Urgent Help Needed

[lulu99]

I have a friend who owes money to next directory, and a debt collector calls to her house every week to collect £5.

I have informed her that she needs to send a cca to the company straight away .

She dosent know what dca is collecting her money each week, she just hands it over!!!

She has been paying these scumbags for about 18 months I think.

 

She is now aware that she can request a cca , but has no idea where to write to because she dosent know what dca they are.

 

She is going to ask the collector for their address next time he calls, and I have told her not to pay anymore money to him.

What we need to know is - can she ask for the money back that she has already paid them for the last 18 months, after all they hAve taken it without supplying a cca

Is it too late for this?

She is going to cca them when she gets the address, and as we all know next directory dont ever have a cca , so she wont be paying them another penny.

However she has already paid these morons a fiver every week for 18 months and I am wondering if she can get this back?

 

Someone please advise. Thanks

[spamheed]

Your friend is entitled to know who she owes money to.

 

Does she have any written communications from either Next or the DCA?

 

Has this debt ever been to court and an order obtained (CCJ?)

[42man]

My personal feeling is that she may struggle to get any money back from the DCA/doorstep collector. As Spam has asked is there a CCJ on this ?...bear in mind a debt can be disputed at any stage (especially now as she knows her rights)....If you can find out who the doorstep collector represents....

[lulu99]

Hi thanks for your reply.

She has no idea who the dca is. She has no letters either that she can put her hand on.

No its not been to court.

A dca agent turned up on her doorstep about 18 months ago,and said he was acting on behalf of next directory. She was terrified that someone had gone to the door, so she ofered £5 per week.

He has collected this fiver every week ever since.

I have had a similar experience with next directory and sent them a cca letter, they couldnt provide one, and they have never bothered me since.

 

I have advised her to send a cca letter, but she has no idea who the dca are. (crazy I know)!

When the dca agent next goes to her door she is going to ask him for the address of the dca , and send them the lettter.

The money that she has already paid them, which amounts to around £300 ish, she wants to know if she could ask the dca for it back????

[42man]

She has to be slightly careful as you really need everything in writing (unless you can record the conversation with the doorstep guy)......She HAS to find out who the DCA are first...then she can shoot off a CCA letter to them (was the account opened via the internet as I think the CCA may not apply ? (electronic signatures)....I may be wrong on this....How long has she held the account for can she remember ? did she ever recieve an assigment of the debt from a DCA ?).....I would ask the collector, which debt collection agency he represents, and request a copy of the assignment of the debt, and a copy of the CCA....(but he may lie if nobody is around listening !!!) remember debt collectors will say ANYTHING to frighten someone in to paying.....next time he calls might be worth calling an answering machine / or somebody message box, then put the phone in a top pocket and start speaking, then you may get the conversation recorded.....

[Struggling_Simon]

Your friend is well within their rights to ask for a statement of account from the DCA, and they could ask for that to be done in writing.

 

Once (If) the DCA writes to you, you should be able to send your CCA request to the DCA's address. Just a thought!!

[Rtech]

The first and most important thing to do,is pay NO MORE money...that means she has to be adamant about that,very brave to face the collector,and, perhaps a friend to be with her when this guy calls,for moral support.

They will try any tactic,threaten court action etc,BUT her mindset must be NO.....NO.....NO...more money.

[lulu99]

This debt is for well over £1000.

She has a long way to go before it would be paid off at a fiver a week. I have told her not to pay him another penny until she knows who she is paying it to, and then cca them and I dont think she will hear off them again.

These people are slimeballs.

Regarding the money that she has already paid them,surely they have no legal right to it.

[Rtech]

Rightly or wrongly,she hads paid it,and as others have commented,I doubt must chance of getting it back,and may well be one of those things that you have to put down to experience,and not to fall into the same trap again.

[spamheed]

If I thought banging on someones door and demanding money would bring results like this, I may consider a career change.

 

I would be a little more suspicious of this fella, make a note of his car reg number etc.

 

What you say may well be correct, but they are very good at what they do and it may be a case of damage limitation.

 

I think establishing the id of the dca would be a good starting point, make sure the name of the fella matches his personal ID.

 

Remember, he wants from you, not the other way around, so he should readilly have id to hand

[lulu99]

Some great advice given. Thanks guys.

[pt2537]

Ascertain who the guy works for, then id actually go one step further and tell the guy he is no longer welcome on the property,

 

i would then hand him the doorstepping letter i tend to use and tell him to leave

 

if he refuses to leave its highly likely he commits an offence and tell him that you are calling the police

[ThisVeryMoment]

So, this helpful guy making free visits to collect a paltry £5 is called a ****** and will be threatened with the Police? What an utter waste of our valuable Police Force's time! Personally I would suggest the debtor is taken to court for wasting police time!

 

How about 'your friend' concentrating on paying the debt? The only ****** here is your friend for trying to avoid payinging a debt even when a FREE collection service is offered!!!

 

Utterly appalling.

[lulu99]

Thanks for the advice. This moron apparantly hasnt turned up this week for his fiver.

Will let you know what happens.

 

Lulu99

[Rtech]

Perhaps he's reading this Forum???....lol

[ThisVeryMoment]

Moron? Now lets have a think.

 

Whose credit rating is completely shot?

Who owes loads of money to creditors?

Who is such a saddo that they have to rely on a doorstep visit?

Who has the humiliation of a bloke calling to ollect a paltry £5 becausethey are so thick they havent got a well paid job and cannot pay it off in full?

 

Yep, its YOU who is a moron!!!!

[Struggling_Simon]

If he is, I have a great site for him to think on.

 

Trespasser - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[ThisVeryMoment]

not quite, the saddo paying £5 INVITES him to call. Hardly trespass. I guess the poor man hasn't been deemed worthy of a cheque book and can't afford a postage stamp!