Completely ignoring a DCA, can it work ?

[snowy101]

Just a general question to chew the fat on

 

 

 

When i first came on here for advice on dealing with DCA`s i got sound & very helpful legal advise as to how to deal with the situation & i am very very grateful for all the help & advice that was given, but due to a death in the family acting on the advice given was firmly put on hold.

 

I have now got the time to deal with them but having read various threads on here i`m starting to think that just ignoring them totally, maybe a better option [ in my circumstances].

 

I have 2 DCA`s chasing me for alleged debts, i never ever answer the phone to them & have never sent any letters, i have now noticed that the letters i get are running out of steam & going round in circles.

 

I was wondering if anyone else has used this tactic?, the amounts they claim i owe are not enough to take me to court [ IMO] so why should i even start playing the game with them just to be passed on to another DCA & start the whole time consuming game all over again.

 

Mr Ton has said on a number of occasions that DCA`s have no power what so ever unless they take you to court to enforce payment, it got me thinking

 

These are my circumstances & i am not trying to trivialize or belittle anyone who has more serious problems.this site is a god send in the fight with DCA`s

[mr.ton]

DCA's rely on threats & intimidation to get you to pay up.

They are full of themselves in terms of what powers they think they have.

They have no more rights to money off you than your next door neighbour does.

Only the court system has any powers to extract money out of the individual.

Edited October 10, 2009 by mr.ton

[snowy101]

DCA's rely on threats & intimidation to get you to pay up.

They are full of themselves in terms of what powers they think they have.

They have no more rights to money off you than your next door neighbour does.

Only the court system has any powers to extract money out of the individual.

 

Mr Ton:D

 

 

It was that very statement that made me think

" feck em, put up or shut up "

 

I also read on the whoscallingme thread the type of people these scumbags employ & was disgusted with the Kacey character, so my mindset has altered, i`m sure others feel the same.

[vint1954]

Just a general question to chew the fat on

 

 

 

When i first came on here for advice on dealing with DCA`s i got sound & very helpful legal advise as to how to deal with the situation & i am very very grateful for all the help & advice that was given, but due to a death in the family acting on the advice given was firmly put on hold.

 

I have now got the time to deal with them but having read various threads on here i`m starting to think that just ignoring them totally, maybe a better option [ in my circumstances].

 

I have 2 DCA`s chasing me for alleged debts, i never ever answer the phone to them & have never sent any letters, i have now noticed that the letters i get are running out of steam & going round in circles.

 

I was wondering if anyone else has used this tactic?, the amounts they claim i owe are not enough to take me to court [ IMO] so why should i even start playing the game with them just to be passed on to another DCA & start the whole time consuming game all over again.

 

Mr Ton has said on a number of occasions that DCA`s have no power what so ever unless they take you to court to enforce payment, it got me thinking

 

These are my circumstances & i am not trying to trivialize or belittle anyone who has more serious problems.this site is a god send in the fight with DCA`s

So long as you have told them that the account is disputed, then there is no further reason to contact them or play thier game. You may miss the sport though.

 

You will need to decide if constant contact with them is encouraging them or reinforcing your unwillingness to give in.

[Dodgy Geezer]

I was wondering if anyone else has used this tactic?, the amounts they claim i owe are not enough to take me to court [ IMO] so why should i even start playing the game with them just to be passed on to another DCA & start the whole time consuming game all over again.

 

I had 23 DCAs chase me for the same debt. They all sold it on because i ignored them.

 

A bit of fun i had was to answer the phone and say, hold on i will get him for you. I would then put the phone down on one side, and go off and do something else.

Great fun if you have the b*lls to do it.

 

Ignoring them is also important if you ever plan to use the limitations act.

 

Mr Ton has said on a number of occasions that DCA`s have no power what so ever unless they take you to court to enforce payment.

 

Correct.

[mr.ton]

I get into alot of trouble on this site for advocating the "stop paying" method.

But those who "tell me off" so to speak, need to READ exactly what i say 1st & not just pounce on me straight away.

I dont just advocate non payment for the sake of it - it is usually after i have read a horrendous story of how the person is being lied to,bullied,cheated & generally just being treated shoddily all round by the DCA.

I always say "Let a court decide" - i fully accept that may not be good for everyone, but in most cases it is. (none homeowners for example)

So you may end up with a CCJ for 6 years...big ruddy deal, usually getting credit for the next 6 years is the last thing you'd need anyway.

Rant over

[snowy101]

So long as you have told them that the account is disputed, then there is no further reason to contact them or play thier game. You may miss the sport though.

 

You will need to decide if constant contact with them is encouraging them or reinforcing your unwillingness to give in.

 

 

Hi Vint

 

When you say " so long as you have informed them the account is in dispute"

 

Is there a legal reason? because i love sport but not the DCA kind.

The phone calls i get are very few now & the letters are getting more desperate & not as frequent so that's really why i posed the question

[Huff&Puff]

I found that ignoring them worked pretty well, only one of mine ever went beyond the threatogram stage. All of mine except one have gone Stat Barred now. However, I had not discovered CAG at the time I was using my own strategy of ignoring - if I'd have known then what I know now, I would probably have done things differently.

[postggj]

most first letters from a dca are pure phishing to get a bite

 

i used to ignore all letters and they just gave up only to be contacted by antother dca six months later

 

just dont bite

[lickthewallfatboy]

oh ignoring them works allright

 

but I've decided to dish them up with a bit of their own medicine......Westcot are about to get my first invoice for availing of my "staff training facility" which I offered them previously!!

 

£40-pay up or get taken to court

 

only I WILL do it,not just threaten it

[vint1954]

Hi Vint

 

When you say " so long as you have informed them the account is in dispute"

 

Is there a legal reason? because i love sport but not the DCA kind.

The phone calls i get are very few now & the letters are getting more desperate & not as frequent so that's really why i posed the question

Assuming that you have requested your agreement and they have not complied, then the account goes into dispute.

[andydd]

I get into alot of trouble on this site for advocating the "stop paying" method.

But those who "tell me off" so to speak, need to READ exactly what i say 1st & not just pounce on me straight away.

I dont just advocate non payment for the sake of it - it is usually after i have read a horrendous story of how the person is being lied to,bullied,cheated & generally just being treated shoddily all round by the DCA.

I always say "Let a court decide" - i fully accept that may not be good for everyone, but in most cases it is. (none homeowners for example)

So you may end up with a CCJ for 6 years...big ruddy deal, usually getting credit for the next 6 years is the last thing you'd need anyway.

Rant over

 

This really depends what the debt is for, letting a court decide is all very well, but there is a very real risk of extra charges, not a huge amount, but something that people could do without.

 

A few years back, I had a huge (valid) water bill, I ignored it, eventually it went to DCA's then court, I didnt oppose it, this was a few years back when I was more naive, but even now I dont think I had any real reason to dispute it, i ended up with a CCJ, and eventually an attachment of earnings order for £50 a month, its now paid but i've got a CCJ on my Credit record, not a huge deal, I'm not after any loans, BUT it does affect other things, getting a mobile phone contract for example, I like to shop around when my contracts have ended but now I find more n more places just say 'no', I've just started a new one with O2, BUT they wanted £100 desposit first, I guess the moral is that with hindsight I wish I hadnt ignored the DCA's and just paid them.

 

Now I have some examples where ignoring them is ok, I've been chased for 2 amounts from Paypal, I'm well aware that Paypal wont chase me through the courts so they are safe to ignore (in my opinion). I also have been chased by HFo for a mere £34 for an 3 mobile debt, I'm unsure wthere this is actually owing or not, but HFO are such idiots, that ignoring is the best bet, esp for such a small amount.

 

I also have some unenforceable card debts (im currently on an agreement to pay £1 a month), but when that ends I will no doubt have to go down the 'in dispute' route, in this case I wont ignore any DCA's chasing me, I'll just point out the account is in dispute.

 

So there you have it, 4 different scenarios, wether you ignore/respond/fight DCA's really does depend on the circumstances.

 

Andy

Edited October 10, 2009 by andydd

[twofoot]

Listen to Mr Ton. It worked for me. Ignoring a dca is sound advice. If and when you get court papers then is the time to load your cannon. Most times you will find they back down if you do your stuff with help from here.

[slc79]

To ignore or not ignore, that is the question. I've been ignoring letters from DCA over debt that doesn't have anything to do with me. However, postman knocked on door today with a recorded delivery letter which I refused to sign for. Am I really at risk of having CCJ lodged against me if I refuse to accept recorded mail from these scumbags?

 

If you haven't told them yet then you should. Refusing recorded mail means you could get a ccj against you without you knowing it.

 

most first letters from a dca are pure phishing to get a bite

 

i used to ignore all letters and they just gave up only to be contacted by antother dca six months later

 

just dont bite

 

However, I did bite, back in March 2008, when I sent letter to deny debt. Didn't know all this stuff then. Thought they'd gone away but it's started up again. So, what further damage would it do if I sent letter denying debt again and saying if there's any more letters then I'll report them to OFT?

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/show-post/post-2492749.html

Edited October 10, 2009 by slc79

[gezwee]

I must admit to never having acknowledged a DCA, if they ring I put them on hold or disconnect them.....and they rarely ring now.

 

If they write I add it to the folder never actually acknowledging receipt.

 

Most of my OC's are paid at the mo, standing orders at a quid a month.

 

The ones that arent are those who havent responded to CCA request.

 

Don't think I have a single account that hasnt been terminated, none are incurring any interest or charges (with the exception of Amex and MBNA....but F*** 'em they're just a pain to resolve at a later date)

 

I'm pretty sure that a matter of such importance as paying a DCA would be corresponded to me by rec delivery, if they chose to use UK mail and cannt evidence correspondence thats their problem.

 

If one of them decides to issue NI I'm pretty sure I can defend ok and if by some miracle one of them wins it'll be a few hundred quid in costs on on top of a balance that hasnt attracted interest in the thousands for the last couple of years.

 

Should Crapquest or another of the idiots try for a SD that'll be fine with me too, could do with earning a few hundred squid out of them preparing for the set aside

 

 

Gez

[Readalot]

I'd say do not ignore them completely, respond to every 10th letter or so, for example. I.e. let them send you a few letters, than respond with a CCA request, another dozen of letters would warrant a response in form of 'account in dispute' letter and so on. Maybe just for fun send once in a while a 'statue barred' letter (whether it is old or young debt) just to check if they read you letters at all and keep them on their toes.

 

Some people (like myself) may find it quite good fun to chat with them on the phone 'for sport'. Hell... sometimes, I am even getting worried if nobody calling for too long

 

But seriously, if goal is to just drag things for as long as possible with a view to run up 6 years, than the following would be probably the winning strategy.

 

Respond to every 10th letter from any given DCA with a random (more or less relevant) template from CAG template library.

The loosing strategy is perhaps the following:

 

Worry and be afraid. Respond to every letter and try to argue or plead with them. Pay sometime to get them off your back. Lose sleep and get a depression and a nervous breakdown.

Edited October 10, 2009 by Readalot

[gezwee]

Has anyone on here tried a response in another language just to see if they reply to it?

 

Does a CCA request in Urdu count?

[mabski]

ignoring them works if you have no property

16 years ago i still lived with my parents and was in a lot of debt £30000 and more to various companies and banks but i just ignored all the phonecalls and letters .they kept trying for about 8 years but

now they have all disapeared just the recent debt on my file now.

[gezwee]

ignoring them works if you have no property

16 years ago i still lived with my parents and was in a lot of debt £30000 and more to various companies and banks but i just ignored all the phonecalls and letters .they kept trying for about 8 years but

now they have all disapeared just the recent debt on my file now.

 

Pretty sure you could find a work around even with property, ok so they'll go for the immediate interim CO but that would have to be with OC as 3rd party litigant and would be defendable in court and of course this would only be possible if they ever actually got around to filing against you.

[locutus]

If I have a valid dispute on the debt, I get argumentative with them and do whatever I can to upset them. I try to get them to disclose information without me going through DPA, then I tell them I'm recording the call and I'm going to pass it on to the information commissioner (upsets them twice in one sentence... they hate being recorded and they know they've done wrong by the data protection act). I laugh at them when they say they'll take me to court. I tell them to start court proceedings. When/if they do, I put in a defense and they drop the case (or risk losing). Finally, I get to chuckle knowing that they have spent more money on chasing the debt and they are even more out of pocket, and their "industry" has a negative on its balance sheet. All this just to show bullying tactics does not pay off and hopefully their companies will clean up their acts.

[mabski]

i know what you mean. the dca's threatened to take me to court a thousand times not once did i receive an actual court summons.

the same with their threats to send somebody round.

[Huff&Puff]

Am I really at risk of having CCJ lodged against me if I refuse to accept recorded mail from these scumbags?

 

An N1 isn't sent by recorded delivery, and you'll know what it is if you ever get one. Obviously you shouldn't ignore one of those. But I don't think there is any way of sneaking a CCJ past you like that, as any paperwork will come direct from the court. Of course, there is the DCA trick of using an old address, so that you never get paperwork, and then getting judgement by default, but that is a different issue.

[locutus]

i know what you mean. the dca's threatened to take me to court a thousand times not once did i receive an actual court summons.

the same with their threats to send somebody round.

I've had one take me to court. I posted a defense online and they dropped the case... another £50 down the pan for them

[gezwee]

Huff&puff's absolutely right on this.... N1's are issued 1st class standard RM and deemed served at 48 hours. No chance of missing one by rejecting recorded delivery packages.

 

As for DCA's using an old address, its well documented on here that they do and will try this [problem]. Just shows how low they have to go to get a 'win'

[zazen.warrior]

I haven't heard from any DCA's for a while now - which says something in itself - but I favour the sending of one comprehensive 'I know my rights' letter to each new DCA which pops up and then ignore them completely.