"Letter Before Action" for Telephone Harassment Court Claim

[hannahbtw]

Good Evening all,

 

Its been some time since I've been on the forum, but I'm wondering if anyone has some advice for me regarding my dealings with Barclays Bank.

 

They have been constantly hounding with telephone calls to both my landline and mobile since the middle of February (I've had 70 calls in the past 12 days alone)

 

Its in relation to a loan and overdraft which I have offered numerous times to repay at the token amount of £1.00 per month, which they refuse to acknowledge or address.

 

I initially sent them the "Telephone Harassment" letter found on this site, and they wrote back saying that they had logged my complaint and I would recieve no more calls...well, someone must have forgotton to tell the phone monkeys in the Debt Management Centre, as the calls continued unabated!

 

So, fired off this letter next..

 

Dear Sir/Madam,

 

Despite my letter regarding ANY communication from your company, which stated that I require ALL communications in writing, your telephone calls continue.

 

This behaviour constitutes harassment; the letter stated quite clearly to you that I require ALL communications in writing for future Court use. Do not telephone me again - remove any telephone numbers you hold for me from your systems.

 

Your telephone calls are in breach of the Office of Fair Trading guidelines. If you continue with them after the receipt of this letter, an official complaint together with a log recording the times and frequency of the calls, will be passed both to that office and to the Trading Standards office. For your information note that ALL telephone calls are now being recorded.

 

This type of debt collection method is contrary to the ‘Administration of Justice Act 1970’ in that it is intended to cause alarm and distress to the recipient. Your methods will not be tolerated.

Take further note that continued telephone calls after the receipt of a request not to call (my original letter to ask you to cease and desist was signed for by your office on 22nd January 2009) may constitute a criminal offence under Section 127 of the Communications Act 2003.

 

Communicate in writing and ONLY in writing, your telephone calls will NOT be answered.

However, any calls will trigger complaints to the regulatory authorities.

 

I trust that I have made myself understood on this matter.

 

Hannahbtw.

 

 

 

Still the phonecalls continue, and tons more "red debt letters" from them..

so next letter is....

 

Dear Sir/Madam,

Further to my letter of 20th January 2009 asking that all calls to myself regarding the above numbered account cease and that all further contact be made in writing. I am again writing in relation to the quantity and frequency of telephone calls that I have received from your company, which I deem to be personally harassing.

 

I have written twice now and requested that these stop, but I am still receiving calls with up to 15 calls per day being recorded.

I again request all further correspondence from your company to be made in writing only.

 

I would further express my disappointment at your unwillingness to address my offer of repayment.

 

I am of the view that your continued harassment of me by telephone puts you in breach of Section 40 of the Administration of Justice Act 1970, and the Protection from Harassment Act 1997.

 

If you continue to harass me by telephone, you will also be in breach of the Communications Act (2003) s.127 and my next correspondence to your office will be a Letter Before Action as I shall be seeking an injunction and compensation for the harassment and stress you are subjecting me to.

Be advised that any further telephone calls from your company have been recorded and will be used in any future legal action against Barclays.

 

Hannahbtw

 

These idiots just dont listen, I'm still receiving calls each day, from 7.30am through to 9.00pm 7 days a week.

 

I need to draft an appropriate "Letter Before Action" as I intend to take them to the County Court for harassment, seek an injunction to stop the calls, and have some sort of compensation for all the worry and stress they are putting me and my partner through...she has a mental health disability and this is making her condition 100 times worse.

 

Does anyone know which Acts I need to quote in my LBA, and what relevant information do I need to include?

 

I'm so sorry for this epic post, I just wanted to get everything in, in one fell swoop :o)

 

Thanks guys!

 

Hannah x

Edited April 2, 2009 by hannahbtw

[hannahbtw]

Bumping for advice from knowledgable peeps!

 

Hannah x

[cerberusalert]

The relevant Acts are mentioned in the letters you have already sent them. Have you complained to Trading Standards, the OFT, the FSA and OFCOM yet?

Edited April 2, 2009 by cerberusalert

[count orlok]

someone in Plymouth got a large out of court settlement from HBOS for exactly what is hapeening to you. Check out on google if someon can't come up with the details.

 

I can imagine how bad this sort of thing could be, as soon as i startted gettting into money trouble i changed my phone number to avoid this sort of thing.

[count orlok]

here's the link to the local newpaper story: Harassment claim against bank settled out of court you could try contacting the solicitors involved is they don't stop.

[cerberusalert]

I need to draft and appropriate "Letter Before Action" as I intend to take them to the County Court for harassment, seek an injunction to stop the calls, and have some sort of compensation for all the worry and stress they are putting me and my partner through...she has a mental health disability and this is making her condition 100 times worse.

 

They are breaking their own code of conduct as members of the CSA CSA Website & also FSA guidelines

[hannahbtw]

Thank you for your replies!

I have complained to anyone and everyone who will listen...

TS say that they will investigate if they receive similar complaints???? wtf? Isnt my complaint enough for them to investigate?

OFT say that they cant act on ONE complaint from an individual.

OFCOM advised me to contact the TPS.

I haven't complained to the FSA as yet, as I am losing the will to live with these so-called authorities that are meant to help us in times like this.

I just want to go it alone now, and take them to court under my own steam.

Thanks for that link count orlok! What a shame the guy died before his case was heard, absolutely appalling!! Why these banks think they can harrass us and get away with it, i don't know! Well, they arent getting away with doing this to me...I will fight them all the way over this!

 

Hannah x

[hannahbtw]

I read somewhere that I wouldnt be able to start any action in the small claims court, as the damages claimed may exceed the allowance in the County Court (or something along those lines!) Sorry thats not very clear, I hope you understand what I mean!

Can anyone advise on this? Is that true? In which case would I need to enlist the help of a solicitor?

Any advice appreciated.

 

Hannah x

[cerberusalert]

IIRC you can bring an action in a small claims court if the claim is less than £1000 for injury. see;

Making a Claim

 

Small Claims Courts

[diamondgirl]

They have been constantly hounding with telephone calls to both my landline and mobile since the middle of February (I've had 70 calls in the past 12 days alone)

 

Hannahbtw - If you are with BT ring them up - you can change your telephone number and make it ex-directory. Within 24 hours the phone calls stop - you can report them to BT. It will cost you after the 1st month if you want to just bar their number. Make sure you register with the telephone preference service - if you get calls from any company in this country and you are on the list you can report them. However if a company has offices abroad they can still obtain an ex-directory phone number by buying the details but they are still not supposed to ring you. It may just be one way to stop them.

DG:)

[hannahbtw]

I'm actually with Sky, so dont know if they have a similar thing to BT's choose to refuse but will certainly look into it, but to be honest why should i have to spend money to get the phone to stop ringing...its the Bank that should be heeding my letters and not contacting me on my phone

 

Hannah x

[willtheywontthey]

I also sent Barclays this same letter but got nowhere.

 

I then sent them a letter (will try to find details!) stating I would be making an official complaint to the Police regarding harassment (and discrimination in my case) and woudl be asking my MP to investigate (pu CC on bottom of letter detailing your MP). I seem to recall I searched for the CEO's details and stated he (usually a he!!) would be named as the actual instigator of such calls. I also recapped on the harassment laws etc as an extra bit of info. I sent a copy to two ro three addresses I had for Barclays to make sure. Remember to state at top of letter - FORMAL COMPLAINT - DO NOT IGNORE (Police Action) or the like and in BOLD

 

Calls stopped within a few days. I have also now bought truecall.

 

 

Good luck!

[harrassed senior]

I have found this service from BT very useful. I give one number to family and friends and everyone else is left on the original number. This is great for giving out on the internet or on forms or anything you want.

 

Call Sign*Get an additional number with a different ring tone £2.50 a month

If you're tired of being your children's receptionist or fed up of answering other people's calls then Call Sign is just what you're looking for. You'll know who each call is for, or who is calling, because calls from certain numbers will have a different ring tone.

We'll give you an additional number for your phone, which will have a separate ringing tone when it is called. Who you give your Call Sign number to is up to you. It could be your children's friends, or an elderly relative, so you immediately know it's them when the phone rings. You can also use it to separate business and personal calls, or calls from fax machines.

[willtheywontthey]

I am with Tiscali and been trying for 12+ months to get my number changed - they say BT should do it and guess what BT say... yes... Tiscali should do it.

 

Imbeciles the lot of them!!!!!!

 

Tiscali also stated I should go to police if I got nuisance calls... that's it.. their advice. nothing else. Useless.

[diamondgirl]

I'm actually with Sky, so dont know if they have a similar thing to BT's choose to refuse but will certainly look into it, but to be honest why should i have to spend money to get the phone to stop ringing...its the Bank that should be heeding my letters and not contacting me on my phone

 

Hannah x

 

Don't know about Sky but BT is free to change your number. You can still register with the telephone preference service its supposed to be for everyone. I still give out my old telephone number to anyone I don't want to ring me and its especially good for on the internet.

Willtheywontthey thats a good idea tell them you are reporting them to the Police for harassment see what they say to that. DG;)

[hannahbtw]

Thanks everyone for your replies..I knew I wouldnt be alone in receiving these calls, it seems that most banks and DCA's like to harass their customers into paying, as a matter of course. I'm stunned at the number of threads on this site and MSE that deal with the same problem.

 

I'm going to see a legal advisor at the CAB next week, to find out my options regarding instigating court action over this harassment...in the past 2 days they have called 11 times, yesterday the last call came at 19:49pm right in the middle of Eastenders, lol! B***ards!!

 

Hannah x

[harrassed senior]

Hi, have a look at the following - it has just been posted on here:

 

Debt collection can be harassment, rules court ? Channel Register

[hannahbtw]

Oh thank you so much for that link!!! :o)

Just goes to show, we dont have to take all their c**p lying down!

 

Hannah x