Debt collection agency worry

lukesmom

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

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

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

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

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

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

lukesmom wrote: »

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

Call them.

letsgetloud

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

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

Laura Palmer

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

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

Laura Palmer wrote:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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?

emo72

davo10 wrote: »

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.

only speaking from experience,mine and others. no-one i know has ever been brought before a court for such a small amount. but davo10 is technically correct. anything is possible.

fro9etb8j5qsl2

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.

Or maybe they are charging the OP for early cancellation of a contract? Either way, she didn't come here to be lectured for letting a bill run up.

OP, the only thing I can tell you is that I was in a similar situation with a different mobile provider. There was a dispute when their so called insurance company refused to replace my phone which had been stolen even though I followed the correct claim procedure and had not been negligent with the phone. So i cancelled the contract, maintaining that I wasn't going to pay for something I didn't have. They started billing me monthly for almost €600. Then the letters from the debt collectors came monthly for 6 months. Then the mobile bills again. And then inexplicably, all went quiet and I haven't heard from either of them in over 2 years.

I have no idea if O2 work the same way though.

davo10

emo72 wrote: »

only speaking from experience,mine and others. no-one i know has ever been brought before a court for such a small amount. but davo10 is technically correct. anything is possible.

Emo, a quick google threw up an article from 2012 which stated that in the first 6 months of that year, O2 obtained 472 judgements for unpaid bills, the number increased 5 fold in the next month compared to the same period in 2007 so obviously they do go after some.

emo72

davo10 wrote: »

Emo, a quick google threw up an article from 2012 which stated that in the first 6 months of that year, O2 obtained 472 judgements for unpaid bills, the number increased 5 fold in the next month compared to the same period in 2007 so obviously they do go after some.

if they get a judgement against you, how do they get their money any quicker?

generalmental

I was in a similar situation a few years back but I had to deal with a charming crowd who knocked on the door and were "Threatening and intimidating" to my girlfriend........ Lets just say I was boiling with rage when he came back the next time...... He was un-politely told to go away and not to come back or the kettle of hot water might just slip out of my hand the next time. Paid the bill with what I could each week and never heard from them again... Most of them are just Shysters who prey on peoples fears and the fact that most of us are decent and pay our bills on time..

davo10

emo72 wrote: »

if they get a judgement against you, how do they get their money any quicker?

How does anybody who goes to the trouble of getting a court judgement? I suppose they don't know if it's a case of can't pay or won't pay, and at least if they have a judgement they have a better hope if seeing the money.

For most, I suspect the threat is a powerfull motivator to pay what is owed, I know if it was me, I would want to jeopardise the chance of getting credit if I needed it in the future.

I know the OP is in a bind but rightly or wrongly, I also suspect she knew she was running up the tab at the time, everybody in this predicament does or at least should.

frankxxxx

davo10 wrote: »

I know the OP is in a bind but rightly or wrongly, I also suspect she knew she was running up the tab at the time, everybody in this predicament does or at least should.

You don't know that but you keep repeating it

davo10

frankxxxx wrote: »

You don't know that but you keep repeating it

Are you serious? You don't think someone would realise they were running up a €580 bill on their phone? Crickey.

emo72

davo10 wrote: »

How does anybody who goes to the trouble of getting a court judgement? I suppose they don't know if it's a case of can't pay or won't pay, and at least if they have a judgement they have a better hope if seeing the money.

For most, I suspect the threat is a powerfull motivator to pay what is owed, I know if it was me, I would want to jeopardise the chance of getting credit if I needed it in the future.

I know the OP is in a bind but rightly or wrongly, I also suspect she knew she was running up the tab at the time, everybody in this predicament does or at least should.

you are just a wee bit judgemental here, you suspect she ran up a bill, but you dont know.

Laura Palmer

emo72 wrote: »

you are just a wee bit judgemental here, you suspect she ran up a bill, but you dont know.

If she did, to mention it, isn't to lecture - it's simply to drive home the reality of how stupid and ill-advised the "Just don't pay", "Debt collectors have no power", "It's unreasonable for money to be looked for off you" stuff is.

davo10

emo72 wrote: »

you are just a wee bit judgemental here, you suspect she ran up a bill, but you dont know.

Am I missing something? Did OP not say in her opening post that she owes €580 and in a later post say it was to O2? I don't see any reference to a dispute over the bill, only with paying when debt collectors came a calling.

emo72

Laura Palmer wrote: »

If she did, to mention it, isn't to lecture - it's simply to drive home the reality of how stupid and ill-advised the "Just don't pay", "Debt collectors have no power", "It's unreasonable for money to be looked for off you" stuff is.

now now, i didnt say "Just don't pay", "Debt collectors have no power". pay what you can, is my advice and see what happens. once regular payments are coming in i think based on past experience that will be fine.

frankxxxx

Laura Palmer wrote: »

If she did, to mention it, isn't to lecture - it's simply to drive home the reality of how stupid and ill-advised the "Just don't pay", "Debt collectors have no power", "It's unreasonable for money to be looked for off you" stuff is.

Debt collectors use various tactics

If a company employs them it's reasonable for the debtor to have a game plan too

For instance they may offer a 50percent discount

Laura Palmer

emo72 wrote: »

now now, i didnt say "Just don't pay", "Debt collectors have no power". pay what you can, is my advice and see what happens. once regular payments are coming in i think based on past experience that will be fine.

I didn't say YOU said those things. Well you did kinda say they have no power. But I agree - all Lukesmom can do is pay whatever she can budget for.

davo10

frankxxxx wrote: »

Debt collectors use various tactics

If a company employs them it's reasonable for the debtor to have a game plan too

For instance they may offer a 50percent discount

It would seem the OP has tried this game plan already by offering €50 to no avail.

frankxxxx

davo10 wrote: »

It would seem the OP has tried this game plan already by offering €5, to no avail.

You only get to the big rewards by holding out totally

Once you start negotiating repayments you're on the hook and they start playing you out for more

KERSPLAT!

I'd do as advised before, email o2 first and offer €50 p/m, if they refuse offer the same to the debt collection agency again, via email. If they refuse just keep putting the €50 away, if they do take it to court you should have a tidy sum put away to give them and evidence to present to the judge that you were willing to pay as much as you could. That's what I would do.

davo10

frankxxxx wrote: »

You only get to the big rewards by holding out totally

Once you start negotiating repayments you're on the hook and they start playing you out for more

So you advocate not paying at all? There is a certain degree of risk for the OP in following your advice wouldn't you think? What if they follow through with a judgement, will OP think your advice was sound?

Guffy

Do debt collection agencies have any authority to enter a house if no one is home when they call?

Vala

Don't worry pet. I'd a friend who owed 100 times more for a work vehicle and got a letter from mabs to this debtor to pay €1 a week because he lost his job and couldn't meet his repayments. The bloke was knocking on his door late evening, threatening all sorts until he handed him this letter. €560 is nothing.