telling a debt collection company to go and eat shit?

[marmaladetwatkins]

Right. Before we start, I am not feckless with cash, nor do I have out of control spending habits. This is a matter of principal

Five years ago, I opened a credit account with Oli (fashion website). Long story short, they were shit. I bought £200 worth of stuff from them but it never turned up on time (ordered loads of holiday stuff from there as they went up to an 18 and I couldn't find nice holiday clothes anywhere when I was lugging my baby weight about) and then they sent wrong sizes etc etc. I rang them (this was in 2006, BTW) and told them they were not good enough and that I wanted to settle my account. I sent a cheque for the balance.

About a month later, I got a letter saying thanks for your payment but you owe us £35 as your cheque did not clear before the payment due date. Not my problem, said I. I sent it well in advance, I didn't know it would be sat n your office waiting to be cashed for nigh on two weeks Told them to whistle about seventy trillion times. Next thing, they add another £35 for "administration charges" I laugh at them again and tell them I'm not interested.

THEN, they pass it on to a debt collection company. They rang me at home, I explained calmly what happened and they said no sorry you have to pay and will incur more charges if you do not. I refuse still. Basically, it crept up to £140 with a tenner being added each time they sent me a letter. In the end, I told one of their phone people that they were wasting their time and he told me explicitly that he would write the debt off. Definitely said that, in 2006.

So, was most surprised to get a phonecall today from a debt collection person asking for this £140. I lost my rag a bit after explaining it all again. I don't even know how they got my number as I moved over twelve months ago. It's "only" £140 but it's the principal. They're not bullying me into paying it. I told the woman as much and she said "you WILL be pursued for the amount" Vague threats don't wash with me. Next time they phone shall I tell them to eat their own shit? I'm not being harrassed in my home for a debt run up out of what essentially the laziness of the company I had the account with

Sorry for long post.

Agree Beaker. Debts are not supposed to be passed to DCA's where the substantive debt is in dispute. Honestly tempting as it is to tell them to eat shit keep the exchange to what you would be proud to read out in court. I'd be inclined to tell them to communicate in writing only and head every piece of correspondence with "I do not acknowledge any debt"

Given however that this "default" is presumably related to a consumer credit agreement with Oli have you done a recent check of your credit file OP?

I would love to just get it sorted but getting it sorted for me doesn't involve coughing up.

oh, and a debt 'in dispute' is not enforcable.

i said this on a different thread on MN earlier today, a DCA bought a 'debt' my son had allegedly run up on a dormant bank account. the 1st thing he knew of it (and i know this is true, he lives with us) was a court summons, through the post.

marmalade - please google the DCA's company name, and check out how many threads there are on MSE/CAG/Legal Beagles...you'll know how genuine your letter is

and then post the name here, so other MNers can see for themselves

Consumer Action Group, definitely. & yes, tell them to eat shit. But at the bottom of a nice template letter from CAG .

They'll piss off & bother someone more easily scared. Scum.

I have Googled their name (EOS Solutions) and lots of forum threads came up in the results with people moaning about them.

That's EOS SOLUTIONS

have also PMed you

hth

Got it, thanks Beaker :)

Well I just tore up the letters and hung up/didn't answer the phone - rude enough for you?

If you find that there is an adverse effect on your credit rating you have the right to contact the credit rating agency and tell them that the debt is in dispute and they will remove it from your file, so I wouldn't worry too much about that.

Ladies I think you will find that there are the upfront files and then there are the secret sneaky files.

Consumer Direct website has template letters you can use in situations like this.

Bastards get their money by frightening people into paying money they do not owe. One firm tried it on me, sent me a letter which turned out to be a fishing exercise for anyone with the same first initial and surname. There must be thousands of us out there, I think they'd just gone through the electoral roll and picked on everyone they could find an address for. The address of the original debtor was certainly nowhere I'd ever lived. But an easily frightened person might have paid up just to be rid of all the horrible threats.

I did a credit check on myself last year as DH and I got refused for an overdraft when switching our accounts to Santander, despite us both having overdrafts with our current backs/no defaulted mortgage/debts and us both having a decent, steady income etc etc. We were both clear and Santander offered us the overdraft after one month, which was odd.

That's what I think, edam. They're trying their luck with me. Sorry for them that I'm not a naive youngster/vulnerable old person.

Beesimo - you really think all of the credit reference agencies are contravening data protection laws and keeping secret files on everyone? Wow and I thought I could be paranoid!

It is a huge pain in the arse, but don't give in OP. You are right - they are wrong.

Incidentally, I agree that Oli were/are utter shit, couldn't organize a piss-up in the proverbial, and look like they are possibly going down the pan.

Of course they are do you honestly think any piece of 'information' gathered ever completely disapppears?

When there's money involved...

Do you have any of the details of the payment that you made? It would be useful to be able to show when the payment was due and the date that the cheque was sent. Would you have sent a covering letter, or noted the date on the cheque stub? You may also be able to obtain a copy of the cheque from your bank, although they may charge for this. It'd be cheaper than settling the debt though.

I disagree with the people who have said that you shouldn't try and resolve this and just let them take you to court. Court expenses can mount very quickly. If you are unable to show when the cheque was sent but the company is able to produce computer printouts showing when the payment was due and when the cheque was received I'm afraid that they may well win if their records indicate that the cheque was late, even if they did have it sitting in a mail tray for a week. Do you know what paperwork they have? It may be worth asking them to provide you with copies of this information so you can assess the strength of your case compared to theirs.

I should have added, the above is on the basis that the company can prove that the debt was properly assigned to them.

I have a water company trying to get a water bill of over a grand, for supply up to 2008, for a property I moved out of in 2000!!!! EOS in one of the companies who have tried and failed to get the money from me. I explained to the water company the situation, and told them I had spoken to my housing officer about it. My HO told me to ask them to write to her and she would provide proof of when I left the previous property, but the woman I was speaking to at the water company got really snotty and told me I must get my HO to write to them.

I would speak to the financial ombudsman service who are the governing body with dca's. They can tell you what action to take next.

But don't pay it. Bloody hell- it's their problem- and get compensation for your trouble!

My CAB friend also mentioned getting assurance that the debt was properly assigned to them. Looks like I need to get reading...

It doesn't sound too scary. It's only £140, they can't bankrupt you to get it and it's classed as a small claim.

Even if they issue court proceedings, as a small claim you will not e liable to pay the costs of litigation and if the worst comes to the worst, you just have to go to a final hearing and explain things to a judge if it gets that far. I think a judge would take a dim view of a £35 alleged debt (which wasn't your fault) being turned into £140.

It'll be fine.

PS

The jaffacakesareonme said:

I disagree with the people who have said that you shouldn't try and resolve this and just let them take you to court. Court expenses can mount very quickly

You will not be liable for court costs on a small claim.

Rule 27.14 (2) of the Civil Procedure Rules says that:

"The court may not order a party to pay a sum to another party in respect of that other party?s costs, fees and expenses, including those relating to an appeal, except ?
(a) the fixed costs attributable to issuing the claim which ?"

So the fixed costs for issuing the claim are payable but the defendant (the OP) won't have issued the claim and so wont pay costs.

I don't see why they don't just drop it, tbh.

It's been five years. It's obvious that I am a stubborn cow. It's not a massive amount. Is it worth all of this headache for something that will amount to nowt?

it is to them, it's £140 in their hands for nowt

the DCA has probably paid a 5er for your name

That's different to have secret sneaky files which are shared with third parties.

A1980 my reading of that is that in the case of the fixed costs the court CAN order one party (the defendant) to pay the costs of another party (the DCA as plaintiff). The fixed cost is currently £30 (I am currently defending a small claim by a similarly wankarsed DCA).