Help pls, am now lost with Pastdue Credit Solutions!!

[olliebonk]

Hi
I'm really hoping somebody can help me with this one this time. I have been perusing the advice on here but am a bit out of my depth, I kind of got to grips with Curlyben's helpful thread and sent his 'Prove It' letter to Pastdue Credit Solutions who have been instructed by BT to recover a utility debt from my friend and sent a 'Fromal Demand', original DCA was LCS which he had no contact with, and for whatever reason PdCS have now taken over.

I sent the exact same prove it letter that Curlyben wrote out, and today we have received a 'Notice of Impending Action' letter where they have completely ignored what I sent (although I didn't send it via recorded delivery so they may not have received it) where they are going to recommend to the client to issue a claim.

Now going through Curlyben's thread, I've got a bit lost as to what the next step should be and I'm worried I might get my friend in worse trouble if I make him take the wrong course of action. I'm not sure whether we should ignore it as we have said about harrassment from the prove it template as follows;

"Furthermore ignoring and/or disregarding claims that debts have been settled or are disputed and continuing to make unjustified demands for payment amounts to physical and/or psychological harassment.

I would ask that no further contact be made concerning the above account unless you can provide evidence as to my liability for the debt in question.

I await your written confirmation that this matter is now closed, otherwise I will have no option but to make a complaint to the Trading Standards department and consider informing the OFT of your actions."


OR if I should request a CCA which I don't think is correct if it is a utility bill?? OR do I make the complaint to TS as I have threatened??

I thank you for ANY help that anyone can give me.

[FlamingParrot]

Re: Help pls, am now lost with Pastdue Credit Solutions!!

Hi
I'm really hoping somebody can help me with this one this time. I have been perusing the advice on here but am a bit out of my depth, I kind of got to grips with Curlyben's helpful thread and sent his 'Prove It' letter to Pastdue Credit Solutions who have been instructed by BT to recover a utility debt from my friend and sent a 'Fromal Demand', original DCA was LCS which he had no contact with, and for whatever reason PdCS have now taken over.

I sent the exact same prove it letter that Curlyben wrote out, and today we have received a 'Notice of Impending Action' letter where they have completely ignored what I sent (although I didn't send it via recorded delivery so they may not have received it) where they are going to recommend to the client to issue a claim.

Now going through Curlyben's thread, I've got a bit lost as to what the next step should be and I'm worried I might get my friend in worse trouble if I make him take the wrong course of action. I'm not sure whether we should ignore it as we have said about harrassment from the prove it template as follows;

"Furthermore ignoring and/or disregarding claims that debts have been settled or are disputed and continuing to make unjustified demands for payment amounts to physical and/or psychological harassment.

I would ask that no further contact be made concerning the above account unless you can provide evidence as to my liability for the debt in question.

I await your written confirmation that this matter is now closed, otherwise I will have no option but to make a complaint to the Trading Standards department and consider informing the OFT of your actions."


OR if I should request a CCA which I don't think is correct if it is a utility bill??

A CCA request wouldn't apply to a utility bill or a service contract as they are not credit agreements and not covered by the Consumer Credit Act. You mention BT above, presumably this is phone bill rather than a utility bill. :noidea:

Does your friend actually owe BT money? Does he know about the debt? Is he disputing the bill with BT? What's the outstanding balance? How old is this debt? Is it possible it's over 6 years?

OR do I make the complaint to TS as I have threatened??

I thank you for ANY help that anyone can give me.

Well, that depends on whether they have the right to chase for this debt or not, if your friend doesn't owe any money then they shouldn't harass him anymore, if he does, they are allowed to chase until it statute barred.

[olliebonk]

Re: Help pls, am now lost with Pastdue Credit Solutions!!

A CCA request wouldn't apply to a utility bill or a service contract as they are not credit agreements and not covered by the Consumer Credit Act. You mention BT above, presumably this is phone bill rather than a utility bill. :noidea:

Does your friend actually owe BT money? Does he know about the debt? Is he disputing the bill with BT? What's the outstanding balance? How old is this debt? Is it possible it's over 6 years?
Well, that depends on whether they have the right to chase for this debt or not, if your friend doesn't owe any money then they shouldn't harass him anymore, if he does, they are allowed to chase until it statute barred.

Thanks for your reply FlamingParrot.

He had a dispute with BT over their lack of service as his telephone line never worked properly and he couldn't make calls (again with VirginMedia afterwards which is another debt I'm helping him with), but unfortunately he's not savvy when it comes to complaining and did everything over the phone and nothing ever got resolved as he didn't know how to go about it. The default date is July last year and is for £792.84. Before joining this forum I sent a letter saying he was in dispute with BT to LCS - which I guess they must have handed the account back to BT, then instructed PdCS so I sent the prove it letter to try and find out what the amount is for etc etc, as my friend has no records or statements to show the charges etc nor the original amount.

I have just successfully negotiated a full and final amount with Hastings on his behalf as Payplan have suggested he goes bankrupt - which we are trying to avoid. Once I have some figures from PdCS and BT, would that be the best option to try? :tinysmile_hmm_t2:

[labman]

Re: Help pls, am now lost with Pastdue Credit Solutions!!

It sounds to me like we may be able to help far better if we have a full picture rather than details of just this one debt. If Payplan are advising he go bankrupt I'm guessing there must be some other fairly substantial debts. Are you willing to give us the whole picture so we can help better?

[FlamingParrot]

Re: Help pls, am now lost with Pastdue Credit Solutions!!

I have just successfully negotiated a full and final amount with Hastings on his behalf as Payplan have suggested he goes bankrupt - which we are trying to avoid. Once I have some figures from PdCS and BT, would that be the best option to try? :tinysmile_hmm_t2:

Bankruptcy is a big step yet the likes of Payplan often suggest it as it it was nothing! I recall looking at their site before finding consumer forums and, basically, if you had debts and were unemployed their suggestion would be BR, as you needed a certain minimum amount available every month to pay creditors if you wanted to set up a DMP or an IVA (which I didn't know at the time was another form of insolvency). Thankfully I found other avenues and I'm over half way through to SBd with my debts. :thumb:

BR could be a good option for certain types of debts, but as Labman said above, we need to know more, ideally before he makes further deals with Payplan, who are a charity but funded by creditors.

[olliebonk]

Re: Help pls, am now lost with Pastdue Credit Solutions!!

Okay, well he's not comfortable with the internet at all so can't give too much away, he experienced 8 years of a lot of miserable life events, I personally think he became depressed and these debts were the last thing on his mind!!! But he has actually now come to terms with things and stopped hiding most of it, when I spoke to Payplan he was in debt by £20K, which he didn't realise!

Since I've taken the mess on, we have brought that down to £15K in a few weeks. Three debts are priority and after a court appearance and me learning how to do tax returns, we have reduced the total debt. We will be battling the CSA soon and may reduce it a bit more.

The secondary debts are the ones I am asking about here. I negotiated a F+F payment with an insurance co., so that is now pd and clear., and have negotiated an £82 parking fine for £5 a month payment. He is self employed and has struggled for work so it is very dificult to negotiate payments per month like Payplan suggest etc, so think that's why they suggested bankruptcy. Due to his 'depression' and moving around a lot, he doesn't have much paperwork to the debts, so I checked his Credit Ref File and surprisingly only one default appears - therefore 2 of the secondary debts have to be statute barred (he had no recollection of one of them, but the other was his ex wife's mobile in his name), we are not sorting them out until they track him down to his new more stable address.

The rest of the debts appear to have happened last year when he was going through a tough time with access and the ex, so I think these need to pinned down to how they are constructed, then look at negotiating with the original creditor for either F+F or small per month payments........but, am thinking of stalling with the DCA's of these to allow him time to get some money coming in regularly and get back on an even keel to be able to make payments.

[olliebonk]

Re: Help pls, am now lost with Pastdue Credit Solutions!!

Bankruptcy is a big step yet the likes of Payplan often suggest it as it it was nothing! I recall looking at their site before finding consumer forums and, basically, if you had debts and were unemployed their suggestion would be BR, as you needed a certain minimum amount available every month to pay creditors if you wanted to set up a DMP or an IVA (which I didn't know at the time was another form of insolvency). Thankfully I found other avenues and I'm over half way through to SBd with my debts. :thumb:

BR could be a good option for certain types of debts, but as Labman said above, we need to know more, ideally before he makes further deals with Payplan, who are a charity but funded by creditors.

Yep that's exactly it FP! Because he has no regular income at the min and basically just subcontracting, he just can't commit to DMP's etc, Payplan suggested that, and others suggested DRO.....which when I looked into it (this has been a steep learning curve for me!!) was just as bad as bankruptcy! When he had the good result in court, we decided to try and in essence, formulate our own DMP if you like - but need to ascertain the breakdown of these debts. The bank one, for example, that I've requested statements etc for, needs to be more transparent to see just what else they've walloped onto him, and if he had PPI which he has no idea.

Well done to you!! Just goes to show that all is not lost at times and that there ARE other ways! I had no idea they are linked to creditors!!!! I'm so glad I found this forum but it IS confusing here at times lol, gradually learning the terminology!

[Bill-K]

Re: Help pls, am now lost with Pastdue Credit Solutions!!

Just a "FWIW" contribution, if it is of use - particularly in response to the question of sending a CCA s.77-79 request. Some years back, I entered into an agreement with BT to pay a fixed amount per month for our BT telephone connection by monthly Direct Debit. This actually involved a CCA-regulated agreement, as payment was being made monthly in arrears, and the agreement stated that the monthly usage would be capped at an agreed amount. I was told that I would be sent monthly bills, but they were for information only, and would be paid automatically by DD.

Sure, the bills arrived, and I duly filed them - resting assured that they were being paid - and capped if required) as per the agreement. I eventually noticed one bill that had a lot of of BIG RED WORDS - so I checked it, and found that our dearest teenage daughter had been happily racking up calls to her BF's mobile by the HOUR, and doing likewise with Premium Rate numbers !!! The fixed-amount DD's hardly covered this, and the final bill was for just over £1,000 !!!

We took BT up on this, and they insisted that the term 'capping' did NOT mean limiting our phone usage. We offered to pay a reduced amount, but BT insisted on 'all or nothing,' so we went along with their tune and pointed out that the CCA definition had to be the one used, as this was a CCA-regulated agreement they were trying to enforce. They disagreed and waffled, etc., so we referred it to the Obudsman Otelo. Otelo chickened out, saying that CCA disagreements wasn't within their remit, so I challenged BT to make a legal claim, pointing out that if they insisted on attempting to enforce the CCA-regulated agreement, then they would be in breach of it by refusing to accept the CCA definition of "Capped."

We received the usual sorry procession of DCA's including PDCS, LCS, etc. - each time telling them that the account was in dispute, and that BT was in breach of the CCA. They eventually gave up the chase, and any pathetic attempts to recover now get consigned to the bin as CurlyBen suggests.

The chances are that BT WILL be able to supply a copy of the agreement, so I wouldn't suggest that you rest your hopes on unenforceability due to non-compliance with a CCA request - BUT - you might be able to 'get them' with the CCA 'small-print.'

JMHO, FWIW - HTH !!!

[Bill-K]

Re: Help pls, am now lost with Pastdue Credit Solutions!!

My post crossed with yours - I noticed PPI mentioned. Sure - this is worth investigating with any debts or loans, as it can drastically reduce the amount owing - or even turn the tables, and get the debt settled along with a further cash refund !!!

[olliebonk]

Re: Help pls, am now lost with Pastdue Credit Solutions!!

Thanks Bill, scary days when others run up debt in your name hey, not only did his ex wife do it, but his ex-stepson may've too! I mainly want to ascertain exactly what the amounts consist of for the majority of the secondary debts, see if anything shouldn't be there and tackle that or fight any dispute and get a reduction, then look to negotiate with the amount left for F+F settlement.

I did this with the insurance co. and was then able to suggest that the original premium could be paid or they would risk getting nothing if he went bankrupt, they very kindly accepted the offer. I'm hoping to be able to do this with a number of them as his income is so up and down (or non existent at times!!) that he can't commit to the monthly payments they are likely to want. But I assume it's a lot easier doing it that way with the OC than the DCA's??

[FlamingParrot]

Re: Help pls, am now lost with Pastdue Credit Solutions!!

Yep that's exactly it FP! Because he has no regular income at the min and basically just subcontracting, he just can't commit to DMP's etc, Payplan suggested that, and others suggested DRO.....which when I looked into it (this has been a steep learning curve for me!!) was just as bad as bankruptcy!

A DRO IS as bad as BR, it's a form of insolvency and so is an IVA. The difference is that it costs a lot less to obtain a DRO than to go BR but the criteria is a lot stricter with regards to both the amount of debt and the amount of income/assets you can have.

When he had the good result in court, we decided to try and in essence, formulate our own DMP if you like - but need to ascertain the breakdown of these debts. The bank one, for example, that I've requested statements etc for, needs to be more transparent to see just what else they've walloped onto him, and if he had PPI which he has no idea.

He'll need to send them a SAR to get all the statements and see if there was PPI that could be reclaimed to reduce the debt. See this post for details about sending a SAR: http://www.legalbeagles.info/forums/...579#post337579

Well done to you!! Just goes to show that all is not lost at times and that there ARE other ways! I had no idea they are linked to creditors!!!! I'm so glad I found this forum but it IS confusing here at times lol, gradually learning the terminology!

I can assure you there are! There are people in a lot more debt than me who have succeeded on the same route but it all depends on the type of debt, hence the need for the info noted below. Once we know where we stand, we can suggest the best course of action. :thumb:

Thanks Bill, scary days when others run up debt in your name hey, not only did his ex wife do it, but his ex-stepson may've too! I mainly want to ascertain exactly what the amounts consist of for the majority of the secondary debts, see if anything shouldn't be there and tackle that or fight any dispute and get a reduction, then look to negotiate with the amount left for F+F settlement.

Would be useful if you could obtain and post details of the debts, basically:

• Creditor name (original lender/service provider and DCA if relevant)
• Outstanding balance
• Approx date account started
• Account type (credit card, loan, secured loan, utility bill, etc.)
• Approx date of last payment

I did this with the insurance co. and was then able to suggest that the original premium could be paid or they would risk getting nothing if he went bankrupt, they very kindly accepted the offer. I'm hoping to be able to do this with a number of them as his income is so up and down (or non existent at times!!) that he can't commit to the monthly payments they are likely to want. But I assume it's a lot easier doing it that way with the OC than the DCA's??

On the contrary, DCAs pay peanuts for debts (usually no more than 10%) which means anything above that would be profit for them. As I said above, there are various possibilities depending on the type of debt, F&F settlements is just one of them. Do tell us more... :typing:

[labman]

Re: Help pls, am now lost with Pastdue Credit Solutions!!

There are many ways to deal with non-priority debts - a formal DMP is just one way, but many, like your friend, need a bit more flexibility than a DMP can give. There are, however, still ways round that if you find the right person to ask!

If you do decide on F&F's, please ensure they are worked out properly according to the accepted formula, and that they are as watertight as possible. No F&F is ever 100% watertight, but the main pitfalls are easily avoided.

Again, knowledge is power when it comes to this sort of thing, so please try to share as much information as you possibly can - it is in your friend's best interests to do so.

[FlamingParrot]

Re: Help pls, am now lost with Pastdue Credit Solutions!!

There are many ways to deal with non-priority debts - a formal DMP is just one way, but many, like your friend, need a bit more flexibility than a DMP can give. There are, however, still ways round that if you find the right person to ask!

Indeed, depending on what the debts are, such person may not be too far away. :thumb: :beagle: