Im so angry right now!! (debts)

Stinky

Stinky

Stinky

Soldato
Joined
28 Mar 2005
Posts
9,254
I have had hassle from three for the past few days telling me that i owe them £66,

i calmly told them that i have had so many problems trying to change the contract over to another name that i was not happy with paying it until i had had a few things explained. i was told (well threatened) that i needed to pay by the end of today or i would have debt collectors contacting me shortly. (this was 3pm this afternoon)

i called them back few minutes later and said i would be happy to pay the £66 now if they could guarantee me that the contract would be canceled and that this would be the last i heard from them, she stopped me there, and told me that if the policy was canceled today then i would get a full and final bill on the 4th of may that would need paying by the 15th of may. Fine i said and that was that. I was told that i would not be required to pay until may.

now, 30mins ago i receive yet another call from the collections department where i am told it needs to be paid NOW! i go through the story from above telling him that i was assured i would hear nothing else, i told him that i had even offered to pay the bill earlier on when i called back after the first phone call. apparently i should not have been told this and this was incorrect information, and that i must be lying. of which i replied "When you first called this number, i was told that calls are monitored and recorded for training purposes, now surely you can bring this up and listen to exactly what i was told"

again i was told that this would not be possible until the account was put into a legal situation. and again was told i needed to pay now.

just to cut this story down abit, i told "Arron" that i wanted a call back from a senior manager asap, of which i was told you will hear by 2pm tomorrow afternoon. i then paid the bill, to stop the debt collectors starting on at me as well.

are they allowed to do this, i will not be using Three again ever i can say that for sure.

3 different stories from every member of staff i spoke to.


\not a happy stink!!! :(
 
My advice is to start recording your calls with them, just in case it gets legal.

That way you can easily show they're mucking you about every time with a different story.
 
afaik recorded calls are not admissable in evidence unless the other party is informed at the start of the call that it is being recorded
 
Stinky said:
how can i recored calls??
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Just get a cheap tape recorder and put your phone on speakerphone mode.

Rotty said:
afaik recorded calls are not admissable in evidence unless the other party is informed at the start of the call that it is being recorded
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True, but I don't think he'll lose anything by warning them. Unless they've had some sort of inter-office memo saying "watch out for this guy recording calls, say this..." then they're probably going to carry on with their daft bait and switch nonsense.
 
I have been exactly in this situation myself by 3 and have advised on a few threads on here. Basically you just need to wise up on your rights and tell them to bugger off. Record phone conversations, communicate in letters only posted by recorded delivery (checking RM site and printing the delivery receipts), quoting laws that prohibit them from hassling you, threatening them with complaints to the relevant authorities and they should back off. Let them call you, and make note of names and times etc. The important thing is that debt collectors have no powers to collect money unless you go to court and you lose the case, so all they will do is threaten you. They also cannot put a mark on your credit rating until then. I didn't back down in this case (or others where companied try to 'rob' me) and they left me alone and apologised.

You are also right that different deparments say different things so once you get in contact with 1 particular person, stick to communicating to that one, and mention their name if someone else gets in touch.

Can I record telephone conversations on my home phone?

Yes. The relevant law, RIPA, does not prohibit individuals from recording their own communications provided that the recording is for their own use. Recording or monitoring are only prohibited where some of the contents of the communication - which can be a phone conversation or an e-mail - are made available to a third party, ie someone who was neither the caller or sender nor the intended recipient of the original communication. For further information see the Home Office website where RIPA is posted.

Do I have to let people know that I intend to record their telephone conversations with me?

No, provided you are not intending to make the contents of the communication available to a third party. If you are you will need the consent of the person you are recording.
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So, as long as you will use the recodings just between 3 and yourself, you may record the conversations. I use the record function on my mobile phone.
 
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All that for £66. No wonder you're ****** off. Dunno how you could record calls mate, and I don't think it's wise doing so without the other person's knowing it as that's technically illegal is it not? That's why they announce that 'your calls may be recorded for training purposes' at the start.

Sounds like it's a problem that they have created: pay your debt off as per required and then end of. their problem that they are using different people to deal with an individual case.

Good luck mate
 
thanks sam, good find. ;)

just wondering, when i get this call from management tomorrow. what should i say, obviously everything that i have said above, how unimpressed i am etc but anything i should be aware of?
 
debt collectors won't do much for £66 apart from send letters

I've been in this house for 3 years and one of the previous tenants owed various debts over £1k... they just keep sending "official letters", pre court warnings etc... I call them, join MPS etc but they still persist, they don't do much else though
 
DB_SamX said:
So, as long as you will use the recodings just between 3 and yourself, you may record the conversations. I use the record function on my mobile phone.
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So whats the point? Should it get all legal, he wouldnt be able to use it against them, as he didnt tell them it was being recorded...
 
Goksly said:
So whats the point? Should it get all legal, he wouldnt be able to use it against them, as he didnt tell them it was being recorded...
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I don't know whether it would allowed to use the recordings in a court, as ultimately, the it would only be used to prove the dispute between the 2 parties. I would hope so personally.

Edit:
Can a business or other organisation record or monitor my phone calls or e-mail correspondence with them?

Yes they can, but only in a limited set of circumstances relevant for that business which have been defined by the LBP Regulations. The main ones are:

to provide evidence of a business transaction to ensure that a business complies with regulatory procedures.

Do businesses have to tell me if they are going to record or monitor my phone calls or e-mails?


No. as long as the recording or monitoring is done for one of the above purposes the only obligation on businesses is to inform their own employees. If businesses want to record for any other purpose, such as market research, they will have to obtain your consent.
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So, assuming a company can use their recordings to provide evidence of a transaction even if they don't inform you, I would imagine a consumer could do the same.

(Unless I have missed something from here: http://www.retellrecorders.co.uk/legal/home.htm)
 
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they wont call you, they have a faceless management, its just aload of clowns working in a call centre in india, i worked in one of them, well a UK vodafone one, they have targets to meet, they dont care about individual cases they just go through the routine with each individual person. complete plebs.
It probably wouldnt stand up in court if you have been trying to cancel your contract tbh, they are fairly well known for being nightmares on occasional with cancellations.
 
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