please help - who are these people? really scared...

[MathsMadMummy]

DH's exW has told us they've had an automated phonecall from 'scotcall' and I looked it up and apparently it's a debt collection agency but lots of websites saying it's just nuisance callers. when exW answered and tried saying DH doesn't live there they hung up?

DH did have a lot of debt before (incidentally all thanks to exW who bought catalogue crap everything in his name) so had very bad credit rating, but the last thing was paid off 8yrs ago. Am very scared it'll be something genuine that got forgotten. the website looks professional but you never know do you.

sorry this is really waffly but what do we do? a web forum said to block the number so exW is doing that and promised not to give our number or address.

help!

and what happens if they've got the wrong person? DH's name is quite common.

Scotcall are a collections agency, they work for the student loan company amongst other things. If it's a debt that's over 6 years old since he paid or offered to pay then it's unenforcable (it's statute barred), just phone them up and ask them for the details of the debt and for them to prove it belongs to DH.

why are you really scared by an automated phone call?

two men with baseball bats yes
someone else receiving a robot call no

stop worrying

i'm scared because we have literally no money?

thanks belle I looked up a bit about the statute of limitations so that's a relief as we've heard nothing in the 7+ years we've been together.

I'm not even sure if there IS any debt anyway.

Just be careful it's not the student loan company, they will just keep going, the limitations for this depends on when the loan was taken out.

nope definitely not student loans!

I'm now thinking maybe we shouldn't have told exW to block the number as it may make things worse.

dammit I'm such a worrier have a massive knot in my stomach

It's OK, they won't do anything. They are probably going through the phone book trying to trace someone with the same name as your husband.

Automated debt recovery - what next!

Apparently Scotcall have four levels of recovery and they specialise in 'doorstep' debt recovery, which sounds v dodgy indeed especially since they have a wing dedicated to surveillance of debtors

In your shoes I would tell them to put it in writing so you at least know what they are banging on about.

Yup, some of them also email and send text messages at 7am to your landline. If you ignore the student loan company for long enough they send your account to an agency that fill your home phone answering machine with messages as they phone 2-3 times a day! (I used to work in the CAB)

Do not reply - just ignore - the debbt is barred and dead - the only way they can ressurect it is if you reply and acknowlage it!

No, I disagree Crab, if the OP doesn't reply within 3 months then they simply pass the debt on to another company. It's best to call them, don't acknowledge the debt, just say the debt does not belong to DH and you need to send a copy of the contract to prove that it is his debt and the dates. Do not offer to pay, do not say 'I remember but it was years ago', don't acknowledge the debt at all, just request the information. You can do this in writing (so you can keep a copy).

Also if it isn't your debt and you tell them and then they keep hassling you without checking further they are in breach of the data protection act and the industry code of conduct. Just threaten to report them!

For £2 you can get a copy of your DH's credit file from Experian or Equifax. This will show if there are any outstanding debts on file. If there is a debt, they have to provide a copy of the credit agreement and they cannot refuse a 'reasonable' offer of payment. Reasonable can be as low as £1 a month if you are broke. Try not to panic. These people are paid to bully money out of debtors, but they still can't take what you haven't got.