Advice with Reliable collections(ambrose wilson)

[upsy_daisy]

Hiya all im havin a few problems with this company to the point they call me at least 15times a day every 30mins its a diff person everytime but i have to go through my story over and over again im getting very very annoyed to the point its making my mental illness worse and to top it off there throwing £12 admin charge and £30 charge late fee also £20 charge for letters so what started out as a £40 debt its now tripple it where do i start to tackle it? is it classed as harrasment over the phone and print the letter at the top off

and can i calim such charges back

many thanks x

[huggys boss]

You need to respond to their threat-o-gram with a few of your own.

 

Spend £1 and send them a CCA request form. If they don't send you a true copy of your signed Consumer Credit Agreement within 12 + 2 Days then your account is in dispute and they have to back off.

 

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

 

Its letter "N", send it either recorded or special delivery and DO NOT sign it. Print your name in capitals on the bottom.

 

Also add on to the bottom of the letter this....(if they continue to harrass you by phone write down ALL the times and dates they call you)

 

I now require all further correspondence from your company to be made in writing only.

 

I am of the view that your continued harassment of me by telephone puts you in breach of Section 40 of the Administration of Justice Act 1970, and the Protection from Harassment Act 1997.

 

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, FOS, OFCOM, Trading Standards and The Office of Fair Trading, meaning that you will be liable to a substantial fine.

 

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

 

 

Yours faithfully,

 

 

 

[NAME HERE]

 

I have pinched that bottom bit from another post by 42Man so credit for that should go to him!

 

You can either add it on the bottom as he says or send as a seperate letter.

 

Above all, DO NOT ring them, you get no sense out of them and it is just a waste of your time.

 

Good luck

 

As before DO NOT sign it. Print your name.

Edited September 8, 2008 by elaineh
added DO NOT SIGN

[huggys boss]

Forgot to say, DO NOT speak to them on the phone. If you know its them then ignore your phone or just pick it up and put it straight back down, or if you do answer them, terminate the call as soo as you know it is them.

 

Get BT's choose to refuse service if it is available to you.

[emmaf01]

You don't have to speak to them or explain anything. Just pick up the phone and put it down again. If they keep going, put the phone off the hook or unplug it.

 

Shout on here if you need anything. We've all been in your position at one time or another.

[upsy_daisy]

they ring constantly and i dont know its them till its to late if i dont answer they leave a messages i mean i had 5 tonight since posting this thread its just not called for im sure

ive just printed off both letters and off to post them in the morning lets hope they reply in my eyes they are so thick they will just carry on

 

forgot to say im with talk talk dont think they offer such a service

Edited September 8, 2008 by upsy_daisy
forgot to add something

[2Grumpy]

Do you know what the alleged debt is or who the original creditor is?

 

If not a "prove it" type letter would be better than a CCA request. A CCA request would only be relevant for a loan / credit card, not for an unpaid bill.

 

You say that they are charging £20 for letters - have you received any? You should have done because no-one would pay on the basis of a phone call.

 

Charges can only be added if the contract allows for it, and then they can be challenged in the same way as bank charges as being disproportionate.

 

Dear Sir/Madam

 

Account no:

 

I DO NOT ACKNOWLEDGE ANY DEBT TO YOURSELVES OR TO ANY COMPANY TO CLAIM TO REPRESENT.

 

You have contacted me/us regarding the account with the above reference number, which you claim is owed by myself/ourselves.

 

I/we would point out that I/we have no knowledge of any such debt being owed to (insert company name).

 

I am/we are familiar with the Office of Fair Trading Debt Collection Guidance which states that it unfair to send demands for payment to an individual when it is uncertain that they are the debtor in question.

 

I/we would also point out that the OFT say under the Guidance that it is unfair to pursue third parties for payment when they are not liable. In not ceasing collection activity whilst investigating a reasonably queried or disputed debt you are using deceptive/and or unfair methods.

 

Furthermore ignoring and/or disregarding claims that debts have been settled or are disputed and continuing to make unjustified demands for payment amounts to physical/psychological harassment.

 

I/we would ask that no further contact be made concerning the above account unless you can provide evidence as to my/our liability for the debt in question.

 

I/we await your written confirmation that this matter is now closed. Otherwise I will have no option but to make a complaint to the trading standards department and consider informing the OFT of your actions.

 

I/we look forward to your reply.

 

Yours faithfully

 

 

 

(Your Name) Print do not sign

 

When they phone don't answer their "security questions" - tell them that you will deal with this in writing only. Keep a record of when they phone and anything that they say.

[emmaf01]

Start a phone log- to support any future harassment complaint/case against them.

[upsy_daisy]

hi i emailed them for an address for letters to make a complaint and they said all letters of any kind of corrispondance go to here this is the direct addres he said for both ambrose wilson and reliable collections;

 

Martin House

23 Hunts Bank

Manchester

M3 1AX

 

maybe you could add it to the sticky you have.

 

Ive just posted my letter so we see what happens ive also got in touch with talk talk to see if they can help me out with blocking them or something else

thanx again all xxx

[berrylover]

Even if you answer the phone and realise its them then just put the phone down when you realise it is the DCA. Or refuse to answer their security questions. You don't have to talk to them. Keep a log of all the times they have called you. And keep strong. I know it wears you down but they cannot do anything over the phone to you. Just keep putting the phone down every time.

[huggys boss]

I wish I had known a few months ago what I know now (all knowledge gained from this site). I ended up getting my phone number changed to get away from all the calls

 

My hubby says that we should tell the dca's our new number now that we know how to deal with them.

 

I THINK NOT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[upsy_daisy]

ok so they just rang spoke to my daughter who is 9 and said is ur mum there she said not in at the moment he said ok tell her her account has been passed to an outside debt collecter and hung up WTF!!!

[huggys boss]

In response to that phone call I would forget everything I have learned on this site and ring them back, and this time it would be them putting the phone down on me. That was disgusting!

 

I don't know the procedure that they are supposed to use regarding you not being there to answer the call, but I wouldn't expect them to be able to say that to an adult, never mind a child!

 

We could do with a "tame dca" to slip us a copy of their "acceptable phone techniques" or whatever they call it.

 

Hopefully somebody will be able to advise you.

 

**when I said "I would ring them" I meant that I personally would. I am NOT advising you to.**

[upsy_daisy]

i am absoultly raging i got there number this time but how dare he i wouldnt mind ive already had a letter this morning sayin if i didnt contact them it would go to an outside company

[huggys boss]

Make sure your logging them calls and if they are getting this nasty, I would keep a note of what was said.

 

Get a copy of this YouTube - DCA's are pitiful and keep it next to your phone, when they ring, tell them "hold on a minute" and play it. Its ok, My hubby wrote and sang it, so your not breaking any copyright laws.

[upsy_daisy]

that is soo funny lol certainly cheered me up thanx xx

 

oh and i have wrote the number down and the amount of times they have called today..5

[huggys boss]

Just found this on another post regarding telephone harrasment.

 

Consumer Direct

 

Not looked at it yet but there may be some useful info in there for you.

[upsy_daisy]

Just found this on another post regarding telephone harrasment.

 

Consumer Direct

 

Not looked at it yet but there may be some useful info in there for you.

 

 

cheers shall look at this now xxx

[upsy_daisy]

Sorry to bring this back up ive had no internet and forgot about this oops but very oddly i havent heard a single thing no letters no calls the letter was signed for 28days today so what do i do now?

[huggys boss]

If they have not responded to your CCA request within the 12+2 days then you should send them the "account in dispute letter". There is a sample letter in post 12 in here : http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/debt-collection-industry/158692-cca.html

 

If you choose to, and if they have not sent you your CCA then you can stop paying them.

 

I am pleased the phone calls have stopped for you. It really isn't nice having them calling all the time.

[upsy_daisy]

Well i spoke to soon lol they did ring tonight and have no idea what im talking about when i said id sent a letter i dont believe her as she was too nice she went on to say could she help me resolve my problem i said no i shall be sending another letter tomorrow and hung up lol

off to look at the link thanx

[huggys boss]

You will probably receive what they class as a CCA within the next few days, but if it is anything like mine then don't worry.

 

I CCA'd reliable in September and had nothing back. Then the phone calls started (I thought they were from an Indian call center and the callers did not understand me), so I rang reliable to shout at them.

 

I explained about the CCA request and was put through to a manager and he told me that that they had received it on 10th October (2 weeks after they had signed for it). He said he would send me mine out, which he did. He sent me a blank copy and they had handwritten my name and address in, and a covering letter saying that that was all they were obliged to send. They now have my dispute letter. :grin:

[upsy_daisy]

You will probably receive what they class as a CCA within the next few days, but if it is anything like mine then don't worry.

 

I CCA'd reliable in September and had nothing back. Then the phone calls started (I thought they were from an Indian call center and the callers did not understand me), so I rang reliable to shout at them.

 

I explained about the CCA request and was put through to a manager and he told me that that they had received it on 10th October (2 weeks after they had signed for it). He said he would send me mine out, which he did. He sent me a blank copy and they had handwritten my name and address in, and a covering letter saying that that was all they were obliged to send. They now have my dispute letter. :grin:

 

 

wow good on u see i dont have the guts lol

[ScabHunter]

This thread is yet another which illustrates what a loathsome bunch of vermin these debt collection agencies are. Do decent human beings behave like this?

 

The first point I notice is that you mention a mental illness in your first post. This is a factor as illness is mentioned in the OFT Debt Collection Guidance.

 

The telephone harassment you have been subjected to is illegal. You do not have to have sent off any warning letters for this incredibly excessive abuse to be deemed harassment. Obviously it is up to you in your condition how hard you would want to fight these vermin but at the very least it should go to Trading Standards and the OFT.

 

I would get the police involved as this is clear criminal harassment.

 

Obviously only you can decide on the stress you can tolerate. The ultimate de-stresser is just to pull the plug from the wall.

 

I don't know your circumstances, whether you have a PC and broadband internet, or how much you rely on the telephone in your daily life. If you want to know how to get rid of telephone pests for good, then my system for doing just that is here -

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/debt-collection-industry/99376-telephone-harassment-action-plan-2.html#post1770207

 

It is as well to know the options available to you.

 

The charges which have been applied are a sick joke, and totally unlawful. We can worry about that when the agreement shows up, if it ever does.

 

The BT choose to refuse service only allows you to block 10 numbers. Some phone thugs, notable MBNA, deliberately use more than ten numbers to overcome this service, meaning that the person in debt has just wasted the price of the service. This shower may not be that "efficient", just be aware of the possibility before you spend your hard earned money.

 

My system is no dearer and is infallible.

 

I am interested to see that huggys boss has changed a number and that has worked. In my case, I was forced to change numbers by BT incompetence. The new number was never divulged to anyone, not even friends or family (mainly because I haven't got any bloody friends or family) yet within three weeks Crap One's phone thugs were abusing it like never before. And this is after Crap One had offloaded their alleged debt!

 

This is why I would never advise anyone to pay to change a telephone number. You are probably paying for nothing.

 

DEFINITELY make an internal complaint concerning the abuse of your 9 year old daughter, and DEFINITELY follow that up with complaints to the authorities.

 

Stop paying these low life vermin now. The account is firmly in dispute. Keep any communication you receive for possible future complaints.

 

You have the edge now. Keep us posted.

 

SH

[upsy_daisy]

thank you for ur post.

[mekkleman]

hi my wife had a call from relible yesterday, what a nasty group of ********* they are, when my wife asked the young man why he had an attitude with her he said and i quote ` im a debt collector im not supposed to be friendly !!!`How do they expect people to react to a statement like that !! i will not be answering the calls anymore thats for sure.