RBS debt - been paying dca for years and its not been going to RBS!!

[dolly]

Sorry if this gets a bit longwinded and I hope you can follow.

 

From 2002-2004 we had 6 accounts with a debt collection agency (the same one). In July 2004, we moved and were lucky enough to have enough equity to pay everything off, and did full and final settlements for all 6 accounts. I think we paid between 80% and 85%. This came to a total of £4976, paid on 23/07/04. I saw the letters from the companies but never got copies, just a signed receipt from the debt collector saying that my balance was nil. (Luckily I have still got this).

 

Late last week I had a letter from RBOS claiming that there was £185 still outstanding on the account. This was one of the ones that I had paid off. I rang RBS and she said that on 19/10/04 a payment had been made of £860 into the account and nothing since.

 

So I rang the DCA who denied ever having the account even though I have the details I wrote down about every single account that was paid off and the amounts. She then told me that I had only ever had 3 accounts with them and the total of the final payments made amounted to £3427...as you can see, a difference to what I paid.

 

She was insistent that that was all I had ever had and when I asked about the overpayment I had supposedly made of £1549 she just replied 'I don't know, you have only ever had 3 accounts.'

 

To cut to the chase (told you it was long!) what do I need to send to get details of all the accounts held, including the full and final letters. I assume they will still have these, although she said that once an account was closed all paperwork was shredded! And if it comes back with only those three accounts, what on earth do I do next?

 

Thank you as always.

[elsinore]

Hello dolly, well hello dolly....................

 

At this stage I wouldn't bother with the DCA. Fire off a letter to RBS telling them what you told us and suggesting that they direct any request for payment of the balance to the DCA. £840 is almost exactly 80% of £1025, which is the sum of the two amounts. If you feel able to, send RBS a copy of the receipt, it might help.

 

If the DCA bought the debt from RBS and allowed you to settle for less, then that's their problem. RBS either have to screw it out of the DCA or write it off. Do you feel free to tell us the name of the DCA? It might throw a little more light on their behaviour because, while they are all devious, some are more devious than others!!

 

Onwards and upwards

 

Elsinore

[dolly]

RBS said it said on my statement the last payment came from an agency although they couldn't say who. I explained the situation and they are looking into who it was and are going to send me the details. They were actually really helpful (maybe not when they get my DPA letter for charges ). I gather that the DCA did not buy the debt as I remember seeing an official RBS full and final letter...funny how certain things stick in your mind.

 

The DCA was Scotcall and actually through my dealings with them at the time I thought they were very good compared to the horror stories you read.

[elsinore]

Looks like an admin cock-up. Very unusual for a bank!!

 

I put in forum search for Scotcall and only found two other threads, which would seem to bear out your opinion of them.

 

However, read this:-

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=5222&highlight=scotcall

 

Pity you can't find that full and final letter!!

 

Onwards and upwards

 

Elsinore

[dolly]

The thing is I never GOT full and finals from Scotcall, I just saw them.

 

The guy we had was great, he was actually quite funny and we became quite friendly with him in a bizarre sort of way.

 

The thing that concerns me is Scotcall saying that we only had 3 accounts when we had 6 and paid off 6....just hoping that no-one else comes out of the woodwork demanding more money!

[lookinforinfo]

Dolly, did you give them the names of the accounts, or just your name. It may well

be that if some accounts were in the name of your business for example, that merely putting in your name would not raise the business account.

 

Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but it would have helped if the receipt had contained

the names of all the accounts, the total owed, and the amount you then paid

followed by "in full and final settlement".

 

Without that, there is a real possibility that all 6 accounts can claim the outstanding

15-20%. I suspect that you may well have to send off to the debt collectors for

a full disclosure of correspondence etc etc to prove that you did settle it all 2 years

ago. May well depend on how reliable your friendly guy was- ie whether his

vagueness on your receipt was a genuine slip or deliberate.