Bring court action against a Debt Collector?

[BillyBob1]

I think I have a good case against a debt collector who has breached the OFT - Guidance on Debt Collection and the DPA and would really appreciate someone casting their legal eye over it. I'm debating instructing a solicitor to act for me, but would like an unbiased opinion as to whether court action is feasible.

 

Cutting a very long story short, I alledge that a DC used an outdated telephone directory to gain a telephone number for my address and proceeded to phone this number without taking any reasonable precautions to ensure it belonged to me.

 

It did in fact belong to the person who I purchased my current house from (Mrs J) as they tranferred their number to their new address. The DCA repeatedly called this number, was rude, aggressive and refused to remove it from their systems when asked by Mrs J. I was made aware of this when Mrs J recognised my name and called to my house in an effort to stop the phone calls and brought with her a piece of paper containing my name, a unique reference number, the name of the DCA and the fact they were calling about a debt.

 

I feel the DCA has broken the DPA in giving these details out and have been reckless with regard to the phone number (bearing in mind I have been living at my current house for over 5 years).

 

It has been very embarrassing - Mrs J and myself still live in the same locality and I would be quite sure my financial standing has been broadcast far and wide.

 

Please note this is only one of the issues I have with this company - but the one I feel is most serious and will base my case upon if anyone thinks I have a reasonable chance of bringing a successful action against the DCA?

 

Many thanks in advance if anyone has read this far!

 

Billy.

[scared001]

sorry i cant offer any help but i really do hope you get this sorted. i still cant believe the gov allows this to happen and dcas get away with murder given all the bad press that banks have had etc etc......their fault we all lost our jobs in the first place amongst other things!!!

 

good luck.....x

[hilaryfrances]

hope someone can help you this is offer

[postggj]

hi billybob and welcome

 

i myself have taken two dca to court for a default registered on a stat barred debt.

 

i only recommend court action as a last resort. even now one of the cases has been dragging on over a year in the courts.

 

they say cag use legal technicalities, i can assure you dca wrote the book

 

before you even consider court action, a complaint needs to be made to the fos and ico

 

the court will ask if this has happened

 

once they have responded with a final decision

 

go for the throat

[BillyBob1]

Thanks for the replies everyone, much appreciated.

 

I was under the impression complaints to the FOS and ICO were next to pointless - thankyou for pointing out a court would be looking for this.

 

I'll get on with making the relevant complaints, if anyone is interested in the progress I can upload a scan of the relevant correspondance thus far?

 

Thanks, Billy.

[postggj]

keep your thread updated with all developments

 

any probs ill look in

[andie_303]

a form 4 complaint to the certificating court is probably your best option here.

[postggj]

you got the right thread andie

 

form 4 (baliffs)

[BillyBob1]

Ok thankyou. I'll post up the letter of complaint I sent to Power 2 Contact firstly, informing them I intend to take them to court.

 

It's a bit heavy reading im sorry but I spent a while trying to ensure it was clear and concise.

 

http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/4774/p2c.jpg

http://img29.imageshack.us/img29/8108/p2ca.jpg

http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/7940/p2cb.jpg

 

And below is Power2Contact's rather amusing and utter nonsense reply:

 

http://img692.imageshack.us/img692/2796/p2cc.jpg

 

I think the part I find hilarious is where they have the cheek to refer to the OFT - Guidance on Debt Collection!

 

And that's up to date, I'll post any correspondance to do with the official complaints as soon as I receive it.

 

Thanks, Billy.

[andie_303]

oh don't you love it when they fail to actually respond to your letter in any way!

 

Thats on par with a Lowell effort

[BillyBob1]

I figure it's just more ammunition for me in court - if they can't even respond to a letter properly and at least attempt to address some of the points raised in it, how are they fit to run a debt collection business?

 

I couldn't decide if they'd replied to the wrong person when I first read it - I almost want to write them a letter thanking them for dealing with my complaint quickly and effectively!