Debt collection agency worry

lukesmom · 22-11-2014 12:27pm #1

I'm hoping someone can guide me. I have an outstanding debt of around €580. It has been passed to a debt collection agency. I rang them and asked could I pay €50 a month because I can't afford more than that. She took €50 off me at the time I called, through the my debit card and said I'd have to pay another €50 in two weeks which I replied I couldn't. I then received a letter from them saying I could set up a payment plan online so I was pretty happy to do that. I went into the sight and tried setting it up so it would be €50 a month but the least they will take a month through the payment plan is €146 a month!!! A week later they sent me another letter but used a lot more capital letters in this one and I rang them but same story they want €100 a month. I don't want to go to court. Can anyone advise on what I should do

Edited to say the debt collections company are called Buchanan Clark & wells.

martinr5232 · 22-11-2014 12:38pm

lukesmom wrote: »

I'm hoping someone can guide me. I have an outstanding debt of around €580. It has been passed to a debt collection agency. I rang them and asked could I pay €50 a month because I can't afford more than that. She took €50 off me at the time I called, through the my debit card and said I'd have to pay another €50 in two weeks which I replied I couldn't. I then received a letter from them saying I could set up a payment plan online so I was pretty happy to do that. I went into the sight and tried setting it up so it would be €50 a month but the least they will take a month through the payment plan is €146 a month!!! A week later they sent me another letter but used a lot more capital letters in this one and I rang them but same story they want €100 a month. I don't want to go to court. Can anyone advise on what I should do

Edited to say the debt collections company are called Buchanan Clark & wells.

You dont have any contract with any debt collection agency so dont worry about them they are using bullying tactics trying to scare you into paying.

Contact whoever you owe the money to and offer to pay whatever you can a month but do it by email so you have a papertrail.

If they refuse and tell you they passed it to debt collection agency tell them you dont owe this other company anything.

lukesmom · 22-11-2014 12:43pm

martinr5232 wrote: »

You dont have any contract with any debt collection agency so dont worry about them they are using bullying tactics trying to scare you into paying.

Contact whoever you owe the money to and offer to pay whatever you can a month but do it by email so you have a papertrail.

If they refuse and tell you they passed it to debt collection agency tell them you dont owe this other company anything.

It's 02 who I have the debt with so you think I should contact them?

martinr5232 · 22-11-2014 1:01pm

lukesmom wrote: »

It's 02 who I have the debt with so you think I should contact them?

Yeah email them dont mention debt collection agency offer them whatever you can afford to pay per month.
If they dont accept and tell you to deal with agency forget about it but if they accept the figure you propose make sure its paid every month.

In the unlikely event it did go to court if you have made thrm a resonable offer to discharge the debt and they refuse it doesnt look good for them but if they accept and you dont pay it doesnt look good for you.

foggy_lad · 22-11-2014 3:53pm

Also you should continue to pay O2 as much as you can afford each week/month regardless of what they say. If court proceedings were taken this proves your willingness to pay and shows them as being unreasonable.

lukesmom · 22-11-2014 4:26pm

foggy_lad wrote: »

Also you should continue to pay O2 as much as you can afford each week/month regardless of what they say. If court proceedings were taken this proves your willingness to pay and shows them as being unreasonable.

It won't let me into my O2 account to pay

keithclancy · 22-11-2014 5:14pm

lukesmom wrote: »

It won't let me into my O2 account to pay

Call them.

letsgetloud · 23-11-2014 9:21pm

lukesmom wrote:

I'm hoping someone can guide me. I have an outstanding debt of around â‚¬580. It has been passed to a debt collection agency. I rang them and asked could I pay â‚¬50 a month because I can't afford more than that. She took â‚¬50 off me at the time I called, through the my debit card and said I'd have to pay another â‚¬50 in two weeks which I replied I couldn't. I then received a letter from them saying I could set up a payment plan online so I was pretty happy to do that. I went into the sight and tried setting it up so it would be â‚¬50 a month but the least they will take a month through the payment plan is â‚¬146 a month!!! A week later they sent me another letter but used a lot more capital letters in this one and I rang them but same story they want â‚¬100 a month. I don't want to go to court. Can anyone advise on what I should do

dont pay, nothing they can or will do about it.

Laura Palmer · 24-11-2014 1:29am

Why on earth would someone give the "advice" of "Don't pay" as if that's going to solve anything?

martinr5232 wrote: »

You dont have any contract with any debt collection agency so dont worry about them

People keep saying this - it's incorrect.
They are an agency that are acting on behalf of O2 - they are not doing anything wrong. There would have been reminders from the company prior to this agency taking over the debt. The terms and conditions state they can avail of the services of a third party after a certain point if credit terms are not agreed to.
You probably can't pay towards it via O2 because it is moved to the debt collection agency. Just pay what you can afford if that's all you can afford, there isn't anything more you can pay. Paying whatever you can will be in your favour.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1 · 24-11-2014 9:39am

letsgetloud wrote: »

dont pay, nothing they can or will do about it.

The most nonsensical advice for dealing with a debt. Ignoring a debt achieves nothing and is actually counterproductive.
Pay what you can and write to O2 making an offer if weekly payments.
Do not just ignore it.

letsgetloud · 24-11-2014 10:05am

Laura Palmer wrote:

Why on earth would someone give the "advice" of "Don't pay" as if that's going to solve anything? ï¿¼

I never paid 02 because rather than tell me I owed money a debt collector wrote to me. I never replied that was three years ago

letsgetloud · 24-11-2014 10:05am

Malik Grumpy Right-hand wrote:

The most nonsensical advice for dealing with a debt. Ignoring a debt achieves nothing and is actually counterproductive. Pay what you can and write to O2 making an offer if weekly payments. Do not just ignore it.

paying the debt achieves less

dudara · 24-11-2014 10:44am

letsgetloud wrote: »

dont pay, nothing they can or will do about it.

Unfortunately, that is not true. The debt collection agency can take a court case against the individual. If successful, a judgement can be secured and this can impact creditworthiness. The fact that you weren't pursued cannot be assumed for everybody else.

philc1974 · 24-11-2014 11:01am

Get bank details off debt collector and pay via internet banking, pay €5 weekly, once you pay them something, anything, you are not in breach of terms of contract..

Yeah it's true, you could ignore debt collectors, they will try to bully you into unreasonable payments, ignore calls via phone, go to getoutofdebtfree.org and follow guidelines on how to deal with debt collectors ( often called "third party interlopers " with no legal rights to do what they do. Follow the letter templates and reply back to them to turn the tables

All in all don't be scared of debt collectors

Paper tigers they are

slimjimmc · 24-11-2014 9:19pm

Just be careful of advice given on any site that espouses Freeman ('people are sovereign', 'your name is copyright') philosophy or that is focused on other jurisdictions. Such advice may have no basis in Irish law and could be counter-productive. Use at your own risk (as the phrase goes).

OP, you could also contact your local MABS who provide confidential, impartial advice on dealing with debts.
https://www.mabs.ie/about-mabs/

Laura Palmer · 24-11-2014 10:12pm

Pay more than €5 a week, unless you want to drag it out for ages. They're not bullying you by seeking money owed after they've been appointed by O2 to do so.

Don't buy into this crazy pretence that someone who lets a debt build up and then the debt is sought from them are being victimised.
You made a mistake, fair enough - make yourself look the bigger person by just paying the money back as soon as you can.
Companies lose money due to people thinking they're above paying (not saying that's you OP but some people do think that way) for services that they use, and this is reflected in costs that cause price increases.

lukesmom · 24-11-2014 10:53pm

Laura Palmer wrote: »

Pay more than €5 a week, unless you want to drag it out for ages. They're not bullying you by seeking money owed after they've been appointed by O2 to do so.

Don't buy into this crazy pretence that someone who lets a debt build up and then the debt is sought from them are being victimised.
You made a mistake, fair enough - make yourself look the bigger person by just paying the money back as soon as you can.
Companies lose money due to people thinking they're above paying (not saying that's you OP but some people do think that way) for services that they use, and this is reflected in costs that cause price increases.

Yeah but they want me to pay back more a week than I can?

emo72 · 24-11-2014 11:00pm

just pay what you can. their alternative is to bring you to court. wont happen for the amount you owe. and in the remote caseyou appear in front of a judge, and he sees you are paying 5 euro a week, he will be wondering why you are there too!

lukesmom · 24-11-2014 11:35pm

Dreading the next letter coming through the door as when I ring them they are pretty snotty and adamant that €50 a month is too little

flutered · 24-11-2014 11:39pm

Laura Palmer wrote: »

Why on earth would someone give the "advice" of "Don't pay" as if that's going to solve anything?

People keep saying this - it's incorrect.
They are an agency that are acting on behalf of O2 - they are not doing anything wrong. There would have been reminders from the company prior to this agency taking over the debt. The terms and conditions state they can avail of the services of a third party after a certain point if credit terms are not agreed to.
You probably can't pay towards it via O2 because it is moved to the debt collection agency. Just pay what you can afford if that's all you can afford, there isn't anything more you can pay. Paying whatever you can will be in your favour.

ones contract is with the firm which is owed the money, one need ony pay the firm to whom the funds are owed, this saying they can use a third party has no basis in law.

flutered · 24-11-2014 11:44pm

lukesmom wrote: »

Dreading the next letter coming through the door as when I ring them they are pretty snotty and adamant that €50 a month is too little

explain to them that you do not have a contract with them, ask them to ensure that this is recorded, also tell them that you are attempting to pay o2 but they do not seem to want to coporate, also say that you have an appointment with the citizens advice, so cannot comment until this is over, please ensure that you contact them.

Laura Palmer · 24-11-2014 11:46pm

Why did a barrister and solicitor confirm to me so that it's perfectly legitimate and lawful for the company to appoint an agent to act on its behalf?
I'm not being smart, I actually asked them for clarification because I see this so much. If the company is doing something unlawful shouldn't they be complained to the Ombudsman? Guards? Legal action taken against them?
Yet they continue to do it.

frankxxxx · 24-11-2014 11:54pm

Don't take too much heed of the debt collection company

That's their game.. Scaremongering

If you could stick the pressure for a while they may offer a settlement deal of 50percent off

davo10 · 25-11-2014 12:06am

lukesmom wrote: »

Dreading the next letter coming through the door as when I ring them they are pretty snotty and adamant that €50 a month is too little

OP, you were €580 in debt to O2 when debt collectors got involved, we can only assume this debt was built up over a prolonged period and that there was correspondence from O2 prior to debt collectors contacting you. I'm not sure why you are dreading this now, surely you knew after the first month that you were going to miss the payment. €580 is a lot of money so I wouldn't be so sure that they will not chase you through the courts, I'd imagine providers are getting tired of this "they won't come after me cause it's not worth their while" attitude to debt.

I'd also be interested to know, do you now have a mobile with another provider? €5 is not enough, no company would accept that and for those who say well a judge will look favourably upon you as you are paying something, the judge may also look unfavourably upon you as you built up the debt over a long period and ignored payment requests.

Regarding debt collectors, check the T&Cs of your O2 contract, I bet there is reference to a third party being engaged to collect debts. As dudara posted, the debt to O2 will not effect your credit rating but a court judgement most assuredly will, you can kiss any future loans/mortgages goodby, that is not scaremongering, it is the reality of the consequences of conscious indebtedness.

frankxxxx · 25-11-2014 12:17am

davo10 wrote: »

OP, you were €580 in debt to O2 when debt collectors got involved, we can only assume this debt was built up over a prolonged period and that there was correspondence from O2 prior to debt collectors contacting you. I'm not sure why you are dreading this now, surely you knew after the first month that you were going to miss the payment. €580 is a lot of money so I wouldn't be so sure that they will not chase you through the courts, I'd imagine providers are getting tired of this "they won't come after me cause it's not worth their while" attitude to debt.

I'd also be interested to know, do you now have a mobile with another provider? €5 is not enough, no company would accept that and for those who say well a judge will look favourably upon you as you are paying something, the judge may also look unfavourably upon you as you built up the debt over a long period and ignored payment requests.

Regarding debt collectors, check the T&Cs of your O2 contract, I bet there is reference to a third party being engaged to collect debts. As dudara posted, the debt to O2 will not effect your credit rating but a court judgement most assuredly will, you can kiss any future loans/mortgages goodby, that is not scaremongering, it is the reality of the consequences of conscious indebtedness.

I doubt you build up a debt of 580 over a long period of time with a telco

emo72 · 25-11-2014 12:22am

lukesmom wrote: »

Dreading the next letter coming through the door as when I ring them they are pretty snotty and adamant that €50 a month is too little

thats the only power they have, pretty snotty, dont worry mother of luke, they are trying to intimidate you. you owe the money, you are willing to pay, just pay what you can afford. these questions about debt collector agencies pop up all the time. and dont be dreading that letter, its seriously nothing to be worried about.

davo10 · 25-11-2014 12:23am

frankxxxx wrote: »

I doubt you build up a debt of 580 over a long period of time with a telco

Plans are €35 - €70 pm, so either it's ~ 6 months or OP ran way over monthly calls/data plan allowance. Either way it's not that easy to run up a €580 bill without knowing you are going over and above the usage you have agreed to pay for.

emo72 · 25-11-2014 12:26am

i ran up 80 euro when i skirted along the border using google maps. that was for about 30 minutes along the border. bummer for emo.

davo10 · 25-11-2014 12:29am

emo72 wrote: »

thats the only power they have, pretty snotty, dont worry mother of luke, they are trying to intimidate you. you owe the money, you are willing to pay, just pay what you can afford. these questions about debt collector agencies pop up all the time. and dont be dreading that letter, its seriously nothing to be worried about.

I think you are playing fast and loose with your advice to the OP. They also have the power to apply for a judgement against OP and you have no way of knowing for sure if they are motivated and willing to do so. If they do, your advice would have far reaching consequences for the OP, this is a risk OP should consider carefully. They may not of course go the legal root but if they do, ignorance is not a defence, OP will have agreed to the T&Cs when taking out the contract.

frankxxxx · 25-11-2014 12:30am

davo10 wrote: »

Plans are €35 - €70 pm, so either it's ~ 6 months or OP ran way over monthly calls/data plan allowance. Either way it's not that easy to run up a €580 bill without knowing you are going over and above the usage you have agreed to pay for.

You're agreeing with me then

Or do you think 02 will give customers a 6month tab?

davo10 · 25-11-2014 12:33am

frankxxxx wrote: »

You're agreeing with me then

Or do you think 02 will give customers a 6month tab?

I'm not sure, don't they continue to charge you for the term of your contract even if they prevent you from making calls after missed payments?

Debt collection agency worry

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