Philips: wont stop texting

[wulfwitch]

Hi, I'm having a problem with Philips bailiffs and debt recovery specialists. They are pursing us for overpayment of housing benefit. Despite an offer of £5 a month on a £75 debt, along with a financial statement showing we have priority debts (unpaid rent and council tax debt being handled by bailiffs) they refuse to accept the payments They are using the BT text messaging service to contact us, on a daily basis at 1pm everyday.

 

The message recevied states "caroline your debt is overdue and will be past to a doorstep agent unless you contact philip's now" I have asked them to stop contacting me by phone or the BT text messaging service, something they have told me they are under no obligation to do so and the text calls will continue until I settle or reach an agreement with them I emailed them for confirmation of this and got back this:

 

"We can confirm that the text messages you have been receiving are a method of recovery and will not cease until payment in full is received or a suitable payment plan has been set on your account. As the text messages are computer generated we do not know which messages you have received and therefore cannot comment on the content of them. This is a method of recovery that is agreed with our client."

 

I have use the options for the BT text messaging service to block all texts, but are Philips within the rights to keep texting me like this despite my requests otherwise?

Edited July 2, 2009 by wulfwitch
Trying to paragraph and failing

[dpick]

As anyone who uses your phone can get to these calls I would report them to OFT and phone regulator it used to be OFCOM not sure now.

 

Breaches of OFT guidelines and DPA possibly

 

dpick

[mr.ton]

They have no legal rights to money off you, only a county court does.

They must stop texting you by law if you say so.

Report them to the police (not 999), the OFT & trading standards.

[sam614]

http://www.consumerforums.com/resources/templates-library/52-harassment/135--harassment-by-telephone-response-letter

 

send them this.

SAM:pLOWELL DETESTER

[wulfwitch]

Thanks, I was hoping that'd be the case, just wasn't sure if it applied to the text messages especially as I can block them so easily.

[dcakiller]

Send letter above who did you make the offer to the council or the bailiff if the bailiff go to the council,If the council go and see your local councilor and if you can manage it take loads of freinds and put your offer to them.

[hallowitch]

and i would also check the charges the bailiff has added to the council tax they are collecting

[debt4get]

has the council already obtained a judgement for the overpayment of this money, if not they should not have set the baillifs on to you yet

[Bazooka Boo]

My God! They really do make their own Law up!

Just been on their website;

10. Can I repay the client and not your fees?

Any costs incurred by yourself have been added to your arrears and contribute towards the amounts outstanding that you owe. Fees and charges are usually paid in advance of the arrears due to the client. If you attempt to avoid paying the fees by only paying the initial debt amount you will leave an outstanding balance to the client. Therefore recovery action will continue, further costs may be incurred and we will pursue you until your arrears are cleared in full.

 

11. What should I do if I am too embarrassed or frightened to contact Philips?

You should not avoid contact with Philips as the debt will not go away. If you are too embarrassed or frightened to speak to Philips direct, you can either write to us or establish contact using the ‘My Account’ section on Philips' website: www.philips.org.uk

 

14. What should I do if I think the amounts Philips are attempting to recover are wrong or not owing?

We are not obliged to suspend action on an account whilst you dispute the debt, unless instructed to do so by our client. We strongly suggest you make payment to Philips to stop recovery action commencing whilst disputing the debt. If your dispute is upheld our client will arrange recompense with you if applicable.

 

Surely they can't get away with that drivel!

 

'We are not obliged' Never heard so much cr@p!

 

As has already been said, Report them to the OFT

and OFcom

[debt4get]

they sound like a really nice bunch of people.... approachable and helpful...

NOT!!!!

[wulfwitch]

has the council already obtained a judgement for the overpayment of this money, if not they should not have set the baillifs on to you yet

 

afaik no judgement has been obtained, my wife normally handles the finances but she is currently in hospital. Philip's have told me though they are not acting as Bailiff's when I queried the status of the "door step agents" they would be sending round.

 

Despite my grievance with them I do want this overpayment cleared as I do owe the money for this housing benefit. I can't seem to pay on their auto-mated payment line and their telephone agents refuse to take a payment without a plan in place

 

Would it be worth trying to contact my council to see if they'd accept a payment plan for the overpayed housing benefit and thereby cutting philip's out of the loop as it were?

[debt4get]

5. Who should I pay first?

You should arrange to pay priority debts before other non-priority debts. A priority debt is one that could leave serious consequences if it remains unpaid and includes companies, like Philips, who can take the strongest recovery actions against you. Priority debts include: mortgage/rent arrears, council tax or rates, maintenance, child support, parking fines, revenues & customs and magistrates court fines. Philips considers most of the arrears they are instructed to recover as priority debts.'

 

philips consider most the arrears they are instructed to recover as priority debts....in other words pay us or else!!

[hallowitch]

10. Can I repay the client and not your fees?

Any costs incurred by yourself have been added to your arrears and contribute towards the amounts outstanding that you owe. Fees and charges are usually paid in advance of the arrears due to the client. If you attempt to avoid paying the fees by only paying the initial debt amount you will leave an outstanding balance to the client. Therefore recovery action will continue, further costs may be incurred and we will pursue you until your arrears are cleared in full

 

unfortunatly this is true when paying council tax debt

 

as soon as the baillif leaves a hand deliverd letter you incure a fee this is added to the council tax debt if you are paying the bailiff they take there charges first

if you pay the council the bailiff can still pursue you for his fees as the liability order has not been fully paid

[debt4get]

afaik no judgement has been obtained, my wife normally handles the finances but she is currently in hospital. Philip's have told me though they are not acting as Bailiff's when I queried the status of the "door step agents" they would be sending round.

 

Despite my grievance with them I do want this overpayment cleared as I do owe the money for this housing benefit. I can't seem to pay on their auto-mated payment line and their telephone agents refuse to take a payment without a plan in place

 

Would it be worth trying to contact my council to see if they'd accept a payment plan for the overpayed housing benefit and thereby cutting philip's out of the loop as it were?

yes it is not like you do not want/or are trying to get out of paying, I would contact the council first thing and try to come to some arrangement with them

[dcakiller]

Yes I do not see why they would not accept your offer. If they do not go and see your local councilor and take lots of freinds and peacefully dut forceably make you case to them, trust me this can be very effective

[wulfwitch]

10. Can I repay the client and not your fees?

 

 

unfortunatly this is true when paying council tax debt

 

Sorry my first post was a little unclear I'm having a bit of a lack of coffee moment

 

Philip's are chasing me for overpayment of housing benefit

[hallowitch]

i know i was answering bazook boo post

when you contact the council tell them that your wife is in hospital they should give you some help

ask them for a copy of there code of conduct for collecting overpayment of rent from a person who is in a vulnerable situation (wife in hospital)

[wulfwitch]

ahh thanks

 

heh comes from lack of coffee I have trouble keeping up

 

If my wife being hospital might make the council more lenient I assume it'd be worth also mentioning that she's being treated for depression and is registered with a counsellor she was reffered to via her GP?

[hallowitch]

time for a visit/ letter/e-mail to the council

 

going to try and explain the best i can

 

you have The council tax (administration and enforcement ) regulations 1992

they use this when collecting council tax/ rent arrears to get a liability order this gives them the power to use a bailiff

which is also part of the distress for rent rules

you then have the national starters of enforcement agents (now this covers bailiff and they are using bailiffs to collect council tax arrears )

under the national standards for enforcement agents therefore your wife may be classed as a vulnerable person

 

 

Those who might be potentially vulnerable include:

• the elderly;
  
• people with a disability;
  
• the seriously ill;
  
• the recently bereaved;
  
• single parent families;
  
• pregnant women;
  
• unemployed people; and,
  
• those who have obvious difficulty in understanding, speaking or reading English
  

make an appointment with the council explain your circumstances and ask them to if you can come to an agreement to pay them as they wont accept part payment

 

are you sure they are not collecting as bailiffs because i don't understand why the wont come to a payment agreement i don't think debt collector can add charges (i could be wrong but i don't think so)

[wulfwitch]

I'm fairly sure there are not collecting at Bailiff's, my wife doesn't remember a court order about this, and Philips stated the door step agents wouldn't be here as Bailiffs

 

when they said about not accepting the payment plan they said they couldn't because of "instructions from their client"

 

I need to go out tomorrow so I think i'll call in the council and see if I can talk to someone about this. They're normally pretty helpful

[cerberusalert]

Philips haven't changed over the years;

 

House of Commons Hansard Written Answers for 04 Dec 2007 (pt 0025)

THE BULLY BAILIFFS | Sunday Mirror | Find Articles at BNET

 

Apparentley they're not averse to breaching copyright law either;

 

SME Web - news, tips and information for small businesses in the UK | Companies nailed for illegal software

[hallowitch]

when you go to the council ask the council to confirm they are not collecting as bailiffs and there is no charges added to this account from them

 

do you know how much charges the bailiff has added on for your council tax arrears they are collecting the fees for collecting this are set in law

but most bailiff get rather creative with there fees

[wulfwitch]

when you go to the council ask the council to confirm they are not collecting as bailiffs and there is no charges added to this account from them

 

do you know how much charges the bailiff has added on for your council tax arrears they are collecting the fees for collecting this are set in law

but most bailiff get rather creative with there fees

 

So far they havn't charged a penny, the amount they're asking for is the same as the amount before it was passed to them

[Big Boss Man]

Sorry to hear about your problems, ive been a victim in exactley what you have described.

 

I would complain to all the relevent organisations concerned, here are some contact details that you may find helpfull:

 

Philips Collection Services Ltd

 

PO Box 152

Darlington

DL3 9WT

 

Contact: Mr N Bradley Cheif Executive

 

Phone: 01325 387 400

Fax: 01325 383 887

 

Email: [email protected]

 

Link: www.philips.org.uk

 

 

Office of Fair Trading contact details:

 

Philips Collection Services Limited - Licence Number 0491286

 

[email protected]

 

You could also make your local MP aware of your situation:

 

www.theyworkforyou.com

 

Hope you get things sorted.

[diddydicky]

Hi, I'm having a problem with Philips bailiffs and debt recovery specialists. They are pursing us for overpayment of housing benefit. Despite an offer of £5 a month on a £75 debt, along with a financial statement showing we have priority debts (unpaid rent and council tax debt being handled by bailiffs) they refuse to accept the payments They are using the BT text messaging service to contact us, on a daily basis at 1pm everyday.

 

The message recevied states "caroline your debt is overdue and will be past to a doorstep agent unless you contact philip's now" I have asked them to stop contacting me by phone or the BT text messaging service, something they have told me they are under no obligation to do so and the text calls will continue until I settle or reach an agreement with them I emailed them for confirmation of this and got back this:

 

"We can confirm that the text messages you have been receiving are a method of recovery and will not cease until payment in full is received or a suitable payment plan has been set on your account. As the text messages are computer generated we do not know which messages you have received and therefore cannot comment on the content of them. This is a method of recovery that is agreed with our client."

 

I have use the options for the BT text messaging service to block all texts, but are Philips within the rights to keep texting me like this despite my requests otherwise?

 

google cellphone call blockers you can get software to block them quite cheaply