they can pay me a visit. However Scotcall's address is given as Glasgow so maybe someone at Calders doesn't know that Devon, where I live isn't in Scotland.

If they are breaching the Data Protection Act, it could be a very useful tool for curbing these idiots mind games.

Best wishes,Patma

[2Grumpy]

Patma

 

It might make a difference if they are owned by the creditor

 

Also I think that one DCA can use another DCA - it's still a collection activity, but the daisy chain of DCAs owned by the crditor might be viewed as confusing!!!!

 

Grumpy

[pt2537]

Thanks for your comments P1.

 

My son's DCA has passed details on to their solicitor who say that the DCA may instruct them to start proceedings (in the DCA's name). The DCA does not own the debt.

 

I get the impression that this kind of behaviour is quite widespread, so I thought that a discussion here might be useful.

 

Have sent S.A.R - (Subject Access Request) with no results so far, but am trying to get everything lined up for a complaint to FOS / Trading standards.

 

I take your point about pointless legal battles - won't be doing anything more than a complaint, but I want that to be as strong as possible.

 

Grumpy

 

 

Hi 2Grumpy

 

now my understanding of this is, if the DCA has had the debt assigned to them,and htey have the rights and responsibilities with this assignment they can pursue litigation in their own right and using their own name.

 

however if they are acting as agents on behalf of the creditor they would have to instigate proceedings in the name of the creditor

 

its a rather messy area " assignment" so it depends on what has actually happened

 

regards

paul

[2Grumpy]

Thanks Paul

 

That's what I was thinking. I am specifically interested in the case where the debt is not assigned and the DCA is acting as an agent of the creditor. I have seen lots of threads where the DCA's solicitor threatens court action in the DCA's name when they haven't had the debt assigned to them, my son included.

 

I was thinking that this gives 2 sticks to poke them with

1. Breaking OFT guidance by acting in a misleading way

2. Breaking the data protection act by passing details on to a third party not a pert of the collections activity - which I think is a stronger stick to poke with!

 

The CCA will allow data to be shared in some ways, but if the organisation that they shres with isn't covered by that then I see problems for them. Now at the moment I don't know what the original CCA says, but I think that this increases the size and scope of the complaint whether or not they produce it. I could also complain to the information commissioner. I suspect that it might be possible to start (or threaten to start) proceedings against the DCA for giving his information to an unauthorised third party - an even better stick to poke with!

 

Grumpy

[2Grumpy]

My son complained to both the DCA and the OC about this.

 

The DCA wrote back saying that they had would have been instructed by the OC to start proceedings.

The OC says that DCAs can do this, doesn't say that they instructed the DCA to do it, but goes on to say that they refered the account to another DCA the same month - it doesn't add up.

 

Both ignore the actual complaint that the DCA was threatening action on its own account and not on in the name of the OC.

 

Any advice before he writes back to them?

 

Grumpy

[ThisVeryMoment]

Yes, pay this debt.

 

The DCA is pefectly entitled to pass details on to their Solicitor to sue you on behalf of their client. Instead of looking to get.