help with complaint - Wescot are phoning my neighbours

[superstarjan]

Hiya all, yesterday my neighbour knocked on my door and said that they had had a phone call from somebody asking about me!

 

They said that they left no name or details (but I wonder if this was just to save my embarrassment) and said that they were just enquiring about me in general and were trying to get hold of me.

 

I laughed it off and said that it sounds like someone is out to 'con' of us, but I wonder how many of my other neighbours they have phoned and who haven't told me!

 

Can they do this?

[Mozz1]

That is harrassment. See a lawyer and get an INJUNCTION.

[Bazooka Boo]

No they can't! If it was a DCA that is?

[superstarjan]

Yes, it is harrassment, but unfortunatly I can't say who it was as they didn't leave a name!

 

I have a feeling that it was either albion collections or 1st credit as they have been mithering me at home recently, but I can't say for sure.

[Mozz1]

get your neighbour to ask who it is 'phoning next time. keep a note of time, date, what said and who to etc.

 

this is utterly revolting behaviour and i'm quite shocked to hear of it

[Mozz1]

Ok, you don't know who it is but you have a good idea.

 

Send a letter to the two suspect DCAs telling them that you believe it is them and that if the calls don't stop immediately you will take independent legal advice with a view to obtaining a non-harrassment order against them.

[superstarjan]

Thanks guys, the same neighbour has just knocked on and they phoned again today, she got a number this time, it's wescot

[Mozz1]

Personally I would go see my solicitor and get a strongly worded letter fired off to Westcot, threatening a letter before action (precursor to commencing an application for an injunction). You could do it yourself but I think the letter from a lawyer will have more effect and you would be paying for 30 minutes' attendance time plus the letter, so worth doing imo.

 

I say this because this must be VERY DISTRESSING for you and my heart really goes out to you.

 

Please act on this asap. Your neighbours are doubtless getting more excited and you need to nip this in the bud pronto.

[F_DCAs]

Wescot must be getting desperate if they're doing this.

 

I'm not surprised, but this is a smaller scale transgression for them, seeing that it was Wescot that refused to co-operate in the investigation of the Beryl Brazier suicide.

 

Wescot are to be ignored and no dealings made with them - they've no right to be trading at all.

[Mozz1]

All the more reason to sue their ass

[superstarjan]

thanks Mozz, to be honest I'm not bothered that much, ok a bit embarrassing but they can't get blood out of a stone can they and my days of panicking and stressing out about my debts are long gone.

 

The OC issued me with a faulty default notice, so no one can touch me out of court anyway. Somehow I doubt it will be wescot taking me to court though!!!

[Dotty50]

This has just reminded me of something that happened to me a few years ago but I was the neighbour, not the debtor and they were after the neighbours brother!

 

I think they use the electoral register to get names and addressess of people in the same street and then scour directory enquiry sites until they manage to find someone who still has there number registered.

 

I don't have my number listed anymore with BT but it seems that this is the way they do it.

 

This MUST be reported and stopped!

[Mozz1]

This MUST be reported and stopped!

 

Absolutely. Raise it with your MP.

[Guest Cartaphilus]

I found my local councillor very useful over something a while ago (though not DCA related). In fact it's them I will go to straight away with any rubbish from a DCA, I don't mess around with them anymore shall we say because of past rubbish from them. None of them have tried to do this yet (though I have my suspiscions given a few odd things in the street a few times that were 'out of place') but I also don't have a BT number, in fact I don't have a phoneline.

 

This MUST be reported and stopped!

Absolutely. Edited June 25, 2010 by Cartaphilus

[harrassed senior]

I live in a small 'touristy' village. One morning my postman knocked and gave me a telephone number to telephone as one of the tourist attractions had had an email from someone trying urgently to contact me, and they 'suggested' that giving their number to the posty who was sure to know where I lived.

 

This was not dca related, but it was someone who just wanted to harrass me, (long story) and I had to get an injuction, well worth the small cost.

[Guest Cartaphilus]

who just wanted to harrass me,

 

Yes, someone did that to me over a lengthy period (and I know they are still out there now, just biding their time (though I do know they've been 'warned off' by someone else; don't even know the person concerned). Never occured to me to get an injunction though you've given me an idea if he starts it again. Thanks. Sorry, didn't mean to hijack any threads.

[unclebulgaria67]

I have had a similar thing happen. My address was used to forward mail to a relative who had moved abroad. This relative had left debts behind and DCA's were then chasing via my address. One of the DCA's Mackenzie Hall would not believe it, when I told them this relative was abroad. They phoned my neighbours, one who was so worried that he thought about phoning the Police. He thought it was someone who was checking possible burglary targets.

 

Had a blazing row with compliance manager at MH. After making enquiries with the OFT, it turned out that it was perfectly OK for DCA's or other tracing agents to phone neighbours to check who was resident at an address, provided they did not disclose the nature of the enquiry. This did surprise me somewhat.

[Mozz1]

Harassment covers a wide range of offensive behaviour intended to disturb or upset. In the legal sense, it is behaviour which is found threatening or disturbing. So I say the OFT are talking out of their a*se and stalking by DCAs like this demands a civil action to put a stop to it.

[Helios]

This is what the OFT thinks...

 

OFT warns debt sector about tracing tactics - The Office of Fair Trading

[Mozz1]

Helios, that post was bang on the money.

 

The OP should report the DCA to the OFT.

[Ell-enn]

You could send them this letter I did for another poster who had the same thing happen to them. Send it by recorded delivery and keep a copy for yourself. A few days after posting check on the royalmail website to print off the signature receipt, keep that safe with your copy of the letter.

Westcot letter.doc

[superstarjan]

Hi Ell-enn, thanks for that, but I have already sent wescot the "bemused" letter (last year) which states that I will not enter into any further communications with them until I get a copy of an executed credit agreement and I have changed my phone number. So the line on your letter which states

"I find it difficult to understand why you would have taken this action as I am easily contactable both by letter and telephone. "

is actually not correct. I have ignored their subsequent letters.

 

Can I not just go ahead and sue/report them anyway, for this behaviour?

 

Another neighbour told me before when I was getting into my car that they have also had a phone call yesterday for me. The caller was asking if I still lived there, he told them that even if he knew that I did he wouldn't tell them anyway!!!

[DonkeyB]

The relevant bit from the OFT guidelines alluded to is this:

 

Physical/psychological harassment

2.5 Putting pressure on debtors or third parties is considered to be oppressive.

2.6 Examples of unfair practices are as follows:

i. disclosing or threatening to disclose debt details to third parties unless

legally entitled to do so

j. acting in a way likely to be publicly embarrassing to the debtor either

deliberately or through lack of care, for example, by not putting

correspondence in a sealed envelope and putting it through a letterbox,

thereby running the risk that it could be read by third parties.

 

Get those complaints in - trading standards and the OFT. I'm wondering if there are any implications the ICO may be interested in?

[Mozz1]

Superstarjan, please do something about this harrassment.

 

You will be helping countless others in the same situation, both now and in the future.

 

Donkey's post (j) above - "they are acting in a way that is publicly embarrassing you." OFT Guidelines. All you need to know. Period.

 

I would complain to as many people as possible: the OFT, the ICO, your MP, local councillor, the police, get your solicitor to write to the DCA etc etc.

 

Make this DCA pay for what they are doing not just to you, but for what they are doing to so many countless other people as well.

[superstarjan]

yes I agree Mozz, I do have to complain about this, it is unacceptable.

 

I will do, but I need to get my head round what I need to say in my complaint ....................... any help from anyone on here would be greatly appreciated ......................I can't afford to pay a solicitor, I will have to do it myself.