ADVICE NEEDED - Opos , harrassment & possibly breaking DPA

[crow-v]

I am looking for some advice as ive been rooting aorund on the internet for a similar situations and cant seem to find anything...

 

About a month ago my mum rang me to say she had received a call on her landline number from someone called 'Paul' looking to speak to miss ** ** (me).

My mum promptly informed him that i did not live there (I have not lived there for 11 years!!) and asked what it was in connection with. He told her he was calling from The University of Edinburgh about unpaid tuition fees. My mum said again she doesnt live here (he then called her a liar!) - she gave him my mobile number and he hung up.

 

I subsequently had a missed call from a glasgow number and a voicemail from 'Mr Paul'. I thought it was strange he said he was calling from Edinburgh University and it was a Glasgow number he was calling from? Anyway i ran the number back, out of hours and discovered it was a company called Opos Limited.

 

After some digging around i discovered they were a debt collection company NOT Edinburgh University. I am curious as to how they obtained my mums home number (which is x directory) and also i believe they have broken the Data Protection Act by disclosing to my mum that it was to do with University Fees??

 

I left Edinburgh University in 2006, and all my fees were paid for the time i was there. I am worried these are fees for my 3rd year (which i didnt actually matriculate for, i left) ..... and this is the first ive ever heard of the debt. Is it still recoverable??

 

Also - Since then they have been calling my mums house 3-4 times a day. She is now ignoring the calls and constantly asking me to do something about it. Its verging on harrassment.

 

A letter also turned up at my mums house last week. Addressed to me with my mums address and a totally different postcode (which was for an old flat i lived in and NOT my mums address) The letter is basically a threatening letter asking me to pay the lot or they will be referring it to the county/sheriff court.

 

Im not sure what to do???

 

1. - I dont actually believe i owe this debt? I have no paperwork to say i do, and it was years ago?

2 - I want them to stop harrassing my mum, i havent lived there for 11 years.

3. - Have they broken data protection by discussing the debt with a third party (my mum?)

 

Any advice would be appreciated??

[Conniff]

Welcome crow v.

 

If your mum is continuing to be pestered, she should make a log of all the calls, if possible, and they are using that sort of language, which isn't unusual, suggest that she gets a telephone recorder so any further instances of that type of attitude and language is recorded and can be sent to the authorities. She does not have to inform them she is recording the call.

 

You have 2 choices, either ignore them or send them a tenner with a subject access request which will get you everything on them.

 

Have you checked your credit file??

 

If you search 'opus debt collection problem' you will be greated with a million such complaint as your about their attitude and language, don't put up with it, record them, report them, upload it to YouTube, tell the whole world.

Edited January 31, 2012 by Conniff

[seriously fed up]

the other thing to remember is that if you were matriculating in 2006 it would be September 2006. This would be when the debt was incurred. Given what you say its not so much that you didnt acknowledge it, as didnt know about since for your own reasons you never went back for year 3. So the Scottish limitation of five years would apply here, so the debt might be statute barred since last September (2011).

The other thing you might do, in addition to what Conniff has suggested, is you might think about going back to the University. Universities arent always all that great administratively (too busy thinking great thoughts) and a charge has gone on to your account because I assume they expected you to matriculate buyt of course shouldnt have because you didnt. Might be worth asking the question of them

[Conniff]

I forgot about it being 5 years in Scotland, (thanks sfu). All you need to do is find the exact date of the last payments or acknowledgement (prob bank statements) and if more than 5 years, you can ignore or send them the statute barred letter.