Help Needed with Advantis

[SkimblesQueen]

Hello, I'm new here & have come for some advice as I'm in over my head, & from some of the things I've read, may have potentially done something stupid

 

A few months ago I recieved a letter from Advantis Credit (debt collection agency), asking me to contact them with regard to an outstanding account, no further details were supplied.

 

So I rang them up (Oopsie) & got a very rude member of staff shouting at me telling me I'd ordered from JD Williams & not paid the account. I asked for details, he rattled off a list of items, I'd supposedly ordered, but wouldn't tell me the amount of debt on the account, & when I said I had no recollection of ordering from a company called JD Williams, he terminated the call.

 

About a week later, I recieved another letter from them stating this time that their client was JD Williams - Simply Be, but still no details of what the debt on the account was.

 

Now I remembered a long time, about 2 years ago, ordering some items from Simply Be, however they were never delivered, I didn't think much of it, I assumed they'd decided I wasn't credit worthy, as this had happened to some else I knew, albeit with a different company. This seemed a plauseable explanation, as I was living in temporary homeless accomodation at the time. I never recieved any letters from them demanding payment on the account, & I moved about 4 months afterwards, although I did have mail go missing regularly as the postmen never put it through the letterbox properly.

 

Anyway, I rang Advantis, on receipt of this second letter & explained this to them. They agreed to contact JD Williams & raise this dispute.

 

Now a month or 2 has passed, & I was sure they'd sorted themselves out realised I'd never signed for anything & gone away, but I was not as fortunate as that.

 

Today at 9.20am I had a telephone call from Advantis's automatic dialler on my home number (Which I never gave them, I gave them my mobile originally - although do remember a call about 10 mins after my initial call to advantis, where the person asked for me by name, saying he was calling from a company in Lincoln about my dyson hoover - although I've never had a dyson hoover & would never go to Lincoln to buy one, as it's too far - could this have been Advantis using their caller ID to obtain my landline number?) Saying there were no available agents to take my call & that I should call them back.

 

After calming myself enough from being so angry that a) they had "stolen" my home number & b) that they had the audacity to ring me on a dialer & then ask me to call them, I finally called Advantis at 2.30pm this afternoon. The gentlemen pulled up the records on his system & told me that they no longer consider my account in dispute as JD Williams have refused to provide documents to prove delivery at this stage & JD Williams has instructed to collect the debt of £265 anyway, as they deem the account too old to be in dispute.

 

After a lengthy conversation (48 minutes) of basically me going "How can that be possible, the account is STILL in dispute, because I do not agree that this debt is mine" They said I could say the account was in dispute forever & it wouldn't make a difference & now my account was being passed to their litigation team.

 

HELP! I do not owe them or anyone else for goods which were never recieved, surely!?!

 

What can I do to resolve this? What can they legally do to me? How & when? I'm totally out of my depth & have already broken down in tears about this once. I have mental health problems & cannot deal with this sort of thing.

 

What should I do now?

 

Thank you in advance to anyone who replies.

[dx100uk]

well my first reaction is to stay off that phone.

 

it is obvious they how no delivery notes or sig or any real data to say you actually ack'ed getting the goods.

 

the trouble is by contacting them, you've basically opened the floodgates.

 

i'd certainly NEVER phone them again & if they do phone , just reply with the words please contact me in writing only & put the phone down.

 

next, is too see if things settle down.

 

if they don't then its time to fire off the 'deny any knowledge of debt' letter & p'haps the telephone harrassment one too.

 

don't worry too much

they are a DCA on a phishing trip & will prob give up.

 

DCA's have NO LEGAL POWERS

all they can do is sent threat-o-grams.

 

keep us informed

 

dx

[SkimblesQueen]

Thank you so much for your reply.

 

I shall now stay off the phone, I did manage today to get them to delete my home number from their records (Or so they claim) in favour of them having my mobile, which helps me a lot, as I rarely have my phone on anything except silent, so don't hear it when it rings.

 

Is the "deny any knowledge of debt" letter also known as the CCA? I'm confused, I tried to actually read the CCA & got myself in a bit of a pickle! You see, I don't understand how that would apply to me in this situation...

 

I am also worried that the DCA will apply for a CCJ, I don't know how that works, whether I get a chance to defend myself, or whether they're issued regardless of "my side of the story".

 

I have to say, this whole matter has got me quite concerned & worked up & is not helping certain of my health problems, as I mentioned above.

 

I hate "Wait & see" I'm very VERY bad at it, to say the very least.

[dx100uk]

http://www.consumerforums.com/resources/templates-library/86-debt-collectors/573-general-debt-letter-if-you-know-nothing-of-the-debt

 

try this

 

don't worry about threats of ccj and things like that for now.

 

dx

[SkimblesQueen]

Thanks, have just got the letter & put all the necessary details into it, ready for printing

[sunflower99]

Hi Skimbles at least you getting some great advice on this thread! Like DX said never speak on the phone to them ,All they are interested in is getting their commission by trying to pressurise and bully you into commiting yourself to make a payment there and then not in trying to sort things out,I think everytime they phone someone and get them to agree to pay something they get a commision and thats why a lot of thems bullying on phone all they can see is £ signs! and are not at all interested in the welfare and problems of their victims,All their vicitims are regarded as cash machines:mad:

[SkimblesQueen]

I think the thing that threw me the most was that the chap I spoke to yesterday at Advantis, seemed to be trying to help me, by explaining, that they'd not ignored the dispute, they just don't agree one based on the age of account, so they won't go & find the proof of delivery etc I've asked for via the DCA. This is what also worries me about the "deny all knowledge" letter, as I've already on the phone, admitted to a) being me at my address & b) ordering the goods, BUT NEVER receiving them. SO how can the "no knowledge" letter work? PLUS the account was sent to the DCA's Litigation team yesterday, so I was informed.

 

I'm starting to wonder if maybe the chap I spoke to yesterday wasn't being as truely helpful as he claimed to be, whether this being a seemingly non-hostile approach is in fact just a MORE devious way to try & get money!??

 

The DCA have said there's nothing I can do now, except pay it, or I don't pay & they start legal proceedings.

 

As I said I wouldn't be paying, they've sent it to their litigation dept.

 

I have found out on another thread here, that I can CCA them, but, I don't understand where exactly that'll get me, as I deny that there was never an agreement in place due to the non-completion of the transaction. (ie non-delivery of the goods)

 

I'm finding this all extremely difficult to cope with.

[mr.ton]

Stop speaking to them on the phone & refuse to answer security questions if they phone you.

DCA threat monkeys do not care less & just want you to pay up asap.

So you may well have got someone "nice", but his sole purpose was to get you to pay there & then.

Report them to the OFT,trading standards & the police (not 999) if they refuse to stop hassling you.

[mr.ton]

I am also worried that the DCA will apply for a CCJ, I don't know how that works, whether I get a chance to defend myself, or whether they're issued regardless of "my side of the story".

 

Its very rare they go anywhere near a court, it costs them money & wouldnt be worth their while just to get back £1 per month or something...

They rely on threats & intimidation instead.

[Bazooka Boo]

SO how can the "no knowledge" letter work? PLUS the account was sent to the DCA's Litigation team yesterday, so I was informed.

 

Pah "Litigation Team"

The very last thing they will do is pay to take anyone to court for an alleged debt, that they cannot prove, have no paper work for and will be laughed out of court.

 

The whole purpose behind the No debt is Acknowledged letter is to get them to prove to you that you do owe the debt in question, and as they have already told you over the phone, they can't!

 

Relax, and you must stop talking to them over the phone, if you get everything in writing then you will have a paper trail of evidence.

Besides, they know they can tie you up in lnots over the phone, tell you anything, even that they can come and take your property, well 'they can't'.

 

A Debt Collection Agency (DCA) is just that, they are not Bailiffs, they have no legal training, the only training they have is how to flip the pages of the scripts they have to go off to answer your replies...

 

The only person that can instruct bailiffs, is a Judge, and that is miles and miles away and is extremely unlikely in your case, a debt of £265!

 

Next they will be telling you they can make you bankrupt:eek: Clowns!

 

Don't speak to them again, get everything in writing, as they will only exploit your lack of knowledge on debt collection and intimidate you with empty threats, if they ring, just put the phone down, or tell them "everything in writing" in reply to any of their questions, they will soon get bored.

 

If the calls continue you could send them this letter, but any letters you send them, must be via recorded delivery as DCA's have a habit of 'losing' their mail:-x

 

 

Boo;)

[SkimblesQueen]

I shall stop speaking to them I promise.

 

I also do not have any "extra" finances available of a month either, because I've already sat & worked that out, oddly enough, just as an exercise, when my brother had financial problems, & DCA's knocking, & I discovered the information he needed in order to make them a "reasonable offer"...so they'd be lucky to get £1 a month, I just don't have it.

 

But don't CCJ's enable them to take things from your home, in the event you can't pay them money?

 

Not that I should be paying them anything mind you, as I promise you, I do not owe this, those goods were never delievered to me, so the contract of sale was never complete?!

 

I know I'm whining here & you probably think I'm worrying unneccesarily, but I just can't help it at the moment.

 

I do appreciate all of your advice.

[mr.ton]

A court would take into account all your outgoings for bills,clothes,food, travel costs etc....& just order you to make the minimum payment per month of £1 .

You would have to default on that before it ever got to the stage of bailiffs.

Thats all along way off anyway - its unlikely they will go to court for the reasons mentioned.

[SkimblesQueen]

Thank you Boo, I now understand & will happily send that letter off.

 

I am also grateful for the knowledge that Bailiffs are unlikely, that helps me a lot.

 

I shall have to see about the calls, now I've given them my mobile instead of my home number, they'll be a lot easier to ignore, as with my mobile, unless the number's stored in my phonebook, they shouldn't be calling me (regardless of who it is, I don't answer any unknown / withheld numbers on my mobile - that's assuming I hear it in the first place, as it's almost always on silent & now I am switching it off when I am sleeping)

 

They haven't told me they'll make me bankrupt (a remarkably expensive process really), but they have told me that IF I ever go back to work, the marks they make on my credit file, will ensure I cannot get a job, or move home.

 

Moving home I'm not planning on atm, but the job thing, IF I do ever go back to work (Signed off indefinitly due to my mental ill-health), then that worries me, as I'll only be able to get the lowest paid job which won't credit check, & definitly won't cover my expenses

[SkimblesQueen]

£1 per month is findable, don't misunderstand me, but with all my expenses taken into consideration, technically there's not £1 to find.

 

But I am feeling reassured now that things aren't as bad as I've been led to believe.

[mr.ton]

they have told me that IF I ever go back to work, the marks they make on my credit file, will ensure I cannot get a job, or move home.

 

Absolute nonsense, they will say anything to frighten you so that you pay up.

Ive got more marks on my file than a whores backside & it hasnt stopped me getting jobs & moving home over the years....

Credit files are not worth the paper they are printed on, its just an industry myth that they actually count for something.

Just stop speaking to these clowns & report them to the OFT asap.

[dx100uk]

litigations team my foot.........

 

.........."julie can you change the headed notepaper in the printer please"........

 

fire off that deny letter and totally ignore them

 

dx

[mr.ton]

Should have said to them when they said you'd never get a job...well that just means you'll never be repaid then

[Bazooka Boo]

Absolute nonsense, they will say anything to frighten you so that you pay up.

Ive got more marks on my file than a whores backside & it hasnt stopped me getting jobs & moving home over the years....

Credit files are not worth the paper they are printed on, its just an industry myth that they actually count for something.

Just stop speaking to these clowns & report them to the OFT asap.

 

It is absolutely incredible the lengths these DCA's will go to in order to try and frighten and intimidate people into paying up!

I'm just hoping that one day I might be able to get one of theses clowns to threaten me ilke that over the phone then I can hand the recording to the OFT...

 

That is the very proof if it were ever needed Skimbles, of exactly why you shouldn't entertain their phone calls, as they will never put that in writing!

 

A few more links for you to have a browse through when you have the time;

 

Know Your Consumer Rights | Consumer Information

 

Statement of Affairs Calculator

 

Boo:wink:

[mr.ton]

The responsibilities of companies and organizations

 

The Data Protection Act requires that any organization which handles or processes personal data must comply with eight data protection principles – that personal information is:

• Fairly and lawfully processed
  
• Processed for limited purposes
  
• Adequate, relevant and not excessive
  
• Accurate and up to date
  
• Not kept for longer than is necessary
  
• Processed in line with your rights
  
• Secure
  
• Not transferred to other countries without adequate protection
  

In practice this means that if an organization causes you additional expense or long term inconvenience as a result of incorrect personal information about you, that organization would be in breach of the Data protection Act and liable to pay you compensation.

Very interesting that above bit..wonder if it applies to the CRA's

[SkimblesQueen]

Thank you all, I am now starting to laugh at all this mess. I shall indeed get that letter off asap & will keep you updated on it all - no more phone conversations for me either

[Bazooka Boo]

Thank you all, I am now starting to laugh at all this mess. I shall indeed get that letter off asap & will keep you updated on it all - no more phone conversations for me either

 

Good, am glad you can now begin to see these lowlifes for the true bullies they really are!

 

It's much better when you take control back from them, they hate it when you begin to know your rights..

 

Boo;)

[SkimblesQueen]

That calculator thingy you linked me to Boo, has shown I have £6 for debt (this doesn't take into account the £11 per month I pay in fees for my overdraft - so really I'm -£5) It's frightening to see where it all goes!

[Undercover-Elsa]

Hi SQ,

In view of your health probs, have you applied for Disability Living Allowance yet? My nephew's diabetic and he gets it. It's not countable as income on budget sheets either

Elsa xx

[SkimblesQueen]

Yes I get DLA, I didn't realise it wasn't countable...in that case I'm a further £70 per month down