DCA upping repayments

[AllanB87]

My partner is paying back a debt of ~£500 with collection agency mackenzie hall at an agreed £10/month because she has been on job seekers since leaving university. Now she has found part-time work the agency are demanding £10/week as apparently the JSA folk had told them she was no longer claiming. I'm always sceptical about asking advice on such matters here as the company's always seem to be in the right but apart from going back to JSA until she finds a full time position (as the upped payments wouldn't make part-time worthwhile) is there any way to stop the increased repayments?

[cerberusalert]

Tell them to go forth and drop it to £5 per month... they can't dictate repayment terms only a court can & there is little chance of them going anywhere near one of those.

[cerberusalert]

apparently the JSA folk had told them she was no longer claiming.

Was this being paid directly from her benefits or was it a debt to DWP?

[silverfox1961]

Hi and welcome to CAG

 

Typical of Muck Hall. Trying to have their cake and eat it.

 

You are under NO obligation to up the payments to MH. You pay what you can afford.

Only a judge can demand you pay more.

If you are paying the £10 by Direct Debit, cancel it and make a different arrangement otherwise they might just dip into the account to take more.

[AllanB87]

Was this being paid directly from her benefits or was it a debt to DWP?

 

It was a debt for a computer purchased from Comet in 2008 who then passed it on this DCA in May of this year.

[cerberusalert]

in that case I find it strange that the DWP informed them that she'd stop claiming... they had no cause to & if they have they have breached the Data Protection Act.

[babybear39]

*uck Hall are on VERY dodgy ground claiming to have recieved such info from the DWP. Is this in writing? Please say it is, it will make my day

[AllanB87]

*uck Hall are on VERY dodgy ground claiming to have recieved such info from the DWP. Is this in writing? Please say it is, it will make my day

 

No they only want to communicate via phone it seems. So do I just advise her to cancel the DD (they have said they'll start debiting the new amount immediately), setup a standing order for an amount she can afford and just tell them if they want anymore they'll have to get a judge to decide an amount?

[cerberusalert]

Cancel any direct debit you have with them, if the have DD details they can take whatever amount they want whenever they like. She should notify her bank that under no circumstance are they to authorise any payment to MH.

 

Do not speak to these cretins on the 'phone, everything needs to be in writing. In that way you have documentary evidence of what's occured.

[babybear39]

Write a letter ASAP sent special delivery forbiding them to take ANY money. Get the bank to do as he^ says above.

[Bazooka Boo]

Muckyhall.....I dunno, delusions of grandeur, and acting above the law tsk tsk

 

If they have stated that they have got this information from the DWP then it is clearly extremely questionable, if not unlawful, I shall do a bit of digging but I don't believe that DCA's will have any access to LA or DWP systems so they have either drop themselves right in it OR more than likely lyeing.

 

Either way the obligatory complaints MUST be made to the OFT&TS via http://www.consumerdirect.gov.uk/contact

And I would tip off the ICO also regarding these idiots claim that they have been informed by the DWP.

http://www.ico.gov.uk/complaints.aspx

 

You MUST cancel that DD immediately, if you have online banking do it tonight.

Set up a standing order to pay £5 a month, as Cerberusalert said, they do not dictate what should be paid, they no longer wear the trousers, the consumers do.

Let them kick up whatever fuss they think will intimidate you, but remember they will be the ones left picking up their toys they threw out of the pram, not you.

IF Muckhall do take anymoney out of the account using the DD, then get the bank to refund this under the DD guarantee, and cancel it, set up a SO and tell the bank that under no circumstances are these fools allowed to take money from the account unless given express permission to do so.

[Bazooka Boo]

Wel well well, every day is a school day it seems!

 

http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/dwp-your-personal-information.pdf

 

The organisations we may give information to, or receive it from, include other government departments and their agencies, in particular Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC); local authorities; banks, building societies and other financial bodies; BBC TV licensing; credit reference agencies; utility providers; educational and academic bodies; the Learning and Skills Council; research organisations; health service providers; law enforcement agencies including the Police and the Serious Organised Crime Agency; the Assets Recovery Agency; and overseas social security organisations.

But this next link doesn't make it any clearer?

http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/information-sharing.pdf

Edited October 5, 2010 by Bazooka Boo
Typo

[cerberusalert]

No mention of bottom feeding parasites then?

[babybear39]

No. That's in the small print (the stuff that even with a hi tech telescope no one can see)...

[Bazooka Boo]

NO, no mention but! My take on it is that if the DWP informs CRA's of changes, quite why is anyones guess, then their paymaster being DCA's (allegedly) I guess it stands to reason that they would be tipped off, I might send DWP an email and ask the question directly...

[cerberusalert]

Not only does it beg the questions why would they go to the trouble of informing them & how would they know that there was a debt & who to? A credit file isn't marked when someone is in or out of employment.

 

The only reason I can see the DWP informing anyone is when they are making payments directly from benefits i.e arrears of utility bills etc.

[Bazooka Boo]

Yep, that was my first thought also, the only reason why they would need to inform CRA's is if there was a benefit overpayment dispute, think I'll ask them outright see what they say......if anything!

[sillygirl1]

This is possibly due to Experians big [problem], "Debtor credit alerts" basically every time you are credit checked the fact that this has been done alerts all their little mates who have paid for this specialist service.... they say it is a useful indicator of somebody about to breach other agreements (balls to that statement) or somebody about to commit fraud....

[cerberusalert]

Personally I wouldn't believe a word anyone from MH says, although it's easy enough to tell when they're lying... their lips move.

 

If the OP has applied for some form of credit i.e mobile 'phone contract etc it will have flagged up on their credit file and alerted the Ayrshire cowboys & they've probably put two & two together rather than the DWP informing them.

 

It will be some telephone jockey at MH pretending they are in a position of grandeur & have access to government data bases.

[frustrated york]

the dwp where your partner was claiming jsa are not allowed by law to give out this information.It is data protected. if they obtained this information as they say they did, it was obtained illegally.

Edited October 5, 2010 by frustrated york
more info to add

[Guest Cartaphilus]

Somethings' obviously not right here, perhaps some more information is required from the OP to clarify it. It's my understanding that to cease JSA a) the claimant has to physically stop claiming it eg 'sign off' or b) Jobcentre Plus has stopped it for reasons privvy to them ie, as already mentioned, a benefit overpayment. Or, even, 'administrative error'. Either way, there is something missing from all of this which needs looking into further.

 

Or, even, this:

 

It will be some telephone jockey at MH pretending they are in a position of grandeur & have access to government data bases.

Welcome to the 'murky' world of DCAs. As someone who used to work for the DWP, I know exactly how rigorous the PID (Personal ID) card checks were done. PIDs btw are the cards DWP employs are/were issued with in order to physically access the database, in fact you also have to sign the official secrets act in order to have one (or you used to at any rate; which I've actually signed twice one for the DWP and the other time not ... ). If you accessed someone's NINO (National Insurance Number) which you weren't authorised to eg assessing their claim or inputting the claim from the initial point of origin eg mail box as it came into the department, then in all likelihood it would be flagged by the internal databases security system and ... a spot check undetaken, which is basically an audit done on the spot whereby the inputter has to complete a form, ticking the boxes and explain why they are accessing that claim. It's also done randomly to prevent incorrect entries as well.

 

So, as someone already said, perhaps it's a case of someone at a DCA ... making big and bold statements. So, unless, DCAman has a PID, has access to the database then ... Which I doubt.

[babybear39]

Only a judge can order such information be supplied by DWP. End of...

 

You REALLY MUST report *uck 'all to East Ayshire TS and your own TS via consumer direct who will in turn forward the info. to the OFT as well

[Guest Cartaphilus]

Yes, as said, you do need to report this as I would guess it does come under ... harassment. What next, DCAs having us believe in Father Christmas next maybe?

[Guest Cartaphilus]

Oh, but also perhaps misrepresentation of themselves (if that's what has occured here) of a government department. Now, I won't be naive and ... merely say 'security is' perfect ... where data is concerned ... anyone whose worked for DWP could probably tell you a few things on that score but ... seriously ... report it ASAP. Because the next person who gets this, may not find their way here.

[cerberusalert]

... which I've actually signed twice one for the DWP and the other time not ... ).

The 'Spooks' will be carting you off to the Tower... you've just broken the OSA by saying that you've signed it.