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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

to have said "Well I suggest you get your facts right" and slammed the phone down

54 replies

Cathycomehome · 07/02/2012 18:18

on a debt collection agency worker?

This is the second time this agency have phoned me to say I owe £900 odd quid for a Student Loan taken out in 2001. I don't. I wasn't a student in 2001 apart from anything else.

I explained this again to the woman who rang tonight. She became very stroppy with me. Eventually she came out with "Well I suggest you make a payment, or I (yes, "I" ??) will take you to court".

OP posts:

eaglewings · 07/02/2012 18:22

YANBU

From experience I've learned to take details of the person who has called, note the time and date of the call etc

A debt collection service normally sends letters too, so it makes me suspicious if the first contact you got was by phone.

Also my understanding of Student loans is that it was taken at source from earnings. It may be a hoax. Phone your local police station and ask them

GrahamTribe · 07/02/2012 18:22

That's not unreasonable in the slightest. If anything, you were remarkably restrained. She was lucky not to have been calling this house as neither DH or I would have let her get off the phone without at least two versions of "Go fuuck yourself"

RevoltingPeasant · 07/02/2012 18:26

They do take them from salary afaik; I had a housemate who had this happen to him.

I'd call Student Loans myself if I were you and ask them. If she rings again try to get details.

JustHecate · 07/02/2012 18:28

What you say is "ok. Take me to court. Provide your evidence to a judge and I shall provide mine that I wasn't even a student and this debt isn't mine."

Just let it go to court. You will prove that they are wrong and this will end.

I am currently being harrassed by a debt collection agency who are convinced I owe some £600 odd quid on a natwest account and my name is mungai.

I told them they are wrong on both counts.

They wrote back saying, basically, don't ignore them, it isn't going to go away, pay up or else.

I said take me to court.

I am yet to hear back.

RevoltingPeasant · 07/02/2012 18:32

and my name is mungai

You know, I always pictured that as your real name, somehow.....

lifesalongsong · 07/02/2012 18:32

That is odd, as others have said repayments are deducted from salary and repaid through the HMRC PAYE/NI system so a person who has a loan has no control over repayment. Even if the employer didn't pay over the amounts deducted I can't believe a debt collection agency would be ringing you.

If they ring again I'd definitely get more details in case there's something on your credit record, then slam the phone down

It would be worth checking your credit record just to be sure that everything's as it should be.

Original poster

Cathycomehome · 07/02/2012 18:35

Glad I'm NBU - she (and the bloke that rang last time) did the "don't ignore us, it isn't going to go away, pay up or else" bit.

If they call again, I'll tell them to do their worst. And I might add "And fuck off" the next time.

OP posts:

JustHecate · 07/02/2012 18:43

Oh yes. Be very clear. "ok. I can see we are not going to resolve this. Take me to court."

They really don't know what to do when you tell them to take you to court. They rely on people being afraid of courts.

JustHecate · 07/02/2012 18:44

oh, and yes, Revolting. It does suit me, doesn't it I may use it.

ATruthUniversallyAcknowledged · 07/02/2012 18:50

An agency like this called me at work while I was pregnant & DP was serving in Afghanistan. They bullied the receptionist into putting the call through because it was 'urgent', i deserted my gcse class and went running to the phone in a panic when I got the message thinking something terrible had happened ( with hindsight I realised how ridiculous this was, the awful news I imagined would not have been delivered in a telephone call, but still)

The bloke on the phone got more than a 'get your facts right' I can assure you!

thepeoplesprincess · 07/02/2012 18:50

Are they asking for you by name?

ATruthUniversallyAcknowledged · 07/02/2012 18:51

Sorry, I missed the key bit if my post... YANBU!

Kennyp · 07/02/2012 18:52

That s SHOCKING!! tell anne robinson and nicky campbell asap!!!

How awful. Imagine if they got some half asleep person who actually paid up!

ginmakesitallok · 07/02/2012 18:52

They're awful aren't they? I once challenged a parking ticket and got it cancelled (had written proof) - didn't stop debt people chasing me via phone and in writing for it. I kept telling them it had been cancelled and they needed to get in touch with the parking people. They asked me to send the original letter saying it had been cancelled - I told them I wasn't doing that when they could simply phone parking co. They told me that "When it goes to court and you haven't sent us your proof you will be done for wasting court time.." I just told them that I was happy to take that risk. Never heard from them again. twats

GrimwigTheHeadEater · 07/02/2012 18:55

YANBU. I've no personal experience of this (I'm lucky enough to be ancient!) but Eaglewings sounds spot on except that rather than 'hoax' shouldn't that be 'fraud'?

Get the details, tell them that as you do not have this debt you're afraid they may be being used to perpetrate a fraud.

Kayzr · 07/02/2012 18:56

I had this recently. I apparently had a to pay of a student loan from when I went to Uni in 1996. I was 10 in 1996 so was obviously not at uni. I told them to take me to court and I have never heard from them again.

Busyoldfool · 07/02/2012 18:59

YANBU. I had similar and was chased for months for payments on a washing machine that I had supposedly bought. They had also got my name wrong so I got a friend of mine who is a lawyer to send in a letter on headed paper asking to see their evidence. Never heard from them again.

emsyj · 07/02/2012 19:01

I had an 'old style' student loan (started in 1997) that doesn't get automatically deducted from salary - I had to apply to defer until I was earning over the threshold, then start paying a fixed repayment each month. I paid it off in a lump sum a couple of years ago.

So it's not true to say that all student loans are deducted from salary automatically. There are some from the very early days when they were first introduced where there is an onus on the student to repay. BUT I think that had well stopped by 2001...

We used to get regular harassing calls for someone who doesn't and has never lived in our house - we couldn't get the message through that he isn't here and we're not hiding him under the bed - so we changed the number and now we get harassing calls for some other random woman. We can't escape!!!

emsyj · 07/02/2012 19:02

...and student loans hadn't started yet in 1996 I don't think Kayzr - could be wrong, but I thought my intake year in 1997 was the first year of them?

This is obviously a scam that is going around.

NoOnesGoingToEatYourEyes · 07/02/2012 19:04

It could be worse. I asked a customer at work how he was the other day and he said "Quite well thanks, considering I died last week."

Turns out his pension and other payments have all been cancelled. When he rang up to ask why he was told it was because he was dead. He said that he wasn't. They said that as far as they are concerned, he was. He said "But you are speaking to me" and they said that it didn't matter, he was still dead as far as they were concerned and until he sent a letter from his doctor saying otherwise he would remain dead to them.

He had to go to the bank to make some adjustments to direct debits etc and when he came home he had a letter from the council saying that because he was dead and his rent was no longer being paid he would have to move out by the end of the month. He rang them up too. They also need a letter from his doctor saying he's not dead.

At least you haven't been taken before your time OP

trixie123 · 07/02/2012 19:10

Student loans were available in 1994 if not before because I took one out then and every year for the next 4.

Original poster

Cathycomehome · 07/02/2012 19:14

At least you haven't been taken before your time OP

I might TELL them I'm dead if they ring again

OP posts:

Kayzr · 07/02/2012 19:14

Bloody hell NoOnes that must be very strange!!

MoreBeta · 07/02/2012 19:16

There are loads of these types of phone scams going on. They only need to panic one person into sending a cheque and they made a month of pay.

I almost want one to to give me a try so I can play with them for a bit. I only get loft insulation automated calls which are no fun.

oldraver · 07/02/2012 19:16

I have had quite a few of these PPI and accident calls recently. The PPI one said they were phoning about the loan they KNEW I had taken out. I asked which one, they fudged but I pressed on with "Which one?". I was then told the one I had taken out in the last ten years.

I think I may of gone off on a rant..."well thats funny, I havn't taken any loans out in the last ten years (though they insisted the knew I had) are you saying a loan has been taken out in my name FRAUDULENTLY..... are you saying YOU are privvy and have information about a FRAUDULENT transaction on my account.... a few 'frauds' thrown in and they put the phone down on me.

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