NCO Europe KEEP calling!

[theomen78]

I've just had another of their wonderful cards through the door from a P. Edwards, who apparently is going to be calling Tuesday (tomorrow). What a surprise that is. I'll await his visit then.

 

I've just contacted the debt management company who are dealing with my debts about this matter as NCO are claiming they've had no contact from them. Funny how they've been rejecting the offers of repayment then isn't it? They're asking for 14 times more than they are being offered. I've been advised that the Student Loans company whom the debt is with are not in the habit of taking people to court, so I'll continue to ignore their phone calls.

 

I have just written a letter to NCO threatening to take legal action should they contact me again, however, unfortnately the debt management company have advised me that they are legally entitled to call me up to 3 times per day, and are also legally entitled to have at least 1 telephone number for me. Is this correct? I thought it was more like 3 times per week or month.

 

I might still send the letter however, as I'm also requesting they send me a log of all calls they've made to me. I'm considering maybe putting a line in there that if I don't receive this within 7 days Mr ?? will be calling at their address on Tuesday between 9am -9pm.

[ODC]

I've just had another of their wonderful cards through the door from a P. Edwards, who apparently is going to be calling Tuesday (tomorrow). What a surprise that is. I'll await his visit then. You and the hundreds of other people up and down the country that P Edwards has promised to visit today. Busy Man:rolleyes:

 

I've just contacted the debt management company who are dealing with my debts about this matter as NCO are claiming they've had no contact from them. Funny how they've been rejecting the offers of repayment then isn't it? They're asking for 14 times more than they are being offered. I've been advised that the Student Loans company whom the debt is with are not in the habit of taking people to court, so I'll continue to ignore their phone calls.

 

I have just written a letter to NCO threatening to take legal action should they contact me again, however, unfortnately the debt management company have advised me that they are legally entitled to call me up to 3 times per day, and are also legally entitled to have at least 1 telephone number for me. Is this correct? I thought it was more like 3 times per week or month. The law does not specify how many times a DCA can ring you. If you feel threatened or harrarsed or the calls cause you alarm then an offence has been committed. You have a right to demand that everything be in writing between you and the DCA for the avoidance of doubt

 

I might still send the letter however, as I'm also requesting they send me a log of all calls they've made to me. I'm considering maybe putting a line in there that if I don't receive this within 7 days Mr ?? will be calling at their address on Tuesday between 9am -9pm.

 

Let the DMP argue with NCO. Should they be foolish enough to go to Court then their refusal to negotiate will be taken into consideration by a judge.

[theomen78]

Thanks ODC. I'll probably leave it to them then. Just really annoying that they're always phoning me when I'm at work. Suppose I could just set my mobile to silent for calls from their number.

[ODC]

You could always send them the telephone harrasment letter or you may want to build up a case against them by following this excellent advice

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/debt-collectors-debt-collection/99376-telephone-harassment-action-plan.html

[noomill060]

You know, it would be REALLY REALLY useful to have a template Particulars of claim for damages under the Protection from Harassment Act.

 

Omen- out of interest (compounded @28.7%, of course ) have you had any £20 charges added to your debt by SLC?

 

You do realise that if you have, you can reclaim every penny of them, plus interest?

 

I did.

 

Peed on both NCO's and SLC's bonfires, I can tell you.

[noomill060]

"unfortnately the debt management company have advised me that they are legally entitled to call me up to 3 times per day, "

 

Really?

 

Write back to them and ask them to quote the statute which give them "legal entitlement" to ring you 3 times a day.

 

(There isnt any, they are lying to you)

 

There is, however, statute law which gives you a right to claim damages if you are harassed more than twice...

[noomill060]

Oh and by the way, you will be disappointed if you are expecting to meet P.Edwards.

 

Keep the card as evidence of harassment.

 

Write to SLC telling them you want a list of all charges debited to you account, telling them that you are disputing the total amount owed on the grounds that it contains unlawfully applied and thus unenforceable penalty charges. Also send NCO a request for a true copy of the original credit agreement under s.77 and the Consumer Credit Act.

 

(Look for the Consumer Credit Act thread on these forums and have a very good read of it, posting questions as to what it means. You will be pleasantly suprised.)

 

Then, when you have a list of charges, start a claim for a court order to remove all unlawful charges from the debt.

[theomen78]

ODC - thanks for the link. It seems to me that the fact they are lying as an excuse to call (ie. saying that they've had no contact or letter of authority from the debt management company, when they've actually been rejecting offers of repayment through them) says to me that they know they are in the wrong.

 

noomill060 - I've had loads of charges from Student Loans, and quite a few off the other companies I owe money to. The problem I've had claiming it back is the lack of funds to pay for the statements, and I also don't have a cheque book with my bank and so can't send them a cheque anyway. However, I'm nearing the end of a project that I'm doing in my spare time which will pay enough to pay towards the debts and also pay for all the statements, so I'll be claiming all the charges back shortly. Thanks for the advice.

[Movingon]

Pay for all the statements? You do know that a correctly phrased "Subject Access Request" will yield all your statement data from the year dot, for only ten pounds, don't you?

[theomen78]

StoneLaugter - unfortunately the debt management company are getting the majority of my disposable income at the moment, and with about 6 companies to write to its going to come to about £60.

 

I'm going to be writing to them after christmas though, and hopefully will get a lot more than the £60 back.

[ScarletPimpernel]

"unfortnately the debt management company have advised me that they are legally entitled to call me up to 3 times per day, "

 

Really?

 

Write back to them and ask them to quote the statute which give them "legal entitlement" to ring you 3 times a day.

 

(There isnt any, they are lying to you)

 

There is, however, statute law which gives you a right to claim damages if you are harassed more than twice...

 

 

I can confirm that asking DCAs to confirm which statute law they rely upon to tell you that they can legally ring x times/day is an excellent tactic. You will have to be persistent, however, as they will generally try to ignore the question. I always add a complaint about OFT guidelines and deceitful/misleading statements for good measure.

 

A common excuse is that 'it's an automated system' - this may be contravening OFCOM's regs, however.

[Raziel]

Hi everybody. This site is fantastic, loads of good advise. Well done!

 

I wondered if you'd mind me sharing my NCO Europe story as this company is clearly a joke! Apologies if I bore anyone in the process....

 

Anyway, here goes -

 

I was on the phone last week paying my monthly (agreed) payment of 50 quid the other day to Capital One and all was fine. Two days ago I got home and there was a (mailed) calling card posted through the door which stated -

 

"I will be calling between 9am and 9pm tomorrow, Tuesday 18th Dec."

Regards

P. Edwards NCO Europe Group

So, I rang the number and asked them who the hell they were and this chap called told me that they were dealing with a financial issue of mine. I said I don't have any issues thanks. He states that Capital One had decided to sell my debt on to NCO Europe and that "a representative would be calling tomorrow to collect the full balance of £6,000. Therefore you do have an issue, sir."

I told him I would get back to him as the first thing I wanted to do was contact Cap One. Which I did. I asked why they had gone back on their agreement of £50.00 a month, the chap on the phone told me that "the six month agreement is just a temporary solution and Capital One will often sell your debt to a collection agency, without notice."

So I called Sunny back and said I had confirmation from Cap One that his agency were now dealing with my payments and he said "ok, I just need to ask some questions."

After a few ordinary questions, he told me that I had to tell him my monthly income. I declined and also pointed out that I was happy to carry on paying £50 a month until my circumstances changed. He said he'd be happy to take the £50 a month but I first had to tell him how much I earned a month, because, and I quote -

"Look sir, if you get paid £1,000 a month, and your outgoings are £600, that means there is £400 that you should pay to us."

I told him very politely to join me in the real world for a moment and stated again that I would be able to give him £50 per month.

It doesn't make much difference at this point but I was planning, in the new year, to up my payments significantly that I was making to Cap One as I really don't want this debt hanging around (and 50 at quid a month it would of course take 10 years to clear) but now I don;t know what the hell is going on!

After he told me for the 20th time that he'd be happy to take 50 quid a month, once I told him how much I earned, I informed him that he was actually telling me he would not take £50 a month. This didn't go down well and he got shirty -

Chap - "Have I said once in this conversation said that I wouldn't take the £50 per month sir?"

Me - "Yes"

Chap - "Explain how sir."

Me - "You will not take the £50 pounds a month until I tell you how much I earn. I am not going to tell you how much I earn, therefore you will not accept the £50"

Chap - "............well, yes."

We went round like this for 10 minutes or so, at which point I was reading up about NCO Europe on this very forum. It turns out that they have no field staff, meaning the calling cards that they post through the door demanding full payments to a burley bailiff the next day, are fakes, no one will ever come to your door. This causes a great deal of worry but is apparently legal.

Even though I didn't raise this issue with the guy, I continued to refuse to tell him my income which sent him into a tutting frenzy and he then asked if I'd rather speak to his manager. I declined. I asked him to send me the documentation surrounding my account and was told that NCO do not send out letters. I told him that was rubbish. He said it wasn't rubbish at all. He asked me to post a letter containing a breakdown of my income and expenditure (this is great) but -

"This will need to be with us by Friday and due to the Xmas post, there is no guarantee that it will get here. Therefore, sir, I require a "token" payment from you today."

After laughing for a good 20 seconds, I told him that there was not a hope in hell that I was either posting him a letter or giving him a token payment.

He tutted again and told me in a very meek voice that he would be sending ME a letter explaining the status of my account (whatever that means) and put the phone down on me.

As you can imagine I was left extremely confused!

I'm not entirely sure which way forward is best in my current situation. I offered to continue the agreed payment that I had with Cap One but they refused it due to me not telling them my income, and this letter they are sending me, what's it going to contain?

I know I can find the answers to a number of my questions within the posts already on this forum I just thought my experience with them was valid enough to request a bit of advice.....

Thanks all.

R.

[bed32]

We went round like this for 10 minutes or so, at which point I was reading up about NCO Europe on this very forum. It turns out that they have no field staff, meaning the calling cards that they post through the door demanding full payments to a burley bailiff the next day, are fakes, no one will ever come to your door. This causes a great deal of worry but is apparently legal.

On the contrary - I think that that is almost certainly not legal - and will amount to harassment. As they have no field staff the only purpose of those cards is to cause anxiety - and that is harassment - contrary to the Administration of Justice act and the Protection from Harassment Act.

 

I recently had an issue with NCO (in my case over money I did not owe - it was an error by Orange). I firstly complained to Orange and then when it continued took court action against Orange - that worked, they agreed to "write off" the debt and paid costs and compensation.

[surprise]

Cap One don't hold enforceable agreements. To keep NCO quiet I would send them a CCA Letter with a £1.00 p./o recorded delivery. DO NOT SIGN LETTER. They have 12 working days + 2 to provide you with a copy of the signed agreement after which time they are in default and no monies need be paid, after a further 30 days they have committed a summary offence which you can report to TS, FOS, OFT and uncle tom cobbley and all.

 

The letter you need is Letter N in the General Debt templates letter.

 

I've already gone down this route with them and finished up complaining to Lancashire Trading Standards. NCO handed the debt back to the original creditor. Heard nothing further from NCO. It will also put you in a stronger negotiating position should you wish to pay it off.

[ncf355]

Raz,

 

best option here is to send a section 78 request for a copy of the original credit agreement (I would be inclined to send one to both Cap One and NCO)

 

If the agreement is up to the standard I (and most people on here) have received you will more than likely be in a position to take action against them

 

If I can be of further assistance feel free to PM me

[Raziel]

The calling cards are definately false representation in my opinion.

[ScarletPimpernel]

Standard advice is never to speak to these creatures on the phone. It can be amusing, but talking to morons eventually becomes tiresome.

 

NCO do write letters, in my experience - if you make a formal complaint. Just don't expect any sort of sensible response - I have one handwritten comp slip from them which looked as if the writer would have been more comfortable with a crayon.

[Raziel]

Thanks to all for the (incredibly prompt!) advice!

[Fred333]

I was very surprised with the great advice this thread held. Very informative.

[Conniff]

Oh and by the way, you will be disappointed if you are expecting to meet P.Edwards.

 

What happened to 'P.Brown', did he wear his little legs out running all over the country?

[ODC]

First NEVER talk to these "people" on the phone as they will try and get you to agree to anything.

 

Before you even think about making any sort of acknowledgement or payment to a DCA you MUST ensure that they have the LEGAL right to collect the debt.

This is achieved by requesting a copy of the Signed, Executed Credit Agreement via a Consumer Credit Act (CCA) request.

There is a template letter to be found here: Creditors and DCAs - Letter Templates & Budget Planner

Letter N.

Is it important to start the letter:

I DO NOT ACKNOWLEDGE ANY DEBT TO YOUR COMPANY in Big Bold letters.

 

It is best to send this request via recorded/special delivery as there are some inportant deadlines to observe.

 

After 12 WORKING days the "debt" is in default and stays that way until the request is complied with.

If a FURTHER month passes then the DCA has committed a summary criminal offence and the matter should be referred to Trading Standards for action once the DCA continues to demand payment.

[noomill060]

I believe NCO use different pretend names on their postcard threat-o-grams for different perposes and different clients at different stages in their harassment campaigns.

 

I've seen:

 

P.Brown used for Paypal

 

P.Green used for Student Loans

 

P.Edwards used for Cap One

 

Any more for any more?

[ODC]

Wonder who P. Rick works for

[Raziel]

Still no sign of the "letter describing the status of my account" that they said they'd be sending me. Will be sending my section 78 letter shortly!

[noomill060]

Send it ASAP