Capquest Debt Recovery? Can Anyone Help?

[johnpaulstone]

First time post so please go easy on me!!!

 

I received a letter from "Telogram" telling me that they had a message and was holiding it for me. Ring this number in 10 days or it will be deleted etc etc.

i rang the number and lo and behold no meassage just a letter from alliance and leicester. I informed the telephonist that it would not be for me but she was adamant. I never received that letter but did receive a letter coincidentally the next day from capquest debt recovery claimin they had purchased 2 debts fro A+L. Firstly I rang them and told them that I did not acknowledge these debts. I requested copies of the original agreements and recieved a letter back dated 4th july telling me that accounts were on hold for 28 days whilst they located the information requested. 28 days been and passed and no copies have arrived, what has arrived is a letter from HL legal threatening me with court action if I don't enter an arrangement to pay! Again i phoned capquest and informed them that I was excercising my right under the CCA to have these copies forwarded to me. Again he told me the account would go on hold whilst he chased up the request. I told him he could chase the request all he wanted and as he did not reply in 12 days he was in default, now 30 days have passed the debt is not enforcable. i have also sent them a letter to this effect. Am I definately in my rights to do this as i have only just got my credit file back up to date and could do without any defaults being registered.

Please advise:confused: :confused: :confused:

[thewifeandI]

Have a look in the DCA forum - it's worth copying this post in there. I think you need to contact Trading Standards, but the best advice will be found in that forum.

[johnpaulstone]

sorry to be thick but Im new,!!!!!!!!! how do i move this post there???

[thewifeandI]

I'll get it moved for you.

[johnpaulstone]

Thanks your a star:-) :-)

[nordek2006]

Hi I am new to this site but today I got back from work and had a nice red letter waiting for me for a debt from 3 Years ago for £5886.23 that had supposedly been written off when i paid a company called Eurodebt to manage my debts back then, I tried phoning Capquest but they are closed so I thought I would look online and stumbled on this site...

 

Should I ask them to send a true copy of the original signed agreement?

Can they actually claim the full amount or am I entitled to pay a percentage as per the other posts I have read?

 

There is no way on earth I can pay this and I was supposed to be getting married next week and my fiance is annoyed:mad: that she will inherit this debt and thinking of postponing the wedding till its sorted!!

 

What should I do?

[Turnaround]

nordek,

 

DO NOT PHONE CAPQUEST.......They will hound you.

 

Write to them using the template for a CCA request found in the forum library. If they cant supply the specified documents within the given time frame, then you have a fighting chance of keeping the upper hand.

 

Only maintain contact by correspondence only this way you have a paper trail and believe me a quieter life.

 

As for the ammount payable, if they CAN'T prove they OWN the debt or prove you OWE the debt specified by supplying the relevent documents then theres nothing to pay.

 

Dont pay anything until they can supply the proof

 

Regards.....Turnaround

[andrew1]

Hi I am new to this site but today I got back from work and had a nice red letter waiting for me for a debt from 3 Years ago for £5886.23 that had supposedly been written off when i paid a company called Eurodebt to manage my debts back then, I tried phoning Capquest but they are closed so I thought I would look online and stumbled on this site...

 

Should I ask them to send a true copy of the original signed agreement?

Can they actually claim the full amount or am I entitled to pay a percentage as per the other posts I have read?

 

There is no way on earth I can pay this and I was supposed to be getting married next week and my fiance is annoyed:mad: that she will inherit this debt and thinking of postponing the wedding till its sorted!!

 

What should I do?

 

Follow the advice above and as Turnaround says DO NOT PHONE THEM and if you get a call from them state that you do not acknowledge a debt with them and ALL communication MUST be by letter and put the phone down. Send them a CCA letter with a £1 Postal Order.

 

You say here you thought the debt was written off. What gave you that impression? Have you spoken to Eurodebt and what arrangement did you make with them for clearing or settling the debt? Who was the debt with originally? Do you have any paperwork stating this write off?

 

Have you a copy of your credit file from Equifax and Experian to see what is registered against you? If not, for £2 or you can apply on line for a free trial and cancel it after a week or two, you can get a copy of your reports. Google the names and you'll have the info. Otherwise send a £2 pO to them and you'll get copies.

 

Actually, I'd send a £10 Data Protection Act ( Data Protection Act Subject Access Request) to the original creditor too and see if the account is full of penalties and charges too. The letters in the Templates Library. Also, search on the particular banks forum who the debt was originally with - Lloyds/ Capital One etc and get a feel for whats going on with others because you're not the first and won't be the last with exactly the same problem.

 

As for paying a %, you really need to know the status of the debt first from both the original creditor bank/ccard etc and Eurodebt to actually see what has or has not been paid, what it is made up of ( debt/charges/penalties) and exactly where it stands in so far as what you owe and to whom. Once that's done and you've sorted the wheat from the chaff then you can address the right people but DO NOT pay anything, or agree anything or acknowledge anything until you have all the copies of signed agreements and any deeds of assignment ( if the debt has been sold by the bank/cc to Eurodebt or capquest ) as is required by your application under the CCA request letter.

 

Whoever comes up with the documents you can then address the problem with. If they don't come up with them in the prescribed period of 12 working days from 2 days after you send them after which they will need a court order to enforce and after a following 1 month without documents they have committed a criminal offence so you can tell them to NAFF OFF :grin: The principle of that is: if I send you a letter telling you I want £5000 from you for a loan I knew you once had, please start paying me £100 per month are you going to pay me? " I don't owe YOU anything" would invariably be your reply. Same goes for Capquest or anyone else until THEY prove they have a right ( and MOST don't) to redeem the debt and have ownership of the right. That comes with the deeds of assignment or copies of the original agreement. Those are YOUR RIGHTS under the law of the land.

 

Once you have taken all that in and understand it come back and we'll talk you through to a happy marriage! :grin: tell your fiance not to worry, theres over 80,000 of us here to help you right the way through this - go and get married and enjoy yourselves - what's money anyway? as I told my bank manager once when I owed him over £100k " I can't see why you worry - it's only numbers " :grin:

 

 

 

If you find any of this helpful please click on my scales - the one green dot is annoying me !

[Turnaround]

Totaly agree andrew1.

 

Good follow up post.

 

Regards......Turnaround

[andrew1]

Totaly agree andrew1.

 

Good follow up post.

 

Regards......Turnaround

 

 

Cheers Turnaround - did have a bit of a ring to it didn't it! :grin:

[Turnaround]

Rang my bell anyway......

[legalmick]

I appreciate you may wish to know that they legally own the debt but what makes you so sure they don't? Debt management of overdue debts :: Capquest

 

They are one of the larger debt purchasers in the industry. I used to be in the industry until I set up my own legal practice. I also used to work for a major lender and therefore know a little bit about this subject.

 

All the above will do will delay having to pay the debt and probably make it more awkward for you to come to a flexible way out of this. As long as the debt is valid, you will obviously know whether this is possible or not, and as long as the debt isn't statute barred (6 years since last acknowledgement) then my advice to you would be to talk to them, explain your circumstances and come to an arrangement as to how you repay the debt (assuming you do owe it of course). If you don't believe you owe the amount then request a breakdown. Capquest are a purchaser of debt, usually when they buy a debt the original lender, in this case A&L will send just before a letter saying that they have sold the debt to Capquest. If the last time you had any contact with A&L was at a different address then chances are this would have gone to the last known address. Capquest will then attempt to trace you using credit bureaus that hold alot more information than you think they do! Every account you have with a bank, lender, mobile phone company, BT, some of the utilities, electoral roll etc,etc. All of these companies share info to the bureaus. As a debt purchaser these guys have access to this info so this probably how they found your new address. The telemessage idea is clearly a way to get you to contact them given most just ignore the letters (obviously it worked!). My advice is don't be intimidated by these guys talk to them and come up with a solution that fits your financial circumstances, by the fact that they bought it for less than what you owe then they will be a lot more flexible than a bank as they have more power to discount the debt or accept arrangements over longer periods.

 

You can listen to advice on these forums if you like but in my personal opinion most just end up aggravating the situation and are delay tactics. Using the analagy above if you lent someone £5000 if they didn't pay it back wouldn't you say it was theft? Bit black and white I accept but end of the day since when has trying to run away from a problem ever got anyone anywhere? Goodluck and hope you come to an amicable solution - also hope the marriage goes ahead too, if it helps there is 75% of the population in debt, the average person over 18 is in debt of £18k and on average every adult has 4.3 credit cards - it's not as if you are on your own!

[NailPost]

legalmick said: "All the above will do will delay having to pay the debt and probably make it more awkward for you to come to a flexible way out of this."

 

What the CCA S77/78 does, and this is vitally important whatever legalmick says, thinks or preaches, is that it provides evidence. The evidence a debt collector such as Capquest holds to chase a debt. The evidence it hasn't loaded the account with interest and charges. The evidence that all the paperwork has made the journey from original creditor to debt buyer. This isn't always the case - a debt seller has already written the sum off and made a claim under its bad debt insurance and claimed it off against tax and isn't too particular about the paperwork as long as it makes a few more quid.

 

What is advocated here, and elsewhere on thios forum, is that the debt collectors ensure the paperwork is watertight BEFORE they start chasing people, making idle threats about courts, seizing possessions and bankruptcy.

 

If you really are a legal person, legalmick, I would take your advice with a large pinch of salt.

[andrew1]

Actually Nailpost I believe you have a point. Bucket of salt more like. And lets get this clear - Capquest did not lend the money the bank did and NailPosts analagy is perfectly correct.

Establishing ownership of the debt is Step 1 and a very important step and it is not for nordek or anyone else to have a guessing game as to ownership and just because capquest or A&L write a letter doesn't make it proof positive they own it. The CCA tells us what has to be done to show ownership and that's all we have advised him to do. Step1. Once he knows capquest have acted lawfully, then we go to step 2, sort out the payments. Capquest know the law, if they abide by it we work with them, if they don't then what would you suggest -he pays? I might just as well write to him and half the people on the forum too.

 

This whole forum if you care to read it LEGALMICK is based upon the fact that one DOESN'T EVADE repayment of debt, it does not post anything which encourages non payment of debt but it does make sure the people who are being written to by lawyers telling bank customers what the banks want us to hear actually know what the reality of the law is and how to protect themselves from people like the banks, DCA's & Baillifs who have and continue to abuse their positions, the laws and the court system trying to get away with it. The banks are the THIEVES NOT US

 

 

This forum advocates the morals of fair play from both sides and helps people who have been seriously abused by the diminishing power of the banks to regain some pride in their lives and fight for their rights to get a level playing field. Many of their debts are being made up of unlawfully taken charges which to me and many like me is theft. How many people would have known they were unlawful without this forum? What would you have advised as a lawyer? Who would you say are the bad guys in all of this?

 

The forum is open to all and welcomes everyones opinion misguided or otherwise, but I truely hope you read a bit more around the forum ( especially around the threads of people being harrassed by Capquest and othe DCA's like them) before making suggestions like you have. Also, if you want to see lawyers at work take a look at Citi Financials threads and Mr Brian Smith and see what he's been doing in the name of the law.

 

If you LegalMick had ever had the pleasure of being on the receiving end of people such as capquest you will not be speaking as you are. Actually, if you are a lawyer and worked in the business you should know better or perhaps it is this sad fact we are finding throughout the industry that the banks and financial institutions do not have a clue what is actually going on with their customers and couldn't care less if people get given loan after loan, credit card after credit card when it is their irresponsibility in lending that causes this problem in the first place.

 

 

Just to end on the same note as you did - "just to let you know you're not alone" Nordek you are not alone, nearly 85000 people not alone and behind you telling you how to use your rights WITHIN the law not by trying to ABUSE the law.

[andy8]

Actually Nailpost I believe you have a point. Bucket of salt more like. And lets get this clear - Capquest did not lend the money the bank did and NailPosts analagy is perfectly correct.

Establishing ownership of the debt is Step 1 and a very important step and it is not for nordek or anyone else to have a guessing game as to ownership and just because capquest or A&L write a letter doesn't make it proof positive they own it. The CCA tells us what has to be done to show ownership and that's all we have advised him to do. Step1. Once he knows capquest have acted lawfully, then we go to step 2, sort out the payments. Capquest know the law, if they abide by it we work with them, if they don't then what would you suggest -he pays? I might just as well write to him and half the people on the forum too.

 

This whole forum if you care to read it LEGALMICK is based upon the fact that one DOESN'T EVADE repayment of debt, it does not post anything which encourages non payment of debt but it does make sure the people who are being written to by lawyers telling bank customers what the banks want us to hear actually know what the reality of the law is and how to protect themselves from people like the banks, DCA's & Baillifs who have and continue to abuse their positions, the laws and the court system trying to get away with it. The banks are the THIEVES NOT US

 

 

This forum advocates the morals of fair play from both sides and helps people who have been seriously abused by the diminishing power of the banks to regain some pride in their lives and fight for their rights to get a level playing field. Many of their debts are being made up of unlawfully taken charges which to me and many like me is theft. How many people would have known they were unlawful without this forum? What would you have advised as a lawyer? Who would you say are the bad guys in all of this?

 

The forum is open to all and welcomes everyones opinion misguided or otherwise, but I truely hope you read a bit more around the forum ( especially around the threads of people being harrassed by Capquest and othe DCA's like them) before making suggestions like you have. Also, if you want to see lawyers at work take a look at Citi Financials threads and Mr Brian Smith and see what he's been doing in the name of the law.

 

If you LegalMick had ever had the pleasure of being on the receiving end of people such as capquest you will not be speaking as you are. Actually, if you are a lawyer and worked in the business you should know better or perhaps it is this sad fact we are finding throughout the industry that the banks and financial institutions do not have a clue what is actually going on with their customers and couldn't care less if people get given loan after loan, credit card after credit card when it is their irresponsibility in lending that causes this problem in the first place.

 

 

Just to end on the same note as you did - "just to let you know you're not alone" Nordek you are not alone, nearly 85000 people not alone and behind you telling you how to use your rights WITHIN the law not by trying to ABUSE the law.

 

 

WELL SAID THAT MAN :D

[Turnaround]

Originally Posted by Turnaround

Totaly agree andrew1.

 

Good follow up post.

 

Regards......Turnaround

 

 

Cheers Turnaround - did have a bit of a ring to it didn't it! :grin:

 

When the bell rang I wasn't expecting a DOOR KNOB to come in the post though!!...... :D :D

[andrew1]

When the bell rang I wasn't expecting a DOOR KNOB to come in the post though!!...... :D :D

 

 

Come on lads we must let everyone have a speak.....

 

 

 

 

 

If you feel my postings useful please click my scales, my one green dot's getting lonely!

[andrew1]

I appreciate you may wish to know that they legally own the debt but what makes you so sure they don't? Debt management of overdue debts :: Capquest

 

 

Capquest will then attempt to trace you using credit bureaus that hold alot more information than you think they do! Every account you have with a bank, lender, mobile phone company, BT, some of the utilities, electoral roll etc,etc. All of these companies share info to the bureaus. As a debt purchaser these guys have access to this info so this probably how they found your new address.

 

 

LegalMick, with the experience you have in the industry I am sure you have a lot that you can offer to people here on this forum and your input is most welcome. There are also a number of threads which deal with things such as the Data Protection Act and who has a right to pass on data to whom without our permission and process it thereafter, and process it for 6 years at that. Some such as criminal records & bankruptcy remain in the public domain, but who says our credit data can - not the DPA but the industry itself. The 'indusrty ' set the standards that we have all come to be brainwashed into believing and accepting UNTIL this forum brought it out into the open that actually they haven't got the right so the bureaus would become redundant if everyone exercised their actual rights not to have their monthly credit data processed especially for delinquent accounts. Contract ends - so does permission to process. Read the 'Default Hell' thread - that will also get your thoughts ticking too.

 

Do we for example give the credit reference agencies the right to process our data and share it with others? The credit agencies think so but the Act says otherwise - just search for the threads and read the input from Surelybonds, that will open your mind up and make even you question the law.

 

We look forward to your postings throughout the forum ( don't we guys and gals )

 

If you feel my posts helpful just click on them little ole scales.

[legalmick]

I accept if you are unsure as to whether the debt is yours or you do not think the amount is owed is the actual amount owed you should absolutey query it. Never disputed this once in fact if you actually read what I said above I suggested going back to query the breakdown of the balance. I am however a firm believer in facing your problems head on rather than trying to use delay tactics instead. However, if you "genuinely" think the amount is not owed or even the right balance then absolutey you should query it 100% and this is obviously where the letter templates on this forum is extremely useful. Either way I hope you come to an amicable ending.

[andrew1]

I accept if you are unsure as to whether the debt is yours or you do not think the amount is owed is the actual amount owed you should absolutey query it. Never disputed this once in fact if you actually read what I said above I suggested going back to query the breakdown of the balance. I am however a firm believer in facing your problems head on rather than trying to use delay tactics instead. However, if you "genuinely" think the amount is not owed or even the right balance then absolutey you should query it 100% and this is obviously where the letter templates on this forum is extremely useful. Either way I hope you come to an amicable ending.

 

 

Oh, I read all you said. That is not the issue. Breaking down the balance will come once the S.A.R - (Subject Access Request) has been obtained. The point here is not acknowledgment of debt, coming here to the forum and saying "I have a £5000 debt" is acknowledgment of the debt, but Dca's pass the debts from one to another and are extremely harsh and unhelpful, rude, phone up to 10-15 times a day, threaten baillifs without a ccj and use diabolical methods to get people to settle. It's their job we acknowledge that to chase people, some of whom try to run from their problems - often because the debts have spirraled way out of even their control and they do not have any idea of how to deal with them. The debtor takes out a loan with A&L - but others, who they have never heard of phone them out of the blue and demand, threaten, and keep threatening.

 

If I take you back to the link you put above your post to the capquest site, read the introduction: quote "Normally, the first point of contact that CapQuest will make with a customer is either by phone or letter. CapQuest employs 250 highly skilled and experienced people in our contact centres throughout the UK. If you have heard from CapQuest, our objective is to work with you to achieve a fair and successful resolution of your debt problems, allowing you to get on with your life."

 

If it is by telephone - how does the debtor know if they own it or not? The bank may have written, but often the dca write their own and make it look like a bank letter - I know I had one myself from Cabot. So Far Cabot have defaulted on two accounts by not providing any paperwork for either debt since my CCA in June - should I have paid them? I was happily paying the monies to the bank until they sold it for some reason. The experiences of people I have so far read about Capquest are horrific.

 

I truely believe that whilst your sentiments are getting in the right direction, you of all people will appreciate that dealing headon with the RIGHT people would be a priority - and that is what this forum is all about.

 

 

and....... I have just clicked onto another thread re Capquest and found this: make of it what you will but I think it proves a point:

 

quoted from Olibubbles thread " I started getting letters from capquest. I phoned them and they said I had a £2,000 debt. Told me I had to pay it immediately. I advised I cannot afford that. Told me about bunkruptcy, prison, etc. I checked on the internet and I found the standard letter where you send off a £1 to dispute the debt. They sent me a letter from certain scottish bank. However my debt was with a completely different scottish bank, in no way related. I couldnt beleive they had sent me a fraudulent letter. I have sent copies of these to trading standards. I am waiting the 30 days (is it?) to see if they send the relevant documents to me. They have 5 days left. Then I am going to the police.

 

Click my scales if you think my posts are helpful.

[legalmick]

I don't think I am actually suggesting any different - I agree if you are unsure as to whether the company owns the debt or indeed they are collecting on the correct amount then yes you should query it. I also agree that there are definitely issues with how some of the agencies respond whether this is intentional or not. However the only way forward is to deal with them, although I accept this should be cautiously, until you are happy that you are dealing with a bonefide claim.

 

I don't think we are actually saying anything differently perhaps I just haven't made it as clear as I should have. Apologies for confusion if this is the case.

[andrew1]

I don't think I am actually suggesting any different - I agree if you are unsure as to whether the company owns the debt or indeed they are collecting on the correct amount then yes you should query it. I also agree that there are definitely issues with how some of the agencies respond whether this is intentional or not. However the only way forward is to deal with them, although I accept this should be cautiously, until you are happy that you are dealing with a bonefide claim.

 

I don't think we are actually saying anything differently perhaps I just haven't made it as clear as I should have. Apologies for confusion if this is the case.

 

 

Same hymn sheet then - that's good to hear ! We just have to wait now until nordek comes back to see if he got married or dumped and help him through the fallout!

[andrew1]

.... After all of that, I now have an apology to make:

 

This thread was started by Johnpaulstone and I have centred it around nordek - my apologies johnpaul and I hope what has gone before has helped out on your own original question but if you'd like to continue I'll go away and find someone else to annoy ! - (or stay and try and help!)

[hixie30]

I have 2 accounts with capquest from credit card agencies, which were from a very good spender i was living with at the time, unfortunatly in my name so I hold my hands up and arrange to pay,

I have done my upmost to pay and set up a direct debit with them,But what they did to me was sent a agreement to which i checked the amount the amount and the account number and it looked fine, so i thought maybe the phone calls will stop, The next thing i know i come home from work to find a letter from solictors ( i find out later the same address as capquest!) telling me i have defaulted and demanding payment and threaten with court action baliffs bla bla, and informing me that another £200 has been added to my account, I then borrow a phone to ring them and sort it out, BIG MISTAKE! I spoke to a very arrogant chap who demanded to know who i work for how much salary how much rent ect ect completly blanking out any question i had, They then sent me another agreement but changed the sort code so i din't notice, the VERY NEXT post came another threatning letter from solictors telling me the bank refused to pay!!! well well another £200 added to my account so i rang them to ask them to send me the form i was supposed to have filled out wrong. Yes you can quess nothing! they are just bandits, they had my details from six months ago and were getting paid from the bank with no problems.

[andrew1]

I have 2 accounts with capquest from credit card agencies, which were from a very good spender i was living with at the time, unfortunatly in my name so I hold my hands up and arrange to pay,

I have done my upmost to pay and set up a direct debit with them,But what they did to me was sent a agreement to which i checked the amount the amount and the account number and it looked fine, so i thought maybe the phone calls will stop, The next thing i know i come home from work to find a letter from solictors ( i find out later the same address as capquest!) telling me i have defaulted and demanding payment and threaten with court action baliffs bla bla, and informing me that another £200 has been added to my account, I then borrow a phone to ring them and sort it out, BIG MISTAKE! I spoke to a very arrogant chap who demanded to know who i work for how much salary how much rent ect ect completly blanking out any question i had, They then sent me another agreement but changed the sort code so i din't notice, the VERY NEXT post came another threatning letter from solictors telling me the bank refused to pay!!! well well another £200 added to my account so i rang them to ask them to send me the form i was supposed to have filled out wrong. Yes you can quess nothing! they are just bandits, they had my details from six months ago and were getting paid from the bank with no problems.

 

Hixie, welcome to the site. First and foremost you must stop these guys in their tracks. What I would suggest is going through the process most of us are doing, not everyones choice, but the beginning to ensuring these people have a right to collect this money in the first place. It may seem perfectly obvious to you that you have admitted the debt and that's fine - but have Capquest actually followed all the procedures they are obliged to by law? - This is the way to find out: First send them a CCA request, saying I do not acknowledge and debt to Capquest but if they are claiming you owe the monies please send me a copy of the 1) Deed of Assignment ( if the debt has been sold to them) and 2) a true copy of the signed original agreement. There's a letter in the Templates. Send this with a £1 P.O. for each debt they are claiming and then wait 12 working days + 2 for posting. If they have not supplied the relevant documents by then they will need a court order to enforce the debt. After a further 1 month they will have committed a criminal offence and it also means they have no rights to collect ANYTHING from you. You may think they do because they are chasing you - but then I could do that and you are not going to pay me are you? You need proof they have the right and they won't volunteer it you have to prise it out of them using what they ignore- The Law!

 

Try and read some of the Debt Collection agency threads like this one - search on Capquest - Cabot -wescot and you'll find similar advice.

 

Once you have these you can then proceed.

 

Now, Telephone calls. DO NOT speak to them on the telephone. You have a right under various acts of parliament to request that all communication be in writing. I'll try and find the right letter but there are numerous postings on the debt and Bailiff threads with it on, you can search 'harrassment' too and find it. But it will stop them dead. You need to take control of them.

 

I take it you have checked out your original accounts for charges? If not you need to start the Data Protection Act process to find out as the Collection Agency will not have that info. Under the CCA ( Consumer Credit Act) DCA's cannot charge you interest or charges like the £200 you are stating. These guys need reminding of that, There's lots of quotes on the DCA and debt collection Agency threads. Read around a little and you'll get a jist of what these people are doing. TAKE CONTROL and KEEP IT.

 

Also I would start your own new thread Hixie vs Capquest or something like that and put it under the Debt and Bailiff main thread so we can all keep an eye on you.