DCA: "NCO" debt collectors - what to do?

[chrysalis]

Hi all, I posted most of this in the Welcome board, but Welly suggested I post it here with more info. Apologies if this is classed as spamming, please feel free to delete my thread in Welcome if necessary.

 

I have an outstanding debt with Capital One, which seems to have been taken over by a DCA (NCO Europe). Long story - but I had telephoned Capital One about a year ago to dispute some charges they had put on my account (late payment charge taking me over my limit, so they added over limit charges too) My argument was that the payment was only one day late and I'd not had any problems before with them. They agreed to remove the charges but according to my next statement, they hadn't. I telephoned them, and the person I spoke to said they "would look into it". I did get letters from them, but they were about arrears, not the disputed charges. Eventually, I got letters from a DCA which (stupidly) I ignored as junk mail. Fast forward to a couple of months ago, and a card was put through the letterbox. Some company I'd never heard of (NCO)were sending someone to the house the following day. There was an 0870 number on the card.

 

I should state at this point, that I have had agoraphobia and panic attack disorder for the last six years. The threat of someone strange coming to my house leaves me physically sick - debt collector or not. I was so worked up, that when I telephoned the number to tell them not to send someone round, despite me explaining as best as I could about my health problems, the person hung up on me. I can't even explain what it took for me to be able to make that call in the first place. Eventually, I was able to call again, and established that they were a DCA on behalf of Capital One. The debt had somehow escalated from the £600 I thought I owed to nearly £1000. I was so desparate to stop them sending someone to the house, that I agreed to pay £20 per month. Just to nicely complicate things, at the time I wasn't receiving any benefits at all, thanks to failing a stupid medical with the benefits agency. (this has since been overturned, and I'm now in receipt of full IB) I told them that I wasn't getting any money at all, and the only household income was my husband's salary, and they told me that the only way I could stop them from coming out to the house was to set up a regular payment. I'm pretty certain that I set up a direct debit or standing order with them, because I remember telling them that I had problems using the telephone because of my illness.

 

(The letter I talked about on the Welcome board which prompted me posting here was for an entirely different thing - from Philips Collection Services for outstanding library fees) Before I opened this letter, I started panicking that it was NCO again, and checked online banking - no direct debit has been set up at all.

 

I'm not entirely sure how much I originally owed Capital One, but my credit limit was £600, and the original dispute was to do with a late payment charge taking me over my credit limit. So without going through mountains of paperwork that's been filed away, I'll say £600. NCO are stating that I owe £953.95, however it's not stated where the extra £350ish comes from.

 

Reading the other forums, it looks like I should have disputed this anyway, seeing as though I had an ongoing dispute with Capital One. Although I'm a bit more clued up on bailiffs etc (my biggest fear) it still scares the cr*p out of me... However, I need to do something abou this soon.

 

Thanks for listening - and for any advice. (advice regarding the library fines would be a help, too, this Philips Collection Services say they are "specialist bailiffs" on the letter...)

 

edit: I have found this comment on another thread, which gives me hope

[welly]

Hi

 

Dont worry if no one has replyed to you yet as the site has been a bit mad today and a bit slow with all the new users coming onto it.

 

But hears that site for you it may help you or your could ring them for advicehttp://www.nationaldebtline.co.uk/england_wales/factsheet.php?page=02_bailiffs_and_council_tax

 

Its for council tax but covers bailiffs and might help:)

 

Welly:)

[Rich44]

I had a debt for £400 with Cap one many years ago and I moved house and they didnt bother to send the statements to the new address despite several calls.

 

When they did they sent me a bill for nearly £1500, I told them to shove it and I wouldnt pay, as the amount I had paid previously was the total of the amount borrowed they then agreed to scrub all the charges (and close the account) it did take a LOT of pestering but they did do it in the end.

 

Good luck and dont let them tell you otherwise

[Seminole]

Just to give you some reassurance NCO try this "someone is going to call at your house stunt" with everyone. In reality they have no field force and noone will call.

[Guest Zooman]

What do you want to do now (apart for penalty charges).

 

I can help you write a letter that will help you gain the protection of the law. Harassment is against the law and there is a lot you can do. Just let us know what your goals are.

[chrysalis]

Thanks, everyone. Apologies for not replying before now, things have been a bit hectic at home (tho not money related).

 

Ashley, I basically want to pay off my original debt to Capital One, without dealing with debt collectors who scare the living daylights out of me and get me to make promises by threatening me. I'm just worried that because this has already happened, even if I go back to Capital One and explain the situation, the DCA won't let go. It's got to the point where I'm even getting anxious if I hear a car pull up outside, and isn't doing anything to help my health.

 

I'd like to negotiate with Capital One to get rid of at least *some* of the extra charges, and pay them back at a rate which I can afford. If you can help me with the letter, that would be brilliant.

 

Chrysalis

[Seminole]

You just need to remember that these parasites have NO power over you. They can't enter your home, they can't harass you, they can't even take you to court (unless they've bought the debt). If they ring you constantly or otherwise harass you report them to trading standards (if they keep ringing you refise to confirm your ID details, get choose to refuse from BT or just put the phone down on them). If they turn up at your door (which is unlikely) you don't have to speak to them. If they hang around or are other otherwise obnixious, call the police and have them removed.

 

Deal with them only in writing and only offer to make payments that you can afford to make and don't prioritise them over anyone else. If they ignore you or threaten you, only make payments at the level you have stated that you can afford. When they realise that you won't be intimidated they might start to behave themselves.

[Guest Zooman]

If you tell me what you can afford and how you wish to pay I write you a short letter making the offer and also say you feel that you are being harassed and it must stop. What a lot of people do wrong is say 'you are harassing me and I will not pay you because of it' but all this does is reinforce their right to harass you.

[chrysalis]

Thanks, Seminole.

 

The telephone thing is interesting, because of my agoraphobia I don't answer the telephone - I have caller display, and if the number is withheld, or it's a number I don't recognise, I can't answer at all. Even so, there seems to be an awful lot of withheld numbers and "international" ones coming up on the display, and they never leave a message on the answering machine. I guess it is harrassment of sorts, but I would imagine it'd be very difficult to trace.

[Guest Zooman]

Unfortunately I know of no case of a complaint being upheld where the debtor was not making payments or a written offer of payment has been made. They are within their rights to phone you every 10 mins until you answer, if you did complain they would say you must have been out so they called back in the day and continued to do so in the hope that they got you in.

[chrysalis]

If you tell me what you can afford and how you wish to pay I write you a short letter making the offer and also say you feel that you are being harassed and it must stop. What a lot of people do wrong is say 'you are harassing me and I will not pay you because of it' but all this does is reinforce their right to harass you.

 

Thanks, Ashley. When I telephoned the DCA to say "leave me alone" I told them that all I could afford right now (because I'm on benefits) is £20 a month. Of course, if my situation changes and I get a job, I would be happy to increase it just to get rid of them!

 

I was wondering whether it would be wise or unwise to mention my health problems. I keep thinking of it from their POV, but I guess everyone with payment problems sound like they're making excuses...

[Guest Zooman]

Just to explain about the phone but i will do it nicely. how do you want to pay chq, so ,dd, post office etc

[Seminole]

BT offer two services that may help. One automatically refuses to put through any calls from witheld numbers. The other allows you to bar any specific number or the last witheld number that you received. The DCA has no right to interfere in your life like this and you have every right to take steps to make it difficult for them.

 

And you should prepare an income and expenditure statement and send this to them with a written offer of a payment that you can afford.

[chrysalis]

Just to explain about the phone but i will do it nicely. how do you want to pay chq, so ,dd, post office etc

 

sorry, Ashley, the best way of payment for me would be DD or Standing Order.

[Guest Zooman]

I will post it later today.

[Guest Zooman]

I left it on my laptop which I left in at work; sorry, I will post it as soon as I get in the office.

[lynnuk]

hi just thought i'd say i'm having the same kind of thing from NCO at the min through a cap 1 card. I also recieved a card through the post telling me someone was comin to my house i wrote to them telling them the only way i would communicate was through letters an not to phone me or send people to my house as i would not communicate with them. I have asked cap 1 for all my statements as i only had a £200 limit but they say i owe them £495 through charges an i'm not gonna pay the charges just the £200 i owe them i have had a lot of advice from this site it's a great site. I sent my SAR off with my £10 just waiting for them to reply and hopefully it will b sorted i know it's hard but u just have to be firm with them i use to dred answering the phone but touch wood they haven't rang me since i just get letters.

[snail]

If you tell me what you can afford and how you wish to pay I write you a short letter making the offer and also say you feel that you are being harassed and it must stop.

 

I could do some help?

will pm you.

 

 

thanks

[redpoison]

Hi i hope this has been sorted out by now but if not, heres my advice!!

 

Be brave and ring up capital one ask to be put through to someone who can help with an outstaning debt, dont let them flog you off with nco, and find out exactly how much you owe them ( think you can do this online aswell www.capitalone.co.uk ) . And why the charges have gone right up!!

 

Then write a letter to Nco and state you are not prepared to speak on the telephone from now on as you feel intimidated, so from now on you would like all corrospondance in writing, also state you have spoken to capitalone and you owe £*** So you are not going to be paying any more outstanding debt, it has nothing to do with them how much you get a month, YOU state how much you are prepared to pay them by standing order if you can (you are in control of this especially if you do online banking). If they do not accept standing order then ask them to send you sme payment slips where you pay at the bank every month!! They do accept standing order though as this was offered to me, which by the way i am not paying them at all!!

 

I just laugh at them when i get letters as there is no way i am paying them, the reason is because paypal refered me to them as they made my account go into minus, a buyer started a dispute of itemnot described and paypal didnt request them to send item back to me they just went ahead and refunded them !! so why should i be out of pocket for their mistake? which i keep telling them!!

 

Their numbers all begin with 0121 and end with 500 I have blocked with bt choose and refuse 3 so far!!

 

hope you get it sorted soon.. ad remmeber when ever they call you tell them where to go writing only etc, and dont let capital one flog you fof without telling you exactly how much you owe them, as they have the right to do this!!

[vampire1970]

Hi i have been having the same thing with NCO stick to your guns. They also hung up on me when i refused to pay as like you (my debt is to do with a contract phone i had from One Mobile Village another company to avoid like the plaugue) for which orange are chasing me for £237 as the contract was concelled due to OMV sending me a faulty second hand phone. I got a card this morning like you "confirming" an appointment that had never been arranged. They rang me and i basically told them if a member of thier field team tried to enter my property i would ring the police and have them arrested for tresspassing and that when i got my money from OMV they would get theres (they hung up again don't seem to like being bullied back). If you need any help seeing these bullies off i would be more than willing to help.

[LBK29]

After reading the emails regarding NCO Europe has compelled me to write my experience of them.

 

I had a contract with Orange for a mobile phone and a Internet dongle. I decided to terminate both contracts within 5 days of starting them. Much to my surprise i was told i couldn't (no cooling off period). This left me with two separate debts with Orange. One debt i am paying £5 weekly, but, for some reason, the other debt is being chased by NCO Europe. They are requesting me (to put it politely) to pay the full outstanding monies owed.

 

As i had just got my first tenancy in a flat, i could not afford to pay £231 in full as i am disabled and on benefits. I again proposed to pay this at £5 weekly, apparently this is not acceptable!?

 

Every time i call them to arrange payment, they say "we are sending people round to my flat to `arrange` payment, then hang up!?

 

It is impossible to reason with them. As a result, i have informed the police and i`m seeking professional advice to deal with them.

 

This is where i am at with my situation.

 

Thank you for taking time to read this.

[scottkh79]

I have an outstanding balance of £156 with Orange that has been passed to NCO and I have been paying £40 per month, I pay this on the 1st of each month without fail and each month I get a call from NCO saying the account is in arrears and needs paying in full. I phone them back, explain the payment agreement and then they say "it's fine, it's on the system don't worry about it" so I dont and just keep paying. I only owe £86 which is 2 more payments. Today I receive a call from westminster solicitors saying I have failed to keep up the agreement, apparently I agreed to make payments by 27th of each month, despite the fact I don't get paid til the 1st!

 

I am a little disgruntled the matter has been apssed to solicitors when I had been keeping the agreement. I am now told that no agreement was on file at NCO, despite my monthly payments to the contrary.

 

I have spoken to Westminster and they have said, fine call us wednesday to pay £40 and then again ASAP to pay remaining £46. Should NCO have passed on my details? this all seems crazy to me. NCO are absolutely useless!

[mustang67]

Hi Scottkh79,

Had same trouble with RMA which are owned by NCO an American owned outfit.Westminster solicitors are the inhouse pre- litigation solicitors with an office at RMA/NCO in Preston. Thats probably why they ask you in their letter that all contact must be made to Preston, not to their offices on the letterhead in Kingston upon Thames. It is just another con to make you pay them.

[MIDLETONMAGPIE]

Dear All

 

I am replying from Ireland to this topic as today (Tuesday 14th April) I received a postcard from NCO threatening me that a P BROWN would be calling me today between 8am and 8pm. When I got this, the fear of God was put into me and I immediately had visions of a debt collector banging on my door that very day.

 

Then, my balls came back to me and by God, those bullies got it from me with my own special Irish fire!!

 

Firstly, there are laws that cover companies like NCO and indeed, those who contract them in the first place and they are under all of the various titles and acts covering any form of harassment, intimidation, extortion, and non-fatal offences.

 

Here in Ireland, these "people" are dealt with under the 1997 Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act under the following sections:

 

10. Harassment;

11. Demands for payment of debt causing alarm, etc;

13. Endangerment

 

There are probably other acts that deal with them as well, the 1997 act is the one I was referred to by the Irish police. For those of you from Ireland, if you go the Irish Department of Justice website and search for the above act, you will see it. I can send a copy of these specific sections to anyone who wants to view it if they wish to contact me.

 

As for the UK, since Irish law is based largely on UK law, I would imagine that something similar would exist. In either event, it is unlawful for any person to cause you to suffer harassment, fear, or intimidation.

 

Yes, bills have to be paid, yes debts must be dealt with. However, the manner in which these companies act must be compliant with national law and they cannot cause anyone to live in fear or intimidation.

 

I advised NCO on the phone (after the 7th call cos each of the 6 times previous, they hung up on me when I advised them of the law here in Ireland), that I would lodged a formal complaint to the Irish police on grounds of the above act and that I would have any of their representatives arrested on grounds of tresspass, unlawful entry, etc. I also strongly advised them that they are not dealing with a little old lady and that I am not easily intimidated.

 

Of course, according to the rep at NCO (the 7th one that is) NCO does not have to comply with Irish law and they do not act unlawfully. After I pointed out that his company is operating in Irish territorial lands and that it is bound therefore by Irish and European Law, he asked if I had a law degree. I told him no, but that I make it my business to know my rights and also that I am no little old lady that he is probably used to dealing with.

 

In short, if anyone sends you a letter whereby the contents of same are demanding money from you under the threat of legal or other action, you are legally entitled to have that person arrested and charged under laws protecting you from being caused to live in fear when such demands for payment are causing you to live in fear.

 

Therefore, I would advise all of you suffering in silence to do what I did. I was being bombarded by creditors for loans and being threatened to the hilt with court and possessions being seized, etc. With the Irish, it is a dangerous thing to push us over the line and that's what happened with me. I spoke to a Detective friend in the Irish police and he advised me of Irish law.

 

Armed with this research, I then wrote to all of my creditors and gave them a bit of a wake up by directly quoting Irish law under the said act I have quoted from here. Since then, none of them has ever threatened me again and repayment schedules are now in place.

 

NCO to me, are just another worm that needs to be squashed and following their postcard threat this morning, I will now be taking a prosecution against them under the provisions of the act quoted.

 

People - my friends in the UK - let's finally stand as one and let these people know that they can no longer use extortion against anyone.

 

No one has the right to seize any property in lieu of debt payment unless they have a full court order which is served by a Sheriff and which in itself, cannot be exercised unless appropriate notice is given. Such orders can be challenged in court too.

 

If you receive any such correspondence refer it immediately to your local police along with a formal complaint. Do your own research and check the laws for yourself on the internet. Above all else, USE THE LAW to defend yourself and do not live anymore underneath a rock like I was.

 

Those people need to be dealt with and to be honest, there are many police officers across both countries who are only waiting to deal with them given what they are going through themselves and their relations, etc.

 

If there are any Irish friends here, you can contact me and I will send you extracts of the 1997 act.

 

God bless, keep the faith, and don't let those bullies get the better of you. There are ways to deal with your debts, please, I beg you, don't let them get the better of you.

 

I stand waiting.

[mustang67]

Thats the way to do it, not sure about the non fatal bit, if one turned up on your doorstep!!!!!! Good Luck:)