Telephone harassment - an action plan

[thicknortherner]

No not a collector, but to make matters worse, when I informed the 3 officers that he had drugs & a gun in his safe, they said I should report it. I replied I am to you 3 now, they all looked at each other as if to say crap! this seems like a lot of paperwork. I refused to sign their form or to give my details & they left.

[diddydicky]

No not a collector, but to make matters worse, when I informed the 3 officers that he had drugs & a gun in his safe, they said I should report it. I replied I am to you 3 now, they all looked at each other as if to say crap! this seems like a lot of paperwork. I refused to sign their form or to give my details & they left.

 

you other half should send an e mail to the serious fraud office or to the ch supt of her local police area outlining the complaint and asking for an appointment to discuss the compliant

 

take along a friend to take notes of what is discussed at the meeting

[charley2212]

ok roller coaster so far , mcs apealled , had order to amend poc this i done even though i received the order 4days before it was due , managed to send of two days before due day via guaranteed delivery , had a letter saying it was struck out because i failed to get the amended poc in on time , tosh , sent letter asking for a re refferal after tel them and complaining big time , i am trying to believe it was because they have a large backlog and not some sinister reason my mind says on odd ocassions .

done re refferal together with copies of postage etc and copies of their envelopes clearly dated , fingers crossed

[Undercover-Elsa]

Is Truecall still available from CAG?

Can't seem to find a link.

 

I seem to have got on some bleddy overseas dodgy call centre list with weird numbers like 091483 constantly ringing..and I don't want to waste my precious 10 bank/dca/mother in law numbers on my phone service provider call blocking service.

[charley2212]

Hi elsa ,

i do believe it is . I have also seen it on on the old system but cannot on the new one .

I just changed my number and did ex directory and carefull where i dished out the new number .

Sorry i cant help any more 8-)

[diddydicky]

if not just google it

 

dont forget to also get the recorder

[rockwell304]

Diddy, I.ve missed your dry, acerbic wit on here!

 

Whatever happened to #301 above?

[Undercover-Elsa]

Thanks DD, just got one off Amazon, can't wait for it to arrive!

Once its up & running I can then cancel my call blocking which is only 10 numbers for £5 per month, so it will pay for itself eventually. (£99 inc memory card).

 

Elsa x

[citizenB]

Is Truecall still available from CAG?

Can't seem to find a link.

 

I seem to have got on some bleddy overseas dodgy call centre list with weird numbers like 091483 constantly ringing..and I don't want to waste my precious 10 bank/dca/mother in law numbers on my phone service provider call blocking service.

 

Yes, Amazon are offering a better deal at the moment.

[diddydicky]

sorry for the scant appearance- am laid low with a bad chest infection at present

 

sometimes these truecall units just "freezeup " (especially after a stom) but i have found if you ring them they will post out a replacement the same day

[Undercover-Elsa]

OK got it (finally because of the weather) and the blocking functions are ace, but the sound quality on calls has taken a dive, with a whooshing noise and poor vocal quality making it's hard to hear what anyone is saying. I've moved the unit to at least 8ft from my wireless phone base unit with little effect.

Anyone else had/overcome this?

 

Elsa x

[diddydicky]

sounds like a dfective unit

 

mine is next to my wireless unit and no problem

 

give them a ring

[Undercover-Elsa]

Thanks DD..just going to experiment a bit more..wondering if it might be the weather conditions rather than the unit.

 

Hope you're feeling better?

 

Elsa x

[marksmiles]

This is a new thread regarding telephone harrassment.

 

My mother had a small sub £20 debt with a credit card, which she has not paid and has probably morphed into apprx £80 on the back of fees imposed for late / non payment.

The debt has been passed on.

 

The background is that my mother is in a state of serious poor health, she was hospitalized with dementia for 6 months and has recently been released back to my father at their mat home. She remains seriously unwell and unable to cope with life.

 

To add to their difficulties, my parents are getting regular calls from a debt agency making demands for the money. They are finding this difficult to cope with and it is increasing their stress.

Other than paying the demand, are there any practical solutions on how this may be best dealt with?

[100mel]

You have my sympathies - I have been in the same situation myself with elderly parents so I spoke to telecoms provider and took "anonymous call rejection" and choose to refuse service for 3 months which takes the pressure off and allows you to deal with the problem

 

May I suggest that you then write to the credit card company and ascertain the split between the debt and the charges and also explain circumstances. You can deal with the charges separately and threaten them with FOS complaint. Keep a record of everything

[Undercover-Elsa]

Hi Mark,

Just shows what callous pirhanas these DCA's can be.

I think you need to deal with this from the ground up for your Mum. Could you get her to sign a letter designating you as her representative to deal with this debt?

After that, step 1 - write to the DCA enclosing a copy of the authorisation. If they are already aware of her illness etc, make a formal complaint at their treatment and harrasment of a vulnerable person and insist that all further communications are in writing only. If they are not aware, inform them.

Also inform them that the debt is in dispute until and unless you establish proof of liability and accuracy of the amount claimed. Tell them you are sending a subject access request and Consumer Credit Agreement Request to the original company and that they should put the account on hold pending your enquiries.

step 2...send a Subject Access Request to the original C Card company to get all the data they hold on your Mum. Unfair charges can be claimed back.

A fee of £10 is required and they have 40 days from receipt to reply.

step 3..send a request for the Consumer Credit Agreement to them too, enclosing a PO for £1. They have to supply this 12 working days from receipt. If they cannot supply it the account can be put in dispute and is unenforceable until they do.

Much more info on all this in my blog, linked below, plus any template letters you will need. You could include the telephone harrassment letter in with your complaint to the DCA.

As I'm sure you know by now, don't speak to them on the phone.

 

kind regards,

Elsa x

[Guest]

re tel harass.

some poss options:

when writing tell them (ftao the compliance/complaints department) that any communication will be in writing only and to stop any tel calls.

write to the data controller and request that any tel no's are removed.

note the Harrison case, and cite if required.

imo

[GirlWithAttitude]

I had a few calls from my bank credit card office and after speaking to someone there (by taking one of the calls) the calling went on for another two days but has now stopped...

 

I did not cave into their demands for an instant payment by card and managed to negotiate time to pay when my salary is due in, which they accepted; I will set up a direct debit

 

too...

 

I am quite experienced now at negotiating with creditors, with only £600 left to pay, but in the past three years I have paid off about £10k of debt and when I was at the start of

 

it all I did find it all very frightening... When I fell behind with payment after redundancy from my previous job, one of the companies got a bit threatening, and eventually I contacted

 

the National Debt Helpline, who helped me negotiating with the company in question towards minimum monthly repayments (nominal ones, of £10) until I got back on my feet, financially.

 

So my "advice" is that before rushing into accepting anything from a creditor, one should ignore the harassment and seek advice to negotiate with the creditor; some of these companies

 

are registered banks etc. but will use scare tactics to force people into even further debt... It is quite shocking how easily one can sign that dotted line at the bottom of the Loan Agreement

 

without thinking of the consequences of failed repayments, and of the psychological effects of creditors bullying you... It can lead some people to extreme actions... I shall never again take

 

out a loan or buy anything unless I can afford it... After I finish repaying my credit card accounts I shall cancel them and that will be that!

 

[GirlWithAttitude]

Just a Post Scriptum!

 

When I finished paying off my £10k (or so) of debt, I asked both DebtCollection Agencies, and the "mother" companies on behalf of whom they collected, to send me a letter to confirm that

 

I had completed all repayments and the debt was cancelled. Two months have gone by and this has yet to happen... They were only all too keen to get the printer warm when I owed them

 

money; now they do not even have the courtesy to do this... Funny world.

[pam56]

If anyone rings then here are a couple of options;

a) say she's on the toilet, can you wait, I'll just get her" (unfortunately "she's" having a bad tummy day and is on loo for 3 hours)

b) Annoy the dog and make it bark, then put the dog on the phone.

c) Watch Benidorm especially Noreen and then do an impression of her i.e. "Do you play scrabble" and other unsuitable comments which will not answer any oftheir questions and drive 'em mad.

d) Blow a whistle or one of your children's noisiest toys down the phone and keep repeating sory we seem to have some disturbance on the line I can't hear you.

 

I once got a sex pest on phone at work and I after he'd told me what he wanted to do I asked him if he was a private client or if he was on the NHS, and if he was on NH he'd have to get in the queue. He rang off!!!!!!!

[Readalot]

Here is my story. One business is pursuing me for debt which I do not oww. Well, there is some disputed invoice for a company which I am director of, but I surely do not owe any money pursuant to Salomon vs Salomon. Anyway long story short a few phone call I have received went like this:

 

they: "yadayada yada you need to pay about 800£ to this company or else"

me: "What is your name and which company do you represent?"

they: "we are bailiffs and if you do not pay we will come to your home and take some goods to sell on auction"

me: "could you please confirm that you are a bailiff and what is your name?"

they: "yes we are a company of bailiffs"

me: "stop calling me on this phone number all communications must be in writing"

they: "we will call you all day long every hour on the hour until you pay up"

...

 

unfortunately, my truecall for some reason failed to record this. However, I right away sent an email with a complain to the company who hired those cowboys quoting that conversation and demanding to stop criminal activity.

that guys also came to my home twice the same day after I on a number of accasions told them that all communications must be only in writing.

 

Now they are still coming after me personally for company's disputed invoices and I just have filed a defence online denying existence of any contract between me and those thugs .

 

 

 

Is there anything I can do to bring this up in the court, given that I have no voice recording?

[Freemanforever]

Readalot, are they bailiffs or Debt collectors?? I would pressume they are the second... What I'd do if I were you is the following:

 

1) If the knock on the door, just shut it in their noses... they cannot do anything about it and if they decide to create any trouble, just call the police.

 

2) Send them a recorded signed letter asking the for calls to stop. Just search under "Harassment-by-telephone-response-letter" in the search box.

 

Doing the above will stop them in their tracks most of the time...

 

Nick

 

PS: you mind sharing the name of the culprits ?

[Readalot]

>you mind sharing the name of the culprits

 

they refused to introduce themselves.

[Guest]

>you mind sharing the name of the culprits

 

they refused to introduce themselves.

 

sounds as if it is a dca trying it on.

[Ford Prefect]

Has anyone here taken action against a Debt Collecting firm? Anyone taken civil action?

More importantly has anyone succeeded in getting criminal action taken?

 

I am annoyed. I firstly received a letter from a firm. I most clearly do not owe the money. I wrote to them telling them this with a short explanation of why they were wrong and I told them not to telephone me. I am now getting telephone calls!

They are supposedly a firm of solicitors

They have received my letter because of course I sent it recorded delivery.

 

 

My real concern about this matter is that this industry are doing a lot of harm . I am well educated, literate, eloquent and mentally stable A lot of people with debt problems aren't. I am sure they will have caused suicides by their threats. This lot of " honourable men" clearly don't seem to care whether I owe the money or not. There is ample evidence available to them that I do not, and it has been explained.