Link Financial Outsourcing

[Night Garden]

Please can someone advise,

 

A couple of months ago I had a call from Link Financial, I only answered the phone as it was showing 'withheld'

and thought it was my parents, as they are ex-directory.

 

At the time I was very ill, dehydrated and about to be admitted to hospital,

so to say I was confused at the time is an understatement - I digress.............

 

Some woman asked if I was (my name), I replied Yes, she then asked was I aware that I hadn't made any payments on my outstanding Barclaycard for some time,

now I thought she was talking about a Barclays loan I had, which went to court and I now pay monthly,

so I said that I wasn't behind and that a standing order was in force for this - which it is.

 

She then reiterated that it was Barclaycard, and was my address (an old address)

- I said Yes, to shut her up, even though we haven't lived at that address for approx 4 years

and that if she wanted to correspond with me about this matter I would require it in writing - to which I then hung up.

 

Over the last few weeks, I have had phone calls on and off from a 'withheld' number which I now don't answer.

 

Today I go into my place of work, and have a message left on my desk asking me to call ..... quoting a ref number, and ask to speak to ....(message taker never heard the name fully).

 

I rang said number, to hear 'Thank you for calling Link Financial' and I swiftly hung up.

 

Now are they allowed to phone me at work?

and how the hell did they find out where I work?

Is there anything I can do to have all my details and any phone numbers they hold for me deleted?

 

I believe this is in fact to do with the outstanding Barclaycard debt,

which is in fact Statute Barred now,

although I only have a reference number to quote to Link am

I able to send a Statute Barred letter to them with only the reference number?

 

To say the least I was not at all happy this morning

Edited August 9, 2011 by Night Garden
mispelling

[citizenB]

If the debt is statute barred, then send them the letter from the CAG library.

 

They arent supposed to telephone from number with held numbers.

[ims21]

And they are not allowed to phone you at work either.

 

Report them to OFT and Trading Standards for this.

 

Regards

 

ims

[dx100uk]

ignore them till they play their cards in writing

 

dx

[Night Garden]

Update:

 

After getting numerous calls from Link which I still ignore as they are using a withheld number, my partner answered the phone (unaware of who it may be), he was asked if they could speak to me - only asking for me by my 1st name - he told them I wasn't there and to phone back later.

 

I checked back through my paperwork and noted that I had sent them a Statute Barred letter on 10/08/11 by recorded delivery - which to this day is still showing on the post office 'track and trace' as progressing through their network.

 

Anyway, they phoned again, and even though I know not to speak to them I needed to inform them of this letter.

The lady said that they had received info with regards to it being statute barred but as I had made a payment in 2007 this would not be the case.

I promptly told her that I would now be investigating this, and from then on no more phone calls were to be taken and that all correspondence would have to be written, and hung up.

Since then I have sent Link a CCA request and Barclaycard a DSAR both on 28/10/2011.

 

I had a letter back from Link saying that as I was aware Link purchased my debt from Barclaycard on 21/09/2004 and as such they do not always hold this documentation. They go on to say that they have requested a copy of the agreement from Barclaycard and look forward to sending this to me in the near future, but please be advised that this can take up to 30 days to provide. I recieved this letter dated 04/11/11 on 07/11/11.

 

On 14/11/11 I receive from Barclaycard copies of the personal information that they hold on me. The letter states I can find enclosed copies of my statements, but unfortunately they can not provide me with copies of any individual default charges that may have been made on my account, however, I would find these charges detailed on the enclosed statements.

 

On reading the statements, the only information they provide is: statement date, (this is from 18/11/05-20/03/2007), present balance (same amount on all), payment due date, purchase interest (same amount on all), closing balance (same on all), total of new transactions (same amount of '0' on all).

 

They do not show any payments made, dates, default dates etc etc so how can I prove that there has or has not been any payments made?

 

On my credit ref checks I have a default date 31/08/04 which would make it statute barred, but had a similar problem with another debt with Ist Crud and on sending a DSAR to the original creditor (Halifax) they sent back details showing I had made future payments therefore cancelling out the statute barred for that debt.

 

Any advice/help would be really appreciated.

[batman1956]

Phantom payments are a common thing when a debt is statute barred. If you read other Link and Cabot threads you will learn how to deal with this. But basically it is up to them to PROVE that the alleged debt is not statute barred once you have informed them that inyour opinion it is i.e the prescribed period to acknowledge tje debt has passed

[citizenB]

It does seem rather unlikely that someone who hasnt made any payments since 2004 would suddenly make one payment in 2007 and then no more, dont you think? and if Link were to give it any thought at all, perhaps they too would see the inconsistency !!

 

Link were criticised rather heavily by the Judge in the Harrison v Link case for using withheld numbers.. it might be worth pointing that out to them, if they continue to harrass you.

 

As already advised, it is for them to prove that a payment was made... on what date and by what method.. 2007 is within the 6 years that creditors seem to only keep information for.. so they should have that information

 

remember it is NOT for you to prove anything

[Night Garden]

Thanks for the info - especially with regards to the Harrison v Link case. I did have another call at work from them on 16.11.11 which a collegue answered and took a message for me, so at least I have a name of a Link Employee to quote. I did stte on the end of the CCA request that under no circumstances would I be involved in a ny telephone conversations with them and also asked for all phone numbers that they have linked to my account to be removed immediately - which they bobviously haven't done.

 

When they wrote to me on 26.10.11 telling me that they refute the account is statute barred, they enclosed a printout showing that I had made payments in 2004, 2006 and 2007.

 

I admit tht I may have made these payments but I ws waiting for proof from Barclaycard when I sent them a DSAR - but all they sent me were copy statements (as I've mentioned earlier in this post) - so I still have no proof showing the payments.

 

How can I obtain this info from Barclaycard?

 

I thought it would be with the copy statements as when I had another DSAR request from another creditor, I had a lot more info showing everything that I need to know.

[Night Garden]

I am going to send Link an harassment letter tomorrow with regards to their constant phone calls.

 

I have had 18 calls within a 4 month period to date (although there were more, but I don't have a record of dates etc for those), and 3 of these have been to my place of work.

 

All are from a with held number.

 

Also I sent a CCA request to them and they replied on 7th Nov 2011 saying that they had requested it from Barclaycard and it could take up to 30 days for them to send it to me - it's now been 42 days from the date I received that letter.

 

Any advice on what the next step is on this one?

[ims21]

As well as teh harrasment letter the other one you should be sending link is the Account in Dispute letter.

 

They haven't come up with the goods so have no right to collect until they do.

 

The OFT might also like to be made aware of this.

 

ims

[Night Garden]

Thanks ims21

 

Will get one of those off to them too. Would you suggest posting separately or together in the same envelope?

[ims21]

Both in same envelope would be OK but I would tend to send it recorded

 

ims

[Night Garden]

Ok, so I sent Link, both the harassment and account in dispute letters, and today I receive the following:

 

Harassment letter - acknowledgement of my letter, and at this time they are unable to resolve my complaint, although it has been passed onto the Complaints Manager and they will contact me within 4 weeks.

 

Account in dispute - Thanked me for my letter and reiterated that they informed my in Nov that they did not hold the original documents and they would have to source a duplicate from the original vendor (yes they did tell me that), and they now have enclosed a duplicate. They also say that the can inform me that the 12 working days (CCA request) is only applicable to running accounts which is not the case herein as the account has been in default since 31.08.2004.

 

Now I know it was in default from that date, but unfortunately I did make payments (very infrequently) since that date, the last being sometime in 2007 - so I know that it's not Statute Barred, but is there any loop holes due to the fact that it took them in excess of 40 days to provide the paperwork from the CCA request (plus it's a really bad photocopy parts are very dark and eligible) or am I just going to have to give in and make an offer.

 

Again all advice is gratefully appreciated.

[dx100uk]

Ok, so I sent Link, both the harassment and account in dispute letters, and today I receive the following:

 

Harassment letter - acknowledgement of my letter, and at this time they are unable to resolve my complaint, although it has been passed onto the Complaints Manager and they will contact me within 4 weeks.

 

Account in dispute - Thanked me for my letter and reiterated that they informed my in Nov that they did not hold the original documents and they would have to source a duplicate from the original vendor (yes they did tell me that), and they now have enclosed a duplicate. They also say that the can inform me that the 12 working days (CCA request) is only applicable to running accounts which is not the case herein as the account has been in default since 31.08.2004. load of bolwarks!!

Now I know it was in default from that date, but unfortunately I did make payments (very infrequently) since that date, the last being sometime in 2007 - so I know that it's not Statute Barred, but is there any loop holes due to the fact that it took them in excess of 40 days to provide the paperwork from the CCA request (plus it's a really bad photocopy parts are very dark and eligible) or am I just going to have to give in and make an offer.

 

Again all advice is gratefully appreciated.

 

no its std practise for link to say your paid in 2007, they ALWAYS say that.

 

have you checked your CRA file?

 

dx

[Night Garden]

Hi DX

 

On all the CR checks I've done they only ever state the default date and nothing about any other payments after that. I sent a SAR to Barclaycard and the paperwork I got back makes no sense whatsoever, it came on two separate occasions and I can't find anything about any payments made. One lot was copies of letters the other was stating the closing balance and when the payments were due, this is the only info on there, and it's only the date that changes never the balance.

 

When I sent a SAR to Halifax for a different debt, even though they sent me pages and pages of stuff, I did finally find the dates I needed.

 

Link sent me a printout showing payments but it's a photocopy (I think) and it's from Link on their paper not from Barclaycard. It shows payments being paid from 13/07/2006 to 22/02/2007.

The info states:- Bank date, Bank, Transaction, Description, Credit, Debit and Balance.

 

The bank is always RBS (I do have an RBS account), transaction always OTC, description varies (it's always the same a/c no but the sort code changes), credit amount always the same and obviously the balance decreases.

 

Is there any where that I can check the sort codes to see where the branches are? Maybe this will shed some light - as they may not even be around my area.

[Night Garden]

Just had a look on RBS website and they are branches we could've gone too - so not looking good

[citizenB]

On reading the statements, the only information they provide is: statement date, (this is from 18/11/05-20/03/2007), present balance (same amount on all), payment due date, purchase interest (same amount on all), closing balance (same on all), total of new transactions (same amount of '0' on all).

 

They do not show any payments made, dates, default dates etc etc so how can I prove that there has or has not been any payments made?

 

On my credit ref checks I have a default date 31/08/04 which would make it statute barred, but had a similar problem with another debt with Ist Crud and on sending a DSAR to the original creditor (Halifax) they sent back details showing I had made future payments therefore cancelling out the statute barred for that debt.

 

 

Hi DX

 

On all the CR checks I've done they only ever state the default date and nothing about any other payments after that. I sent a SAR to Barclaycard and the paperwork I got back makes no sense whatsoever, it came on two separate occasions and I can't find anything about any payments made. One lot was copies of letters the other was stating the closing balance and when the payments were due, this is the only info on there, and it's only the date that changes never the balance.

 

When I sent a SAR to Halifax for a different debt, even though they sent me pages and pages of stuff, I did finally find the dates I needed.

 

Link sent me a printout showing payments but it's a photocopy (I think) and it's from Link on their paper not from Barclaycard. It shows payments being paid from 13/07/2006 to 22/02/2007.

The info states:- Bank date, Bank, Transaction, Description, Credit, Debit and Balance.

 

The bank is always RBS (I do have an RBS account), transaction always OTC, description varies (it's always the same a/c no but the sort code changes), credit amount always the same and obviously the balance decreases.

 

Is there any where that I can check the sort codes to see where the branches are? Maybe this will shed some light - as they may not even be around my area.

 

What you require are actual statements from Barclaycard.. not a list of payments made that have been typed on to a blank sheet by Link.

 

You have said that in paperwork received from B/shark no payments are recorded (this is from 18/11/05-20/03/2007), yet Link have sent you something that says payments have been made.. 13/07/2006 to 22/02/2007.

 

I would think that the transaction data from B/shark is more reliable than a typed list from Link, dont you

 

How did you usually make payments to the account? Through a branch of RBS ? Direct debit, ??

[Night Garden]

I've got a feeling that payments were probably made in branch using cash - possibly cheque (but not 100% sure), I would imagine using payment slips. Unfortunately I don't have any copies of these to my knowledge, as we've moved and a lot of stuff had been shredded - hindsight eh?

 

Can I request copies of payments made to Barclaycard? If so how - as I kinda presumed it would show up on the SAR.

 

The paperwork from BC are copy statements date range 18/11/2005-20/03/2007, the default date is 31/08/2004, and the dates I made payments to Link were 13/07/2006-22/02/2007 (6 payments in total) according to the Link printout.

[dx100uk]

there is a number at bc you can ring and they will tell you

 

send a PM to coledog

 

he knows it.

 

dx

[Night Garden]

Update:

 

After looking into all the above, I agreed that I had made payments in the past. So on 1st February 2012 I made my first cheque payment to Link along with an offer letter, clearly stating in big bold lettering - clearance of this cheque is your acceptance of my offer (or words along those lines),which they have cashed.

 

Today I receive a letter thanking me for my letter, and stating in order to accept my offer they would need a completed I&E to make sure I could afford the repayments and would continue to make them.

 

I had the same problem with 1st Credit - I never sent them an I&E, I just sent them a cheque each month with a letter of offer, which they cashed and they have just allowed me to make repayments using a standing order.

 

With Link, I have asked a couple of times for them to provide me with a statement of account so I can see exactly the amount outstanding (I had paperwork from them showing payments made in 2006/2007 with an outstanding balance on it which I was sent within the last 6 months), so I can make sure that the payments are being deducted.

 

They have not provided this yet, and on all their letters there is never an outstanding balance shown.

 

Should I request it again, stating that in order to see how long it will take to repay I need the balance, I will not mention the I&E as I am not planning on returning one, they will get a cheque each month and a letter as I did with 1st Credit.

 

I thought that these companies had to send out statements on a regular basis - but obviously not.

 

Your help and advice is very much appreciated

[citizenB]

Yes, you should insist on receiving an up to date statement showing payments made and the outstanding balance. Thereafter you should insist on statements at least every 3 months. There is a lot of debate over whether to send an I & E statement or not.

 

If you have other creditors and they havent requested sight of an I&E, then I wouldnt send one to Link. If you did decide to send one, then I would redact the names of all your other creditors other than priority expenditure.

[Night Garden]

Ist Credit did keep sending them out to me asking for them to be completed, but I never did, and they have now been receiving payments for about 4 months and they are quite happy.

 

I will request a statement from Link again, and see what happens.

 

Thanks CitizenB

[dx100uk]

sri but i think you have been spoofed into paying both debts

 

dx