Cant cope with harrassment much more

[jaxmummy]

Before he met me my husband lived with a girl and ended up in financial difficulty. To cut a long story short it went to court and he was ordered to pay £80 per month.

 

Fast forward to today and Intrum Justicia ! in the past 6 months alone they have had another income and outcome summary, they refused to take payment without a copy of a court order, i paid for that and sent it. Every month since they have said that they need another income ond outcome, they have asked him to pay more, they say he has never had a court order and want more money a month. Today i rang and they have point blank refused payment ( i pay over phone via card) wont give us an email address, wont let us speak to manager, and wont take any payement until we increase what we pay.

 

Im a student and my hubby earns that little we get free prescriptions and dental THATS how little we have

 

I dont know what to do im fed up of crying, im scared to answer the phone, i live in fear that they will turn up at the house

 

Please help

[harrassed senior]

Hi and Welcome, first of all try not to be at all concerned, easy for me to say, but I and most others on CAG have all 'been there'.

 

The first thing I will advise is to stop all contact on the telephone, you have already found out what happens when you, 'phone they try and tie you in knots. If they phone telll them in writing only.

 

Now, you say that there is a Court Order in place, so I assume you mean a CCJ, if this is correct, when was this obtained, by whom, (original creditor) and what payments were ordered.

 

Once we have that information we can go further.

 

Another piece of advice, an Income and Expenditure calculation is a personal and private thing, and as such they are not entitled to see it, the only person who can insist is a Judge.

 

There are template letters than we can advise sending once we have more information about the CCJ etc.

 

Do not let these **** take over your life/lives if you are on benefits it is most likely a Judge would order a payment of £1 per month, so, in time we will get you to send an offer letter to that effect, and they can take it or leave it! A judge would not be best pleased with them if they then tried to take it to Court, and would most probably rule it a waste of the Courts time.

[jaxmummy]

Thanks for your reply it was about 8 years ago and was originally owed to Royal bank of scotland. What annoys me is he has never missed a payment.

He does work but im training at uni

[harrassed senior]

Can you give more information on the CCJ or Court Order please.

[jaxmummy]

What information do you want to know

[harrassed senior]

The date of the Judgement, who was the Claimant, and what was the amount ordered to be repaid, and by what method, ie in a lump sum or installments. Who was he ordered to repay to, and did he make all his repayments to them?

[jaxmummy]

The date of the Judgement, who was the Claimant, and what was the amount ordered to be repaid, and by what method, ie in a lump sum or installments. Who was he ordered to repay to, and did he make all his repayments to them?

 

Date Feb 2004

claiment - Royal Bank of scotland

amount - £21666.04

method - installments of £80

Made all payments to Bank of scotland -then went to credit management at royal bank and then we received a letter a while back (cant remember when )saying they were taking over - it seems that Intrum Justice bought the loan and didnt know it was a ccj from what we can gather

[BankFodder]

I haven't read through this entire thread, but I did notice that they are refusing to take payments. Let me tell you that they are not entitled to refuse payments and this is been made clear by the OFT. If they are refusing to take payments then you should make a note of everything and also complain to the OFT.

 

If you have a look at the OFT website you will see somewhere that this rule is clearly stated. I'm sorry I don't have the links at present and I don't have time to find for you.

[jaxmummy]

Thank you Bankfodder x

[harrassed senior]

http://www.oft.gov.uk/

 

Have a read as suggested, and then draft a letter to include the relevant parts from the Guidelines. Further, I would inform them that until they can show you a legal assignment from Royal Bank of Scotland allowing payments to be made to them, no payments will be forthcoming.

[ScarletPimpernel]

If this is a CCJ, then an assignment doesn't matter - to whom payments are to be made is ordered by the court, and can only be changed by the court. If RBS want to pass the money on to IJ, that is a matter for them. IJ have no business asking for anything at all unless and until they can produce a variation authorised by the court.

[debbbbsy]

He needs to establish if RBS/ CMS have terminated this account & sold it on. It may also be time, to get the statements, see how much is still owed. After 8 years, the CCJ will have dropped off.....might be a good time to establish what has been going on, and use any procedural errors to an advantage, and resolve this.

 

Send a Subject Access Request to RBS

 

Joyce E Tudor

Retail Regulatory Risk

Business House B

PO Box 1000

Edinburgh

EH12 1HQ

 

Enclose your £10.

 

But also, copy CMS on this request ( you don't need to pay again). attach a letter requesting that they comply by providing all data that they hold regarding this account, inparticular a copy of your "Diary Event History". This is an internal log of all internal & external actions regarding this account.

 

The Recovery Manager

Customer Management Services

Kendal Court

Ironmasters Way

Telford TF3 4DT

[hillards]

All good advice, as always.

 

If RBS have not informed the court that they have sold the debt then it is possible that there is no legal requirement to pay Intrum Justicia as it's not a simple matter of assigning the debt, as they can do with old accounts. This is subject to a court order and you say that payments have never been missed, which is totally in your husband's favour. But, as it is a court order, it's not wise to stop paying - just make sure you have a record of payment on bank statements or whatever.

 

RBS should have applied to the court for a variation of the order to change the details of who the payments should be sent to. It would be interesting to find out if they bothered to do that. Intrum Justicia will issue many threats and demands, they are not entitled to demand increased payments or ask for income details. Only the court can do that.

 

As others have said, do not speak to them by phone as you have no record of who said what and when, they could easily put notes on their system that you agreed to treble payment or something on those lines and you will find it difficult to say otherwise if they then send demanding letters with that 'fact'. If everything is in writing then there can be no dispute.

 

It is also possible for your husband to apply to the court for a variation of the order if he is having difficulty in making such high payments. A court judge can be very understanding, but that's where you need proof of income, benefits and outgoings. He/she will look at the facts and make a considered judgement. No matter what the other side say, that is then the amount that would need to be paid - not what some debt collection company demand.

 

It may also be worthwhile making a formal complaint to the OFT, the link is in a message before this. Tell them what Intrum Justicia have been saying to you, and point out that a CCJ exists. The OFT will reply to say they cannot deal with individual cases, but they may take on such clear maladministration of an account and contact Intrum Justicia on your behalf. Consumer Direct is another useful one, as they report back to the OFT and can pass cases on to Trading Standards.

 

As and when the SAR comes back, details just about everything, check carefully to see if any additional costs and/or interest have been added since the CCJ. Debt Collection Agencies love to add bogus fees and extra interest that they are simply not entitled to, but many people simply accept and pay - because they've not found CAG!

 

Unless a variation of order was made, the payments should continue to be made to RBS, not Intrum Justicia. They have no right to a penny without the court saying so. I'm not sure how you would go about asking the court about this, as they would have the correct information. No use asking Intrum Justicia as they'll just keep making demands. I live close to my local court so, if it were me, I would pop in with paperwork to show that it was my case (your husband may need to be there, as it's his order) and ask them if I should perhaps pay through the court until it can be determined what has happened. That prevents any breach of the court order at least.

 

It may be that Intrum Justicia would have to pay back whatever has been paid to them if they were not entitled to it. RBS could do with a good slapping for messing you about on this if they've not handled it properly.

 

Don't be afraid of the court. This matter has already gone past the stage of a court order being made, years ago, and they can be most helpful in sorting out who you need to pay and perhaps assist in making an application for a variation to reduce the payments. If you are on certain benefits you may not have to pay for a court hearing. They can advise you on that as well.

 

I don't think I'm knowledgeable enough to devise a suitable letter to send, but I would be on to Intrum Justicia to inform them, quite clearly, that the matter is in dispute and request that they provide proof, by way of a variation of the court order, that they are entitled to collect on the account. If the court are willing to accept payment through them then you are meeting your obligations under the court order and that's what really matters.

 

What can Intrum Justicia do anyway? Take you to court...? That's when they would really get their wrists slapped. Don't put up with their harassment, never speak to them on the phone, if they do call you simply refuse to answer 'security' questions - the Data Protection Act is to protect your data, it is not a tool for a tool at a DCA to make demands for information. If they get to be a pain, bar their number if you can (BT offer a service where you can do that).

[skintandfat]

Before he met me my husband lived with a girl and ended up in financial difficulty. To cut a long story short it went to court and he was ordered to pay £80 per month.

 

Fast forward to today and Intrum Justicia ! in the past 6 months alone they have had another income and outcome summary, they refused to take payment without a copy of a court order, i paid for that and sent it. Every month since they have said that they need another income ond outcome, they have asked him to pay more, they say he has never had a court order and want more money a month. Today i rang and they have point blank refused payment ( i pay over phone via card) wont give us an email address, wont let us speak to manager, and wont take any payement until we increase what we pay.

 

Im a student and my hubby earns that little we get free prescriptions and dental THATS how little we have

 

I dont know what to do im fed up of crying, im scared to answer the phone, i live in fear that they will turn up at the house

 

Please help

 

A couple of things spring to mind

 

The amount owing isn't low.

As you have stated you can't afford to pay it off.

 

There are other options;

You could continue as you are (£80 pm to RBS)

If you don't own your house (or your house is in negative equity) you could go for a LILA sequestration

This would wipe out ALL your debt and clear you after a year.

 

Please note this is a very serious option. Please seek advice from one of the free debt help lines.

 

Use Consumers Advice, or CCCS, or your local council option

 

Please remember there are options, your family come first and take no crap- they are taking advantage of your lack on knowlege

[skintandfat]

Another point

If you rent your house the LILA may be an option with less risk

[dx100uk]

b4 u do anything

get a sar from rbs

 

dx

[hillards]

you could go for a LILA sequestration

Isn't a LILA just for Scotland?

Edited March 9, 2011 by hillards
quoted wrong bit...tired...

[skintandfat]

Isn't a LILA just for Scotland?

 

It is, I assumed the OP lived in Scotland. Apologies if she does not

 

The BR route is an option, I considered it at the and of 2010, but realised it would make running my joinery business hard

 

the only saving grace is the wholesalers know me locally and have told me that they can override credit decisions based on my previous history

[coledog]

IJ are a pain, they harassed me for years. You must take control of this and never speak to them on the phone, say 'in writing only' and hang up. Change your number if possible. Actually, they should not be speaking to you if it is your husband's debt

 

Write to them and complain about the harassment and that you are refering the matter to OFT. Tell them you will not speak to them on the phone

 

Tell them that all future payments will be made by Standing Order only and ask them to supply their bank details for you to set this up and that payment amounts can only be varied by the County Court. You will not be supplying I and E details.

 

It also strikes me that IJ should be sending you regular statements of everything paid so ask for this and also clarification as to the actual owner of this debt. You should have received a Notice of assignment with details of who actually owns this.

 

send all letters by recorded delivery and keep copies of everything

 

If a CCJ has been bought the court needs to have been informed about this so ask if this has been done.

 

Also IJ cannot add interest to this

 

You can add elements of this letter to yours to cover the harassment

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk...esponse-letter

Edited March 9, 2011 by coledog

[coledog]

Some useful advice on applying for a variation order through the courts, if your husband is on a low income you may not have to pay to have this heard. I am assuming you are NOT in scotland, if you are there is a different set of legislation and you would need to look at National Debtline for Scotland.

 

If the CCJ was granted in a court not near you, you can ask if this can be transferred to a local one

 

http://www.nationaldebtline.co.uk/england_wales/factsheet.php?page=08_reducing_payments_or_suspending_a_bailiffs_warrant_on_a_county_court_judgment

[coledog]

This is a good SAR letter to send to RBS, you will need a £10 postal order and possibly Id if your address has changed. Sign in the special box. Send record

General SAR template.doc

[jaxmummy]

Thank you so much for all your help

[coledog]

No problem, you have to keep at them it is hard but worth it

[count orlok]

Way back in the olden days when the country was run by a lady that made roofs, the RBS got a CCJ against me for several thousend pounds. I was ordered by the court to pay £15 a month. I used to send them a PO every month on apayment book, later on I wrote back to the court and got this reduced to £5 as I was having difficulties. I was working at that time. Later on when I had to stop work due to health reasons I lost the payment book and couldn't remember who to send the money to (they kept giving me different addresses/DCAs to pay). I've not heard anything for many years.

 

I would definatly write to the court and get your payments reduced. If you qualify for free scripts, NHS dental, etc. you can't afford more than a £1 a month, and that would be all the court would order you to pay.

 

Again the greed of a DCA has forced someone to find out their rights and now they'll get a lot less. They never learn do they.

[coledog]

Would suggest that you try and get to the bottom of this, find out who actually owns it and what right they have to collect it. Also contact the court about a variation order to get the payments reduced, if you have a low income this should not cost you anything.