Newbie to forum with BIG Capquest problems

[bri7]

Hello everyone -

 

I found this forum by googling Capquest and would be extremely grateful for any help or advice you may be able to give me.

 

This is a long one, so please bear with me, but I am putting all the details down so you know what you're dealing with when and if you are good enough to respond.

 

In 2001 I purchased goods from a furniture company in the sum of approximately £2500. A payment plan was set up via a company called Clydesdale Financial. I began to make payments via a standing order directly through my bank, but due to extreme ill health was unable to continue to work and became long-term disabled, reliant on benefits.

 

As my income had significantly decreased I began to pay off what I considered to be more important bills such as council tax, roof over my head, food, utilities etc. I have no other credit at all, just the regular household bills, but despite this, I have hardly any disposable income, probably less than £5 per week. I wrote to Clydesdale explaining this and telling them I had stopped the standing order, asking if they could reduce my payments. I heard nothing from them, and, with pressing medical concerns and other bills was happy simply to "leave it".

 

Approximately a year later I heard from a debt collection agency whose name escapes me offhand, telling me they had purchased the debt. I began to make payments to them, but again found myself in a situation where I was paying more than I could reasonably afford. I called them to explain the situation and heard no more from them either. I thought that this might be the end of the matter.

 

At the end of last year I received a letter asking me to urgently call this company called Capquest. I had never heard of Capquest and had no idea what this was in regard to so I binned the letter, assuming it was some kind of "round robin" letter sent to varios people from someone wanting to sell something.

 

I then received a voicemail message asking me to urgently call Capquest. I definitely thought they were trying to sell me something then, and having been plagued by cold callers, despite having an ex-directory telephone number (and in my ex partner's name) I called them to find out who they were and to ask them to cease contacting me as whatever they were selling I didn' want to buy it!

 

During that call I didn't confirm my identity to them, but simply said I had received this message to call them and had an ex-directory number so how did they get it? They were cagey as to who they were but eventually it became clear it was someone wanting money. I panicked and hung up, not wanting to deal with someone on the phone about this and assuming that I would now probably receive a letter explaining what it was all about which I could then deal with in some way.

 

I did receive a couple more letters but they were from a legal company (which when I checked were actually Capquest) and then another letter asking me to call Capquest to make some kind of financial agreement to pay off a debt I owed to them. They did not detail what that debt was for or about so I didn't respond.

 

I then began to receive a huge amount of telephone calls from Capquest, calls up to nine a day, every day, including weekends. I panicked and kept saying "I" was out, which was probably fairly stupid, but the manner in which they spoke to me was quite intimidating and unpleasant and I wanted to deal with them in writing, if at all, rather than engage in a telephone conversation with regards to this, because frankly, I had no idea of what to say and felt pressurized.

 

During this time (in November 2007) my mother died and the last thing I needed was Capquest calling me when I was needing the telephone to take calls from relatives and I became extremely distressed, to the point where I had to go to my doctor for medication for stress and anxiety.

 

The calls continued for approximately seven further months on a daily basis including at least five automated messages left on my voicemail per day. I felt very harassed and it got to the stage where I was no longer comfortable answering my own telephone and turned the ringer off, not taking any calls at all, simply answering voicemail messages from other people trying to contact me, because I simply couldn't deal with this. I am a single woman living alone and was, frankly, rather intimidated. To be clear, I was not threatened by these people with violence or heavies or anything but I found their manner unpleasant and disconcerting.

 

It all came to a head yesterday when a friend of mine who I had explained the situation decided to take matters into her own hands as she was fed up of trying to contact me and me never answering the phone, so she drove out to visit me and I told her all about it. She persuaded me to turn the ringer back on my phone. About ten minutes into her visit it rang. I refused to answer it so she did. It was Capquest! She told Capquest that she was living here now, that this was her number and they must not call it again. I am very distressed that she did this, although obviously her intentions were good, because this is simply not factual. Having said that, part of me was pleased she did say that because despite my having asked them to write to the "person in question" and not call again, the calls had continued for months and months and made me a complete nervous wreck. They apparently asked my friend various questions about me and she told them she had no idea.

 

Today, so far, there have been no calls from them, which is unusual, as they would generally start at around 8 a.m.

 

This morning, however, I received a letter from Capquest, dated 30th May. It is headed:

Debt Purchased From: etc. etc.

Balance Due: etc. etc.

And the salient points in it are (I won't quote it all as it is very long and in very small print):

 

"We note with regret that you have chosen not to deal with this matter despite our previous communication endeavoring to assist you with coming to a satisfactory arrangement to settle this account without need for legal action.

(Having not engaged in conversation with them I am not sure how they have endeavored to assist me...!)

 

"It is therefore our intention to progress your account to our pre-litigation system where the relevant validations and checks will be completed.

(What relevant validations and checks - does anyone know what this actually means?)

 

"Your account will then be passed to our solicitors who may commence legal action on or around 5th June 2008.

 

"Through the litigation process we will seek an Order of the Court" etc. etc...

 

"We will seek to obtain a Warrant of Execution and a Court Enforcement Officer (Bailiff) will carry out the Warrant, take an inventory and levy goods. He will inform you he has impounded the goods and you will be asked to sign a Walking Possession Agreement acknowledging the goods belong to the Bailiff. If a satisfactory offer of payment is not made to the Bailiff he will remove your goods for sale.

(What would a Bailiff consider satisfactory? Surely I would have the opportunity to deal with a court before the Bailiffs came wouldn't I, or is this not so?)

 

"The goods you own will lose value overtime so the Bailiff may seize more goods to discharge the sum you own, etc. etc."

(Does this mean Bailiffs can keep coming round and taking more and more of my few possessions?)

 

Call us now on etc. etc. to discuss the most suitable method of payment."

(I cannot call these people. This has already made me very ill).

 

I am at my wits end. I own nothing of value, only things I inherited from my mother, who died last November, and they are not of any great value, but mean a great deal to me. I am in rented accommodation and on benefits and cannot pay the balance of this account, and can only offer a very small payment per month, if anything.

 

Please advise me as to how to proceed now. Like I said, I really don't want to talk to these people on the phone - especially after my friend's little episode with them because that just looks bad - but I have no idea what to write to them either or how to proceed from here. I don't even know if the sum of money they are quoting is correct in view of the payments I made previously, both to Clydesdale and the second agency involved and have no idea if these have been deducted as I am not in possession of any of the original paperwork which is, along with various other things he shouldn't have somewhere in the West Country with my ex partner and his new wife. (He was extremely violent to the point of police action and there is no way I intend to approach him about this, even assuming he is still at that address).

 

Any advice you can give me would be much appreciated. I have probably been incredibly stupid not dealing with this before now, but as I said, due to family matters, extreme ill health and having to go onto benefits it simply wasn't a priority and in view of the gap in time before I was contacted I had naively hoped it would simply stop.

 

Many thanks for reading and also for your time.

[kfdh1962]

Hi bri 7,

welcome to the forum, you are in the right place to receive excellent help support and advice from all of the memeber son this site.

First of dont panic. If these are there usual threat-o-matic letters, and can be dealt with.

Firstly never speak to these guys on the phone. All communication with them should be in writing.

The first step is to make them prove that they have a legal right to colect the debt in question. You can do this by sending them a CCA request and also asking for a copy of the deed of assignment. Knowing capquest they will not be able to provide this meaning the debt will become un-enforceable..

[PGH7447]

OK welcome to the CAG, first things first,

 

First when was the last time you paid anything to this debt, if it was over 6 years ago then it could well be statute barred and Crapquest can go whistle

 

If you have paid or acknowledge this debt in writing then you need to

make Crapquest establish they have the right to collect this debt, if it was for goods via a credit agreement you need to send Crap quest a CCA request, this can be found in the templates section, it costs £1 and should be sent recorded.

 

There is also a Telephone harrasment letter in the same library which instructs these lowlife not to phone you.

 

Never call these parasites, never sign any letters, pnce crapquest get the CCA request they have 12+2+30 days to comply, no valid Agreement no enforcement of debt.

[babybear39]

Hi bri7, welcome to CAG, you're in the right place now.

 

Your first and most important things to do are to send certain letters to crapquest. The first is for a copy of your consumer credit agreement (CCA) and this will show if they are legally entitled to collect. Here's the link to that letter and it's letter N you need:

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/general-debt-issues/20758-creditors-dcas-letter-templates.html

 

The second is the telephone harassment letter. I would normally direct you to the template one but your situation demands a heavier approach to these ****:

 

- HARASSMENT WARNING -

WARNING; PROTECTION FROM HARASSMENT ACT 1997;

WARNING; COMMUNICATIONS ACT 2003. s127.

 

Telephone Number: {Your Telephone Number}

Re: Harassment by telephone

 

Dear Sir/Madam.

 

I am writing in relation to telephone calls that I have received from your organisation, which I deem to be personally harassing. I have verbally requested that these calls stop, but I am still receiving call. I now require the telephone number listed above to be completely removed from your systems.

 

I am in the view that your continued telephone calls put you in breach of the Protection of Harassment Act 1997.

 

This is a private telephone line, operated on a contract with the intention of receiving and making personal phone calls, I have not authorised any other member of my family to receive calls from your organisation using this PRIVATE TELEPHONE LINE.

 

By using this telephone number without my permission you are interferring with my ability to use my own private property for the duration of any call.

 

It is my right to require that this telephone line, which is licenced solely to myself, is kept clear for my own personal calls.

 

It is consquently my view that you are commiting the tort of interference with contract insofar as for the duration of each call you make to me without my permission, you are interfering with my contractual right to receive and make personal calls on my private telephone line.

 

Continued interference with my contractual rights in this manner may result in legal action.

 

If you continue to harass me by telephone, you will also be in breach of the Communications Act (2003) s.127 and I will report you to the Office of Communications, Trading Standards and the Office of Fair Trading, meaning that you may be liable for a substantial fine.

 

Be advised that all telephone calls from your company will be recorded.

 

 

Yours faithfully,

 

Letter courtesy of DMD.

 

Amend both to suit, DO NOT SIGN, print your name, use £1 postal order for the CCA request keeping a copy of the number to see if they cash it, send everything recorded keeping copies of everything.

 

Good luck and best wishes.

[kfdh1962]

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/general-debt-issues/83035-guidelines-requests-original-agreement.html

 

some useful background info on CCA request for you

[kfdh1962]

thanks babybear... i was couldnt find the template letters for Bri:)

[babybear39]

No worries kfdh, that's why it took me so long to post

[rory32]

Hi and welcome to CAG.

 

As usual what Capquest have informed you of is not the full picture. If they were to obtain a CCJ against you you could apply for a time order as this is a consumer debt. A time order would allow you to pay by installments (typically this would be set at about £1 per month by the judge as you are on benefits). Only after defaulting on making payments on a time order could Capquest apply for a Warrant of Execution. In terms of bailiffs taking goods, bailiffs are very limited in what they can take.

Bailiffs can't take essentials such as clothing, bedding, cookers, fridges, most furniture and the 'tools of your trade' (for example, a computer you use for work).

 

Simply put even if they were in a position to apply for a warrant it would not be worth their while. The letters that they send are just generic templates so try not to worry about the one you have received.

 

I think the first thing to do is to send them a couple of letters via recorded delivery if you can afford that. Alternatively get proof of posting.

 

Send them the template here regarding telephone calls http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/bank-templates-library/37006-harassment-telephone-response-letter.html and template N from here for a copy of the credit agreement. Also add to template N that you require a statement of account and a Notice of Assignment. Enclose a £1 postal order with the CCA request and don't sign the letters.

 

In order to enforce a consumer account a copy of the agreement is required. Without this the account can not be enforced even in a court of law. They should immediately put your account on hold after receiving this request. Clydesdale Financial Services are pretty poor at producing agreements so there may no longer be one.

 

I know money is tight but you may also wish to consider getting call barring on your phone or simply inform your telephone line supplier that you are being harassed and they will change your number for free.

 

One thing to always remember is that DCA's have no legal powers whatsoever. They are subject to the laws of the land and they are not allowed to harass you.

 

I appreciate that this is a lot to take in, so if you are not sure of anything then please just ask.

[bri7]

First of all, thank you so much to everyone who has responded and taken the time to welcome me here and help me - and so quickly. I am so, so grateful to you all and am so glad I found this place.

 

To respond to PGH7447's questions:

I haven't paid a penny to Capquest or acknowledged any debt to them in writing or by any other means.

I did acknowledge the debt to the other company and was making payments to them. I also paid quite a bit to the original creditor before my circumstances changed.

I have probably paid at least half of this debt but the amount on the letter from Capquest doesn't appear to reflect any of this.

As to the length of time since I last paid anyone - it MAY be over six years ago, I would have to ask my bank for some old, old statements (I can't access them that far back on line, though I did try) - although thinking about how other things in my life were going and going on that timescale it's probably nearer 5 years since I made my last payment.

Yes, this was accrued on goods taken via a credit arrangement set up by Clydesdale Financial Services.

 

To Babybear39 - thank you so much for the helpful link. I will definitely use this and send that letter off to them, registered delivery and unsigned. Thank you also for taking the time to compose that letter about telephone harassment - I had no idea I could actually do anything legally about them calling me all day every day. So pleased I can. I will send that, although, perhaps the fact that my friend took the last call (thus far) from Capquest and said she now lived here and was the person whose phone number it now was (see original posting for details as to why) will prohibit me from doing so without it looking potentially fraudulent? What do you reckon? I am assuming that call with my friend would have been recorded?

 

Rory32 - I appreciate you putting my mind at rest here somewhat. They make no mention of a CCJ in their letter (to be honest I don't know what one is, though I have heard of it - I've not had anything like this happen to me before), just that they intend to get this "Warrant of Execution" and send round the Bailiffs, apparently possibly quite frequently. It's only my mom's things that I would be concerned that they would take. Do you think I would be advised to put them in store until this is paid? I can't afford it, but I would be crushed if they ended up in the hands of the bailiffs.

 

Again, thank you to EVERYONE who has responded. I look forward to reading anything else anyone has to say on this before I write to these people (probably won't get there before their cut off date of tomorrow though - will that matter? By cut off date I mean the date they have stated they will forward my details to their legal people...)

[babybear39]

Don't worry about anything said on the phone...They say they record calls and many do but they won't hand them over to a judge 'cos then they'd be in deep poop

[babybear39]

Oh, and don't worry about their threat of warrants etc., they can't legally do anything until or if you default on a CCJ

[bri7]

Thank you so much for that further info. I feel a good deal less panicked now.

 

Excuse my ignorance, but what exactly is a CCJ? Is this something that comes directly from the court that asks for money or asks you to attend a hearing? Sorry for not knowing all the terms, but I haven't ever been involved in anything like this before and it's all new to me.

 

Also, a further question if that's OK... I will get those letters off as suggested , but it's pretty likely that they won't reach Capquest by their cut-off date. Although I only received the letter today (dated 30th of last month) they said in it that... "It is our intention to progress your account to our pre-litigation department where the relevant validations and checks will be completed. (Any idea what they mean by relevant validations and checks?)

 

It continues:

"Your account will then be passed to our solicitors who will commence legal action on or around 05 Jun 08."

 

Even if I manage to get to the nearest post office within the next couple of hours (which is unlikely due to my illness and my reliance on a carer to help with this kind of thing) my letters won't get there until at least the 6th as the final post from nearest here is at 5 pm and I don't have a car to drive to any nearby town for a later collection (I'm out in the boondocks here!)

 

So, in view of all this, would it still be OK to send those letters or would it be too late by the time it reaches their lawyers? - As it will be Capquest I am sending these too, not their lawyers as the lawyers haven't written to me telling me what they are going to do yet. Or do you think this may be the original lawyers who wrote months ago asking me to contact Capquest who are actually Capquest in disguise? Hope that all makes sense! Apologies for all the further questions, but I need to get this right so I can build up a file here in case this goes to court.

 

And thanks so much again. I look forward to hearing further and appreciate all the help very much. You have no idea what a difference this has made.

[PGH7447]

Thank you so much for that further info. I feel a good deal less panicked now.

 

Excuse my ignorance, but what exactly is a CCJ? County Court Judgment is this something that comes directly from the court that asks for money or asks you to attend a hearing? Sorry for not knowing all the terms, but I haven't ever been involved in anything like this before and it's all new to me.

 

Also, a further question if that's OK... I will get those letters off as suggested , but it's pretty likely that they won't reach Capquest by their cut-off date. Although I only received the letter today (dated 30th of last month) they said in it that... "It is our intention to progress your account to our pre-litigation department Thats the next door desk in the little cubbyhole of an office where the relevant validations and checks will be completed. (Any idea what they mean by relevant validations and checks?) Bullsh*t talk for we dont know what we are doing

It continues:

"Your account will then be passed to our solicitors who will commence legal action on or around 05 Jun 08." Usual 7 day response time, they think oit puts pressure on you, so when you respond you act more kindly and give em 14 days

 

Even if I manage to get to the nearest post office within the next couple of hours (which is unlikely due to my illness and my reliance on a carer to help with this kind of thing) my letters won't get there until at least the 6th as the final post from nearest here is at 5 pm and I don't have a car to drive to any nearby town for a later collection (I'm out in the boondocks here!) Its from the date you dated it not the date you posted it, how do they know how long letters take

 

So, in view of all this, would it still be OK to send those letters YES or would it be too late by the time it reaches their lawyers? - As it will be Capquest I am sending these too, not their lawyers as the lawyers haven't written to me telling me what they are going to do yet. Or do you think this may be the original lawyers who wrote months ago asking me to contact Capquest who are actually Capquest in disguise? Hope that all makes sense! Apologies for all the further questions, but I need to get this right so I can build up a file here in case this goes to court.

 

And thanks so much again. I look forward to hearing further and appreciate all the help very much. You have no idea what a difference this has made.

 

Dont Panic 8-)

[babybear39]

Excellent advice from PGH

[rory32]

Excuse my ignorance, but what exactly is a CCJ? Is this something that comes directly from the court that asks for money or asks you to attend a hearing?

What would happen if they attempted to obtain a County Court Judgement is that a claim would be registered against you at court. A claim pack would then be sent to you giving you the details of the claim and the opportunity to defend or admit the claim. If you decided to defend the claim the claim would be transfered to your local court and once you had entered a defence (no credit agreement is a full defence in this instance) a hearing date would be set.

 

Civil hearings of this nature are nothing to be frightened about and as you are a litigant in person the judge will attempt to make things as simple and as easily understood as possible.

 

CAG have helped a number of people successfully defend court claims against them, so if in the inlikely event it comes to that you will receive plenty of advice. I would also point out that it is only a very small percentage of accounts that DCA's will ever take to court. The more you show you are aware of your rights the less likely they are to make a court claim against you.

 

Regarding the timescales that you have been given to respond to their pre-litigation department (sounds all very official but legally there is no such thing as pre-litigation) these are deliberately meant to be unrealistic to panic you into phoning them. Once you have phoned them they can then put pressure on you by telling you any old rubbish (this is why they generally don't record calls) to get you to make payments that you can't really afford. Remember these people work on commission.

 

I would, as good practice, mark the date of receipt on any future letters that you receive. DCA's have a habit of it taking about a week for any threatograms to arrive from the date of the letter.

[PGH7447]

I would, as good practice, mark the date of receipt on any future letters that you receive. DCA's have a habit of it taking about a week for any threatograms to arrive from the date of the letter.

And they tend to date them on a Friday and post them on a Monday, thereby giving you 3 whole days to respond, Idiots. even better when its a bank holiday

[bri7]

Hello again. And thank you all again for the wonderful and helpful responses. I really appreciate you taking the time to help me as you have. Not only has my mind been put at rest, but I now have very practical, lawful steps to follow which I would have had absolutely no idea about had you not helped out.

 

Well, the letters have gone out to Capquest today, and, as yet, no more phonecalls, which is such a relief. I am feeling much less stressed about the whole situation, though extremely angry that a debt collection agency are prepared to omit several salient facts on a letter, which has been clearly designed to mislead people into being so afraid of potential consequences that they end up in further debt by being forced to pay way over what their income would ever allow.

 

If it's all right with everyone, I shall remain on this forum and keep you updated as to progress with this case, and, if necessary, if you all don't mind, ask lots more questions when they next write to me (I am sure there will be more questions, because not only does it seem that Capquest, well, frankly bully people, but also don't write in layman's terms, so the majority of people have no clue as to what their correspondence actually means in real terms).

 

Many thanks again - you've all been wonderful. And PGH7447, your comments in red have made me laugh like a drain, which I sorely needed in view of all of this, so thanks to you for that

[PGH7447]

By keeping this thread updated you also help other people who have to deal with these companies

 

And PGH7447, your comments in red have made me laugh like a drain, which I sorely needed in view of all of this, so thanks to you for that

 

You're welcome, I have been were you are now at and know the stress these morons put people under

Edited June 5, 2008 by PGH7447
added comment

[bri7]

Hello again -

 

After a day or so's respite from Capquest's telephone calls, they have started again. First call this morning at 8.25 continuing on until 1.45 when I switched the ringer off the phone. Since then I have been left one voicemail. Total calls today: eight.

 

I think it may be time for me to consider changing my number because this is just ridiculous. As my friend said, who answered one of their calls he other day, considering I am disabled, people are going to get concerned if I don't answer the phone, as I have pretty much a routine here and people who know me are aware of the times I am likely to be out, so the last thing I want is to have people driving out here when I am absolutely fine and there is no cause for alarm.

 

Alternatively, I simply put up with it until they receive that letter I sent on Friday about phone harassment - though I guess they might ignore that.

 

Or - do you think I would have a case if I went to a lawyer before they respond to my letter? Because this has got to stop.

 

I am loathe to change my number because of the number of people who have it - some overseas - and it would cost me quite a lot of money to inform everyone of the change. But, if there isn't a speedy alternative perhaps this will be the best option because already I am very stressed again thanks to the wonders of Capquest's customer relations techniques...!

[babybear39]

bri7 contact your local Trading Standards first thing Monday morning and explain the situation. Letters from them to DCAs bothering me (I'm disabled too) soon put a stop to their silly calls.

 

Here's the contact details for TS:

 

Trading Standards Central - Trading Standards and Consumer Protection information for the UK

 

You might ike to write to your MP also.

 

Or get one of your freinds to help report them to the Police for harassment and while you're at it report them to ofcom too. Make sure you note the time and date of every call. IF you do ever speak to them, which I wouldn't advise, just say 'in writing only' and put the phone down.

Edited June 7, 2008 by babybear39
forgot something

[rory32]

Harassment is a criminal offence. So at the moment keep a log of the calls and if after receiving your letter the calls don't stop I would give the police a phone and get them involved.

[havinastella]

Hi Bri,

 

I know you may not believe me, but in a few months time you will be missing those calls.

 

More of less every thread started on there forums start the same way as yours. We are scared, broke and feeling down to say the least. BUT, every time you get a little bit of new advise and every time you read a new thread, you feel yourself getting stronger. I used to hate picking up the phone as I knew it was Moorcrap or NDR or AIC and best of all Cabot, but with knowledge comes power.

 

IMHO I found in the end it was easier to answer the phone and then refuse to go through the security checks, this shows on the computer that you have been contacted and the automated ringer goes away for a week or so. I had so much fun in the end winding up the DCA's

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/debt-collection-industry/143887-cfc-ones-you.html

 

that I really miss the peace and quiet

 

I'd give the letter until Monday to be sure they receive it and then if you still get the calls, someone will help you with the next stage.

 

Best of luck

 

Jogs

[bri7]

Hello again everyone, and thanks for your help so far.

 

Well, just an update on the Capquest saga for you...

 

No response in writing from them re the CCA or calls yet... BUT, having had no more calls for a couple of days I assumed that perhaps they had noted the comments in my letter regarding harassment. Not a chance! I received a call last night, answered it, not assuming it would be them, but it was! Not being quite as brave as Jogs, I did however try the "in writing only" tactic. A particularly unpleasant man informed me that this was not necessary, so I reminded him of my recent letter to them re the harassment laws. He then informed me that as they are a "financial institution" they do not come under the harassment law situation, it does not apply to them or any other financial institution and that they are quite within their rights to call me as many times as and whenever they like. I hung up, obviously, after that. Thought you all would be interested in this latest, and wondered if anyone knows if what he is saying is true? He told me that if I "investigated the law" I would find that he was right. My next stop, if he is not right, will now be the local police or a legal adviser of some kind....

Will keep you updated, and thanks again. Look forward to your comments!

[babybear39]

Hello again everyone, and thanks for your help so far.

 

Well, just an update on the Capquest saga for you...

 

No response in writing from them re the CCA or calls yet... BUT, having had no more calls for a couple of days I assumed that perhaps they had noted the comments in my letter regarding harassment. Not a chance! I received a call last night, answered it, not assuming it would be them, but it was! Not being quite as brave as Jogs, I did however try the "in writing only" tactic. A particularly unpleasant man informed me that this was not necessary, so I reminded him of my recent letter to them re the harassment laws. He then informed me that as they are a "financial institution" they do not come under the harassment law situation, it does not apply to them or any other financial institution and that they are quite within their rights to call me as many times as and whenever they like. Complete BS... I hung up, obviously, after that. Thought you all would be interested in this latest, and wondered if anyone knows if what he is saying is true? He told me that if I "investigated the law" I would find that he was right. He's VERY WRONG My next stop, if he is not right, will now be the local police or a legal adviser of some kind....

Will keep you updated, and thanks again. Look forward to your comments!

 

No-one is above the law, individual or company. He's telling you porkies to try and frighten you. Report the company to Trading Standards ASAP for breaching the OFT guidlines.

[bri7]

Hello again. Thanks Babybear! I thought it sounded a little "dodgy" and will do just as you have suggested. I think it will be very interesting to see how they (Capquest) respond to my letter regarding harassment (assuming they do respond...) and I will, of course, keep you updated. Since writing the previous post, I decided to seek information from the local police and called them. Spoke to a very sweet man, who was sympathetic, but told me this was actually a "grey area" we were dealing with and that he himself had been subjected to similar nonsense after his son went off backpacking, leaving his debts behind. He said if anything it's more of a civil matter. However, he also said that if they got to the "doorstep collection stage", which he also had experienced, depending on manner and frequency this may well be a criminal matter. So I found that interesting.