Debt Collection agency

risteard7

I have a loan with ulster bank for a few thousand and have been struggling to pay it for a few years now. If i'm honest i did neglect it too. The debt has been passed on to a debt collection agency, from whom i got a phone call today and did not like their attitude and threatening behavior.

I agreed to pay 50 euro a week which she sighed at then i lost the head and said 50 euro take it or leave it, i cant afford anymore as i'm a student now.

What rights do these agencies have? I understood the bank cut their losses and sell the debt to an agency for a fraction of the loan. and the agencies pester you for a handy profit??

I would prefer to go back and deal with the bank directly as i cant stand those agencies or is it too late?

gugleguy

risteard7 wrote: »

i lost the head

The sigh from the caller was
Intended to provoke this reaction from you. My advice get moral suppport NOW. Dont dawdle.

blueythebear

risteard7 wrote: »

I have a loan with ulster bank for a few thousand and have been struggling to pay it for a few years now. If i'm honest i did neglect it too. The debt has been passed on to a debt collection agency, from whom i got a phone call today and did not like their attitude and threatening behavior.

I agreed to pay 50 euro a week which she sighed at then i lost the head and said 50 euro take it or leave it, i cant afford anymore as i'm a student now.

What rights do these agencies have? I understood the bank cut their losses and sell the debt to an agency for a fraction of the loan. and the agencies pester you for a handy profit??

I would prefer to go back and deal with the bank directly as i cant stand those agencies or is it too late?

If this is a debt collection agency, I'm presuming that i) the debt is unsecured and ii) the debt is a relatively low amount.

However, there are certain larger law firms that set up smaller firms or companies that deal with all of their low level debt collection matters and this could be the case, certainly where a bank is involved. Google the address on the headed paper of the debt collection agency and see if it coincides with a law firms address. If so you can probably expect court proceedings unles you come to an arrangement with the agency.

In general once the debt is with one of these agencies, they will be the point of contact. If you don't like their attitude, why not put everything in writing? I would recommend this in any event so that you have a record of any agreements or disputes that may arise.

ZENER

There was a thread recently either here or Consumer Issues where someone thought they were paying the debt collectors to clear his loan. It turned out they were not and when he contacted his bank for a statement he got quite a shock !! IF possible wouldn't it be better to deal only with Ulster Bank ?

Ken

wmpdd3

I have a debt like this and I only deal in writing with the company I took the service from. I pay a monthly amount by bank transfer and I include my name in the transfer for a paper trail, they dont like it but the debt will be paid in months and if they bring me to court I will have a paper trail(read 'book') of how I have tried to resolve the issue.

Maxpv

risteard7 wrote: »

I understood the bank cut their losses and sell the debt to an agency for a fraction of the loan. and the agencies pester you for a handy profit??

That's not always the case, in fact, usually the debt collector is on commission (IE. They get x% of everything they recover).

Also, I'm not sure if this is the case in Ireland but in some other countries they can actually charge you for the debt collection service and add it onto your debt, in some cases they even charge you every time they send you a letter, make a phone call to you or call out to your house.

risteard7 wrote: »

I agreed to pay 50 euro a week which she sighed at then i lost the head and said 50 euro take it or leave it, i cant afford anymore as i'm a student now.

50euro a week is usually fine for someone who is unemployed, especially since you are a student and aren't entitled to social welfare etc. These guys will obviously try to convince you into paying as much as they can get you to pay. I have previously worked for a debt collection agency (but not in Ireland) and have heard/seen people pay much less than that, but it all depends on the principle amount.

Just remember that you are likely still being charged interest/penalties on this loan, so, depending on your circumstances, you may want to increase the weekly payment in order to save yourself from paying loads of interest.

risteard7 wrote: »

I would prefer to go back and deal with the bank directly as i cant stand those agencies or is it too late?

You can as long as the debt hasn't been sold to the debt collector, and there is a good chance that it hasn't.

Fred Swanson

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risteard7

Thanks for the info folks. When i say i lost the head i didn't start shouting and roaring. The crowd are buchanan clark and wells. I want to clear my debt but i don't want to be giving them any profit out out of it.

I want my 50 euro to go to ulster bank no one else, but it could be too late and ulster bank signed everything over to them to retrieve the money?

Fred Swanson

This post has been deleted.

Maxpv

risteard7 wrote: »

I want my 50 euro to go to ulster bank no one else, but it could be too late and ulster bank signed everything over to them to retrieve the money?

I can't be 100% certain about this, but I'm fairly certain they will be getting money out of this no matter what at this stage.

Also BCW are a real collection agency and not owned by Ulster bank.

Try contacting Ulster bank and make arrangements to pay them directly, but note that in the past I've seen collection agencies keep harassing the person for the money anyways as its "in the system", collection agencies can be ruthless.

Fred Swanson

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risteard7

Blazr wrote: »

I can't be 100% certain about this, but I'm fairly certain they will be getting money out of this no matter what at this stage.

(Also BCW are a real collection agency and not owned by Ulster bank).

What would that mean?

Maxpv

risteard7 wrote: »

What would that mean?

I was referring to this:

blueythebear wrote: »

However, there are certain larger law firms that set up smaller firms or companies that deal with all of their low level debt collection matters and this could be the case, certainly where a bank is involved. Google the address on the headed paper of the debt collection agency and see if it coincides with a law firms address. If so you can probably expect court proceedings unles you come to an arrangement with the agency.

BillyMitchel

Don't mean to hijack the thread but I was in a pretty similar situation but with AIB with a student loan. First it was the dealing with the bank, then it was the debt agency and then it was the solicitors. I think the debt collecting agency and the solicitors are all the one company though, exact same address. Even when I was dealing with the agency or the solicitors I was still paying directly into an AIB loan account. They wouldn't let me use the student account for anything else.

In fairness to the bank, debt collector and solicitors they never refused any offer I made. At one stage I even offered €10 a week and it was accepted.

I know it's hard not to lose the head when they send out threats of court proceedings and the like but I think being calm and polite with these people is the best way forward.

Fred Swanson

This post has been deleted.

BillyMitchel

Fred Swanson wrote: »

In AIB, the bank, debt collectors and solicitors are all in the same building. Basically just different desks.

Yeah it's pretty clear they were all related. AIB was DCU branch but debt collectors and solicitors was an office in tallaght.

When the debt collectors first got in contact they wanted about €2000 once off payment and another €300 a month. I laughed so hard they must have thought I was high. I was an unemployed graduate! I said if I had a spare €2000 and €300 a month, do you think I'd have you people ringing me up demanding money.

They settled for €50 a month and as time went on the plan was changed to what I could afford. Some times more than the 50 sometimes less.

Moral of my story OP, do not panic and pay what you can afford and keep note of any offer you make to them. Also call NABS. There is also the new insolvency law for debts under €10000.

Quick question for those in the know. How often do cases like these end up in court? What way would a judge be inclined to lean towards if they see that someone is struggling financially but trying their best with the loan? Does the courts always take the side of the bank?

Fred Swanson

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BillyMitchel

Fred Swanson wrote: »

Everyday of the week these cases are on district court lists across the country.

Judges look at the circumstances of the person and then make a decision and I would say 99% of the time the figure demanded by the bank is rejected. I was witness to a case where BOI wanted €800 a month off a single unemployed mother. The judge told them to get stuffed.

It's nice to hear that because the banks do come across as blood sucking vultures on these small amount cases.