Toothfairy calling me at work!!

[Tokyoround]

Hi i've just had a voicemail from MHB the pretend bailiffs to my office phone number. I am absolutely fuming, surely they are not allowed to just contact me at work? God knows how they got my number, I'm guessing switchboard put them through.

 

I blocked their phone number on my mobile due to the incessant texts and phonecalls and now they dare to call my office. Are they allowed to do this? I do not want to pick up the phone expecting a legitimate business call only to hear these jokers on the other end. Could potentially be embarrassing if my co-workers realize what is going on.

 

I have already complained to the FOS and the OFT about these jokers, is it worth recording the voicemail and sending as further evidence?

[renegadeimp]

Send them a complaint email and letter withdrawing their permission to call. Unfortunately, since you provided the contact details, until you revoke their permission, they can call. If they call after you told them no, then a formal complaint needs to be made.

[Tokyoround]

Send them a complaint email and letter withdrawing their permission to call. Unfortunately, since you provided the contact details, until you revoke their permission, they can call. If they call after you told them no, then a formal complaint needs to be made.

Thing is, I don't think I ever gave them my work phone. I work for quite a large company so i'm guessing they just googled the name and called switchboard who put them through to me. Anyway, just sent them an email, will do a letter later and i'll add it to my existing complaint regardless.

[renegadeimp]

Then get a FULL complaint in to all involved. Maybe you can demand to know how they got your information, especially as you didnt give it. If they did google it, then they would be in very serious trouble.

[Tokyoround]

...i'm shocked. They replied to my email, and, they are actually being reasonable. May be making some progress towards getting rid of this debt at last.

 

I sent:

I have just received a voicemail from one of your employees to my workplace. This is absolutely unacceptable and a breach of The Protection from Harassment Act 1997, as well as the OFTs guidance for DCAs. I am paying off my debt already, you need to stop harassing me. You do NOT my have permission to call me at work or contact my mobile phone. You are ONLY permitted to contact me via letter. My address is XXXX. You contact me again at work or on my mobile and full details WILL be added to my existing complaints against you with the OFT and FOS. Can you please explain how you got my work phone number? I certainly did not provide that information to you, and thus you are in a severe breach if you obtained the phone number by other means.

 

Them (Notice the typo, was this email actually done by a human and not a robot as usual?):

Dear X,

 

Thank you for your message.

 

As per your request, we have manually removed your work number from our file and will cease attempting to contact you by this method. However, please be advised that you did provide this information in your original loan application with Speed Credit.

 

Regarding your request to contact you by post only. Because we are a web-based company we are unable to send personalized letters through the post. We can limit out communication with you to email if that is what you prefer.

 

We do require an active payment plan to be set up on your file in order to cease all debt collection activity and freeze charges. At the moment, no repayment plan has been agreed through your Debt Management Company.

 

However, we have received three consecutive monthly payments of GBP28.53. If you are willing to agree to maintain these monthly payments toward your Speed Credit account, then we will freeze all communication and debt collections activity in regards to the account and reduce the total outstanding.

 

Please confirm your agreement and we will make the appropriate adjustments to your file.

 

Should you require further assistance, do not hesitate to contact us.

 

Yours faithfully

 

Loyalty

 

Marshall Hoares Bailiffs

 

I replied:

Hi

 

Thank you, I will keep this on file as you agreeing to discontinue attempting to contact my office, a breach of this will be significant. I am still uncertain how you acquired my phone number though as my extension has recently changed, and I do not remember providing the information. Can you provide the original credit agreement or some other file that clearly shows I gave Speed Credit the information?

 

You should have received more than 3 payments, I have been in a DMP with X since X and by their records they have paid you 256.77 GBP to date. I confirm I am happy for X to continue sending payments of 28.53 GBP, as long as you agree in writing to freeze interest and reduce the balance to something more reasonable. My initial loan was for 300 GBP, I am more than willing to pay back what I owe, plus one months interest and default charges. If I do not find your offer to be reasonable, I will inform X to cease payments once the amount of £300 + one month interest + default charge has been reached, and continue my complaint against you with the OFT and FOS.

 

Kind regards

 

Here's the real shock, this email actually makes sense and they gave me a reasonable balance to pay back:

Dear X,

 

Thank you for your message.

 

You had provided your work number along with mobile, home phone, email and postal address as part of your application and had authorised the company to utilise these details for its lending and collecting purposes in section 15 of your credit agreement.

 

You are entitled to purchase a copy of your consumer credit agreement. Upon receipt of a GBP1 fee this will be sent by post to your address we have on file as the per the Consumer Credit Act 1974.

 

In relation to your inquiry regarding the discrepancy in payments made to date through X please have X send the remittance information containing any payments they have made to date so that our accountants can investigate the matter.

 

In regards to your request to reduce the outstanding balance, whilst your current balance has accrued to GBP2333.82 as per the terms and conditions of the loan agreement, we are prepared to close your file for a reduced sum of GBP500 in full and final satisfaction of your account and any outstanding complaint you may have.

 

Considering the fact that this loan was taken out on the basis that GBP377 was to be repaid in full by 28.09.12 or GBP449 in full by 12.10.12 at the very latest, we believe this settlement figure is more than fair considering the fact that the business anticipates to settle your account over the course of approximately 28 months.

 

Any payments that we are able to find using X's remittance papers will be subtracted from the GBP500 total balance.

 

Please let us know if you find this settlement mutually agreeable.

 

Should you require further assistance do not hesitate to contact us.

 

Yours faithfully

 

Loyalty

I'm in shock. Considering these people have been making my life hell for so long and refusing to accept any payment below £40 per month, this is quite the turnaround!! Definitely paying a quid for the agreement though, strongly doubt i gave them my genuine work number.

[renegadeimp]

Theyre breaking OFT guidance yet again in that response. They are also still blaming you for their unlawful actions.

[Lottielox85]

...i'm shocked. They replied to my email, and, they are actually being reasonable. May be making some progress towards getting rid of this debt at last.

 

I sent:

 

 

Them (Notice the typo, was this email actually done by a human and not a robot as usual?):

 

 

I replied:

 

 

Here's the real shock, this email actually makes sense and they gave me a reasonable balance to pay back:

 

I'm in shock. Considering these people have been making my life hell for so long and refusing to accept any payment below £40 per month, this is quite the turnaround!! Definitely paying a quid for the agreement though, strongly doubt i gave them my genuine work number.

 

But if you read it carefully its still conditnal on you dropping complaints against them. They are running scared and I'm betting that if you drop the complaint then they won't have keptnanrecord of it either somitnwill be like it never happened! Given the way they are starting to act vaguely reasonably convinces me more than ever that they are nearing the end and are close to being very publicly named and shamed and closed down!

[renegadeimp]

Same thing happened with his other company, MCO capital.

[citizenB]

Sorry, web based or not - if you wish to be contacted in writing/email then that is your legal right.

 

You could send them the following...

 

 

 

 

FORMAL COMPLAINT - HARASSMENT BY TELEPHONE.

 

 

Account Number:

 

Dear Sirs,

 

I am writing in relation to the quantity and frequency of telephone calls that I have received from your company, which I consider to be harassment by yourselves.

 

I have verbally requested that these stop, but I am still receiving calls. (Delete if necessary)

 

I now require all further correspondence from your company to be made in (writing or email) only.

 

I am of the view that your continued harassment of me by telephone puts you in breach of The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008, and the Protection from Harassment Act 1997.

 

I draw your attention to the case of Roberts v Bank of Scotland plc and another [2013] All ER (D) 88 (Jun) in the Court of Appeal.

 

The court concluded that:

(1) The existence of a debt did not give a lender the right to bombard the debtor with calls. It was for the debtor to decide whether they wanted to discuss the matter with the creditor.

 

(2) In respect of the harassment appeal, the claimant had made it perfectly clear that she had not wanted to speak to the bank, and she had been perfectly entitled to do so. Once the bank had phoned a few times, it had been clear that no progress was to be made. Further calls had been futile and should have been stopped. The judge had been right to characterise the calls as intimidation and they had been wholly unjustified.

 

 

If you continue to harass me by telephone, you will also be in breach of the Communications Act (2003) s.127 and I will report you to OFCOM, Trading Standards and The Office of Fair Trading, meaning that you will be liable to a substantial fine.

 

Please treat this letter as a formal complaint under the procedures set out by the Financial Ombudsman (FOS). As such, you are required to send me a copy of your company complaints procedure.

 

Furthermore, please note that the FOS consider it 'unfair' for you to continue with phone calls when requested not to do so.

 

The OFT also consider it an unfair practice for you to ignore my legitimate wishes on how to contact me, for example where the debtor requests contact only via written letter or email, so I now demand that you cease any phone calls forthwith.

 

Be advised that any further telephone calls from your company will be recorded. (**Even if you don‘t have recording equipment!!**)

 

This issue is not negotiable. Any further phone calls will be logged, treated as harassment and reported to the authorities as such.

 

Yours faithfully,

 

 

PRINT OR SIGN YOUR NAME DIGITALLY

 

[citizenB]

If they continue then you should be making a complaint to both the OFT and the Financial Ombudsman.