DCA has written to my place of work

[george_h]

Hello I wonder if anyone has had the same experience as me.

 

I cancelled my British Telecom account over 12 months ago but they messed up and forgot to switch off my line and then tried to charge me for the time it was still connected. I disputed this but BT ignored me and passed the debt of £90.00 to a DCA.

 

The DCA sent me a letter demanding £116 with no explanation as to the extra on the bill. They wrote to me about 3 times and I ignored them because I am prepared to fight this in court as I have proof of when I cancelled and the fact that BT messed up. Since then BT have actually cleared and closed my account and my balance is now zero.

 

However the DCA have written to my place of work, I have no idea how they found out my work address. The letter was not marked "Private & Confidential" so consequently it was opened by the person who deals with the post. This has caused me some embarrassment and distress at work. The DCA are threatening further action.

 

I don't care about the threats, I can deal with that but I am now of a mind to bill them for the distress caused to me and demand compensation. I wondered though if this was possible and if so how do I arrive at a suitable financial figure for compenation.

 

Also who should I complain to about this company (OFT, ICO, Trading Standards?).

 

I have also checked my credit file on experian and equifax, there is no record of my works address on them and Equifax also shows that my BT account is clear.

 

Many Thanks

Geo

[unclebulgaria67]

Let me guess Mackenzie Hall ? They like writing to work addresses.

 

You need to make a written complaint to the compliance Manager at the Debt company. They are not allowed per OFT rules to write to a work address. Also they have breached Data Protection, as it was not sent marked Private, so they have disclosed information to others.

 

Also you need to start a complaint with BT and send a copy of the letter to the debt company. BT will have closed down the account to zero when they passed the debt on. Therefore the debt will still exist.

[lee79]

As soon as I saw the thread title Mackenzie Hall sprung to mind. If it is they did the same to me, twice. One was those 'we're looking for xxx on a personal matter' type of letter and the second was a complete breakdown of my account including a paragraph explaining to anyone who can that I'm in debt.

 

If it is them it's re-assuring to know that there's still nothing there to dissuade them from making these 'mistakes' over and over again.

[cerberusalert]

If it is MH then you should make a complaint to;

 

http://www.east-ayrshire.gov.uk/BusinessAndTrade/TradingStandards/TradingStandards.aspx

[Bandit127]

And include a complaint to the ICO. A very easy process and it is done on line.

 

In fact, I will dig a link out for you...

http://www.ico.gov.uk/complaints/handling.aspx

[Amber Leaf]

I just want to know how Muck Hall are getting hold of work telephone numbers and addresses. I had a problem with them calling work a couple of months ago and I got a letter sent there as well. I don't do Farcebook and I have no internet presence whatsoever under my real name. What made me most angry is that the debt they were chasing was at least 8 years old and well and truly SB.

 

I can only think that they are getting this information by very underhand means. I wouln't be surprised if they were somehow accessing governement records. Whatever the means the ICO should come down on them like a ton of bricks.

[unclebulgaria67]

Make a complaint to the ICO.

 

If you have never applied for a pay day loan and don't have any work details online, then I don't know how they are obtaining work details.

[cerberusalert]

Several years ago I had a telephone call from a person with a Scottish accent asking about a neighbour, they told me that it was vitally important that they contacted them & did I know where they worked. I told them I didn't & even if I did I wouldn't tell them.

 

A few months later I had another similar call where they asked if I knew the person at number 20, when I said yes they asked me to give them a message for them to call them. I said of course I would, as soon as I see them next, but it wouldn't be for some considerable time as they were in prison serving an indeterminate sentence for a particularly horrendous murder.

[unclebulgaria67]

Several years ago I had a telephone call from a person with a Scottish accent asking about a neighbour, they told me that it was vitally important that they contacted them & did I know where they worked. I told them I didn't & even if I did I wouldn't tell them.

 

A few months later I had another similar call where they asked if I knew the person at number 20, when I said yes they asked me to give them a message for them to call them. I said of course I would, as soon as I see them next, but it wouldn't be for some considerable time as they were in prison serving an indeterminate sentence for a particularly horrendous murder.

 

The ICO should have powers to investigate where DCA's are obtaining information. It is reminding me of the newspaper hacking stories, where dodgy private detective companies obtain information from various company/government databases at a price and then sell the information on.

 

In regard to Mackenzie Hall phoning neighbours, I had this happen to me. A relative had gone abroad using my address as a temp forwarding address. Many years later, after I had told MH that my relative was abroad, they were phoning my neighbours asking who lived at my address. One neighbour who actually lived down the road who I did not know, mentioned this in passing to me, as I was cutting the front lawn. He was so curious about the call, that he was tempted to call the Police, as he thought it may be criminals looking for targets.