Need advice - Debt recoveries

gam3r

gam3r

gam3r

Soldato
Joined
20 Jun 2005
Posts
3,826
Location
London..
Hi there,

About 6 months ago we kept recieving letters at my house addressed to someone else. We would get one letter every month or so with this persons name on it so we would just write "return to sender" on the letter and put it back in a mailbox.

This has been happening for a while now and frankly it got very irritating, so i decided to open up one of the letters to see what it was so i could get in contact with whoever was sending it to sort the problem out.

So i opened it up and behold, it's a letter from SRJ debt recovery services working on behalf of Vodafone. It claims to have this guy as a "confirmed resident" at this address(we have been living here for 30+ years) and states that £600+ is owed, and they are threatening court actions.

Just wondering what is the best thing for me to do, shall i give them a ring or shall i give Vodafone a ring...and ultimately can i get done for debt which isn't mine?

Quite angry to be honest.
 
Phone them and tell them the situation. You are NOT liable for the other persons debt and he DOESN'T live at your house. So they will leave you alone once they know what is going on.
 
I had a similar issue with LCS collecting on behalf of e-On, even though I've never been a customer of theirs.

It took me four phone calls, but they no longer harass me.
Ring them and explain.. if they persist, seek advice from CAB.
 
Moley said:
Phone them and tell them the situation. You are NOT liable for the other persons debt and he DOESN'T live at your house. So they will leave you alone once they know what is going on.
Click to expand...

No they won't, they will keep sending letters trying to find the guy had it happen to me from a mistake my bank made ,set up two accounts in my name and started to charge one with a monthly fee as I just sent the letters back they thought I was ignoring it and keot fining that account then sent it to a debt collector, I had sorted out that this account was not valid long ago but they kept sending letters and I kept returning them or "Filing them"

KaHn
 
Moley said:
Phone them and tell them the situation. You are NOT liable for the other persons debt and he DOESN'T live at your house. So they will leave you alone once they know what is going on.
Click to expand...

Exaclty, phone them once an explain. If they don't sort anything, forget about it. They can't do anything at all. One thing though, never, ever allow a bailiff into your house.

Burnsy
 
Surely even if you allow a bailiff into your house that you lived in for 30 years they cannot take your stuff? Or how does this thing work?
 
Had loads of letters like this for a guy that used to live in my flat. Debts from phone company, credit card, speeding fines, etc. Just phone up the company, give them the reference number and they will stop sending out stuff. What they will then do is sell that debt onto another company who will start it all over again :(

Onto the 4th company now.
 
This reminds me of a friend of mine that has never had gas in his house and they sent him a bill one day out of the blue. He told them over and over he's never had gas, they never listened and he ignored letters and calls for years, then one day a gas man came to the door all smug and almost with a sense of pride in the justice hes about to hand out.

"I'm here to remove your meter SIR"
"Carry on then"
"There is no meter here!?"
*Friend sarcastically claps and shows the gas man the door*
 
Last edited:
Cuchulain said:
You cannot be "done" for a debt that isn't yours. Instead of ringing vodafone, ring the debt recovery people.
Click to expand...

Don't even ring them, put the letter back in the post with "not at this address", or send them a simple letter along the lines of

"Dear sir/madam

In regards to your letters addressed to X, please note that he/she does not, and never has lived at this address.
I would request that you remove this address from your records, as you are wasting my time, your time, and your money.

gam3r (not signed, never sign anything sent to DCA's)."

I would actually send copies to both Vodaphone who originally owned the debt and presumably passed it on, quite possibly with incorrect details, and the DCA.

Re bailiffs, in theory they should go away if you can show you and not the person they are after live at your address (simply show them your driving licence/a bill), in practice given the actions of some (making illegal multiple charges, scare tactics, intimidation etc) you never let one in the house, and call the police at the first sign of trouble. Don't even let one in to "call his boss" or use the loo.
 
Yup, pretty much once they gain peaceful entry they can (if memory serves) gain access again.

Fortunately things like the foot in the door trick isn't classed as peaceful entry.
 
Yup, we had this. The previous owner of the house had neglected to tell anyone she was moving house. Probably too busy feeding her 114 asbo kids.

We called a couple of times, then they came round anyway. Dont let them in under any circumstances. If they need to make a call, give them your mobile or tell them to Do One. Provide them with Proof of ID, Photocopies of bills proving your address.

Also, you might not need to do this but we did, we gave our local cop shop a call (on the local number, not 999 or anythign) and just explained what was going on. They made notes and acted on our behalf the couple of times debt recoveries turned up.

But remember, dont let them in.
 
Werewolf said:
Yup, pretty much once they gain peaceful entry they can (if memory serves) gain access again.

Fortunately things like the foot in the door trick isn't classed as peaceful entry.
Click to expand...

yeah something like that.
if you leave a window open or door unlocked they can use these to get access to your property.

dont even open the door to them, they can be persuasive and intimidating with their tricks.
speak to them through the letterbox or something.
 
How does this work with communal hallways in flats, I'm assuming if, even if they get in the communal hallway, they can't then claim that they have gained peaceful entry to your property (the actual flat)
 
Make sure you know the difference:

Debt collectors - will threaten only on behalf of a company, have no court powers or to break in.

Bailiffs - must have a ccj ( and you would have been to court) to be able to take anything.

It sounds like you have the first. Tell them to bugger off or you will report them under Section 40 of the Administration of justice act 1970 ( I think) which says you have the right not to be pestered for someone else's debt. I can dig out the exact wording if you want when I get home.

Aha: http://www.insolvencyhelpline.co.uk/debt_factsheets/harassment_of_people_in_debt_by_creditors.php
 
Interesting, we were pestered a lot at our old house as the landlord was in massive debt by the sounds of things. At one point the bailiffs (or whatever) turned up whilst Phil was home, and he had to produce all sorts of id to prove he wasn't the man they were looking for! I was terrified that we'd find the house repossessed one day!

We are still getting calls for the man though, as we transferred the phone number to our new address, and it is a bit annoying as they ask loads of questions when you say the man they want isn't there. I will remember that Admin of Justice thingy line next time :D
 
Also be on the look out for official looking letters addressed to the dodgy person, they could be court papers.

Its possible that a court case could be heard, he doesnt turn up of course as he isnt there.... you dont show up as you dont know about it and so a judgement is made against him ( they still assume he lives there remember ) and so the proper bailiffs get on the case AND they have a court order now.

Id say its best to try and get this resolved, as just leaving it could result in the above scenario ( i know a person this happend to and he got court appointed bailiffs banging him awake on a monday morning... they simply did not belive him about the fact that the person had never lived there, they had a court order and they were not leaving untill they got some stuff etc etc. In the end he had to call the police and even than they wouldnt help as they had a court order! ). Things can get very nasty once a court order has been made, the old "but he doesnt live here" doesnt wash with them... its the oldest excuse in the book.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom