We are Winning

[UnmoderatetheNet]

Just read the post

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/debt-collection-industry/271122-debt-collectors-side.html

 

Clear evidence that consumers are winning the battle.

 

Too long have we been ripped off, lied to, abused by phone and scared to death by letter (literally in some cases).

 

I've been dealing with DCA's for almost 10 years and not one of them has been nice polite and even slighty interested in the misery debt brings.

 

ALL telephone threat monkeys are on COMMISSION.

 

So don't come on here with the bull****, DCA telephone threat monkeys earn on whats collected. Anyone posting on here who works for a DCA talking about caring and sympathetic is not going to employed longer than three months

 

and and £35+ bank charge passed to DCA is wrong, I'm sorry but it is especially when the true cost is pennies.

 

Consumers know the law and DCA's are suffering because of it:cool:

 

This has nothing to do with avoiding debts although, whilst I continue to see people taking anti depressants and familys torn in half, I sincerely hope debts are being avoided, because then DCA's bottomline shrinks.

[Huff&Puff]

The thing that gets me, is that every time we get one of those DCA trolls on here, they all say exactly the same thing. I don't think I've seen a single one of those threads where there has been a single original thought.

 

To sum up what they all say: we are all living the high life, not paying our debts, being rude to the poor dears when they phone 8 times a day, and if only we would stop paying for food and pay them instead then all would be right with the world

[vjohn82]

I've read what I can tolerate to be honest.

 

Telling me that debt collection companies are "reasonable" is like telling me that there is a god. It all sounds a little far fetched based on the evidence we have to hand.

 

I like having the debates with them to be honest; it means we can expose them on here for what they are which, in the OP's case on that thread, is a illiterate, brainwashed, management trainee wannabe who thinks they have more power than is granted.

 

When I reduce these muppets to quivering wrecks on the phone I consider that job done; they wouldn't give half an inch to a frightened pensioner or any other person unaware of their rights so I don't see why I should.

[tiamaria2000]

In term ive also been in financial difficulty and in fact prior to me starting work in debt recovery had the stereotypical view that all debt recovery agents are w****rs.

 

at least he got something right!!!!

[Mrs E Blackadder]

Of all the debt collectors I have crossed swords with, only one was ever 'nice', and that was probably because I was paying them some money. The man at Metropolitan Collections called me by my first name. I asked him if he knew me, he said 'no', I asked him if he was my best friend, he said 'no', so I asked him why he was being so familiar with me. Threw him for a second before he asked me somewhat sarcastically 'what should I call you then?'. 'Mrs Blackadder will be perfectly adequate' I replied.

 

As everyone else has already said, but I am going to say again just to make the point, debt collectors are only interested in getting money out of you. That's it. End of.

 

They don't care about your circumstances, your health, your family or any other personal matter, unless it is how much your income is.

 

If all these debt collectors really are reasonable and nice, then why aren't they shouting it from the roof tops and proving it. Why not? Because they know they damn well can't. You only have to go to the websites of many of them and they are happily bragging about such things as visiting 'clients' in their homes to ascertain their assets and income/expenditure, as if they have a right to. If they are happy to advertise the fact on their websites that they think they can con you into believing they have a right to enter you home and take personal information then why the hell are they going to be nice and reasonable to you on the phone.

 

I have no time for any of them.

[jimbo45]

Hi there

 

Whilst some make a "professional habit" out of not paying debts -- and I think most people do not really want to go down that road -- most of us are drawn into this situation not because we are totally irresponsible and feckless but because due to unforseen circumstances jobs can be lost our outsourced so we suddenly find ourselves being unable to pay what we originally signed up to.

 

This is where it gets REALLY IMORALLY WRONG -- the DCA's pile in charging exhorbitant fees to people least likely to afford them and use all sorts of threatening skullduggery to attempt to get their money -- often using ruthless solicitors like RESTONS as well. These people are about the WORST on the planet as even a simple enquiry will get them sending a HUGE letter marked URGENT on it attempting to scare the living daylights out of the recipients and they WILL NEVER give a current statement of account either.

 

If debt collection was treated on a HUMAN being basis such as .. We know you have a problem paying xxxx -- this might be due to all sorts of factors such as loss of earnings etc etc --perhaps we can come to some sort of deal then a lot of problems can be solved.

 

However most of it is phrased in ugly threatograms such as UNLESS YOU PAY XXX WIHIN YYY DAYS all sorts of nasties will be thrown at you.

 

The whole stinking business need a total overhaul and selling on debts to 3rd parties should be made ILLEGAL or at least if a debt is sold on then the debtor should only have to pay what the purcahser of the debt bought it for plus say 5%.

 

That way we can put such EVIL businesses as CRAPPYQUEST and the like to bed once and for all.

 

Cheers

jimbo

[huggy41]

i think the post name WE ARE WINNING is wrong , we are educating the less informed be-it DCA'S or subscribers to this site who are here for advice on how to deal with DCA'S. NOT to avoid a debt. i was lucky enough to be a model & film extra while i lived in London for 4 years my pay was £1,600 per day (being self employed ) my average was 2 - 3 days work per month and i had to pay for my own hair dresser & makeup artist as well as my exquity membership(union) as time whent on my face and looks grew old and i found myself no longer required. there was no advance warning but the banks just gave , gave and then gave some more with little thought to what might be round the corner.

[pompeyfaith]

Hey all,

 

Welcome to RIP OFF BRITAIN AS A POLITICIAN RECENTLY SAID perhaps we all should be using those three words in all correspondence whether by letter or oral.

 

After all if its ok for a politician to use the term its ok for us too.

 

It is indeed time to ram those three words down the financial industries throat as well as the Government, utility companies and any business that rips off the consumer.

 

It time to make them all realise that the consumer is king.

 

http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=RIP+OFF+BRITAIN&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-GB:official&client=firefox-a

 

PF

[stunned_monkey]

Hi Everyone.

 

I must say that Jordan's thread made some really interesting reading. As it is my particular field of expertise (it's why I joined CAG in the first place and so far have racked up a colossal 7 posts on the subject;)) I'd like to just chime in briefly on his remarks about income and expenditure information:

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/debt-collection-industry/223068-how-much-information-they.html

 

You guys made my life 3000% less stressed simply by answering my question on the above thread. I continue to service my debts in a way of which Jordan would be proud, and am able to deflect any and all phone calls with a simple statement of how much I will be paying and no, I won't be giving them any more information because they aren't entitled to it. I do however always make a point of thanking them for being polite on the occasions when they are (about half the time). I had one bloke virtually beg me to accept a I/E form - obviously he could add it to his performance figures whether or not I actually returned it (or indeed even opened the envelope.....).

 

However, the phone calls never stop, no matter how studiously I ignore them or deflect them, so I've finally got around to sending off my CCA request today (I'll be sure to start a new thread when I have news).

 

I'm passing on this website to anyone who'll listen - funnily enough the bloke who runs the local post office was very interested as to why I wanted a postal order for £1 - he may well be submitting CCA requests of his own soon....

[sillygirl1]

I would say we were winning if the Debt Buyers and Sellers Group is totally disbanded and all the directors of companies involved in selling/buying OUR debts are banned from being directors of companies for LIFE....

 

However DCAs are finding life nowhere near as easy now, I think one of the main reasons is the awareness of internet scams and that it is becoming harder to send out a 'Pay up or else'... letter without somebody googling it first... and of course ending up on here.

 

I miss the calls and letters quite a bit now but am quite happily out of most debt (mostly by 'snowballing' my debts, funny how somebody claiming £500 on a debt which was originally £300 can offer £130 three months down the line... and then accept £100 as F&F).

 

Knowledge is power particularly when you are in debt.

[jimbo45]

Hi there

I think the poster who was against the idea of "We are winning" has it wrong.

 

Most of us took out debt at a time when the economy was "alleged" to be booming and took on commitments commensurate with our income.

 

Don't forget Banks etc were charging quite high rates of interest too.

This was their "Insurance" Policy against bad debts.

 

Now when the economy crashed a lot of people suddenly found they were unable to pay up anymore.

 

The Banks were given a HUGE bailout so at least people in difficult circumstances caused largely BY THESE SAME BANKS should also IMO be allowed to reduce their debt to what they can reasonably pay back.

 

The object of the exercise is NOT to avoid the debt completely but to get it handled FAIRLY AND COMPASSIONATELY and I doubt if anyone on this Forum thinks they get a fair deal from your ytypical DCA - especially from some of the nastier variety like CrappyQuest etc.

 

The whole idea of buying and selling debts for pennies in the pound and then the DCA's being allowed to attempt to collect the oringinal amount often with HUGE CHARGES added on is IMMORAL AND SHOULD BE BANNED AT ONCE. THIS IS JUST TRADING ON PEOPLE'S MISFORTUNE AND MISERY.

 

I have no problem in dealing with say the ORIGINAL CREDITOR but once it gets passed to a DCA then it's game on as far as I'm concerned -- I really whatever the amont of debt resent paying these **** and LOW LIFE's a SINGLE PENNY. I'm quite happy to attempt to come to some arrangement with the original creditor but the debts are sold off at an instants notice these days.

 

I think most caggers feel the same -- it's not paying back the debt but the manner in which these ****** DCA's deal with their "victims" who thanks to this site aren't so hapless anymore.

 

Finally "The Natives are getting restless".

 

Cheers

jimbo

[cashins]

I have no problem in dealing with say the ORIGINAL CREDITOR but once it gets passed to a DCA then it's game on as far as I'm concerned -- I really whatever the amont of debt resent paying these **** and LOW LIFE's a SINGLE PENNY. I'm quite happy to attempt to come to some arrangement with the original creditor but the debts are sold off at an instants notice these days.

 

Frankly I'm not sure why we should give the OC the time of day.

 

Despite having long standing relationships with some of mine, (in one case 20 years), at the first sign of a problem the 'caring banks' immediately resort to intimidation and threats.

 

As for the people responsible for this, I wouldn't help them if they were drowning.

 

David

[jimbo45]

Frankly I'm not sure why we should give the OC the time of day.

 

Despite having long standing relationships with some of mine, (in one case 20 years), at the first sign of a problem the 'caring banks' immediately resort to intimidation and threats.

 

As for the people responsible for this, I wouldn't help them if they were drowning.

 

David

 

 

Hi there

I'm not sure I agree with this as surely when you took out the original credit agreement I suppose you DID have SOME intention of paying it back.

 

If you took out the loan with NO intention of paying it back --in spite of the fact that we all regard Banks etc as relatively EVIL machines -- then that really is FRAUD however nasty the organisation you want the loan from is.

 

By all means negociate and get UNFAIR charges dropped but in refusing to pay a debt or at least part of it that YOU FREELY signed up to isn't really the way forward in a responsible soceity.

 

I'm older and wiser now and realise for CONSUMERS rather than businesses ANY SORT OF CREDIT is actually a poisoned chalice and can manage quite nicely without it now we've all been suckered in the past. However you DID agree to the loan so some of it at least should be paid back --but to the ORIGINAL creditors and certainly not to EVIL SCUMBAGS like CRAPPYQUEST or RESTONS SOLICITORS.

 

Cheers

jimbo

[itsamomentintime]

Frankly I'm not sure why we should give the OC the time of day.

 

its the OCs who are responsoble when they release the DCAs buy selling 'debts'

 

its high time an OC was taken to the High Court to be sued for a DCAs harrassment

[patrickq1]

about 25 years ago i got into trouble and along came the council debt collectors, he informed me to apply for a stay of execution, ! amazing !!he also said when it comes to court he can help me with advice !! and he did it was then i realised that not all of them are a threat some do meaningful work well they did then...nowadays they are the lowest form of **** on the planet, i wonder what that ole guy would be thinking as to just how get down and dirty they are now, i only experianced it after that event i then had blenheims scumbags and won that case all them years ago....

then next event was six years ago when i took seriously ill my cardio vascular system collapsed ,shortly after ****** ALICE popped up his ugly fat little bald head along with DARTH NELSON or a better name for her MRS WINELIPs hehe...after that it was all plain sailing...and with cag s help i aint looked back since...so anyone of them scumbags ever cross my path again god help them.. or if their is a god just open up the HELLGATES and drop all of em into the pit of snakes....

i will get of my platform now as me heels broke an ime in a bit of a limp state hehe ...

patrickq1

[Bookworm]

I'm done playing fair.

 

I can't afford keeping on paying and paying and paying forever. So I am CCAing the relevant ones. If their paperwork passes muster, then I will make them an offer of what I can afford, and realistically, it's going to be £1 a month. But I know for a fact that they will then start hassling me, and I'll admit it: I WANT them to flog me off to the DCAs. Because once they do that, then I really will have no scruples in sending THEM packing. I still feel unhappy about not being able to service what I owe and wish I could something else, but it's now them or us kind of situation, so there it is. If I thought for one moment that we could come to some arrangement, maybe them freezing the interest and letting me repay things at my own rate, then I'd be more tempted to make an effort. However, past experience has taught me that all they'll do is lob on more charges, more interest etc... so I am beating them at their own game.

 

Does that make me one of them people who won't pay rather than can't pay? Maybe. I could pay them small amounts, but I won't be bullied or sent back into depression because of their actions, and that's all there is to it. And you know what? I used to be one of the more vociferous "you borrowed it, so you have a moral duty to repay it" people on here. These people are reaping what they themselves chose to sow. They treated me as a "won't pay" when I was a "can't", so I became a "ok, won't pay until you can prove to me that I owe it"... and in the process realised what a mug I had been.

 

So, no more. Let him cast the first stone etc... ;-)

[Mrs E Blackadder]

If their paperwork passes muster, then I will make them an offer of what I can afford, and realistically, it's going to be £1 a month. But I know for a fact that they will then start hassling me.

 

 

This is exactly what gets me. Most of us would happily pay off our debts in instalments but, more often than not, any offers are simply refused. They want the whole lot or nothing, so nothing is usually what they get.

 

Why don't these banks, building societies, store cards, credit cards etc realise that if you haven't paid them anything then there is obviously a problem and that they could actually help with that problem.

 

I have a flat spot on the front of my head. It is from banging it against a wall

[cashins]

Hi there

I'm not sure I agree with this as surely when you took out the original credit agreement I suppose you DID have SOME intention of paying it back.

 

If you took out the loan with NO intention of paying it back --in spite of the fact that we all regard Banks etc as relatively EVIL machines -- then that really is FRAUD however nasty the organisation you want the loan from is.

 

 

Did you READ the post?

 

As stated, these were long standing relationships which clearly could not have been the case if there was no intention to pay.

 

David

[jimbo45]

Hi there

that's the trouble sometimes with the Internet --stuff can be read and interpreted in a totally different way to what a reply to a thread meant.

 

I HATE DCA's with a passion and the whole stinking sorded mess that passes off as "DEBT collection".

 

Even the Mafia (either Italian or Russian) behave like Mother Thresa compared to the likes of some DCA's and Banks -- people like Cr@ppyquest and Bryan Carter for starters spring immeditely to mind.

 

No What I was trying to say was that if you for whatever reason signed up to a debt then you DO have some responsibility to offer to pay at least some of it off -- even if it's only pennies in the pound.

 

Where I draw the line is in the whole process of debts being SOLD to third parties for pennies in the pound and then these debt collectors attempting to collect the WHOLE debt plus extortionate extra charges too.

 

I've never understood the logic here -- if a Bank say sells a debt of 5000 GBP to a DCA for 35 GBP for example why doesn't this same Bank offer the same terms to a debtor obviously struggling with repayments --I'd even go further -- the Bank could give me the option of paying say 200 GBP --better than they'd get from a DCA so WIN WIN for BOTH sides --however this never seems to be part of the process.

 

Cheers

jimbo

[Mrs E Blackadder]

I've never understood the logic here -- if a Bank say sells a debt of 5000 GBP to a DCA for 35 GBP for example why doesn't this same Bank offer the same terms to a debtor obviously struggling with repayments --I'd even go further -- the Bank could give me the option of paying say 200 GBP --better than they'd get from a DCA so WIN WIN for BOTH sides --however this never seems to be part of the process.

 

 

As far as I am aware Jimbo, the banks get a certain amount from the government (a sort of insurance pay out) when people don't their debt, which is why they are happy to sell to DCAs for next to nothing. Basically they are not going to be very much, if anything, out of pocket. If they were to do the same thing for the public, they wouldn't get anything from the government. Therefore, they want to off load the debt to a DCA.

 

That's my understanding of it. I stand to be corrected by anyone who knows more about this sort of thing, but I'm sure I read somewhere that the banks get some sort of bail out by the government.

[sillygirl1]

I agree with Bookworm, I 'snowballed' a lot of my debt when I was repossessed and after three months of paying three debtors off the rest started making crazy offers, which more than halved what they originally claimed. I was lucky to have a certain sum available each month (due to free travel card via work - so used the money I would have spent on fares paying off debtors).

 

If you pro rata payments they get greedy and the ones who shout the loudest seem to have the least claim on your remaining wealth.

 

Living without credit is good, I may not have the top range tele or have loads of expensive jewellery but I get by...