Overdraft & Gold Card

[Guest HeftyHippo]

As Richard Wilson would put it "I don't believe it!"

 

First Direct have instructed yet another company. This one is called Scotcall and they plan to pay me a visit. I’m really looking forward to that. It will be nice to vent my frustration at someone who cannot hang up or refuse to answer my letters.

 

Gawd, that's more biscuits you have to buy, as well as some fancy tea! Don't they realise you're a bit short at the moment?

[Coactum]

That may well have been the case if you were visiting but I’ll not be letting these folks across the threshold.

 

I plan to enquire of them if they are being paid to make this call or hoping to extract payment from which they will earn a commission. If the former then I'll tell them that I'm happy to engage in dialogue so that they can charge First Direct a nice fat fee, but if the latter then they will be advised in no uncertain terms how many have tried before them and that as I consider this matter to be in dispute I'll be paying nothing. As such if they wish to mitigate their losses they will be best to give up now.

[GeoffreyAlby]

That may well have been the case if you were visiting but I’ll not be letting these folks across the threshold.

 

I plan to enquire of them if they are being paid to make this call or hoping to extract payment from which they will earn a commission. If the former then I'll tell them that I'm happy to engage in dialogue so that they can charge First Direct a nice fat fee, but if the latter then they will be advised in no uncertain terms how many have tried before them and that as I consider this matter to be in dispute I'll be paying nothing. As such if they wish to mitigate their losses they will be best to give up now.

 

They say they are making a call on a specific day? But pls call them to prevent the call?

 

Isnt this just a scare tactic? when they say they are going to make a call, it just means they are going to telephone you , but it is worded to look like a physical visit , hence it scares some people into telephoning to prevent the "call".

[Guest HeftyHippo]

That may well have been the case if you were visiting but I’ll not be letting these folks across the threshold.

Flattered - long timer since I had Earl Grey and Chocolate hobnobs!

 

I plan to enquire of them if they are being paid to make this call or hoping to extract payment from which they will earn a commission. If the former then I'll tell them that I'm happy to engage in dialogue so that they can charge First Direct a nice fat fee, but if the latter then they will be advised in no uncertain terms how many have tried before them and that as I consider this matter to be in dispute I'll be paying nothing. As such if they wish to mitigate their losses they will be best to give up now.

 

Sound like a good idea - they'd do well to consider it, but they're probably paid by results. so no can do.

 

They say they are making a call on a specific day? But pls call them to prevent the call?

 

Isnt this just a scare tactic? when they say they are going to make a call, it just means they are going to telephone you , but it is worded to look like a physical visit , hence it scares some people into telephoning to prevent the "call".

 

It usually is. I was caught out once or twice myself in the early days. I remember going out all day once so I wouldn't be in and avoid a confrontation. I was SO p*ssed off when I got home at 10pm and didn't find a card to say they'd called. I realised then that the ambiguous words were deliberate to make you think they would visit and hence prompt action from you, whilst giving them plausiable deniability when challenged that they intended to telephone.

 

Personally, I think such ambiguity is reprehensible as it is designed simply to cause worry and concern, and VERY few doorstep visits are actually made. I do know of cases when they have indeed called, simply to put a "we visited you to discuss your account" card through the letter box. No knock on the door, and no intention to discuss the account, just a technique to make you think you were lucky in not hearing the door.

 

No one seems to have brought this technique up with the OFT as unfair though.

 

Check the words

Edited May 16, 2010 by HeftyHippo

[Coactum]

In the end I never got round to sending them a letter and today have a follow up which reads:

 

Despite being offered numerous opportunities to resolve this matter we note that no proposal for the repayment of this debt has been received.

 

Unless payment is made we will have no option but to pass this account back to our client with recommendation that further action be taken.

 

So, let me get this straight. One letter plus this equals numerous. Despite threat of home call none has transpired (not even a phone call) and wait a moment they are returning this to their client and recommending further action. Oh my, that does sound like I’m going to be beaten with a big stick!

[Guest HeftyHippo]

hmmm, be prepared for a 'one last chance' message.

 

I am sick of RMA Resolve who perpertually say because I have not cooperated they are removing me from their scheme and recommending legal action to their client, then a month later, another letter welcoming me to RMA Resolve! The did change it a bit last time though, it wasn't RMA it was UCA or someone. Same horse, same jockey, different shirt.

[Coactum]

This is not the first DCA who has thrown in the towel early on. If you look back in this thread you will learn that there have been many companies involved often more than once. If I have learnt anything here it is that when you respond you seem to get dragged into lengthy debate. Invariably they ignore all requests to correspond in writing and simply send standard “pay up or else” letters, but when you fail to reply they give up faster. i'm sure another DCA will be passed the account.

[Coactum]

Funny how these things seem to come in waves, you know months of nothing then all of a sudden they seem to be oozing out of the woodwork again. I’m presently being pursued by Lewis group the latest in a long line of companies who have acted on behalf of First Direct. Now, what I’m wondering is whether or not to enter into any dialogue with them. As you may have read earlier in this thread I declined to acknowledge the previous lot, Scotcall I think, and they eventually gave up, so should I do the same with Lewis or should I write asking them how they feel being the latest in a very, very long line?

[Coactum]

Most debts are exclusively in my name but one is held jointly with my wife. Lewis debt recovery wrote to us offering a 70% discount on this debt and my wife replied stating that she could possibly borrow funds from her father to more or less pay what they requested but on the understanding that she got a letter from First Direct verifying that this was full and final settlement and that this would bring an end to the matter.

 

To be honest I was a tad angry with her because I’m sure that is FD thought they had a case they would have brought it to court long ago and as her parents are both retired and have limited funds I don’t think it is right for us to be borrowing from them. However, Lewis replied without the reassurances requested and making a whole raft of other requests for up to date income/expenditure details etc. I find this quite bizarre if they were indeed instructed to accept a substantially reduced FF settlement.

 

Needless to say I replied to them with a polite but firm response the gist of which was get stuffed!

 

I wonder just how many others are getting DCA letters of this type which clearly are intended to lure you in to commencing fresh negotiations in a case that is otherwise dead?

[GeoffreyAlby]

Most debts are exclusively in my name but one is held jointly with my wife. Lewis debt recovery wrote to us offering a 70% discount on this debt and my wife replied stating that she could possibly borrow funds from her father to more or less pay what they requested but on the understanding that she got a letter from First Direct verifying that this was full and final settlement and that this would bring an end to the matter.

 

To be honest I was a tad angry with her because I’m sure that is FD thought they had a case they would have brought it to court long ago and as her parents are both retired and have limited funds I don’t think it is right for us to be borrowing from them. However, Lewis replied without the reassurances requested and making a whole raft of other requests for up to date income/expenditure details etc. I find this quite bizarre if they were indeed instructed to accept a substantially reduced FF settlement.

 

Needless to say I replied to them with a polite but firm response the gist of which was get stuffed!

 

I wonder just how many others are getting DCA letters of this type which clearly are intended to lure you in to commencing fresh negotiations in a case that is otherwise dead?

 

Are they still treating your credit card debt as having been transferred to your current account?

[cfs_too]

Coactum and Me-Too,

 

 

Did you receive Default notices for your credit card accounts before they made the transfer to your overdraft.

 

Hi,

 

Sorry I haven't been around for a while. I have a watch on this thread but I have been too poorly to keep up with my CC woes!

 

To answer your question, yes I did get a DN before they closed the CC account. However it was not fully explained to me that if I did not make payment of the overdraft (a family member would have paid this nominal amount for me) then the accounts would be combined.

 

When I didn't respond to the DN, they closed the CC and placed the full amount into the Current Account/overdraft, whilst closing the Current Account at the same time - hence no more interest. I do think that the DN is valid, but I have never received anything other than a very old copy of an application form for the CC and no docs at all for the overdraft.

 

I think I have understood from reading the many posts on here, that they are allowed to combine the debts. My gripe with them is that they placed the many £1000's of pounds CC debt on top of an overdraft of barely a few hundred pounds, and kept the current account number for reference when chasing the 'alleged' debt. Ooh, I haven't quoted the 'alleged debt' line for a while, I was just getting into practice there!

 

So on my credit rating it looks as though I owe many thousands on a current account debt, for which I am not too happy about but there appears nothing we can do.

 

I tried and tried to correspond with FD but it was a complete waste of time. Luckily they have been quiet, or Wescott's have for about 6 months. My other DCA's are coming out of the woodwork, just in time to place on the pressure before Christmas, so I am expecting a nice letter promising some kind of visit before Christmas - I hope they bring mince pies with them!!!

 

I will be checking the threads a bit more after the next few weeks, so if there is anything else you'd like to ask I should respond a little quicker next time.

 

Hope this helps,

 

Me_Too

[Coactum]

If both accounts were in your name exclusively then you are quite correct that these can be combined. In my case one account was in my name and the other was joint.

 

I have lost count of the number of DCA's that have chased me for these accounts. I suspect that it FD had a case they would have brought it to court a long time ago.

[GeoffreyAlby]

But I presume that even though they have unilaterally transferred an alleged debt from a Credit card to a current account the CCA1974 would still be relevant? According to the CCA 1974 are credit card debts and overdrafts considered the same?

[Coactum]

No, credit card debts and overdrafts are NOT considered the same. This may help:

http://www.statutelaw.gov.uk/content.aspx?LegType=All&searchEnacted=0&extentMatchOnly=0&confersPower=0&blanketAmendment=0&sortAlpha=0&PageNumber=0&NavFrom=0&parentActiveTextDocId=436674&ActiveTextDocId=436674&filesize=35162

[Coactum]

I'm wondering how todays court decision will affect my outstanding PPI claim. It was sold longer than 6 years ago but a claim was raised within that time as detailed earlier in this thread. If I were retrospectively credited with all PPI payments and the accrued interest thereon this would mitigate the alleged debt I have with First Direct