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Hi,
I originally posted this on MSE forums but no-one's replied in 3 days so I thought I'd try you guys. I'll get right to it - the debt in question is one Vodafone claimed I owed back in Dec 2007. It was the result of me allegedly agreeing to a contract extension of 6 months for £25 credit on a call from a third party on Vodafone's behalf. This call never happened and there's no record of it, apart from the credit appearing without explanation in small print on one of my bills. When I cancelled my contract I was confronted with a bill for £487, for the 6 months they claimed I had left of my contract and one backpayment. It also included the remaining time on a £10 a month contract I had taken out as a deal for a friend, which at the time I didn't realise would end if I cancelled the first one. I'll admit I should owe that, but the two contracts were tied, I wasn't informed the second number was cancelled til a later stage and as I understand I couldn't still use the second one without the main contract active anyway. So a lengthy battle ensued.
I paid off my backpayment and denied the rest. The debt went to Capquest, who I think are notorious for their incompetence, and despite my explaining everything twice I only received letters stating the debt still stood - "Our client responded...: 'Customer has been advised that he will be liable for the early termination fee.' The balance for this account is now due in full," and, ""Vodafone have confirmed that the contractual terms would have been clear on the extended contract." What extended contract?! After 8 months or so I grew tired of it and ignored them.
The trail went cold til 2010 when Vodafone got back in touch saying they'd started looking at old debts and it had resurfaced. Since then, it's been going quiet for a bit and then starting again with another agency. So far I've had letters from Lowell, Red, H L Legal, CapQuest, Hamptons, Mackenzie Hall, Fredrickson International, Bryan Carter... probably more. It's ongoing and I've given up reasoning/communicating with them.
I have a letter from Dec 2010 when I wrote to Vodafone to get them to call off the dogs, and in the letter back it states:
"You were advised at the time that Vodafone would revert the contract term for that number back to 12 months and re-add the £25 charge that you were credited on the 17th May 2007.
Unfortunately this was not actioned at the time and your account continued down our collections path."
Isn't that admitting to a great amount of negligence? Is this a clincher that they can't pursue the debt? Even though in this letter she stated she had corrected the account though I still owed for the second contract and the £25 credit, the collection agencies are still asking for over £300.
On top of this, when the debt was in CapQuests hands in 2008 I requested a copy of the credit agreement. In return they sent back my Pound coin with a letter stating they didn't have a copy, and then continued to pursue the debt anyway. Should the trail have ended there? Does that make it illegal to sell it on again?
I'm not too clued up about these things but this has gone on long enough. The current agency are quite on it and I'm getting a lot of letters and phone calls. I need a way of halting it once and for all before I end up setting light to Lowell's headquarters!
Thanks,
Rich
I originally posted this on MSE forums but no-one's replied in 3 days so I thought I'd try you guys. I'll get right to it - the debt in question is one Vodafone claimed I owed back in Dec 2007. It was the result of me allegedly agreeing to a contract extension of 6 months for £25 credit on a call from a third party on Vodafone's behalf. This call never happened and there's no record of it, apart from the credit appearing without explanation in small print on one of my bills. When I cancelled my contract I was confronted with a bill for £487, for the 6 months they claimed I had left of my contract and one backpayment. It also included the remaining time on a £10 a month contract I had taken out as a deal for a friend, which at the time I didn't realise would end if I cancelled the first one. I'll admit I should owe that, but the two contracts were tied, I wasn't informed the second number was cancelled til a later stage and as I understand I couldn't still use the second one without the main contract active anyway. So a lengthy battle ensued.
I paid off my backpayment and denied the rest. The debt went to Capquest, who I think are notorious for their incompetence, and despite my explaining everything twice I only received letters stating the debt still stood - "Our client responded...: 'Customer has been advised that he will be liable for the early termination fee.' The balance for this account is now due in full," and, ""Vodafone have confirmed that the contractual terms would have been clear on the extended contract." What extended contract?! After 8 months or so I grew tired of it and ignored them.
The trail went cold til 2010 when Vodafone got back in touch saying they'd started looking at old debts and it had resurfaced. Since then, it's been going quiet for a bit and then starting again with another agency. So far I've had letters from Lowell, Red, H L Legal, CapQuest, Hamptons, Mackenzie Hall, Fredrickson International, Bryan Carter... probably more. It's ongoing and I've given up reasoning/communicating with them.
I have a letter from Dec 2010 when I wrote to Vodafone to get them to call off the dogs, and in the letter back it states:
"You were advised at the time that Vodafone would revert the contract term for that number back to 12 months and re-add the £25 charge that you were credited on the 17th May 2007.
Unfortunately this was not actioned at the time and your account continued down our collections path."
Isn't that admitting to a great amount of negligence? Is this a clincher that they can't pursue the debt? Even though in this letter she stated she had corrected the account though I still owed for the second contract and the £25 credit, the collection agencies are still asking for over £300.
On top of this, when the debt was in CapQuests hands in 2008 I requested a copy of the credit agreement. In return they sent back my Pound coin with a letter stating they didn't have a copy, and then continued to pursue the debt anyway. Should the trail have ended there? Does that make it illegal to sell it on again?
I'm not too clued up about these things but this has gone on long enough. The current agency are quite on it and I'm getting a lot of letters and phone calls. I need a way of halting it once and for all before I end up setting light to Lowell's headquarters!
Thanks,
Rich
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