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Hi all,
First post on here but have been following the forum for some time. Thought I'd share some experience with you as it may give hope to others.
Way back in 1996 my wife and I purchased a gas fire for our new home. We made the purchase from a British Gas showroom and, money being tight, bought the fire using their "buy now, pay in six months" (interest free) scheme. The scheme was run by Lombard Tricity Finance. Should the account not be settled within the six month time frame interest would be added and collected by DD over 12 months. We paid the loan off three weeks prior to the end of the interest free period.
In June 2007, out of the blue, we received a letter from Buchanan Clark & Wells (acting on behalf of AK) who alleged we had an outstanding debt with Lombard Tricity Finance. Being novices at the time we thought a simple call would resolve the issue as, obviously, this was a simple accounting oversight.
My wife, who keeps everything, still had the OA and receipts which clearly showed the date the loan was settled. Not good enough for BC & W's who continued with their threats etc. Eventually we went to a solicitor and presented our evidence. One letter for the solicitor (and a bill for £150) stopped all contact form BC & W's. End of the matter yes? No!!
In June 2009, we received a letter form Ultimate Credit Services. Same alledged debt and acting on behalf of AK. No more solicitors letters, dealt with it ourselves. Following several exchanges of letters (during which time we were threatened with varius actions) they agreed the (alledged) debt was statute barred and therefore, not recoverable. End of the matter yes? No!!
In March this year, 2011, we received a letter from Mackenzie Hall (on behalf of AK) who, yes you've guessed it, were pursuing a debt with Lombard Tricity Finance. Apparantly they had tried to contact us on a number of occasions and we had ignored their letters; lets not get side-tracked by that one. Enough was enough. Had I the opportunity to get my hands on someones throat I would now be doing time at Her Majesty's Plessure. I called Aktiv Kapital direct, yes I know it's a big no no. A young "lady" tried to fob me off by saying that I had to speak to MH. "Well, i could do that however, as it 's AK that will be pusued to court for compensation for harrasment I think it's you, or your manager, that I should be speaking to. Do you have the authority to make that decision?" Young "lady" decided to "consult her manager" and put me on hold. After ten mins on hold, a delaying tactic hopping I'd give up, I hung-upand redialled. This time I was put through to a manager to whom I explained the situation going back to 1996 and that I had in front of me the OA and receipts etc. We discussed AK's conduct and the fact that they ignored solicitors correspondance. An extremely nervous manager decided that they would "recall the account from MH and write off the debt". "How do you write off a debt which never existed?". That question proved a bit too hard for the AK manager.
If you're still reading I'll bring you upto date. We wrote to AK complaints dept and invited an offer of compensation. After eight weeks we received a response stating they "had conducted the account properly and within debt collection guide lines", however, we "could take the matter further if we wished but any action would be vigorously defended". Well, we do wish and have forwared the matter to the Financial Ombudsman Service who have accepted the case. We also reported the matter to the FSA.
My wife's brother works for a major high street bank in their compliance dept. His information tells us that, should a business be investigated by the Ombudsman Service, that business is charged for cost of the investigation. So if nothing else AK have incurred a cost greater than the alleged debt they were pursuing. I'll keep you informed of the outcome.
First post on here but have been following the forum for some time. Thought I'd share some experience with you as it may give hope to others.
Way back in 1996 my wife and I purchased a gas fire for our new home. We made the purchase from a British Gas showroom and, money being tight, bought the fire using their "buy now, pay in six months" (interest free) scheme. The scheme was run by Lombard Tricity Finance. Should the account not be settled within the six month time frame interest would be added and collected by DD over 12 months. We paid the loan off three weeks prior to the end of the interest free period.
In June 2007, out of the blue, we received a letter from Buchanan Clark & Wells (acting on behalf of AK) who alleged we had an outstanding debt with Lombard Tricity Finance. Being novices at the time we thought a simple call would resolve the issue as, obviously, this was a simple accounting oversight.
My wife, who keeps everything, still had the OA and receipts which clearly showed the date the loan was settled. Not good enough for BC & W's who continued with their threats etc. Eventually we went to a solicitor and presented our evidence. One letter for the solicitor (and a bill for £150) stopped all contact form BC & W's. End of the matter yes? No!!
In June 2009, we received a letter form Ultimate Credit Services. Same alledged debt and acting on behalf of AK. No more solicitors letters, dealt with it ourselves. Following several exchanges of letters (during which time we were threatened with varius actions) they agreed the (alledged) debt was statute barred and therefore, not recoverable. End of the matter yes? No!!
In March this year, 2011, we received a letter from Mackenzie Hall (on behalf of AK) who, yes you've guessed it, were pursuing a debt with Lombard Tricity Finance. Apparantly they had tried to contact us on a number of occasions and we had ignored their letters; lets not get side-tracked by that one. Enough was enough. Had I the opportunity to get my hands on someones throat I would now be doing time at Her Majesty's Plessure. I called Aktiv Kapital direct, yes I know it's a big no no. A young "lady" tried to fob me off by saying that I had to speak to MH. "Well, i could do that however, as it 's AK that will be pusued to court for compensation for harrasment I think it's you, or your manager, that I should be speaking to. Do you have the authority to make that decision?" Young "lady" decided to "consult her manager" and put me on hold. After ten mins on hold, a delaying tactic hopping I'd give up, I hung-upand redialled. This time I was put through to a manager to whom I explained the situation going back to 1996 and that I had in front of me the OA and receipts etc. We discussed AK's conduct and the fact that they ignored solicitors correspondance. An extremely nervous manager decided that they would "recall the account from MH and write off the debt". "How do you write off a debt which never existed?". That question proved a bit too hard for the AK manager.
If you're still reading I'll bring you upto date. We wrote to AK complaints dept and invited an offer of compensation. After eight weeks we received a response stating they "had conducted the account properly and within debt collection guide lines", however, we "could take the matter further if we wished but any action would be vigorously defended". Well, we do wish and have forwared the matter to the Financial Ombudsman Service who have accepted the case. We also reported the matter to the FSA.
My wife's brother works for a major high street bank in their compliance dept. His information tells us that, should a business be investigated by the Ombudsman Service, that business is charged for cost of the investigation. So if nothing else AK have incurred a cost greater than the alleged debt they were pursuing. I'll keep you informed of the outcome.
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