creditor hassle started today!!

[rochelle123]

oh the bit id been dreading- so much so that i called them all last week and told them to only have my home number on file which they apparantly did and deleted all opther contact numbers!!

My surprise this morning at 8am (on a saturday- how evil lol) a text from citi, also an email, a letter from mbna and a call from alliance and leicester- funny theyve all launched attack on the same day. atleast its tame at the mo and just asking me to pay etc

[kallis3]

Blimey - there's nothing like a concerted attack is there!

They will get worse - just dig your heels in and refuse to be bullied!

[Viki.W]

Hey rochelle, it's funny because all my creditors phoned on the same day too. The good thing is they will hopefully put the calls off for 10 days and then all phone on the same day again. That way you get a break! X

[rochelle123]

haha theyll be lucky if i even speak to them!

atleast ive learnt some great tactics form here

[karenanne23]

Don't panic, i had 2 calls at 8am this morning, just ignored them.

My meeting is in 2 weeks so at least i can let my creditiors know now although some still want the good old token payments.
I was talking to my Dad the other day and before he retired he headed up the Debt Risk Management for a very lasrge Supermarket chain.(His influence obviously did not rub off on me!!!!)
Hetold me that the collection agent they used got about 17% on funds they collected so helps to underdatnd why these people get so persistant!![:)]

[kallis3]

Good for you!

Viki - you were lucky! Mine occasionally left it for a few days, but they must have been in cahoots and staggered the calls as there was hardly ever a day when I didn't have at least one.

[liberta]

Please do not try to take these calls too personally. The agents/customer advisors who are calling you are just trying to do their jobs like you and me. Yes they are usually paid on commission but it is still not a job that I would relish.

The calls they make are usually made on an automatic dialler, a call answered is then given to any free agent, who has probably just put the phone down on his or her last call. They will do that for 8 hours a day, five days a week all year - with pre booked lunch, tea and loo breaks. It is a hard job and I do not envy them it at all.

8am on a Saturday morning is horrid, but that is the time their call centre opens and the diallers start. I would recomend unplugging the phone if you don't want to miss out on your lie in.

It is a short term thing and once your IVA is approved the calls will stop.

[Skippy]

Working in a call centre is a horrible job - I did it for a year and it nearly finished me. I dealt with incoming calls (nothing to do with debt before anyone shouts at me!) and we had to take 80-100 calls a day and questions were asked if we didn't. If we spent too long in the loo we had to explain why. We were shouted at and some people were threatened - one girl had to have a police escort home. I was on a fixed salary, so I didn't have to worry about whether or not I took enough calls (apart from answering management), but I can't imagine what the pressure must be like if you have to take the calls to make the money.

I'm not trying to excuse the tactics some people from call centres use, but the training is appalling and the pressure is unbearable. I would rather sign on than work in a call centre again.

[liberta]

I would not want to excuse their tactics either Skippy - but I can understand why they loose it sometimes.

A lady who used to work for me, told me of when she worked in a call centre. She was not allowed to leave early, even though she believed she was having a miscarriage - she only had half an hour left before her shift ended. She lost the baby on the way home.

[Skippy]

That's disgusting Liz, but sadly I can imagine it happening

[LoneRanger]

Thats terrible. I would never work in a call centre. I understand they are doing there job but when your stressed out you really dont want to be speaking to them. Usually repeating the same thing you have told many other callers.

[kabby3]

Best course of action which I did was unplug the phone !! I wrote once a month to all cteditors sending each letter signed for delivery with the same letter content... that I was negotiating an IVA and my IP was Freeman Jones.... Mobile tel I still dont answer withheld numbers or anyone who is not in my address book , I pick up my messages and am in a habit of keeping my phone on silent, husband hates this, but I only speak to who I want to speak to xx hope this helps xx I have been in my IVA three and half years, old habits take years to break.[:I]

[Skippy]

I agree Steve - I'd never do it again, and I certainly wouldn't work in an outward call centre.

We often used to get people phoning up because their cable tv had been cut off because they hadn't paid the bill. They were really abusive, like it was my fault they hadn't paid! I was then transferred to work in customer reception dealing with them face to face - this was much worse. They'd come storming in, demanding I reconnected them, and when I refused I was threatened. There were a few times when I had to get one of the guys in the office to come in and stand with me while I talked to the 'customer' as I was scared on my own.

Never again!

[LoneRanger]

Don't blame you Skippy.

[Skippy]

The ironic thing was we'd probably cut their phone off as well, but they were always more abusive about the TV!!!