Halifax Terminate agreement pass debt to Albion but still add charges to account???

[middenmess]

Why not send this-----

 

Dear Albion

 

As per your request contained in your letter of 1st August I have contacted you- proof of which is the fact that you are reading this.

 

By contacting you I now consider that as per your statement contained in paragraph 2 of your letter you have now solved the 'problem' and will therefore have no further need to contact me again.

 

Thank you for your help

[HF whO?]

Why not send this-----

 

Dear Albion

 

As per your request contained in your letter of 1st August I have contacted you- proof of which is the fact that you are reading this.

 

By contacting you I now consider that as per your statement contained in paragraph 2 of your letter you have now solved the 'problem' and will therefore have no further need to contact me again.

 

Thank you for your help

 

Thanks for your input:D

 

As of this morning it seems that there may be an alternative route to take which looks as though it may involve kicking Albion in to touch completely;)

 

 

I shall wait and see what comes to light before getting my hopes up though

[middenmess]

Thanks for your input:D

 

As of this morning it seems that there may be an alternative route to take which looks as though it may involve kicking Albion in to touch completely;)

 

 

I shall wait and see what comes to light before getting my hopes up though

 

That's progress!

 

After 4 weeks or so you might

 

a] get a letter saying that it's taking longer to deal with then they originally thought

or

b] get a letter rubbishing everything that you've told them

 

--if you do then you now have a telephone number and a name to speak to discuss it.

 

It's a long,long journey!

[Bazooka Boo]

Every time Albion send you their missives, you should send your replies direct to Halifax stating 'Thank you for your latest correspondence sent on your Albion letterhead' please be advised this method of attempting to exploit the debtors lack of knowledge in confusing them and making them believe this alleged debt is being chased by more than one person, is against the OFT debt collection Guidelines and as such another complaint about you has been added to their pile for investigation.....toodle pip!

[HF whO?]

ALBION COLLECTIONS LTD DO NOT DISCUSS ANYTHING IN WRITING!!!

 

Yep, that's what was said. They only arrange repayment plans over the telephone and can only put a stop to harassing phone calls and letters for 10 days!

 

When I quizzed them I also found out that even if I deal with Halifax Customer Relations Manager I can still expect to receive calls and letters from Albion!!!

 

 

I got really annoyed when I received yet another letter accusing me of ignoring their letters so I called them! Bad I know but I've now found out that I am wasting my time completely with writing letters and sending them back by first class recorded mail.

 

 

Or can I use this to my advantage? Perhaps now is the time to start informing them that I am going to be issuing them with charges for my time and expenses of writing the letters that they choose to ignore?

 

How can this company just IGNORE the harassing calls letter and expect to get away with it?

 

This needs to be addressed and take the fight to them.

 

Please Help

[Bazooka Boo]

It is perfectly simple, they are breaching countless guidelines and laws in informing you that the only way in which they will deal with customers complaints is over the phone, putting their flagrant breach of the OFT debt collection guidance to one side, the very next 'LAW' they are breaking is under the disability discrimination act, how does someone unable to talk or hold a converastion on the phone be expected to correspond with these idiots.

 

Unfortunately as they have'nt put that i writing, and the phone call won't have been recorded (?) then your only cause of action is to lodge complaints with the relevant bodies.

 

For their continued telephone harassment, have you sent them the harassment letter? If so have you proof they have received it?

Again if you have proof, then keep a diary of events, and the very next time they ring after you have told them not too, then they are committing the offence of harassment and should be reported to your local Police station, Harassment is a criminal and not a civil offence, so don't let them fob you off, speak to a senior officer or preferably the duty inspector.

 

Again a complaint to ofCom for them breaching the Communications Act is necessary also.

 

127 Improper use of public electronic communications network

 

(1) A person is guilty of an offence if he—

(a) sends by means of a public electronic communications network a message or other matter that is grossly offensive or of an indecent, obscene or menacing character; or

(b) causes any such message or matter to be so sent.

(2) A person is guilty of an offence if, for the purpose of causing annoyance, inconvenience or needless anxiety to another, he—

(a) sends by means of a public electronic communications network, a message that he knows to be false,

(b) causes such a message to be sent; or

© persistently makes use of a public electronic communications network.

(3) A person guilty of an offence under this section shall be liable, on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale, or to both.

(4) Subsections (1) and (2) do not apply to anything done in the course of providing a programme service (within the meaning of the Broadcasting Act 1990 (c. 42)).

http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2003/ukpga_20030021_en_13#pt2-ch1-pb20-l1g127

 

1 Prohibition of harassment

 

(1) A person must not pursue a course of conduct—

(a) which amounts to harassment of another, and

(b) which he knows or ought to know amounts to harassment of the other.

(2) For the purposes of this section, the person whose course of conduct is in question ought to know that it amounts to harassment of another if a reasonable person in possession of the same information would think the course of conduct amounted to harassment of the other.

(3) Subsection (1) does not apply to a course of conduct if the person who pursued it shows—

(a) that it was pursued for the purpose of preventing or detecting crime,

(b) that it was pursued under any enactment or rule of law or to comply with any condition or requirement imposed by any person under any enactment, or

© that in the particular circumstances the pursuit of the course of conduct was reasonable.

http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts1997/ukpga_19970040_en_1#pb1-l1g2

[HF whO?]

I received a reply from Halifax Customer Relations Today:rolleyes:

 

I'm really not a very happy bunny either:mad:

 

 

 

I would seriously appreciate ANY help that will aid me in nailing these ****wits to the wall!

[HF whO?]

Perhaps I should address my next letter to Blair Oliver and Scott warning them not to contact me when they receive my file and just fast track this to court where I will produce my replies to their letters and provide copies of theirs?

 

BANKS! How is it large companies cannot Monopolise the market but we are all forced to use the BANKing system whether we want to or not?

 

I'm so p***ed off!!!

[jimbo45]

Unfortunately for unauthorized overdrafts the Bank CAN charge what it likes often as much as 5 GBP A DAY. There was a case in the Mail on Sunday 22 Aug in the Financial section which gave an example of how a small debt of around 20 GBP (can't remember the exact amount but of this order) had quickly turned into one of over 750 GBP AND THE COURT AGREED WITH THE BANK --DISGUSTING isn't it after all the money the taxpayers have given to bail out these Banks too.

 

However once the Bank terminates the agreement then it's not allowed to add on further charges.

 

As for Telephoning -- even if you wanted to telephone THE BANK -- not a DCA --never ever phone a DCA -- it's well nigh impossible these days -- first you have to go through a REALLY IRRITATING set of endless menus and then you will inevitably get - even if you are the first caller of the day -- the standard message -- "Unfortunately ALL our agents are busy with other customers etc etc etc." Meanwhile the charges on these ODIOUS 0845 numbers rack up and eventially you'll probably be connected to some call centre at the other end of the planet where it's a moot point whether you would understand what the person was saying anyway. Totally POINTLESS and an EXPENSIVE waste of time.

 

Cheers

jimbo

[Bazooka Boo]

Theres a few phone line cheats here; http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/bargains-and-rip-offs/tips-and-guides/article.html?in_article_id=415590&in_page_id=53954&in_advicepage_id=172

well Albion and Blair Oliver & Snot are all Halifax, just their in-house collecting arm, not DCA's at all.

Agreed that if you state not to contact you by telephone then the only other option is to write, and if you don't respond to their missives, they will just resort back to calling you, but you don't have to answer them or talk to them over the phone either, answer it, laugh and hang up.

[HF whO?]

and if you don't respond to their missives, they will just resort back to calling you

This is the bit that is p***ing me off though because I have been replying to their letters and even sending them back recorded first class delivery???

[middenmess]

Theres a few phone line cheats here; http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/bargains-and-rip-offs/tips-and-guides/article.html?in_article_id=415590&in_page_id=53954&in_advicepage_id=172

 

Should be a 'sticky'

[Bazooka Boo]

This is the bit that is p***ing me off though because I have been replying to their letters and even sending them back recorded first class delivery???

 

Yes your quite right, they tend to forget CAGgers know their right and send important correspondence via RD, therefore having evidence that they ignore all requests and correspondence, I ten to find that if you mark the envelope with 'Payment enclosed' this tends to get read, or at the very least opened.

 

What I meant by the sentence you highlighted is that if they are getting no reply to their hilarious letters, then they resort back to using the phone harassment, however if as you have pointed out that you have been corresponding to them via letter and they still call you, then yes grantedm this is harassment and as such should be reported to your local police station as such, aswell as reporting them to OfCom for breaching the communications act and committing a further offence under that.

 

I'd be inclined to write back to this Catherine Blackburn, and ask her if indeed she has responded to the correct person with regard to your complaint? If she confirms that she has, then you will be reporting the bank to the Police, giving her name and providing all of the evidence of correspondence sent from them to you, and you to them and the request to stop using the phone as a means of harassment, for the criminal offence of harassment, you will also report the bank to OfCom for breaching S127 of the Communications act, and for added weight to your complaint, trading standards and the OFT will also be informed of the banks continued ignorance and acting with near impunity when it comes to the banks failure to fully investigate it's customers complaints, when they have clearly failed to look at all of the facts putting the complainant at a serious disadvantage, tell her you want a deadlock letter also, as she has failed to investigate your complaint competently and you fully intend to exhaust the FOS complaints procedure also.

 

Is that any better?;-)

[HF whO?]

I'd be inclined to write back to this Catherine Blackburn, and ask her if indeed she has responded to the correct person with regard to your complaint? If she confirms that she has, then you will be reporting the bank to the Police, giving her name and providing all of the evidence of correspondence sent from them to you, and you to them and the request to stop using the phone as a means of harassment, for the criminal offence of harassment, you will also report the bank to OfCom for breaching S127 of the Communications act, and for added weight to your complaint, trading standards and the OFT will also be informed of the banks continued ignorance and acting with near impunity when it comes to the banks failure to fully investigate it's customers complaints, when they have clearly failed to look at all of the facts putting the complainant at a serious disadvantage, tell her you want a deadlock letter also, as she has failed to investigate your complaint competently and you fully intend to exhaust the

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complaints procedure also.

 

Wow that sounds Brutal... I like it

 

May I ask what deadlock letter is please?

 

 

I've received yet another letter from Albion this morning:-x

[Bazooka Boo]

A deadlock letter is simply when two parties can't settle a disagreement and you wish to take the complaint out of thier complaints system, as they cannot resolve the complaint to your satisfaction, and you can therefore get a third party to investigate your complaint, and hopefully decide in your favour.

As in this case, Halifax will run the course of their complaints procedure, 3 or 4 stages before telling you that they don't believe your complaint stands, but if you disagree you can take the matter to the FOS, all your doing when your asking for a deadlock letter is negating the need to spend weeks going through the 3 or 4 stages of their complaints procedure just to get the same result.

[HF whO?]

A deadlock letter is simply when two parties can't settle a disagreement and you wish to take the complaint out of thier complaints system, as they cannot resolve the complaint to your satisfaction, and you can therefore get a third party to investigate your complaint, and hopefully decide in your favour.

As in this case, Halifax will run the course of their complaints procedure, 3 or 4 stages before telling you that they don't believe your complaint stands, but if you disagree you can take the matter to the FOS, all your doing when your asking for a deadlock letter is negating the need to spend weeks going through the 3 or 4 stages of their complaints procedure just to get the same result.

 

Thanks for clearing that up BB, that makes much more sense now:D

 

If she confirms that she has, then you will be reporting the bank to the Police, giving her name and providing all of the evidence of correspondence sent from them to you, and you to them and the request to stop using the phone as a means of harassment, for the criminal offence of harassment, you will also report the bank to OfCom for breaching S127 of the Communications act, and for added weight to your complaint, trading standards and the OFT will also be informed of the banks continued ignorance and acting with near impunity when it comes to the banks failure to fully investigate it's customers complaints, when they have clearly failed to look at all of the facts putting the complainant at a serious disadvantage

 

With regards to the details above, do I disclose all of this to to Catherine Blackburn or is this just the action I am going to take if she confirms that she has replied to the correct person?

 

I'll post up the most recent letter from Albion in a moment. I suppose for my benefit I still ought to write a reply to them

[HF whO?]

I love the way that the letters I receive are always addressed to Mr HF whO? but at the start of the letter it then starts Dear sir/madame

 

Their attention to detail is P*** poor just like the rest of their service these days! I used to rate very highly until I became unemployed and fell victim to the recession due to the particular sector I work within

 

 

[HF whO?]

YET another call received!

 

10:26 on a Sunday morning of August bank holiday weekend - How very very sad!

[Guest HeftyHippo]

Make a section 10 DPA request that they stop processing/storing your phone number, explain you have sold/given away/lost the phone. Give them a mobile number - go buy a cheap sim and phone. Talk to them on that new number a couple of times. Then let it ring. Answer it only when you want to.

 

If they ring you on your old number - complain to the ICO. Its good if you can sell the phone to a friend/relative and then rent it back from him. If they phone you on that number, your friend can complain to the company in writing, and also to the ICO as he is the owner of the phone and is being bothered.

 

I found this to work very well. Once you wean them on the new number, if they phone, just ask them to wait while you get your specs/pen/hearing aid/truss....... and go have a cup of tea or whatever. When the realise that they're wasting time waiting for you to come back, they give up - 2 or 3 calls. Thats because they're paid by results, so if they know theyre gonna waste time listening to background noise, they cant get any money from you, and cant chase anyone else, so they stop. When they realise they stand no chance of talking to you, they know they'll never make progress, so they move on. Sure the letters will continue, but you deal with them when conveninet for you.

[HF whO?]

Make a section 10 DPA request that they stop processing/storing your phone number, explain you have sold/given away/lost the phone. Give them a mobile number - go buy a cheap sim and phone. Talk to them on that new number a couple of times. Then let it ring. Answer it only when you want to.

 

If they ring you on your old number - complain to the ICO. Its good if you can sell the phone to a friend/relative and then rent it back from him. If they phone you on that number, your friend can complain to the company in writing, and also to the ICO as he is the owner of the phone and is being bothered.

 

I found this to work very well. Once you wean them on the new number, if they phone, just ask them to wait while you get your specs/pen/hearing aid/truss....... and go have a cup of tea or whatever. When the realise that they're wasting time waiting for you to come back, they give up - 2 or 3 calls. Thats because they're paid by results, so if they know theyre gonna waste time listening to background noise, they cant get any money from you, and cant chase anyone else, so they stop. When they realise they stand no chance of talking to you, they know they'll never make progress, so they move on. Sure the letters will continue, but you deal with them when conveninet for you.

 

 

I've broken the habit of being afraid to answer my phone when it rings, believe me there is only one person who is control of the conversation when I hear them on the other end;)

 

I usually just acknowledge that I am who they are calling at that I do not deal with my finances over the telephone and to read the letters that I have sent via recorded delivery.

 

[Bazooka Boo]

Bloody right too!

It is your personal number, and if they are so foolish as to ring you on it,m then why not waste the idiots time by singiong down the phone or having a speech or heariong impedement...waste these idoiots mney!

[Guest HeftyHippo]

yes, dealing with them the way you wish on the phone works............. for that DCA, but eventually, the account will be passed to another and they will start the process all over again. Removing your number from their records is the only way to be sure that no-one will phone again. If youre willing to put up with the calling at all times then yes, just answer it and tell them to write. If that technique actually worked, you'd only have to tell them once and they wouldn't call again.

[HF whO?]

Bloody right too!

It is your personal number, and if they are so foolish as to ring you on it,m then why not waste the idiots time by singiong down the phone or having a speech or heariong impedement...waste these idoiots mney!

 

yes, dealing with them the way you wish on the phone works............. for that DCA, but eventually, the account will be passed to another and they will start the process all over again. Removing your number from their records is the only way to be sure that no-one will phone again. If youre willing to put up with the calling at all times then yes, just answer it and tell them to write. If that technique actually worked, you'd only have to tell them once and they wouldn't call again.

 

I see the logic behind it and I must admit whilst I know I'm in control of the call I'm not in control of when these dipsticks call so I may well decide to opt for this, I'm PAYG anyway so it would be no hardship

[Bazooka Boo]

C'mon HH, your sounding like your losing the will to fight!

I'm only this confident as I have invested in a truecall device, and at the push of a button after going through what they foolishly like to call 'Security' questions, which is nothing of the sort, I tend to take them round the houses a little before laughing at the telephone threat monkey, and asking them if their phone does this?..............................................................................................And press the hash key never to be bothered by the fools again..

[HF whO?]

C'mon HH, your sounding like your losing the will to fight!

I'm only this confident as I have invested in a truecall device, and at the push of a button after going through what they foolishly like to call 'Security' questions, which is nothing of the sort, I tend to take them round the houses a little before laughing at the telephone threat monkey, and asking them if their phone does this?..............................................................................................And press the hash key never to be bothered by the fools again..

 

lol

 

I must admit, I've been a little under the weather the last couple of days which has introduced a little negativity into my thoughts. I'll have to give myself a good talking to and a kick up the bottom.

 

Thanks for making me smile