Reliable collections. & Premierman

[oldgirl]

I've had really good advice from this forum in the past and I'm hoping that someone can help me again. I have an account with Premierman which i was managing ok until i had to leave work I now have only my state pension. I have received 4 letters from Reliable Collections pressurising me for payment in one letter then offering to help in the next, I have not contacted them as I don't trust them, I was going to offer reduced payments but each time I get a statement they have added more costs and it seems a waste of time.

Have had this account with them since about 2003 and never missed but of course they want their money and I'm getting really stressed now, hubby is till working (hours recently cut) but retires soon, can they make him pay my debts, I hope not. We have rent, council tax, water etc to pay every month which are priority, i feel really guilty for not paying but what can i do, any advice please.

[firstship]

Hi.As you are aware,this is not a priority debt,and your husband cannot be forced to be responsible for your debt.

 

Write to your creditor(premierman) explain your situation and offer to pay what you can Honestly Afford even £1,advise Reliable Collections you are paying Premierman £X.

 

Read Sequencis Blog (Non Priority Debts) you will find it very helpful

 

regards FS

[oldgirl]

Thank you firstship for your advice which I have taken, having frequent phone calls from Reliable Collections but am ignoring them.

[firstship]

Hope their response is favourable first time,should be.

 

Put a BLOCK on Reliables telephone number and send them the Harassment Letter which is in the site library template letters.

 

Regards FS

[oldgirl]

They are pursuing me about 4 missed payments with Premierman catalogue, following some very good advice on here i wrote to Premierman and explained my situation making an offer of payment at the same time (not even had the courtesy of a reply). I then wrote to Reliable Collections informing them of my offer to PM and that I would be making payments directly to my account and not to them. I also told them not to ring me anymore as I would not be speaking to any of their call centre staff.

 

I've started making my payments but RC are still ringing me every day at least 5 times, today they have rung me every hour since 9.05 this morning, actually I had two calls in one hour and now it's really starting to get to me i am so angry with them what the hell is the matter with them, what sort of people do a job like this making people's lives a misery. I have no wish to speak to them because I know I'd lose it and end up making a fool of myself, my offer is the most I can afford as like a lot of folk things are really tight at the moment.

 

Please help, even just a friendly word cos I'm at the end of my tether here.

[dx100uk]

i'll be a machine anyhow.

 

pers i'd not worry about them, why get stressed?

 

pay what you can when you can.

 

it YOUR money - take control.

 

dx

[PGH7447]

make a note of the times and the next time the ring tell them that the next call generates an automatic report ot ofcom and the oft

[wackyone]

you could do what i did with sharkleycard.

i had had a ****e day at work so needed to vent and they just happened to call me so i answered their questions and before the monkey could even speak i told him straight no more phone calls to my number, the account is in dispute, even got him to give me his name as well( got a feeling he was just watching corrie though as it the same as a character on it) told him i considered the calls to be harrasment and if they continued i would be involving the police, informed him that harrasment was a criminal offence and i would be holding him personally responsible for for any future calls even if not made by him, he then tried to get me to tell him why it was in dispute so i told him to bog off and put the phone down. made me feel a lot better and have not had any more calls from them since.

[oldgirl]

Thanks everyone for your response, it's nice to know that i can come on here and people understand and don't judge.

[ims21]

Hi oldgirl

 

You can send RC this

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/content.php?493-Harassment-by-telephone-response-letter

 

Remember, they have no more powers than I do so forget them....they can do nothing to you.

 

Continue to pay the Original Creditor an amount you can afford...no more...even if that is only £1. This is not priority debt.

 

hope this helps

 

ims

[ashmk]

You can start making their phone calls a waste of their time and money.

 

When they call ask them to hold and leave them there. They will soon learn they are wasting their time and money.

[rhos123]

hi, oldgirl dont let these **** dca get to you next time they phone you, tell them sorry you have got the wrong number, however i do know a mr/ mrs xxx and thier number is xxxxxxx (local takeaway) worked for me many times, not received a phonecall from the dcas in a long time now:-D

[oldgirl]

Thanks again everyone rhos123 you made me laugh, have received 13 calls from them today still I suppose I'm helping to keep someone in a job.

[Tootles1971]

Keep a note of all the calls and put in a complaint to the oft......13 calls in one day is more than unreasonable in my book!

[oldgirl]

Thanks Tootles, yes I agree 13 calls in one day is taking the proverbial, the calls increased as soon as i'd written and asked them to stop calling me, they seem to think that they are above the law. This site though is a treasure trove of very helpful people and information, companies such as Reliable Collections (not the name I call them privately) should realise that with sites such as this we consumers now have all the information they hoped we'd never have access to. Well off for a brew now and to see what today brings, thanks all for your input

[paulh1818]

I went through this with unreliable collections myself. They used to call my mobile, I'd ask them to hold then pop my phone in the tea-towel draw. They used to hold a surprisingly long time which must have cost them a bit. They eventually started calling from an 0800 number! Not worth getting stressed about but unreliable are very annoying. They will get the message and stop eventually.

[oldgirl]

Good idea Paul, my calls are mostly from an 0800 number with a couple of 0161 thrown in to try and fool me, the tea towel drawer is a top idea thanks.

[Tootles1971]

As you are now paying an agreed amount to the OC, write to Premierman and tell them that you are still being harrassed by these hounds in spite of requests to cease contacting you. Inform them that you are reporting this to the appropriate authorities, and ask them for their complaints procedure and tell them in no uncertain terms that if the hounding does not stop then they will also be reported to the OFT for unfair practice.

 

Sarah

[paulh1818]

The most calls I got from them in a day was 11 so you have beaten my high score. Seriously though take Tootles advice above and get that letter off to premierman. It will at least give you something to do while your phone is 'occupied'.

[oldgirl]

Hi Tootles, I wrote to Premierman 2 weeks ago making an offer of payment but received no reply, since writing to them I have paid £40 off my arrears which now stand at £100 and will try and pay more this week, if we have anything left after council tax and gas & electric bill as these are our priority. I informed RC of my offer and told them that I would be paying it direct to my account and not to them, at the same time I told them to stop ringing and that I had no intentions of having a conversation with them. Since sending this letter calls from them have increased, are they thick or just being deliberately obstructive, i think both apply actually do they think that by speaking to me they'll get more out of me?

[Tootles1971]

do they think that by speaking to me they'll get more out of me?

 

Yes......all they want is to get as much money out of you as possible, whether you owe it or not, whether you can afford to or not. They have no scruples or compassion. This is why the rule is not to talk to these "people" on the 'phone. They will twist it round and round until you don't know whether you're sitting on your backside or your elbow!

 

Complaints all round I feel. While you're on a roll, write to premierman stating that you are going to be making a complaint and request their complaints policy.