Debt Managers Ltd

[Guest Cartaphilus]

Just a question regarding your income because you said this earlier:

 

I am currently ill with pneumonia and have no income so this is an added stress.

 

I'd really consider applying for benefits under the circumstances if you have no income and are out of work.

[ormiston]

I had been doing 3 days a week temp work and the last pay was received last Friday so didnt think I could go for benefit. Should I then reply with details of the circumstances and offer £1 a week or would that involve me in endless to-ing and fro-ing?

[Guest Cartaphilus]

Should I then reply with details of the circumstances and offer £1 a week or would that involve me in endless to-ing and fro-ing?

Bazooka Boo suggested £1 a month which is the normal level of token payment for someone in your situation ie no income.

 

especially when I am unable to work due to illness.

Edited July 6, 2010 by Cartaphilus

[Bazooka Boo]

Was the work you were doing less than 16 hours a week?

If so you can claim benefit.

[ormiston]

no, it was 21 hours a week unfortunately...

[Guest Cartaphilus]

Okay, so are you working now, only ... you did mention you were unable to work due to illness ie pneumonia and had no income as a result, that you were out of work? Which appears to say you aren't working now, in which case you can claim benefits.

 

Found this on another site, from someone who works in JSA which could be of some help ...

 

Basically the general rule is once u hit 16 hours per benfit week ur claim will be closed but this rule does not always apply.

 

For example - in ur fortnightly benefit cycle, the 1st week u work 10 hrs & the 2nd week u work 18 hrs & this is ur usual pattern of work then we would average ur hrs fortnightly (14 hrs per week) to prevent signing off & on continuously. The golden rule is try to establish a working pattern & stay under 32 hrs per fornight.

 

Unfortunately depending on the indivual benefit processor who accesses ur claim, will depend on how they look at averaging. Unfair but legislation allows proccessors to look at these rules differently until u establish a normal working pattern.

 

 

I suppose you could try, the worst that would happen would be your claim would be turned down. Just trying to find anything that may help your situation.

Edited July 6, 2010 by Cartaphilus

[ormiston]

Letter arrived this week headed Notice of Legal Action saying failure to respond to previous letters has resulted in the account being passed to this department (??) for court action and solicitors may prepare the court papers within seven days. If I wish to avoid legal action I must now pay in full today using the attached giro or I can phone and puy by debit or credit card or I must immediately telephone their legal manager on 0844 842 5291.

 

Advice please? Am still not working due to ill health but would hope to take on part time work in a few weeks.

 

Thanks, look forward to some help yet again.

[Guest HeftyHippo]

stay calm. read the letter carefully. If will say things like "we may" " we will consider" "we will recommend" etc, no where will it say anything concrete. Only Barclays can take you to court as things stand.

 

If you havene't contacted them, they don't even know for sure that you live there, are not on holiday, working away, with friends, in hospital, or otherwise not received the letter. They are not going to go to court so quickly with so many unknowns. They're certainly not going to start court action and incur costs without knowing that you have money or assets to pay them. In your case, you have no money!

 

There are 2 tactics. 1 - ignore them for a while longer. The DCA may give up and pass it back to Barclays, who after a time will then pass it to someone else to chase you. 2 - as suggested, make a Subject Access Request to Barclays. This will give you everything they have about you, including the balance, charges, details of any Default Notices or Termination letters which could have been issued a long time ago and forgotten by you, or sent to your old address, and more importantly, the agreement.

 

Many agreements are unenforceable in court. If your is one, then no matter how much they huff and puff, they cannot extract money from you. all they can do is ask, and you can ignore it, and after 6 years after your last payment, they cannot even ask!

 

Many Default Notices issued are invalid, and if they issue one, and then close the account, it changes the legal position, and puts you in a position where you can avoid paying most of the debt. So information is the key as to what legal position you're in. That info comes in the SAR.

 

Your best bet, after making the SAR is to spend a few hours browsing this site. Soon, you will realise just how much huff and puff there is out there, and how little action is actually taken. When you realise that you'll see that your position is a lot stronger than you now think

 

Worse comes to worse and they take you to court. They have to prove you have a debt with them, ie a valid agreement. They have to prove they followed correct procedures and didnt break the agreement themselves. Then they accept the payment terms the judge Orders. Note that last word. The Judge makes an ORDER for payment. Not a suggestion, not advice, not a recommendation. He Orders it. And they're stuck with it. So, whatever happens, neither Barclays or any DCA decides how much they will get paid. If you decide to make token payments after checking the validity etc, until your situation improves, then Barclays can either accept it or take their chances in court and see what the Judge Orders. Either way, someone else decides how much they receive, not Barclays

 

After you've had a dozen or so letters, you'll see that many are toothless, but don't be complacent. act from knowledge and dont get caught out. Get your SAR off and seewhat your legal position is. With a bit of luck, Barclays wont have a copy of your agreement and won't be able to enforce it. If they don't have your agreement, they also dond't have your permission to process your data according to the Data Protection Act, so they can't pass your data to anyone else.... like collectors.

[ormiston]

I have now received a letter from an Edinburgh firm of solicitors threatening court action and urging me to get in touch direct with the Debt Manager lot. I have ignored it like the rest. At no time have I signed for any correspondence. Any further advice?

 

Also, on the subject of debt collection, one of my family repaid a credit card debt relating to the Clydesdale Bank to a company called Murray White in Glasgow and this was settled in full. Now, many months later he has a company called Fresh Start demanding money for the same thing. This is being done by telephone and yet not one shred of paperwork has been received. This debt is NOT outstanding, can these people be reported to anyone for this harassment? Or should we simply block the calls? Would be glad of advice.

[Bazooka Boo]

Ooh lovely lovely, report them to the OFT/TS via Consumer Direct - Contact us

 

And for their breach of the communications act;

Ofcom | Contacting Ofcom

127 Improper use of public electronic communications network

 

(1) A person is guilty of an offence if he—

(a) sends by means of a public electronic communications network a message or other matter that is grossly offensive or of an indecent, obscene or menacing character; or

(b) causes any such message or matter to be so sent.

(2) A person is guilty of an offence if, for the purpose of causing annoyance, inconvenience or needless anxiety to another, he—

(a) sends by means of a public electronic communications network, a message that he knows to be false,

(b) causes such a message to be sent; or

© persistently makes use of a public electronic communications network.

(3) A person guilty of an offence under this section shall be liable, on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale, or to both.

(4) Subsections (1) and (2) do not apply to anything done in the course of providing a programme service (within the meaning of the Broadcasting Act 1990 (c. 42)).

Communications Act 2003 (c. 21)

 

Tell him to keep a diary of events with a view of reporting them to the local Police for the criminal offence of harassment;

1 Prohibition of harassment

 

(1) A person must not pursue a course of conduct—

(a) which amounts to harassment of another, and

(b) which he knows or ought to know amounts to harassment of the other.

(2) For the purposes of this section, the person whose course of conduct is in question ought to know that it amounts to harassment of another if a reasonable person in possession of the same information would think the course of conduct amounted to harassment of the other.

(3) Subsection (1) does not apply to a course of conduct if the person who pursued it shows—

(a) that it was pursued for the purpose of preventing or detecting crime,

(b) that it was pursued under any enactment or rule of law or to comply with any condition or requirement imposed by any person under any enactment, or

© that in the particular circumstances the pursuit of the course of conduct was reasonable.

Protection from Harassment Act 1997 (c. 40)

 

When they ring tell him to laugh at them down the phone in reply to any of their lame questions.

[ormiston]

Many thanks for that info, really helpful, will act on it.

 

Re Debt Managers Ltd, today I received yet another epistle from them (last week it was one from their solicitors in Edinburgh) saying :

 

"You have failed to respond to our previous communications therefore our doorstep agents have now been instructed to call at yor address to collect the full amount owed. You have a final opportunity to prevent this happening by simply calling the above number. You may even be entitled to a discount (without prejudice) for an immediate settlement.

 

Failure to respond to our letter will result in our agent calling.

 

Account due To: Barclays Bank plc

Debt Managers Ref:xxxxxxx

Account balance : £473.73

Client ref: xxxxxxxx

 

and of course the inevitable Giro payslip.

 

Advice please? Can they actually come and harass you on the doorstep? (I live in Scotland, not sure if the law differs at all)

 

Thanks guys, look forward to hearing from anyone, am still off work and now having to undergo hospital tests, this is not helping....

[Bazooka Boo]

Heres another link for you to puruse at your leisure;

http://govanlc.blogspot.com/

 

AFAIK the same rules apply up in bonnie Scotland as they do down here, and that they can only visit you if you are willing to make an appointment with them, besides, these tin pot DCA's are punching well above their weight, and have absolutely no legal right or training to be collecting money on the doorstep. Print this off and keep it by the front door if they are foolish enough to send someone round, save yourself the cost of a stamp, and thrust it into his melon head and shut the door.

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/resources/templates-library/86-debt-collectors/590-letter-used-when-a-dca-threatens-a-doorstep-visit-

 

[ormiston]

Thanks Bazooka Boo, the letter will be printed off and at the front door in readiness. I probably couldn't discuss much with them anyway for coughing as am quite ill at the moment. Your help and info is invaluable, much appreciated. I take it doorstep agents are not the same as Sherriff Officers? Sorry to sound so dumb...

[Bazooka Boo]

NO, Sherrif officers would only be used to serve documents and enforce court orders, so it will only be some unqualified legally untrained knuckle head knocking your door, "IF" at all.

 

I had to google sherrif officers! Now who sounds dumb...

[ormiston]

Oh well, if they turn up they will be treated with the contempt they deserve......and not so dumb!....thanks for the help. They dont even know if I am here or not, have not at any stage signed for anything, just had loads of letter dumped on the doorstep.