MDB collection agency ( are they real ?) please advise

[welsh1lad]

Hello group , Please excuse the newbie , iam not up on the finance lingo , and had never herd of this company till to day when i to recieved a letter demanding money . please see link Link was removed due to the fact this is my 1st post --- but it looked like the same letter everyone has recieved. I logged on to equifax and there is no mention of the company or the vender that they mention or the amount of monies that was printed. I have not communicated at all so far wth company , except for emailing the OFT , and mentioing that there letter holds many inconsistancies, as to who they are. what is worring is the idea of some one at my door demanding money . Do i continue to not contact this company or what is the best course of action . If i do contact them , that has then confirmed to them that i have recieved said letter. I have read the posts , and not read as yet a good out come . or people are still waiting to here back . Any advice would be great full

[silverfox1961]

Hi and welcome,

 

If the letter was vague about what the debt is then I would wait for another to turn up.

This may be a phishing letter looking for someone with the same name as you but unless you say whether you have any debts, it's hard to advise further.

 

fox

[welsh1lad]

Hi Fox ,

 

Yea i do have debts , that why i checked my credit report but it showed everything bar what they where stateing on the letter. They stated that there Vender is Santandar , looked this up and is part of the Abbey group . Now i did once have and account with them back in the 90's .

I have no idea what this is for though. If it was for a lager amount i may of been less supicious , but its only for £300 odd .

I think what i need to know is how serious is this letter ? Going by the other threads dealings with this agency they are less than reputable .

 

But i dont want people turning up on my door step niether.

[silverfox1961]

Well don't deal with this by phone.

Have a look here:

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/content.php?609-Can-t-find-the-letter-you-want-Look-here

 

Check out the "prove it" letter first.

 

As you haven't had contact for such a long time, I would hope this debt is Statute Barred (so long as you haven't made any payments in the last 5-6 years)

 

Send all letters recorded delivery and don't sign anything-just print your name

[welsh1lad]

Thanks for that link , if i Write to them though i'am not confirming who i'am . ? should i wait for further letters as stated above 1st . ?

[welsh1lad]

Also there is no trace of it on my credit account , if i had defaulted on anything it should be shown there . Especialy if was a bank like abbey i would of thought.

[silverfox1961]

Sorry for the late reply. Been away.

 

As you don't know if this is your debt or not, you would want to be sure before you take any other action.

 

As it's not on your credit file, I would be inclined to think this debt (if it is yours) is Statute Barred so the prove it letter is the first route and when(if) they come back with something substantial then we can help accordingly.

 

If the letter is not in your name-wait till something turns up with your name on it.

[welsh1lad]

Recieved a Email back from the OFT , as regards to the inconsistancies (Spelling is dreadfull sorry) of the Letter that I recieved from MDB as regards to address adn Such and had the following reply.

 

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Consumer Credit Act 1974 (the Act)

 

Complaint Against: Mercantile Data Bureau Limited t/a MDB & Hillesden Securities

Limited t/a DLC

 

Licence No: 545676 & 10005

Thank you for your email and attached documentation received on 12 November 2010.

I am very sorry to hear about the difficulties you have been experiencing with the

above mentioned traders however, the OFT has no authority to become involved in

disputes between consumers and traders, so we cannot offer you any direct help with

the complaint or advise you directly in this matter. Our role is to protect the

collective interests of consumers.

I enclose a list of organisations which can offer you help and advice. For

specialist, face-to-face assistance, or intervention, you may wish to seek legal

advice either through a local Citizens' Advice Bureau. The Financial Ombudsman

Service can help with most complaints about consumer credit products and services if

the consumer has failed to satisfactorily resolve the matter directly with the

consumer credit licensee itself.

I can confirm that the businesses you mention hold consumer credit licences. Under

the Consumer Credit Act, holders of consumer credit licences must be fit and

competent to do so and the OFT has a duty to monitor the fitness and conduct of all

traders who hold such a licence.

 

The OFT has issued guidance to consumer credit licence holders engaged in the debt

collection industry. The guidance is intended to ensure that debt collectors treat

individuals fairly. Non-compliance with this guidance will call into question the

fitness of licence holders and applicants. You can view our guidance at:

(Web-address with held on forum)

 

I also note in your email that you would like to complain about some credit

reference agencies. Without further details to identify these traders the OFT is

unable to consider your complaint for further action under the Act.

 

I would therefore be grateful if you could provide further details about the

agencies, giving specific details of any telephone conversations you may have had

with them. It would also be helpful if you could include copies of any documents you

have sent and received in relation to this matter.

 

We have therefore noted the details of your complaint, and we will consider this

alongside any other complaints we have received with a view to any consumer credit

licensing or other action we may decide to take. If we do take any action against

these traders, it is likely that we would need to disclose your identity to these

traders along with details of your complaint. I should therefore be grateful if you

could sign the enclosed consent form and return it to me. Unfortunately, we cannot

disclose any details about any action we may take, due to legal restrictions on the

OFT relating to disclosure of information.

 

Thank you again for writing to us and bringing this matter to our attention.

 

Yours sincerely

 

Olushola Egbowon

 

Enquiries and Reporting Centre

 

Office of Fair Trading

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