advice on rights re debt

Asha

Hi
Can anyone point me in the right direction about rights for consumers when they are being pursued by a CC company. I have been having problems & receiving up to 8 phone calls a day from this company even though I am working out a repayment plan & have completed / sent all forms etc that they have requested.

I asked the staff member about these calls & he said there is nothing he can do until plan set up??
I have contacted MABS & Citizens advice & nobody can answer this question. I was quoted the non fatal offences against the person act re harrassment but it's a bit vague.
Is there anything that determines what times they can call etc as I'm getting calls up to 9pm & it's quite distressing particulary as I'm engaging with the company.

Thanks

Victor

Ask them what will get them to call less (other than paying all the money now or arranging a payment plan).

Tell them that you respect them and understand them and that you are cooperating and that you would appreciate no more than X calls per week between Y time and Z time.

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A friend is a debt collector and blogged this.

SO YOU'VE GOTTEN CALLS FROM CREDITORS....WHAT TO DO NEXT??/

Here are the facts you still have to pay all your bills or you will get screwed......no amount of moral high horseness(is that a word???) will change this.

As you you know my profession is that of a debt collector. Which places me on the social love rating of above pedophiles and some where below a Nuremberg rally reunion. I have also spen many years working call centers as a customer care rep, which again gives me the social love factor of above Indian's( thats a reflection on the people calling as opposed to the people who are answering) and below Ryan Tub (from the late late show, he irritates the **** out of people, but people tune in.)

So what I'm trying to do is give you practial advise about how to deal with paying your bills and what you ARE dealing with when calling any company. I am taking into account a average person that I deal with, so if you ALWAYS pay on time you can ignore all of this.

Why dont we start at the start........

YOU BOUGHT IT...YOU HAD THE CHOICE NOT TO....BUT YOU DID....ANYTHING THAT HAPPENS AFTERWARDS IS A DIRECT RESPONSE TO YOUR ACTIONS.

1: YOU GOT A LETTER SAYING YOU OWE SOMETHING:

This not unexpected, you bought an item you got a loan etc, so you now have to pay for it. You most likely have received a letter from the credit control department of the company you were dealing with. It's a friendly reminder asking you to call and discuss payment or send in payment immediatly or within 7 days.
Now you have probably ignored alot of these letters, and feel that its not completly important to you to deal with this matter...in short its not a priority.

The proper way to deal to deal with this is to contact the company straight away...ALWAYS remember to have the letter with you and have enough credit in your phone when calling.

In total you will probably receive 3/4 letter each with stronger wording and probably telling you that legal proceedings are next or that this matter that will got to a debt collector/solicitors.
AGAIN...The proper way to deal to deal with this is to contact the company straight away...ALWAYS remember to have the letter with you and have enough credit in your phone when calling.

2: YOU HAVE IGNORED ALL LETTERS

You'll start getting phone calls, they will probably come from a private number and will be made between mon-fri and possiblly sat...this times will be mon-fri 9am to 9pm and sat (i not totally clear on time, so you amy want to check it) 10am-5pm. They will leave voicemails.

Best advice is to answer the calls and see what its all about. Find out, who's calling and from what company and what specficlly what they are calling about. TAKE NOTE OF THE NAMES AND TIMES AND WHAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT.....if you dont have paper or a note pad at the time....get the person to call you back.

3: BE SAFE.....WHEN DEALING WITH MONEY.

No matter who is contacting you and why, make sure to check that the person or company is legit. Do not give out any bank details or card numbers unless you are sure of the people you are dealing with.

4: COME TO A PAYMENT ARRANGMENT...
Unless you are self employed or some other extreme situation, if your not employed you are receiving some form of social welfare. The amounts vary depending on circumstance. The fact is being on social welfare is NOT an excuse for not paying, you are getting paid weekly. Call the company and start to work to an arrangment, first negotiate, remember the person on the other end on the phone wants to meet their targets. So best advice is to start lower than the amount you wish to pay.

You are best off clearing the balance owed in the fastest time possible. If you have come into a large sum of cash, then offer a settlement if its a large figure owed.

5: YOUR MAKING PAYMENT VIA INSTALMENTS.
No this is not a fool proof way for you to clear the payments. You need to follow up on all payments made. Companies do issue receipt and try and make you aware when payments are missed, but do not rely on them THIS IS YOU ISSUE, THEY JUST WANT CASH. Firstly keep all receipts in a file, Secondly make sure that any payments like cheques/postal order/bankdraft are sent as reegistered post as this will provide proof that a company has received your payment and who signed for it. Thirdly, if you are using Standing Order or Direct Debit, check with your bank ever week/month that payment has been taken. Forth, if you have completed payment and the balance is now clear, make sure to get a letter from the company stating that file is CLOSED AND PAID IN FULL. If you have a Standing Order set up, YOU HAVE TO CANCEL IT. If a Direct Debit is set up THE COMPANY HAS TO CANCEL IT ALSO GET IT WRITING THAT THEY HAVE CANCELLED THE DIRECT DEBIT.

6: KEEP A FILE OF ALL CONTACT WITH THE COMPANY!!!!!
It sounds basic but hardly anyones doing it. Its your fail safe against any company etc stating that you have not done something when you have. This means letters, emails, phone calls etc, these can be treated as legal documents.

Ok, see its simple what to do to clear any balance owed. Its all about the practical.

NOW FOR THE HUMAN STUFF, THE ILLOGICAL STUFF AKA WHEN YOU GET PISSED OFF AN CALL A NUMBER OR GET PISSED OFF WHEN YOU RECEIVE A LETTER.

People are idiots.......FACT.....Consumers especially. You think I'm wrong...think about the last time you were in a shop in a QUE waiting to pay for something yet there's a fool that cant count change and is now arguing with the cashier. The fact is HARDLY anyone knows their rights without googling them. Let me make it clear there are laws to protect you, get to know them, outside of that YOU ARE NOT ENTITLED TO ****....nothing and if you read any terms and conditions of any agreement you sign then you would know exactly what I mean. The perfect example is this, the credit card you got at a low rate.....yea missed1 payment...and then all of a sudden you getting hit with hugh late interest charge and you feel you got ROBBED....SURPRISE you signed up to let them do that and take you to court if needed for that.

OK, back to basics, when you call a number generally your calling a call center full of people jammed into a room with too many other people and its true they HATE their job. So when you call you should get professionalism...not emotion. They are just looking to get paid and go home. When you call and complain to a person in a call center, you have just managed to accomplish **** ALL. No matter what has happened before, people will try and help you and call you back ETC, but they are not dealing with your case they are dealing with hundreds of cases. So if someone doesnt get back to you follow up on it. The debt owed is yours until proven different, so its interest to follow up on things.

Every call be happy, be helpful.....you will be remembered and the person you are dealing with will go the extra mile for you and you will be harder to be turned down when you make a suggestion etc.

Every person you call HAS A TARGET. Debt collectors have targets, call center people have targets. If you on the phone to a person (excluding call waiting) you are ****ing with someones stats and they will become less helpful.

The person on the phone does not know the consumer laws. Well atleast the odds are that they don't, so you can bluff in your favour a little, but dont get cocky.

DO NOT TREATEN ANYONE WITH ANYTHING OVER THE PHONE. When you get pissed off and start threatening peopel with going to newspapers or that your going to show up etc....it means you are less likely to be helped and more likely to be sent to a solicitor or a court. By the way JOE DUFFY does not go to court with you so cop the **** on.

The larger the company, the more hoops you will have to go through, just deal with it. You going to the papaers to complain means NOTHING TO A LARGE COMPANY AND THEY DONT CARE.

I know you were bored less then half way through, but trust me it will help you. Also i know your probably going to say, theres this and theres that, and there was this guy who said this etc. I DO NOT CARE, my purpose only to give you a few tips and try and make you understand that you need to THINK first then act ONLY.

Our man in Havana

Someone should tell him that he has no legal powers.

Jo King

Non Fatal Offences Against the Person Act 1997

11.—(1) A person who makes any demand for payment of a debt shall be guilty of an offence if—


( a ) the demands by reason of their frequency are calculated to subject the debtor or a member of the family of the debtor to alarm, distress or humiliation, or


( b ) the person falsely represents that criminal proceedings lie for non-payment of the debt, or


( c ) the person falsely represents that he or she is authorised in some official capacity to enforce payment, or


( d ) the person utters a document falsely represented to have an official character.


(2) A person guilty of an offence under this section shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £1,500.

When they ring tell them that you are recording the call. Do record the calls. On each recorded call repaeat back the list of previous calls.
Keep records of the contacts and go to the guards.

dermot_sheehan

Remind them of section 46 of the Consumer Credit Act then get in contact with the financial regulator.
http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/1995/en/act/pub/0024/sec0046.html#zza24y1995s46

Asha

Thanks for all your replies. I have been keeping a written log but haven't been recording calls.
I shall gather all my info & quote it all back to them on each call.

Thanks again.

Asha