Company Dissolved ..but telephone demands everyday

[Yorks_lady]

Hi,

 

We had a small company which ran into problems in 2007, and I rang Business Debt Helpline who advised us to go for strike-off; we did and thought that was that. The local council was at that time our only creditor, and accepted our problems and never bothered us again after we sent them a copy of the strike-off.

 

Now we are are recieving telephone calls to my mobile everyday [sometimes 3+], asking me to admit that my name is the same as our former limited company. I need the mobile, as the website of my job now lists it, and to change it would possibly cause me loss of business [sales].

 

When we went for strike-off we didn't know anything about these demands, and they started elevan months after the company was dissolved.

 

Please could someone tell me:

 

a) even though I didn't know about these bills [less than £100], and nothing was recieved by us in the form of a bill, are we liable for them? I would also dispute them...see 'C'

 

b) the company that keeps ringing me refuses to stop calling, and even when I tell them the company is legally dissolved they become abusive and always call back again.

 

c) another company traded in the premises after we left, but it looks like they have closed for good and the landlord just directs the debt companies towards us even though he knows we have dissolved our former company and he took a lump sum from us to allow us a surrender of the lease.

 

d) legally do I have any rights, as the calls are often abusive calling me a s##g, b##ch,c#w, h##ker etc etc. I have always been calm, as I thought that common sense would prevail with them as they might realise I had done everything above board.

 

Thanks

[teaboy2]

hi yorks lady

 

welcome to the forum. As the owner of a company that is a limited company then neither you or any sole individual such as director or secretary is liable to any business debts. The fact they are asking you to confirm the business name, suggest that they are not aware that your business is dissolved. Therefore i would simply say yes i used to run that business as a limited company but it has been dissolved as a result of a strike off on (tell them the date). And also state, as it was a limited company then neither you or any sole individual is liable for the debt. and that they must cease contacting you regarding the debt or you will seek action on grounds of harassment against them.

 

Since they are being abusive towards you then before i suggest anything else can i ask if you have an address for them? because we will need it to take futher action against them.

 

P.s your not from york are you? cos i live not far from york.

Edited December 9, 2009 by teaboy2

[Yorks_lady]

Thanks teaboy2....but I have already told them, and they insist that the bills were run-up whilst we were in the premises and we are liable. I am just so confused by all the calls, and I admit that they try the legal jargon on and I end up putting the phone down as I just don't understand what the hell they are speaking about.

 

PLEASE would someone answer this .... if the bills came AFTER the strike-off in the London Gazette, when the keys to the shop were changed by the landlord, is the company still liable or are they simply trying it on as they bought the debt and want to recover something.

 

It started with that 'infamous' company BC&W ringing, but now it is a London number and they are even worse than them. And they insist that they will only tell me who they are, if I admit that I am the former business name and provide them with personal information ... they have no chance.

 

I have tried to google their number ##########,but it comes up as nothing.

 

What I hope for is that they will realise that I owe nothing, I went by the book and they would just stop being so rude to me and finally leave me to pick up the pieces of our lives after the business.

Edited December 9, 2009 by Yorks_lady

[teaboy2]

Actually forget my first post its been a long night for me and i sometimes have a habit of not reading a post in full before replying.

 

Anyway after reading your post again this time in full, i suggest the the following:

 

1) if you have the address for the company in question send them this

 

Your Street

Town

City

Postcode

DATE HERE

Company Name

Road

Town

City / County

Postcode

 

Re: Harassment by telephone

 

 

ACCOUNT NUMBER: XXXXXXX

 

Dear Sirs

 

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,

 

Do not sign by hand always use a computer font as your signiture on letters to DCA as they are well known to lift peoples signitures and use them to falsify documents etc.

 

Also i tend to add an adminstration charge to any further calls received from them for loss of time and profit as a result of dealing with the call. Same for any letters they send me that is not contructive to resolving any dispute or issue i.e threatograms, final demands (their never final away as theres always another one following in the post), demands for payment, notice of doorstep collections notice and all that other crap they send.

 

You should also include a letter of complaint detailing the verbal abuse you have suffered over the phone from their collection agents and that you withhold the right to take legal action against both their collection agents responsible for the verbal abuse and the company its self, without further notice. And also request a copy of their complaint procedure to be sent to you within 14 days or you will report them to the OFT, Trading standards and the FOS.

2) id also suggest you send them the prove it letter stating detailsa s to when the company was dissolved and that it was a result of a strike off. Also state when your company vacated the premises. If they ask for prove of such then ignore them as the onus is on them to prove the debt exist not on your to prove it doesn't.

 

Name/Address:

 

Date:

 

Dear Sir/Madam

 

You have contacted me/us regarding the account with the above reference number, which you claim is owed by myself/ourselves.

 

I/we would point out that I/we have no knowledge of any such debt being owed to (insert company name).

 

I am/we are familiar with the CPUTR 2008 and the Office of Fair Trading's Guidance on debt collection, which states that it unfair to send demands for payment to an individual when it is uncertain that they are the debtor in question.

 

I/we would also point out that the OFT say under the Guidance that it is unfair to pursue third parties for payment when they are not liable. AND in not ceasing collection activity whilst investigating a reasonably queried or disputed debt you are using deceptive/and or unfair methods.

 

Furthermore ignoring and/or disregarding claims that debts have been settled or are disputed and continuing to make unjustified demands for payment amounts to physical/psychological harassment.

 

I/we would ask that no further contact be made concerning the above account unless you can provide evidence as to my/our liability for the debt in question.

 

I/we await your written confirmation that this matter is now closed. Otherwise I will have no option but to make a complaint to Trading Standards and also inform the Office Of Fair Trading of your actions.

 

I/we look forward to your reply.

 

Yours faithfully Again dont not sign by hand use a computer font as your signiture.

 

 

And as said in my first post NO your are not liable for any business debts from a limited company.

[teaboy2]

Thanks teaboy2....but I have already told them, and they insist that the bills were run-up whilst we were in the premises and we are liable. I am just so confused by all the calls, and I admit that they try the legal jargon on and I end up putting the phone down as I just don't understand what the hell they are speaking about.

 

PLEASE would someone answer this .... if the bills came AFTER the strike-off in the London Gazette, when the keys to the shop were changed by the landlord, is the company still liable or are they simply trying it on as they bought the debt and want to recover something. They are trying it on, No matter what the debt was for it was a business debt and as a limited company neither you or any other individual are liable for the debt.

 

It started with that 'infamous' company BC&W ringing, but now it is a London number and they are even worse than them. And they insist that they will only tell me who they are, if I admit that I am the former business name and provide them with personal information ... they have no chance. Sounds like IQOR i had dealings with them and one letter shot of to them and they soon shut up and never called me since, ill check the phone number youve provided and see if it is IQOR if it is ill give you the email address to the vice president of IQOR who had the unpleasant luxury of being told where her and her companies place was when i comes to dealing with me. And yes they are abusive on the phone. i dont suppose it was a woman called mrs jackson was it?

 

I have tried to google their number 02085 821007,but it comes up as nothing.

 

What I hope for is that they will realise that I owe nothing, I went by the book and they would just stop being so rude to me and finally leave me to pick up the pieces of our lives after the business.

 

 

Dont worry with mine and the help of other caggers here they'll be falling over themselves to lick your boots clean lol

 

ill cheack the number and ill get back to you on it

[Yorks_lady]

Thanks teaboy2 ..... and PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE if anyone else has any advice for me, do please write as others in a similar situation as I will be able to use your advice at a later date.

 

Oh and I nearly forgot teaboy2, I am from the West Riding [old fashioned I know but we were proud then] six miles from Leeds. And I hope you can find out who it is that I get these calls from, as I want to put this sorry situation to 'bed' once and for all.

[teaboy2]

well it doesnt look like its iqor cos there based in preston, and the number is a london number. They used the same tactic as iqor though refusing to say who they are or who they where calling from. IF we cant find out who they are, then in order to get them to stop calling you, it might be best to confirm that you were a director of the company and see what they say and then ask their company name. then we can get the address by looking it up on the net.

 

not as close as york then lol i live just north east of york.

 

Did you still have the account details of refernce number that BC&W used as it might be worth giving them a call and asking who they passed the account too.

[teaboy2]

well ive been looking to see if i could find out which company the phone number belongs to and have had no luck whatsoever am sorry to say. maybe someone has had dealings and can tell us who they are.

[Revenant]

It seems that (0) 2085 is the code for Dagenham East London but I can't find a closer match or company

 

No one has made an entry for that number on the "Who calls me" website either

Edited December 9, 2009 by Revenant
Missed text

[kurvaface]

PLEASE would someone answer this .... if the bills came AFTER the strike-off in the London Gazette, when the keys to the shop were changed by the landlord, is the company still liable or are they simply trying it on as they bought the debt and want to recover something.

 

 

They have no leg to stand on. Once your company has been struck off the register then it's over. The whole Idea of a limited company is to draw a line in the sand as far as bills go when your company has died.

 

As long as you have not intentionally avoided the bill or filed your form to "strike off" incorrectly you have nothing to worry about.

 

The issue is how do you shake off these creeps.

[Revenant]

Did a bit more searching and there's a chance that the number is a "Telewest" one which is now Virgin Media

That being the case it just might be worth a try (But I doubt it) complaining to them that you're being harassed by what seems to be one of thier customers

 

The contact details are . .

 

150 Free from any Virgin Media phone

0845 454 1111

 

Complaints

Virgin Media

PO Box 333

Matrix Court

Swansea

SA7 9ZJ

[Still_surviving]

Regardless of whatever these low lifes may try and get you to believe, the situation is as kurvaface describes it.

 

The whole purpose of advertising in the London Gazette and waiting the prescribed time, is so that any relevant creditors can object to the company being dissolved and stop the process.

 

The only way directors can be found personally liable is in questions of PAYE/VAT and if you knowingly traded while insolvent and made the situation worse for creditors. These matters would have been dealt with by a creditor appointed liquidator - it didnt happen so not applicable.

 

Directors sometime give personal guarantees to banks and other financial institutions like HP companies. However trade debts dont fall into that category usually.

 

Quite frankly, if the calls are as abusive as you say, try and get them recorded and inform these people that this will become a police matter if they dont desist.

[rameses_qc]

One way might be to contact BT and tell them you are receiving obscene phone calls from this number. You could also try your local Police and tell them the same. personally, I wouldn't admit to anything over the phone, but I would if possible record them without telling them that's what you're doing. All ammunition for a prosecution

[Yorks_lady]

Thanks everyone I think that they have been searching the posts on here, as they [senior manager] rung this morning to accept what I told them and is sending written confirmation that no further actions is to be taken.

After so much swearing and accusations, it was good to hear that they were actually apologising for their behaviour. But I don't believe for one minute when he said, 'We will be learning from your case and putting actions in place to see this doesn't happen again'...........And i'm a banana if they thought i believed that.

 

ONCE AGAIN THANKS EVERYONE

[teaboy2]

good to hear yorks lady. did they confirm who they were by any chance?

 

 

like to know how on earth they were able to identify you yorks lady, especially when you had not actually given any identifiable information. would seem to me that they are either small time operators or they were well aware of what was happening.

 

oh and it sounds like they have fallen over themselves to lick your boots clean too lol i said they would.

 

word of warning to everyone that reads this thread. what yorks lady just said in her last post is prove that the DCA's do operate on these forums and will attempt to give you misleading advice. although most real caggers will be quick to correct them and give you the correct advice.

Edited December 9, 2009 by teaboy2

[mkb]

Good result in the end then

 

Which company was actually making the calls? Knowing the co & number may help others who find themselves in a similar predicament

 

It might also be a good idea to list the number & name on the 'who calls me' site.

[Revenant]

Good result in the end YL

No excuse for thier behaviour though

[teaboy2]

ive noticed we have a guess viewing the thread. i wonder who that must be???? oh hello mr DCA!

 

i find it funny how the csa and dca can claim we insult them and the banks aswell as encourage debt avoidance (which is not condoned on this site) and give misinformation. yet according to all the threads on here regarding DCA its the DCA misinformation, abusiveness and unlawful actions that bring people here. also funny how the head of the csa is also the owner of one of the 3 DCA that were put on license for breach of oft guidlines and unlawful actions by the OFT not so long ago. and are now trying to get sites like this regulated and preferably banned. http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2009/dec/02/credit-services-association-debt-websites

Edited December 9, 2009 by teaboy2

[mkb]

Awww teaboy - you scared him off cos he's gone

[teaboy2]

lol the pussy

[Yorks_lady]

teaboy2 & the gang - yes it looks like they check these places all the time, and you all deserve to know that it is our 'old friends' BC&W; except they must be operating from other numbers as so many have become wise to them. And it's so obvious when a Scotsman/woman calls, they must have got fed up with the phone being put down on them; or not answered as I stored there numbers [there was eight I have].

There is a link between them and a company called SRJ, as they have been leaving me text messages for the last four months to call them back A.S.A.P

Do any of you guys know about that last one, as I have a feeling that they are sent in to tackle the tough ones ....like me who wouldn't roll over and pay-up regardless of what they called me or times of the day and evening they called.

You know what I think, these folks are going to go the same way as car clampers, as folks in high places are beginning to realise this shouldn't be going on.

[mkb]

PLEASE list the details on Who Calls Me.com

[teaboy2]

yeah ive had dealings with SRJ but they got taste of their own medicine and one quick but strongly worded letter soon had them grovelling. wouldnt mind but it wasnt even my debt either.