So very unhappy and stressed and embrasssed now at work from BCW :(

[puresweet]

Hi all .

 

well where do i start some years ago (8 or 9 ) i was not working got into some debt... started to sort my life out debt of about 800 for 2 debts as i can remember:(

 

Gets letters from companys and ignores them because i was living on 30 pounds a week and was suffering from very bad depression

 

starts a new relationship and goes back to work in something i thought i could not do ...im doing well love my job .... b/f sees these letters behind door from BCW and tells me that i need to sort these out it will not go away ... well i wanted to sort these out and get this sorted!!!

 

i rang them about one which was about 250 pounds and they agree to 30 amonth ...next few days another from them saying i owe 500 or so for a store card ... i rings them told them i cannot afford to pay them 45 pounds she was not having none of it ... anyways i got off phone really upset ... nothing sorted ... rings them again and talked to a nice man he said i could pay 30 amonth soon as my new card come though from bank i did tell him it would be a week or so as it was near christmas ... he said its ok ring back when u get it ...yippee result i thought ...then when i rang back there was this nasty lady saying no u have to pay 45 amonth this is on top of the other 30 pounds a month i already pay them ...

 

i told her that it was agreed to pay 30 shes not having none of it and tells me that i have to pay 45 i put phone down .... so then about an hour later i tried again and result another person says 30 so i set up another direct debit ...all sorted as i thought .... then i gets a letter about the second bill of 500 or so saying that nothing is sorted and i have not sorted this one out i looked on my direct debits and thought its all sorted ... i then cancelled that last direct debit a week ago after that letter thinking it was not set up properly ....

 

I'm in work today and one off the girls from my admin team came and give me a paper ...saying that BCW had rang my work and left there telephone number and ref number for me to ring them ... omg i was nearly crying my eyes out i was shaking and very embassed as i could not believe they can get away with doing this at my works ...

 

 

i work in retail in a big supermarket im so upset i work in the office and on shopfloor ...today i did not know where to put my face ... can anyone help me please im in shock embrassed and total upset

 

Thankyou

[jailbird]

Hi Puresweet,

 

Don't wory someone with a lot more knowledge than me will be along shortly and help you with this. I don't think they can ring you at work tho.

 

Just hang in there and I will 'bump' this back to top.

 

JB

[lickthewallfatboy]

this is totally against the oft guidelines on collection of debt....THEY ARE NOT PERMITTED TO EMBARRASS YOU IN ANY WAY

 

this includes contacting you at work

 

you ned to complain to the OFT and tell the wasters you are doing just that

[puresweet]

Hi Puresweet,

 

Don't wory someone with a lot more knowledge than me will be along shortly and help you with this. I don't think they can ring you at work tho.

 

Just hang in there and I will 'bump' this back to top.

 

JB

 

 

Thankyou JB

[Shawn0109]

Ok dont get yourself upset and dont worry, ok lets see send them a letter to stop the calls and all further communication to be done in writing, also do not sign the letter here it is:

 

Your Street

Town

City

Postcode

DATE HERE

Company Name

Road

 

Town

City / County

Postcode

 

 

Dear Sirs

Harassment by telephone

 

Account Number: XXXXXXX

I am writing in relation to the quantity and frequency of telephone calls that I have received from your company, which I deem to be personally harassing.

I have verbally requested that these stop, but I am still receiving calls. (Delete if necessary)

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 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. (**Even if you don‘t yet have recording equipment!!**)

 

Yours faithfully,

 

 

[NAME HERE]

 

 

 

DO Not SIGN YOU NAME just print it.

[puresweet]

this is totally against the oft guidelines on collection of debt....THEY ARE NOT PERMITTED TO EMBARRASS YOU IN ANY WAY

 

this includes contacting you at work

 

you ned to complain to the OFT and tell the wasters you are doing just that

 

i dont mean to sound alittle silly but who is OFT im not sure about things like this ... like i said i think now they will harass me at work ...and thats making me sick thinking of it ... to be honest im gutted im off work now on hols till monday now im scared they are gonna keep ringing my work ... and people are gonna start to look up this company and i will be so embrassed if they find out who they are

[Shawn0109]

Now here is the second letter I want you to send it is a CCA request letter to be sent recorded delivery along with a £1 postal order you can adjust this to your current situation:

 

I do not acknowledge ANY debt to your company. I require you to supply the following documentation before I will correspond further on this matter.

 

1. You must supply me with a true copy of the alleged agreement you refer to. This is my right under your obligation to supply a copy of the agreement under the legislation contained within s.78 (1) Consumer Credit Act 1974 your obligation also extends to providing a statement of account. I enclose £1 in payment of the statutory fee.

 

2. A signed true copy of the deed of assignment of the above referenced agreement that you allege exists.

 

3. You are notified that you are obliged to supply these documents, whether you are the original creditor or not under S189 of the CCA 1974.

 

4. I would also like to point out that under the Limitation Act 1980 Section 5 “an action founded on simple contract shall not be brought after the expiration of six years from the date on which the cause of action accrued

 

Non-compliance with my request is a criminal offence under the above Act and will result in a report being submitted to the relevant statutory authorities, therefore if I do not receive evidence that I owe your company any monies, I will have no hesitation in passing your details to the Office of Fair Trading.

 

As you are aware, a credit agreement that is not properly documented and signed by the customer is totally unenforceable under the CCA and therefore is a complete defence to any court claim that is issued.

 

Take note at this stage, that any legal action you may contemplate will be both vigorously defended and contested.

 

 

As you are aware, a credit agreement that is not properly documented and signed by the customer is totally unenforceable under the CCA and therefore is a complete defence to any court claim that is issued.

 

Take note at this stage, that any legal action you may contemplate will be both vigorously defended and contested.

 

Yours Faithfully

 

Name

 

Again do not sign this letter.

[Shawn0109]

If they can not produce an agreement that you signed with the original creditor it is an unenforceable debt and in answer to your question the OFT is Office Of Fair Trading. So dont be worrying and try to relax.

[puresweet]

If they can not produce an agreement that you signed with the original creditor it is an unenforceable debt and in answer to your question the OFT is Office Of Fair Trading. So dont be worrying and try to relax.

 

 

Thankyou so much for ur replies i will do all this and hope it gets me peace of mind

[Desperate Daniella]

Hang in there, Puresweet,

 

Shawn is giving you excellent advice.

 

Don't worry about asking about any abbreviations. We come to the site knowing very little, but you'll pick it up quickly. Everyone here will support you and give you all the help you need. The Office of Fair Trading is there to keep these people in check, and they certainly must not call you at work and embarrass you. Try and get the letters in the post tomorrow, so they will get them before you go back to work on Monday.

 

Bear in mind that most people won't be curious about who is calling, and should anyone ask just tell a white lie - say someone is trying to get hold of a previous occupant of your address, or something like that. We tend to think "everyone" will be looking at us, but in fact if you are cool they won't think anything of it.

 

DD

[puresweet]

i don't know how they got my works number or found out where i work this is very scarey ...

[puresweet]

Hang in there, Puresweet,

 

Shawn is giving you excellent advice.

 

Don't worry about asking about any abbreviations. We come to the site knowing very little, but you'll pick it up quickly. Everyone here will support you and give you all the help you need. The Office of Fair Trading is there to keep these people in check, and they certainly must not call you at work and embarrass you. Try and get the letters in the post tomorrow, so they will get them before you go back to work on Monday.

 

Bear in mind that most people won't be curious about who is calling, and should anyone ask just tell a white lie - say someone is trying to get hold of a previous occupant of your address, or something like that. We tend to think "everyone" will be looking at us, but in fact if you are cool they won't think anything of it.

 

DD

 

 

u guys are amazing i come across this site looking to see if BCW was a solictors and found u guys ... and read some posts about BCW i thought i was alone now i feel that im not once again u guys are great

[Shawn0109]

Your welcome no worries at all, just get them two letter out in the post I would post them both seperate from each other both recorded and they will get them by Thursday then if the calls dont stop just tell them that you do not wish to talk to them and to respect your wishes of written communication and as for the CCA request lets see what they turn up because once you have requested this the account will be put on hold till they come up with something and I will tell you I doubt that they will even be able to fond an agreement of any kind. So like I say dont worry relax yourself get them letters off tomorrow remebr what I said dont sign anything and for the CCA request use a postal order as you say you have 2 accounts so that will be 2 postal orders for 2 seperate accounts. Hope you feel a little bit better now.

[AA99]

The Office of Fair Trading: Complaints

 

[UnitedFront]

The CAG will soon have you stood up showing these clowns what you are really made of!! This place has a real nack for letting people know that they are not alone and that there are other people that have gone through this all before..... and their advice can be and is priceless!!

 

Hang in there puresweet..... no doubt you will defeat this in the end!!!

 

UF

[Pinky69]

Golden Rule No 1 - don't speak to these eejits on the phone ever. They will just bully you as you have discovered. but they are all mouth and trousers. If they call, hang up - everything in writing. Secondly, they have no power whatsoever - they may threaten you that they will do this and that but they cannot - only a court has jurisdiction over a debt. Thirdly, YOU decide what you will pay - not them. Decide how much you can afford and that is what they will get. With a bit of luck they won't have an enforceable agreement. When you get whatever they send, you can scan it on here to get advice whether it is enforceable. As for the situation at work, if you have a good Human Resources manager you could speak to her and she could field calls for you and tell them you are not permitted to receive calls at work.

[puresweet]

u know what im sat here with a smile again thankyou so much everyone u guys know ur stuff and i will do everything u have said ... i dont know what to say just that this site is brilliant and the people on it

[Shawn0109]

Puresweet you are more than welcome dont worry glad to hear you are smiling again. Good stuff, just remeber if they do call you again tell them to respect your wishes dont let them interupt you and tell them that all communication to be done in writing as demanded in your letter, they are a Debt Collection Agency they can not go to your home or visit you at your place of work, if you get a letter like that from them just burn it on an open fire. But get them letters off tomorrow and see what they do next, like I have said I doubt it they will have any agreement at all and they have to by law abide by your request for the agreement and abide y your request for all telephone calls to stop as I have said in my previous posts. Now relax for the night enjoy it.

[jaxads]

I'd be tempted to write to them, tell them you've redone your income and expenditure figures and can only afford, say £10 a month. The £30 seems like a lot. Then you can send off your CCA agreement requests which will probably put the accounts into dispute - thus giving you a little more breathing space.

 

Also I think it would be a good idea to cancel the direct debits. You don't want them having access to your bank account!! If you are going to pay them, say £10 a month, get some paying in slips from them. That way you are in control and not them!!!

 

I used to be petrified if a DCA rang me and almost in tears when I received a letter. Thanks to CAG I'm not any more. I actually look forward to ringing them -- but only because I like to wind them up;).

 

The more you read around this site the more confidence you'll gain.

 

You'll get there - stay strong and follow the excellent advice on this site.

 

Best wishes.

[Shawn0109]

No dont make any more offers, send them the CCA request and the Telephone Harassment letter and see what they turn up if anything.

[andie_303]

Sweet - 1 sec before you engage them in correspondance about this 2nd debt - you say it is from 8 or 9 years ago - can someone confirm if i'm right but if there has been no payments and no acknolwledgement of this in over 6 years is it not statute barred - so wouldn't you just write to them informing them as such as basically telling them to do one in the politest possible way!!

[UnitedFront]

That sounds about right. Can the OP confirm whether or not she has made any acknowledgement or payment in this time??

[Shawn0109]

If you read into it she was already on payment plans for both of them along on direct debit, I know statue barred will apply, but if you admit the debt and arrange a repayment plan then it starts over again which is why I suggested to send the CCA request out. As I say before if they cant produce an agreement from the accounts that you have then it's case clossed, they can not enforce it in other words unenforceable. I'm still going to advise the CCA route.

Edited February 10, 2009 by Shawn0109

[SkemDosser]

puresweet:

i dont mean to sound alittle silly but who is OFT im not sure about things like this ... like i said i think now they will harass me at work ...and thats making me sick thinking of it ... to be honest im gutted im off work now on hols till monday now im scared they are gonna keep ringing my work ... and people are gonna start to look up this company and i will be so embrassed if they find out who they are

 

SD:

Hi just a note of moral support as you are getting plenty of good technical help here from other posters.

 

I know you feel it is a very embarrassing situation but be strong and hold your head up high. If other people find out your 'situation,' I know yours and indeed anyone's first reaction is one of embarrassed horror but in the great scheme of things, so what?

 

You'd be surprised how many of the people around you- including bosses- have been or are at present going through a similar process as you are, even moreso than ever before in these economic times.

 

I went through exactly what you are experiencing at work right now; I worked in an open plan office environment and I had about half a dozen of the b*****ds phoning me every day for about a month. I'm not by any means saying it made it worse, but I was in a position of 'authority' as well.

 

Unfortunately i didn't have the resources of CAG to help me then [it didn't even exist lol] but you have, use it to the full and you will in the end prevail, honest! Hang in there....

[UnitedFront]

If you read into it she was already on payment plans for both of them along on direct debit, I know statue barred will apply, but if you admit the debt and arrange a repayment plan then it starts over again which is why I suggested to send the CCA request out. As I say before if they cant produce an agreement from the accounts that you have then it's case clossed, they can not enforce it in other words unenforceable. I'm still going to advise the CCA route.

 

I have been told by people far more knowledgeable that me that once a debt is statute barred (no payment or acknowledgement in 6 years) it remains statute barred - regardless of whether any payments or acknowledgements are made after this period.

 

On this basis I suppose the question really should have been this:

"Had the OP made any payment or written acknowledgement of the debt in the 6 years prior to these recent Direct Debits?"

 

Cheers.

UF