DCA's Entitlement to Proof of Benefits etc

[Wooks001]

Hi Everyone,

 

I've read loads of threads/posts where the above muppets have been reported to Trading Standards and the Office Of Fair Trading etc.

 

Has anyone ever received notice that action has been taken against them,

 

 

I know they are still upto their old tricks cos they are still sending me letters.

 

Cheers

 

Wooks001

[babybear39]

The OFTs latest victim, ahem, I mean DCA to be put on notice is Aktiv Kr@pitol which includes Thames Crud as well.

 

The Lowlife group may be one of the other dirty 13

[Wooks001]

Would be interesting to know who has actually been punished and what action was taken. Don't have a clue personally how to find this information.

 

Happy to create a new thread and do the research if someone can advise where to start.

[babybear39]

Sadly, we have to rely on information the OFT can release in to the public domain. Your best source at the moment would be the OFT press releases

Edited July 24, 2009 by babybear39
too many the's

[sam614]

 

The Lowlife group may be one of the other dirty 13

 

without a doubt:D

 

SAM:pLOWELL DETESTER

[Wooks001]

Just rang OFT, can't discuss ongoing enquiries but they did point me to this, a decision about practises the above are certainly guilty of.

 

The Office of Fair Trading: OFT imposes requirements on Mackenzie Hall to improve handling of disputed debts

 

With regard to statute barred debts the fine can be upto £50,000.

[babybear39]

The OFT can impose a £50,000 fine on any DCA etc. that they find in breach of OFT guidlines and the CPUTR.

[Wooks001]

Sent this a few minutes ago to OFT

 

Dear Sir,

All of the above have been contacting me regarding a debt which is statute barred.

In the letters they say that they may take legal action via the county court, may apply to make me bankrupt, may instruct a legally approved door step collector etc.

All of this causes a degree of stress which is unacceptable, and legally unenforceable.

I have read on your press releases that dca’s should not persue debts once they have been advised in writing that the debt is statute barred.

Why not change the ruling so that they have to prove the debt is not statute barred before they persue it, and before using the term “may take legal action etc”.

This to me is a loophole, allowing them to imply that they have more options than simply asking for a debt to be repaid.

Another issue is that the original creditor has already claimed tax relief on the debt, effectiveley writing it off.

How can they then sell the debt on when it no longer exists.

[Wooks001]

Hi Folks,

 

I have a couple of statute barred debts which have been sold on many times, and each time I think they have gone away they seem to crop up again.

I read somewhere that before a dca can enforce a debt they have to provide a true copy of the original signed credit agreement, and once requested the debt is in default until they provide it.

Because the debt is in default it cannot be sold on.

 

Is there any truth to this, because if there is it could save a lot of people from hassle.

The chances of them providing the original agreement are probably nil.

 

I got rid of the last dca (Lowells) via the Financial Ombudsman, one letter from them and that was it. The latest dca was Clarity and they backed off once I informed them that the debt was statute barred, but I had several silent calls as well as others demanding date of birth etc.

 

Any feedback would be welcome.

 

Cheers

 

Wooks001

[citizenB]

If the debt is statute barred and you have informed one DCA then they shouldnt pass it on.

 

If this is what is happening in your case then you should find out whether the account was actually assigned/sold to the DCA.

 

If it wasnt then you should send a copy of the statute barred letter to the original creditor, because it will be passed back to them. If it is then farmed out again from the original creditor you would probably be able to make a claim for unfair treatment/harassment against the original creditor.

 

If the debt IS assigned/sold to the DCA, you inform that DCA that the debt is statute barred and THEY then pass it on to another DCA then you would probably have a claim for harassment/unfair treatment against the original DCA.

 

HTH

[citizenB]

You should always make a complaint to the OFT against any company continually pursuing a debt once they have been informed the account is statute barred and again if it gets passed on to another company for the same.

[Wooks001]

The problem with Clarity is that they telephone and unless you are willing to provide personal details won't give you any information.

 

 

I eventually found the email address of one of their senior partners and complained about harassment.

 

He forwarded it to their quality & compliance manager

[email protected],

who has advised me that the account has been returned to their "client" and they won't contact me further.

 

What I'd like to do is prevent the account being sold on again.

[citizenB]

If you know who their "client" is, then you should send a copy of the statute barred letter to them If you dont, then I am not sure how you will go about finding out.

[unclebulgaria67]

Would not surprise me if Lowells own the debt. With a relatives statute barred debt, they kept passing it to other companies for them to chase and then sold it to another company. Following a complaint to the next company purchasing it, Lowells were forced to take it back and eventually wrote it off. Other companies may do the same as Lowell. I am not sure whether this is done as standard practice or whether they have so many debts, that they get passed on by accident, within a bulk package of debts.

[Wooks001]

Just emailed Clarity for details of the "client" and the alleged debt.

 

 

Have to see what happens.

 

Already had a letter from Lowells stating that the account is closed, so if they do "own" it then I can have some fun with the Ombudsman.

 

What I'm hoping for though is an answer as to whether if the dca cannot produce a signed copy of the original credit agreement, then the account remains in dispute and cannot be sold on.

[brokebutnotbeatn]

You don't need an agreement. The account is SB'd so should not be sold on. I think the agreement is a red herring.

[Wooks001]

Well, got a reply from Clarity with the account no, Cabot is their client.

 

Just emailed them advising that if they continue to pursue the account, or sell it on, now that they know it is statute barred, I'll go straight to the ombudsman.

 

Have to see what happens. The ombudsman has been pretty efficient so far in my experience, and I certainly don't mind putting another dca in their place.

[citizenB]

Somewhere along the line, if they were demanding money from you.. they should have given you the name of the original creditor. If they didnt, then that too, is a breach of OFT guidelines.

[Wooks001]

Like I said earlier in my posts Clarity have never written to me.

All I've had is a bunch of silent calls and when someone was eventually on the end of the line, they refused to discuss the matter unless I gave them my date of birth and other personal information. Quoted data protection etc as being the reason.

Told them to go away ,and then complained about harassment which stopped the calls.

[Wooks001]

Hi Folks,

 

Being "required" to complete a PFA form which gives examples of the "proof" required for entitlement to benefits etc.

I have already provided basic income and expenditure information and even if I wanted to I'm not sure I could find letters proving things.

 

What is the legal situation on this please, I'm sure it's been covered and I'm still searching...

Just need a one line response ideally, you have no right to demand this information because....

 

Cheers

 

Wooks

[the_shadow]

There is NO legal requirement for you to provide a dca with anything. They have NO legal powers to request or force anything..... Unless they have a judgement against you it is down to you on whether you pay them anything or not.

 

An I&E is showing more than enough willingness to come to an arrangement imho.

 

S.

[Happyhippy1959]

I usually add this ( as you know only a District Judge can request information of a personal nature, but out of courtesy I have enclosed a court orientated income and expenditure form. Please be advised that I ( note the royal I ) will review every six mouths and if any thing changes I will advise accordingly

[huggy41]

i would just tell them that they either except what you offer or they get £1 per month end of . these so called dca's can do nothing

[Wooks001]

Thanks for the replies, I liked the bit about only the judge being able to request personal info so used that in my letter. Much more polite than what first came to mind!!.

[dx100uk]

whats the debt why are you paying a dca?

 

tell us the history please

 

dx