Daniel Silverman demanding that I pay £2437.50

[tm.atkinson]

I am so frustrated at the moment, I have just got out of debt and living a new life, when after 5 years of nothing from Skills Train or CDF for that matter, I get a letter from CDF telling me that they are about to initiate Daniels Silverman regarding an outstanding debt of £1875, 2 days later I get a letter from Daniel Silverman demanding that I pay £2437.50 .

I remember speaking to them some months after i signed up for the course, and like many others, weren't able to commit enough time for it, particularly being duped by the glossy brochures and and in particular the suave salmean who had turned up with a phillipino woman which he said was his wife:|! I had asked to see if I could cancel the course, as it was outside of the 21 day cooling off period I'm stuck with it. After several calls to the Credit Information Bureau (appointed collectors in 2007), they put the situation on hold, it was then that Skills Train had decided that I could cancel provided I put up a small fee, which I did to my reluctance, and that they would in turn contact CDF to

cancel the agreement. There you have it, I heard no more until 28/03/2012 from CDF! and then from Daniels Silverman:mad2: So yes in a nutshell I am breathing fire, I have no letters, finance agreements, nothing as this was all water under the bridge until now, that I have correspondance and e-mails that I have sent to those concerned.

 

Can somebody help me, I know I'm not alone on this one;

I'm not sure if my approach is a little on the assertive / aggressive side, however would like to know wether I'm dealing with this as one should.

 

1.) I have looked on this forum and pieced together some info on this unscrupulous company, so that I can put together an argument, and will also visit the consumer advice service website, to gather some info for future use

 

2.) I have sent a response letter to CDF's demands and indeed that of Daniel Silvermans, I can send and e-mail to anyone out there prepared to scrutinise it and offer me some guidance.

 

3.) So far my communicatoins have been via e-mail, is this ok? I have asked for read receipt requests, although I got a reply from Daniels Silverman, they never sent the read request back to me?

 

I'm no legal boffin, but wonder if this will help, if anyone could give me any pointers then I would be extremely grateful:-D!

[GEEJAY]

it was then that Skills Train had decided that I could cancel provided I put up a small fee, which I did to my reluctance, and that they would in turn contact CDF to cancel the agreement.

 

Do you have this discussion and transaction in writing?

You should at least have some record of this payment from you bank or credit card company.

At the very least send them a record of this transaction and point out that the reason it was made was to process cancellation of the agreement.

[tm.atkinson]

Do you have this discussion and transaction in writing?

You should at least have some record of this payment from you bank or credit card company.

At the very least send them a record of this transaction and point out that the reason it was made was to process cancellation of the agreement.

 

Thanks, I'll look back at my transactions. It does seem odd that it's taken all this time. Perhaps they thought that time itself would suggest that as proof would be difficult to obtain, that I would simply pay a debt that I am not liable for, Daniels Silverman should be chasing Skills Train and not me.

[MARTIN3030]

Daniels Silverman always add more on and then after a couple of letters they usually offer "a discount " if paid quickly.

emails are ok but far better in writing and keeping a copy.

[ScarletPimpernel]

Daniels Silverman always add some on, in contravention of OFT Guidance, and then use it as a negotiating tool. Speaking of tools, Daniels Silverman are very much second-rate, and not too hard to deal with.

 

I suspect the reason that they've popped up now is that the debt is getting toward becoming statute-barred.

[tm.atkinson]

Hi, Sorry for not updating this post sooner, thanks for your replies guys. I've been so busy writing letters and e-mails it's difficult where to start.

 

Geejay, thanks for your response, I've since read so many of your posts, re. getting your money back from skills train etc and found quite a lot of useful information. I haven't been able to find any original documentation as evidence and cannot find the transaction, although I can Identify that CDF have received £825.00 to date. I sent CDF and Skillstrain a letter with reference to Mis-selling and that theres no justification in their endorsement claims, I also mentioned their shabby service, that the saleman wasn't honest that it wasn't depicted to me openly and honestly, and wouldn't otherwise had signed up if i had known. I am now waiting for their response, I have given them 2 weeks to respond, I will send another letter outlining my intentions should I not receive a response in another 2 weeks. I will then refer this to the FOS, once 4 weeks have passed.

I'm not sure what else to do other than wait for their response, even though they are saying that they have no evidence that i wanted to cancel, i'm sure they're hiding behind their 21 day policy, and 'no recorded letter, no evidence' attitude.

 

ScarletPimpernel, I received a reply from Daniels Silverman who were trying to act in CDF's best interest by replying on their behalf, I sent one back stating that my dispute is with CDF and Skills Train, since then I have forwarded copies of correspondance to Daniels Silverman, and now they've repssnded by saying that they have passed the account back to CDF.

 

I hope that I'm able to get this resolved, I've heard so many neagtive responses so far and can only say Geejay, I hope the outcome is the same as yours. I heard about the Statute of Limitation Law when I contacted consumer direct last week, so now understand why they're chasing me. I enroled on the course in June 2006, so hope time isn't running out for me either.

 

I look forward to hearing you responses, and would very much appreciate your help in getting a positive outcome.

 

If it helps i can mail out letters i have alreday sent for close inspection and scrutiny.

Edited April 24, 2012 by tm.atkinson

[tm.atkinson]

Surly it goes against OFT regs to increase balance only to negotiate down to the original outstanding balance, it's criminal!

[tm.atkinson]

Daniels Silverman always add some on, in contravention of OFT Guidance, and then use it as a negotiating tool. Speaking of tools, Daniels Silverman are very much second-rate, and not too hard to deal with.

 

I suspect the reason that they've popped up now is that the debt is getting toward becoming statute-barred.

 

I heard about this after contacting Consumer Advice, I hope time isn't running out for me as it's been nearly six years..

[MARTIN3030]

The FSA's own handbook allows 3 years from the time it was discovered that you had valid cause of action.

[MARTIN3030]

home » information for businesses covered by the Ombudsman service » before we get involved » time limits

 

information for businesses covered by the ombudsman service

 

This section answers a number of frequently-asked questions (FAQs) about:

before we get involved

 

time limits

 

there are time limits for consumers making a complaint - when is a complaint “out of time”?

The complaints-handling rules set time limits for consumers to refer complaints to the ombudsman. After these time limits have expired, the business can choose to object to the ombudsman looking at the complaint on the grounds that it is “time-barred”.

Generally, these time limits are:

 

• six months from your business sending the consumer a final response (which has to mention the six-month time limit); and
  
• six years from the event the consumer is complaining about (or – if later – three years from when they knew, or could reasonably have known, they had cause to complain).
  

Special rules on time limits apply to mortgage endowment complaints.

Under the rules, we have the discretion to look at complaints that fall outside these time limits in “exceptional circumstances”. An example of this might be if the consumer was incapacitated during the period when they could have complained.

We can also look at a complaint that falls outside these limits where you – the business – does not object to our doing so. Some businesses are happy for the ombudsman to consider all complaints made against them, even if the consumer has missed the official time limits. But if you want to object to the ombudsman considering a complaint you have received - where you believe the time limits in the rules have already expired – let us know as soon as possible. Generally, if your business wants to raise any issues relating to time-limits, it should do so in its final response letter to the consumer.

For the purposes of applying time limits, the date a complaint is referred to the Financial Ombudsman Service is taken as the date the consumer contacts us and indicates that they want the ombudsman to consider the matter – as long as their complaint is at the stage where we can consider it.

This is when the business has already issued a final response letter or has had at least eight weeks to consider the complaint. Our complaint form may be submitted at a later date.

[tm.atkinson]

That's good news! In fact I have better news. I received a telephone call from Skills Train tonight, I thought it was a bit odd at first, as my claim was against CDF. Obviously I wrote to Skills Train regarding their obligations under the Trade Descriptions Act, of which a copy was sent to CDF. To my surprise, Skills Train confirmed that they received a copy of my letter from CDF, and they had in turn received the same letter this morning.

 

To my astonishment it has been decided that the accoount has now been closed, in particular with CDF and that I should receive no further correspondance from CDF or any other debt collection agency for that matter. When he told me at that point I was silent, as I couldn't quite beleive that the letter I had written made quite an impact. Towards the end of the call I simply said that I look forward in receiving CDF's confirmation letter...................

 

Wow!

 

I realise that it's not over until I have written confirmation from CDF. Once received without strings, I will persue for the Fees already paid with interest!

 

My letter will be available to anyone having the same problem with CDF and skills train, and may be adapted to suit your circumstances. What may throw a spanner in the works though, is that I enrolled onto the A+, N+ and CCNA course in 2006, before skills train was investigated by watchdog, which was televised in October 2008. Since then I believe that they amended their literature, so it's possible you can't make a claim against this mirepresentation, you may however, have a case based on the misguidance and quality of the course work / material, look under the Trade Descriptions Act which leads on to the Sale of goods act, which should hopefully confirm your reasons for dispute.

 

Good luck!

 

If possible I would like to share this in the Skills Train Forums, would it be possible to share this post in other forums? If so, would I be able to move this thread across?

Edited April 24, 2012 by tm.atkinson

[MARTIN3030]

You can share it in any forum you wish.

I dont suppose Skills Train would be too pleased.

Be careful to observe any priviledged criteria as regards reproducing emails,and revealing details of anything thats agreed under Confidetiality agreements since they are legally binding.

That said,a good result for you,although the question remains as to whether you had the benefit in real terms of the goods/services which you paid for.

[tm.atkinson]

Yeah, I agree. The details in my letter are not particularly personal in nature, nor does it contain sensitive information given to me, or by them, and certainly there's no confidentiality agreement, one of which I wouldn't entertain in accepting. As far as I'm concerned they've admitted liability, else why would they close the account?

 

No benefit, which is why I'm considering legal action to get my money back with interest.... lets say, 8% simple interest per year since inception of my monthly repayments including my deposit. We shall see what CDF's letter contains first.

 

I'll keep you posted.........

[MARTIN3030]

Good.

[tm.atkinson]

I'm a little perplexed that CDF haven't sent written confirmation that the account is now closed. Should I wait a ittle longer before I write to them?

 

Any help would be much appreciated.

[MARTIN3030]

Nothing to lose.

[MARTIN3030]

Read this-it comes into effect from May 1st.

 

Lending Standards board Debt collection/debt sale new provisions with effect from May 1st 2012

 

Forgot about this-it comes into effect soon.

 

debt collection

and debt sale

 

New provisions have been agreed that increase the level of protection offered to customers under the Lending Code where their debt is sold or transferred to a 3rd party for collection. Where a debt is sold, subscribers need to satisfy themselves that appropriate arrangements are in place to ensure that the debt purchaser will continue to deal with customers in a manner consistent with the requirements in the Code for the treatment of customers in financial difficulties.

 

 

http://www.lendingstandardsboard.org...%20sale%20.pdf