############################################## ############################################## ############################################## Just wanted to let everyone know that the IDIOTS at BCW have NOT bothered me since this post back in Nov 07. NOTHING... NADA... NIL Read my advice above. If it is Statute Barred DO NOT PAY. (Check your situ first though as it might not be if it is different to mine)!! I can now "officially" say that BCW are a bunch of IDIOTS who need to get proper jobs as there is no law against stating "FACT"... (Well not yet anyway). Cheers!

"Scammed" That is a great word to associate with Debt Recovery Agencies. If 10,000 people write to the Oxford English Dictionary we could get that amended... (not sure if it is 10,000 or not)!? Scammed - See "Debt Recovery Agency" page 251 etc!

I also want to say - DONT think I am making light of a heavily stressful time! I am NOT. I just want to try and make people understand that there is light at the end of the tunnel and realise that having a debt recovery agency on your back is NOT the end of the world. (Although it can feel like it sometimes). Keep your chin(s) up and DO NOT PAY!! The sooner we all realise there are rules and regulations then the sooner we all can get on with our lives! Have a nice day - DO NOT PAY!! JOSH.

Spiritgirl59 - Thanks for the reply / support. This Forum is great for those who need it!! Conniff - I see what you are saying and I agree. However, in my case it has cost them more in postage probably than the debt cost them to buy. Im guessing that they make quite a bit of money on the 0871 numbers though! (Illegally of course)... If I had more time on my hands I would make it my mission to sink these idiots piece by piece... This Forum and all its people whittling away at them could just do that! Keep up the great work all of you and stick together! In the meantime I will revel in what I think is another Moral Victory!! CAG 1 - BCW NIL Cheers, Josh.

Need a job? Are you un-educated, unemployable and can't hold down a real job? Can you read* from an instruction manual and bark threats down the phone? (Read* we have picture cards for those that can't). Then we have just the job for you!!! Here at XYZ debt collectors we require a bunch of narrow minded, low self esteem individuals who are capable of working in a team (pack / scavenger) environment, but can't find work elsewhere. We offer you a table and phone (a chair may be available after a qualifying period for the right candidate) and the opportunity for once in your miserable life to feel better about yourself by threatening strangers with debts which we have no legal entitlement to pursue. We offer a fast track promotion scheme where you can progress to pack (I mean "team") leader if you can display the right aggressive (I mean "enthusiastic") approach to your work. (Why not avenge all those pant-wetting incidents in the playground you experienced growing up; by blatantly flouting our legal requirements and threatening others). So if you want to work for a bunch of scavengers who only survives by swooping down on other peoples cast offs then apply today. Please submit your CV to.... Extra bonus points for those who have an ASBO, any sort of GBH or ABH order and a short attention span. We offer: Performance related Salary (Depends on who feels threatened enough to pay us that month) Performance Bullying Bonus (£1.00 per person who you reduce to tears down the phone) Pension (No pension scheme available as we won't be around that long) ##Funny how there seems to be a flurry of DEBT recovery activity before Christmas. Kids... Christmas is cancelled... XYZ Debt Recovery have bills to pay.

Just an update to say that after sending the CCA letter with a £1 postal order they wrote to say something along the lines of, "We are not the creditors and do not have that documentation, we will ask the original creditor to forward these documents to you directly"... etc Since then - NOTHING. NOTHING. NOTHING... (over 2 weeks ago). I was expecting something, but have had NOTHING!! My advice again... DO NOT ACCEPT THE DEBT DO NOT PAY ANYTHING DO NOT PHONE THEM DO NOT GIVE IN My only advice would be to send a CCA letter with a £1 postal order straight away... rather than the two statue barred letters as this would have saved me two trips to the post office and the recorded delivery postage! In my view BCW are sinister little pr*cks as they now know full well that I dispute the debt, the debt is over 10 years old and that I am NOT going to pay. Rather than bow out graciously and admit that they got it wrong, they leave it hanging in the wind and say they are passing it back to the original creditor. The original creditor or BCW can do NOTHING about it. You lose. To all at BCW - I called you IDIOTS in my original post now face it, own up, you are actually a bunch of idiots. You took a gamble and lost. Now resign and go get a real job you bunch of uneducated morons. Have a nice day and DO NOT PAY! JOSH.

Sorry Conniff - Does not take a clever person to prey on the vunerable just a devious one... .

Thanks for feedback so far... Good to know Im not the only one caught up in this farce. The worrying thing about all of this is that they get away with it!! SOME people will crumble under this sort of pressure and just pay hoping that will be the last of it. I guarantee IF you pay they will do their damndest to find ANY other debt belonging to you and they will hound you until you cave in and pay again! (You become a target)!! DO NOT PAY UP! IF they back down after this one I will personally see to it that I make their lives hell. I think we have enough material amongst us to approach OFT and Credit Services etc en-mass and give them a taste of their own medicine. I'll let you know what happens next...

This company pretty much breaks ALL rules in relation to unfair practice. How come no one is doing anything about them!!

Hello to you all. Comments / Advice gratefully received... I had a number of letters from BCW claiming I owed them just under £200 for a joint account I have no knowledge of from 1998! The letters kept coming so I phoned them when I received the FINAL DEMAND and told them I DID NOT KNOW about this debt and that unless they could prove it they would get no further correspondance and certainly no money out of me. The woman on the phone advised me to get "professional help" as I would be taken to court to recover the debt. The letters kept coming... They sent the following computer generated photo copied letters in this sequence - 1) FORMAL DEMAND 2) FINAL NOTICE 3) VISIT BY DEBT INVESTIGATION OFFICER 4) LEGAL NOTIFICATION 5) NOTICE OF PENDING LEGAL ACTION (From Geoffrey Parker Bourne) I sent three letters to them by recorded delivery and Royal Mail confirmed that they were delivered. BCW when asked by me on the phone said they had not received the first two letters. This just confirms that they are either just sharks out to prey on the vunerable and get whatever money they can or they are completely incompetent. These companies operate right on the edge of the law and it is JUST a numbers game to them. The woman said the call was being recorded and I said "good" as I did not have any knowledge of any debt they or anyone else claimed to be owed by me. I challenged the woman on the end of the phone to send me the original signed credit agreement. She declined. I asked her how she was going to prove this debt was mine if she was unable to produce the necessary paperwork in a court of law and besides, regardless of whose debt it was it was Statute Barred. She fumbled for an answer and that is when she told me to seek "professional help". The ONLY PEOPLE WHO NEED PROFESSIONAL HELP IS BCW!! I then had a bit of fun and repeatedly asked her in a cheeky-chappy voice... "You don't have the agreement do you?... You don't have it... you can't get it and you can't prove anything... Have you got the Original credit Agreement?... Admit it... you haven't got it have you" etc etc. They are the idiots who have bought up a load of Statue Barred debts in the hope that they can get the money back by threatening vunerable people into paying regardless of whose debt it is. I've sent the Statue Barred letter adding my own little twist by asking them to CONFIRM in writing that this is Statute Barred. (They did not, but Mackenzie Hall have done previously). I then sent the CCA letter with a £1 postal order which they did acknowledge by sending me two letters on the same day and returning my postal order. One letters states: I would advise that we do not hold copy credit agreements at this office as we are not the creditor... The 2nd letter states: I can confirm that I have arranged for a copy of the invoice to be sent to you directly by our clients. This will be with you as soon as possible... Interesting use of the word "Invoice". I did not ask for an invoice, but the Original Credit Agreement! Can I be so bold as to suggest that as the have said "as soon as possible", this Credit Agreement will NOT materialise, but that an invoice for the amount and a request for payment will! Id put money on it!! The pursuer they say is THAMES CREDIT Ltd. Do I need to send the CCA letter to them and request the Credit Agreement with the £1 postal order? As I guess at this time they have skirted their commitment to provide the CCA within 12 days by returning the postal order etc. Is this another Loop Hole!!?? Any suggestions? Anyone else been here and done that!? What should I be doing next? I can easily afford to pay what they want, but it is not mine to pay!! I am a patient man, but I am starting to lose my patience with these idiots and Id rather sort them out legally then buy "Mad Mike" a ticket and have him sort them out face to face.