Debt collection officer offering advice

[ErikaPNP]

Also, why do DCAs employ school leavers? As in, under 18, no life experience etc??

 

Same as many other people employ them. They're cheap labour and as I stated earlier - people fresh faced out of school will often not question a DCA's tactics and the legality of them, and are quite eager to be able to have "power" at such a young age. Think about it. A stroppy teen being PAID to be abusive? A teenagers wet dream is that.

[sosumi]

Same as many other people employ them. They're cheap labour and as I stated earlier - people fresh faced out of school will often not question a DCA's tactics and the legality of them, and are quite eager to be able to have "power" at such a young age. Think about it. A stroppy teen being PAID to be abusive? A teenagers wet dream is that.

They don't need cheap labour. Agree with your post though.

[yourbank]

Mr.ton we're perfectly aware of it however, the main premise is that it's the pure and simple idea that someone is coming to see you in person to collect the money from you. We would never say to someone a doorstep collector would come to take property as even suggesting the idea would get us frogmarched from the office. We know there is no legal power behind a doorstep collector and if you told them to go away they would, but it's better to talk about it and come to an arrangement before it got that far.

 

And yes, it does cost a dca to take someone to court but a lot of the costs are recovered from the other side so it would just depend on the amount in question.

 

Martin, those who are in breech of the CSA are undoubtedly investigated but not all dca's ignore the guidelines. And I am unsure as to what else my intentions other than to provide advise may be. As I have addressed, my job is to give advice to the debtors along with collecting the balance so surely if I was to do anything different here I would be contradicting myself?

 

Are you targetted for the amount of accounts and/or monies you are able to collect from?

Cards on the table. I know bank collection departments are targetted for deals but are DCA's?

[andie_303]

Ok I have a question then - I recently dealth with a company regarding Council Tax - I made an offer of payment which they would not accept as they said the council they were employed by wouldn't accept it (not true according to the council) and they then said that the offer to pay in installments was being withdrawn as I couldn't afford the £139.00 per month they were asking. They also said any monthly installment was subjct to a levy being performed first 'as insurance' again supposedly on the say so of the council (again not true according to the council). The DCA know I am a single parent of a disabled child and that OFT guidelines say they should not doorstep visit vulnerbale parties - but they claim they can disregard these and say they will send an enforcement office to my house anyway. Since this I have just paid the £50 I have said I can afford per month and nothing has happened as yet - your thoughts are appreciated.

[mr.ton]

I think the OP has give up 8)

[sosumi]

I think the OP has give up 8)

I should have loved to learn who the 'frogmarcher' is!

[yourbank]

I think the OP has give up 8)

Isn't it sunday lunch time(always later than during the week )

[lilly white]

Hello

 

DCO

 

I URGE YOU TO CALL WE WILL OF COURSE BE UNDERSTANDING AS LONG AS WE GET WHAT WE WANT

 

WE LOOK FORWARD TO YOUR RETURN

 

LILLY

[Luminol]

I wonder why a DCA employee would land on this site on a Sunday afternoon, unless ofcourse they are in debt themselves?

[gadgetgirl]

Trust a Debt Collector !!!

You make Demands for monies owed but cannot give any proof of the debt, all enquires end up with MORE DEMANDS for monies not owed.

I had my first bank account in 1966 and have never ben in debt but I have untill NOON on the 11th March to pay a debt I know nothing about, This debt was Dec 2002 and I have just been informed about it.

 

When I telephone the company that has DEMANDED money from me I was told "you owe the money so you have to pay" The ignorant Scot's person knows nothing about me so why should he be so rude and tell me that I owe his company money

[mr.ton]

Some DCA has put the OP up to the job i reckon.

Wonder which one it was? 8)

[sosumi]

Trust a Debt Collector !!!

You make Demands for monies owed but cannot give any proof of the debt, all enquires end up with MORE DEMANDS for monies not owed.

I had my first bank account in 1966 and have never ben in debt but I have untill NOON on the 11th March to pay a debt I know nothing about, This debt was Dec 2002 and I have just been informed about it.

 

When I telephone the company that has DEMANDED money from me I was told "you owe the money so you have to pay" The ignorant Scot's person knows nothing about me so why should he be so rude and tell me that I owe his company money

Hi Gadgetgirl

Can you start a new thread on this part of the forum? You will get lots of help

[Toulose LeDebt]

All of our accounts are pre court and have been passed in many cases to other collection companies prior to ourselves. The reason debts are often passed from one company to another is simply because the creditor is not satisfied with the progress being made (or not!) by the company working on behalf of them! Naughty debt collectors!

 

 

 

Bet you still send out the "We have bought your account under LoP 1925 Sec 136" letters though.

[WOOD73]

Wood73, that is down to the agent dealing with the account. In my personal opinion, someone who 'wont pay' won't take my calls or respond to letters. If someone genuinelly cant pay then I will listen to their reasons and go through their income and expenditure and set them up on a payment scheme which THEY are comfortable with. No one wants to make anyone not be able to feed or clothe themselves. If you fall into can't pay then DON'T just hang up whenever someone tries to call or put the letters in the bin as this automatically makes the collector think you won't pay and further action may be taken.

 

In my personal experience, someone wont take calls from a dca, or respond to their letters because they have been subject to lies and abuse from agents, I have on several occasions in the past tried to make payment offers, and have been refused and basically told I will pay what they want or be taken to court!. The reason I stopped speaking to them was because they would not listen, and I felt I was wasting my time, not because I didnt want to pay, but because I couldnt afford to.

 

So as I am sure many other people on here will tell you, you are incorrect in your assumption!

[ErikaPNP]

Okay, to the DCO

 

I have a post which I'd like your opinion on. I received several letters addressed "To the Occupier" from a DCA informing "the occupier" owed a debt, along with a threat of court action if I didn't pay within seven days. The letter had a giro slip attached for payment.

 

1. Addressing such letters "To the Occupier" is not something a DCA is supposed to do

2. I had never had debt with the DCA's clients as I'd never had an account with them, and had lived at the address for several years.

3. It is impossible for anyone, be it a company or individual to take someone to court without having an identity for that person, so how indeed they planned to take me to court is anybody's guess. A summons cannot be addressed "To the occupier"

 

When I rang said DCA and advised them that I had never been with their client, they asked me to verify my identity by sending personal information to them. I'm not the sort of person who will provide my identity to anyone who requests it, therefore I refused. They continued to harass me with letters and phonecalls (to an ex directory, TPS registered and several times changed) telephone number, asking to speak to a male I'd never heard of, and continuing to make threats to chase ME unless I proved who I was. I informed them several times that I am under no obligation to prove my identity to anyone, least of all a company that had shown nothing but verbal abuse toward me, that the onus was on them to find their debtor, and I was not about to assist them by proving my identity when they had clearly, on several occasions demonstrated a complete lack of respect for the Data Protection Act in regard to their REAL debtors details.

 

Your thoughts on this would be??????

[babybear39]

Okay, to the DCO

 

I have a post which I'd like your opinion on. I received several letters addressed "To the Occupier" from a DCA informing "the occupier" owed a debt, along with a threat of court action if I didn't pay within seven days. The letter had a giro slip attached for payment.

 

1. Addressing such letters "To the Occupier" is not something a DCA is supposed to do

2. I had never had debt with the DCA's clients as I'd never had an account with them, and had lived at the address for several years.

3. It is impossible for anyone, be it a company or individual to take someone to court without having an identity for that person, so how indeed they planned to take me to court is anybody's guess. A summons cannot be addressed "To the occupier"

 

When I rang said DCA and advised them that I had never been with their client, they asked me to verify my identity by sending personal information to them. I'm not the sort of person who will provide my identity to anyone who requests it, therefore I refused. They continued to harass me with letters and phonecalls (to an ex directory, TPS registered and several times changed) telephone number, asking to speak to a male I'd never heard of, and continuing to make threats to chase ME unless I proved who I was. I informed them several times that I am under no obligation to prove my identity to anyone, least of all a company that had shown nothing but verbal abuse toward me, that the onus was on them to find their debtor, and I was not about to assist them by proving my identity when they had clearly, on several occasions demonstrated a complete lack of respect for the Data Protection Act in regard to their REAL debtors details.

 

Your thoughts on this would be??????

 

Report the DCA to Trading Standards, the Information Commissioners and the OFT.

[sam614]

Your thoughts on this would be??????

 

COMPUTER ERROR:D

[gadgetgirl]

Hi Gadgetgirl

Can you start a new thread on this part of the forum? You will get lots of help

Not sure how to !!

[sosumi]

Could a Mod please move Gadgetgirl's thread to the Debt Collection Industry forum?

It's here:

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/data-protection-default-issues/188105-machenzie-hall-equidebt.html

Thanks

[lilly white]

gadgetgirl

 

CLICK ON NEW THREAD AT THE BOTTOM ON THE LEFT

 

AND AWAY YOU GO

 

LILLY

[gadgetgirl]

Not sure how to !!

 

I am new to this

[gadgetgirl]

I give up !! , I have been move elsewhere, so I will log off.

 

Tomorrow is a new day so I will fight on somehow

[westendwendy]

Well, that was interesting while it lasted

From this quote :

The reason debts are often passed from one company to another is simply because the creditor is not satisfied with the progress being made (or not!) by the company working on behalf of them!

 

Or, because DCA's just don't seem to understand that they can't pass on a debt that is in dispute.

 

Op was rather vague,other than begging someone to phone him,he really didn't have much to say that was of any real interest:(

[sosumi]

I give up !! , I have been move elsewhere, so I will log off.

 

Tomorrow is a new day so I will fight on somehow

Don't worry!

You have started a thread in the Legal Issues forum.

If you start a new thread here, as Lilly said, then just copy your post over.

It's okay, easy done!

[sosumi]

Well I now have an image of a DCA 'operative' being frogmarched from the office.

So, for me, a nice interlude!