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Debt collectors letter?
OK I have just received a letter from a debt collection agency , chasing a debt , my firm belief is that my ex partner has passed this information on to them , this in retaliation of a custody battle which is not going her way , hard to prove but 99.9% sure , what if I ignore this letter ? by me responding only gives them confirmation . or apply for bankruptcy ? any thoughts any one
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Ask yourself this question: if I walked up to you in the street and demanded a £100 from you for an alleged debt. Would you pay it? I can guess the answer would be no. This is all this debt collection agency is doing.
DO NOT telephone them. If you must contact them, do it in writing and DO NOT sign the letter. They are known to copy signatures. I would write to them asking them to provide proof that they are authorised to collect this debt. Many aren't. I would also ask them to provide you with a copy of the original credit agreement under the Consumer Credit Act of 1974. Until they provide you with this evidence ( and it is very unlikely that they will depending on the age of the debt ) they cannot enforce collection. This means no more nasty letters, no phone calls, nothing.
I would contact National Debt line on this issue. They are more clued up than the CAB. I used to work for the CAB and some are dreadfully out of touch. Also listen to the links on You Tube for good advice on debt collectors. 1st Direct are under the eye of Office of Fair Trading for their illegal practises. If you do owe the debt, there is nothing stopping you paying the original creditor therefore depriving these parasites of money.
There is a whole series of advice on debt collectors from the You Tube link I have provided. Listen to them. Remember though; debt collectors work on fear. They use language such as ' bankruptcy' ' court action ' legal action ' ( often the same company masquerading as solicitors ) Check them out with the Law Society. It is a criminal offence to claim to be solicitors when you are not. Most of what they have written in their pathetic letter will be bullshit and once they know that you know your rights, they tend to bugger off.
Have fun.
DO NOT telephone them. If you must contact them, do it in writing and DO NOT sign the letter. They are known to copy signatures. I would write to them asking them to provide proof that they are authorised to collect this debt. Many aren't. I would also ask them to provide you with a copy of the original credit agreement under the Consumer Credit Act of 1974. Until they provide you with this evidence ( and it is very unlikely that they will depending on the age of the debt ) they cannot enforce collection. This means no more nasty letters, no phone calls, nothing.
I would contact National Debt line on this issue. They are more clued up than the CAB. I used to work for the CAB and some are dreadfully out of touch. Also listen to the links on You Tube for good advice on debt collectors. 1st Direct are under the eye of Office of Fair Trading for their illegal practises. If you do owe the debt, there is nothing stopping you paying the original creditor therefore depriving these parasites of money.
There is a whole series of advice on debt collectors from the You Tube link I have provided. Listen to them. Remember though; debt collectors work on fear. They use language such as ' bankruptcy' ' court action ' legal action ' ( often the same company masquerading as solicitors ) Check them out with the Law Society. It is a criminal offence to claim to be solicitors when you are not. Most of what they have written in their pathetic letter will be bullshit and once they know that you know your rights, they tend to bugger off.
Have fun.
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Other Answers (7)
- First of all, do not ignore the letter, if you do, everything escalates and you finish up owing more with possibly CCJ, etc.As regards bankruptcy, why? There are costs to go bankrupt and it affects you for years, plus you risk losing all your assetts.
Talk to the agency, find out the details of the debt, if it is one you are responsible for, make an offer to pay it off at a rate you can afford. If the debt is not yours, point the agengy in the right direction especially if you have proof the debt isn't yours - If this is a legitimate debt, whoever you owe the money to would have given your account to a collection agency. Collection agencies just don't work off tips from people, they are hired by the debtor and receive a percentage of what they collect. You didn't say how much the amount owed is so it's hard to say what you should do. If it is a crushing debt that you have no way to pay, then bankruptcy is an option, but that should be a last resort.
There is no harm in ignoring the letter and seeing if they follow up in any way. - Okay, if you contact the collection Agency then they know the contact information is correct. Also, they can then nail you into the ground with phone calls and harassing messages to collect. No, you do not have to respond back to the letter unless you want them to validate the claim or in a request to writing your mailing address.
My advise to you would be to report them to the BBB and file a complaint. - If you owe debt and you're getting debt collection letters then I advise you to contact your citizens advice. They will go through everything with you and will contact the people you owe debt to on your behalf.
Don't ignore it because then the situation will escalate out of control and they will think you are avoiding them which annoys them.
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- Your ex did not have to supply your info. The collection agency just runs your SSN and knows where you are. Contact them and make arrangements to pay your debts. The family court will not be impressed with that on your record.
- If the debt is yours you need to face up to it and deal with it. The agency will have been checking at your previous address
- It doesn't matter who "passed information on to them." Is the debt yours or not?
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