Telefonica O2 ignored my "prove it" letter. What should i do?

[h8_Halifax]

Telefonica O2 ignored my "prove it" letter. What should i do?

 

i received a letter from Telefonica O2 about a mobile contract the i had no knowledge of.

so i rang them. they were nice - very helpful. they said they would sort it out.

when i got their next letter i rang them again and again they were great and said they would sort it. however, when i rang them after their next letter they were significantly colder. so i sent them a "prove it" letter.

that was all in April / May, since then nothing. i thought it was over.

yesterday i received a letter from Wescot Credit Services who seem to think it must be "cool" to show their PO box number and their Post Code but no town or city!

it was a "you owe", "pay now or else", etc letter.

 

i'm confused, why have Telefonica O2 simply ignored my "prove it" letter and passed the debt to Wescot? can they do that? please, would should i do?

[the_shadow]

Companies are entitled to send debts to outside firms or even sell on the debts yes, its part of the law of property act perversely.

 

As to why they ignored your prove it letter, did you send it recorded and to their registered head office?

 

you say you have no knowledge of this contract.

 

Have you ever had a mobile contract with O2

 

S.

[the_shadow]

Moving this to the Comms forum

 

S.

[locutus]

Westcot have no powers, personally I'd ignore them. Check your credit file, if o2 say you owe money and have for any length of time, it will be marked on your credit file, and this can prevent you getting credit or make the interest rates you pay higher.

[h8_Halifax]

Companies are entitled to send debts to outside firms or even sell on the debts yes, its part of the law of property act perversely.

even when the debt is in dispute?

 

As to why they ignored your prove it letter, did you send it recorded and to their registered head office?

i sent it to the address on the letter they sent me.

i stopped using recorded when i discovered that RM often only get a "bulk" signature for recorded items to company addresses so when tracked they show as delivered but without a signature. i went to court with one like that and the jugde refused to accept that it had been delivered. since then i've seen somewhere on CAG that proof of posting with a first class stamp is classed as proof of delivery by uk courts.

 

you say you have no knowledge of this contract.

Have you ever had a mobile contract with O2

yes, i have a mobile contract for my daughters mobile with o2

plus

contracts for my home phone and broadband

 

Moving this to the Comms forum

cheers, sorry.

 

Check your credit file, if o2 say you owe money and have for any length of time, it will be marked on your credit file, and this can prevent you getting credit or make the interest rates you pay higher.

i don't want any credit tar, far too old to be taking on new debts.

you mean get a credit report from one of the spam email companies i get regularly?

[locutus]

You can get a copy of your credit file by sending £2 to Experian, Equifax or Call Credit.

 

If you are not bothered about your credit file, then there is little o2 can do to harm you, however if you read their "Code of practice" here as it details how to complain to them and how to escalate the complaint to the alternative dispute resolution service.

[h8_Halifax]

update:

 

i sent a "prove it" letter to westcott - no reply to that atm.

 

i also sent westcott a cca request with a £1 po.

they have replied saying:

they have no knowledge of any dispute;

they also say that the debt is not covered by sections 77-78 of the CCA.

"the cca shall not apply to a running-account credit agreement where the whole amount of the credit period is repayable in a single payment". they have returned my £1 po & my letter (i had sent them two letters in two separate envelopes).

they then repeat their pay within 14 days threat.

 

any thoughts on a next move please?

[h8_Halifax]

You can get a copy of your credit file by sending £2 to Experian, Equifax or Call Credit.

 

If you are not bothered about your credit file, then there is little o2 can do to harm you, however if you read their "Code of practice" here as it details how to complain to them and how to escalate the complaint to the alternative dispute resolution service.

 

cheers, i'll invest the £2 after this issue has moved on.

[the_shadow]

update:

 

i sent a "prove it" letter to westcott - no reply to that atm.

 

i also sent westcott a cca request with a £1 po.

they have replied saying:

they have no knowledge of any dispute;

they also say that the debt is not covered by sections 77-78 of the CCA.

"the cca shall not apply to a running-account credit agreement where the whole amount of the credit period is repayable in a single payment". they have returned my £1 po & my letter (i had sent them two letters in two separate envelopes).

they then repeat their pay within 14 days threat.

 

any thoughts on a next move please?

 

to be perfectly honest, if I was Westcott I would have ignored your prove it as soon as I received the s78 request.... why would someone send £1 if they didnt think the debt was theres, hence negating the prove it letter

 

They are correct as in the fact that mobile phone contracts are not covered by S77/s78 of the CCA.

 

As to your question (sorry was on hols) about selling debt when in dispute... well the OFT say its a no-no for a dispute not to be investigated but the courts tend to stick to the letter of the law which states debts can be sold at any point tbh.

 

S.

[the_shadow]

Post #6 is probably the best bet at the moment.

 

S.

[h8_Halifax]

to be perfectly honest, if I was Westcott I would have ignored your prove it as soon as I received the s78 request.... why would someone send £1 if they didnt think the debt was theres, hence negating the prove it letter

 

They are correct as in the fact that mobile phone contracts are not covered by S77/s78 of the CCA.

 

As to your question (sorry was on hols) about selling debt when in dispute... well the OFT say its a no-no for a dispute not to be investigated but the courts tend to stick to the letter of the law which states debts can be sold at any point tbh.

 

S.

 

i sent both letters as i wanted to see just why they are harassing me for the debt.

maybe there was something on the contract, e.g. not my name, signature, dob, etc.

is that such an unreasonable thing to want?

[h8_Halifax]

Post #6 is probably the best bet at the moment.

 

S.

 

sorry but post 6 won't switch off westcott chasing me. in my experience once a dca has paid for a debt they're like a pit bull until pay or prove to the n'th degree that it's not your debt.

[the_shadow]

i sent both letters as i wanted to see just why they are harassing me for the debt.

maybe there was something on the contract, e.g. not my name, signature, dob, etc.

is that such an unreasonable thing to want?

 

not unreasonable but sending mixed-messages if you think about what you've sent...

 

1) I know nothing of this debt so I require you to prove I owe this amount, and to you.

2) I wish to see the credit agreement for this debt ref: xx xx xxxxx

 

Now, if its not your debt, you have no right to see the credit agreement or any other information pertaining to this debt so they will assume from #2 that you do know something about this debt and will carry on regardless.

 

Edit: Not that Im saying they wouldnt have anyway but a complaint to the OFT is more powerful if the steps are followed in sequence IMVHO

[the_shadow]

sorry but post 6 won't switch off westcott chasing me. in my experience once a dca has paid for a debt they're like a pit bull until pay or prove to the n'th degree that it's not your debt.

 

No this is true but if the debt truly has been sold then their will be clauses on both parties to re-sell it back. The aim here is to ensure that O2 agree that their was a dispute which should have been sorted prior to selling.

 

S.

[locutus]

You could EITHER:-

Send Westcott the harassment letter and the if-you-know-nothing-of-the-debt letter then ignore them or take action against any harassment. At the same time, follow my advice on dealing with o2.

..........read their "Code of practice" here as it details how to complain to them and how to escalate the complaint to the alternative dispute resolution service.

(note, the alternative dispute resolution service COSTS o2, so the chances are they'll see sense before it gets that far!)

 

OR

As you are not worried about your credit file, ignoring this is probably a valid tactic. They are not going to court over this, and if they tried you'd have the perfect defense as you didn't have an o2 account. Let them waste their phone bill / stamps by calling you and writing to you.

[h8_Halifax]

cheers locutus, i have already sent the "know nothing" letter, not yet had a reply, and the harassment letter isn't really appropriate, as they haven't 'phoned me. thanks very much.

 

shadow: i hear what you are saying and i certainly agree with you that i shouldn't have wasted the £1 postal order but if they were "saying" that it was my debt then am i not entitled to see why they might think that? i.e. see a contract / agreement / etc? also, surely, if they believe that the reason to not show me the contract is because i am not entitled to see it because it's not mine then why the hell are they pursuing me for the debt? does that not prove they are just a bunch of chancers? they can't possibly expect to have it both ways.

i am currently following your advice about making a complaint to o2. thanks very much for all your help.

 

final point, is there anyone on the board called "Westcott"? i asked the Beckhams to call their baby that but they said they already had a name - even though i said there was a £1 postal order in it for them! some folk don't know when they are onto a good thing.

[Guest Jodie_O2 Social Media Team.]

Hi h8_Halifax - please don't ignore any letters, it's very important that this is resolved for you. If a contract has been taken out in your name, and you haven't done this yourself, please speak to our CS team as a matter of urgency and they will investigate this as possible fraud. Obviously, if you haven't taken out the contract, you don't owe any money and we can recall the debt. You can call us free from a pay monthly mobile on 202, or call 0844 875 2302.

[h8_Halifax]

hi Jodie,

thanks, however, i have all ready spoken to your cs department and they were very nice ... at first.

second time not so nice. third time, can't help me. that's when i started writing because, imo, 'phoning your cs department was simply a waste of time. if anything, the calls probably made things even worse!

my advice to anyone who gets any sort of debt letter from O2, and this probably applies to any debt letter, is ignore the 'phone, just start writing the standard letters recommended here.

that's where i'm at now.

your dca are currently investigating my "prove it" letter. o2 have not yet replied to my letter about making a complaint. maybe you could speak to them. i'm the one who has been a very good customer of yours with land line, broadband and daughters mobile all with you ... until you decided to treat me like this !

customer "service" - Roflolmao

[h8_Halifax]

UPDATE

======

i have received a letter from Wescot.

i talks about "clearing the above outstanding balance".

basically they want me to phone them and pay a nominal £50. they will then send me a pre-paid envelope. provided i then send them ANY unwanted mobile phones within 10 days they say:

1) the outstanding balance will be creditied to [my] account;

2) they will return the account to O2 as settled.

N.B. the letter does not say "without prejudice" ... or similar.

 

what do you think?

tbh, even though the debt isn't mine, it has caused me a LOT of grief and £50, plus an old phone, sounds like quite a deal simply to get rid of the headaches, depression, etc..

i would be dubious about giving them a card to debit but as i told my bank where they could file mine when they took away it's cheque g'tee ability, that doesn't apply.

[watchinginvestigation2011]

If the debt is not yours NEVER PAY.

 

I know you want rid but if you pay 50.00 it will not end, they will also assume you are the one who took the contract out.

 

From what I read them asking you to return any phones is again labelling you as the debtor and you need to nip it in the bud and stick to the prove it.

[the_shadow]

I think you have three options here...

 

1) Take Jodies advice and give O2 another chance to resolve it.

2) Pay the £50 + a mobile but be wary that this is accepted in a full and final offer and as such the debt will probably be marked as settled on your credit records which is as good as admitting the debt AND stays there for 6 years

3) Fight them still

 

S.

[h8_Halifax]

i thought that would be the reply i would get.

i wonder if "Jodie_O2 Social Media Team", or any other O2 representative, would like to comment on using this extremely under-hand method ... if only to say they approve or disapprove.

[the_shadow]

i thought that would be the reply i would get.

i wonder if "Jodie_O2 Social Media Team", or any other O2 representative, would like to comment on using this extremely under-hand method ... if only to say they approve or disapprove.

 

I must admit to frustration that you werent given a contact name or number of someone who could be pre-briefed with the information negating going through it all from the start again.

 

Jodie would this be possible?

 

S.

[h8_Halifax]

cheers shadow,

these latest developments would seem to be as a result of my "prove it" letter to wescot AND my letter to O2 simply saying that i wanted to make an official complaint and asking them to send me the appropriate forms (i didn't simply follow the complaint link as, in the past, i have spent time writing a fully detailed complaint only for it not to be accepted because it wasn't on the correct form).

if O2 don't post here in the next few days i'll write to Ronan Dunne about them ignoring my request to make a formal complaint.

[the_shadow]

Quite right, they are given the green customer representative moniker to show that they have agreed to try and resolve THEIR customer complaints.

 

S.