Sunday morning phone calls and tears...

[fedup and broke]

Afternoon,

I received a phone call this morning from HFC/India call centre chasing my monthly payment for DFS. This is about the 15th phone call I have received in 3 days and I tell them all the same thing. I am entering into an IVA with Debtlife boat blah blag blah. This mornings call the woman asked me why they had not received any paperwork regarding this - I said I didn't know and was speaking to my supervisor tomorrow etc. They then went on the ask me who else I owed money to and how much my debt was, my answer was that this was personal and I would not divulge this information to them. She just kept asking me for a token payment - to which I said I cannot make a payment today - as I have no means of being able to do this - bank account already over the limit and credit cards upto there limits and if I make a payment to them I have to make a payment to all my creditors! She just kept asking me why I was entering into an IVA and I should have thought about this debt before taking credit out with them, which was over 3 years ago - I only owe this company £600 yet other creditors who I owe alot more to once I have explained the situation to - only once - that they are sorry about my decision and that they will make a record not to call me again for another ten days to see how everything is going,my payment to them is only 3 weeks late! Up until this point I have made payments every month.
Sorry to go on but this phone call really upset me this morning and I ended up in tears and eventually hung up because the woman wasn't listening to me....
So much for sunday being a day of rest [V]

[J-DOUBLEYA]

Any debt collection company, in house for the original lender or external are bound by codes of conduct and legal licence requirements.

START COMPLAINING !!!!!!!!!

It is not legal or realistic for a collection company to ring you daily or multiple times daily. I think that you will find they can not call you on a Sunday ! COMPLAIN !!

You can complain in the first instance to the company direct and then to the trade bidy like the Credit Services Association or FOS. I dont know whether you are aware but the OFT issued warnings to 13 collection companies recently because of the actions taken that consumers complained about..

Rant rant rant... I hate bullies and detest these upstarts who are very brave on the phone.. A quick deterrent is to simply not identify your self (DPA). no conversation then.

While you are waiting for your IVA to be voted on, just make a token offer payment as a gesture of goodwill !! If they dont like it - Too bad - but complain, complain, complain.. It makes no odds if your IVA is set up the complaint should still be heard.

sorry if i went on a bit !! I really fel quite strongly about harassment !!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[TOMMY]

HELLO Fed up and Broke - I know the feeling. We went into an IVA last year and the waiting for things to be settled is horrendous. Every telephone call puts you back on the edge, and every ring makes your stomach lurch. We eased our situation by telling very close family (i.e. children) that if they rang us, they were to use the code:- three rings, hang up, then ring again. Otherwise we didn't answer the phone, we just did a 1471 to check the calling number. It worked. In fact one child got so used to it, he still does it twelve months down the road! Stick with it, it does get better, honest.

[unsure]

Interesting point raised here.I am getting calls everyday, including this morning from one of my creditors.They tell me that they will call again tomorrow which i know they will. They have received a token payment and cashed the cheque. I just tell them to read yesterdays notes which they do and then start all over again.At this point i get them to confirm they have read the notes,when they say yes i put the phone down.I am not sure if they are allowed to do this but quite simply they cannot have what i hav'nt got.Pretty sure we are not alone with this dont let it get you down.
Regards
Unsure.

[moose]

All you do is talk over them and tell them they are harrassing you keep saying it and they will think that you are a bit unbalanced.Dont let them talk just keep saying "you are harrassing me" you dont have to take it so dont take it! They know when we are going through this we are at a low eb.

I hate these people,hope you will be okay

[fedup and broke]

Thank you everyone - this forum has become my best friends....

I was told that if I didn't want to I didn't need to make token payments - now I feel like I should - it just means I would have to borrow money to do so

[J-DOUBLEYA]

When they call, they ask you to confirm identity for DPA. Refuse. Tell them that the frequency of the calls is tantamount to Harasment which is contrary to section 40 of teh administration of justice act 1970 and in direct contravention to the office of fair trading debt collection guidance OFT664.

try these websites for details of your rights and the codes of practice this level of contact contravenes ..

http://www.bba.org.uk/bba/jsp/
polopoly.jsp;jsessionid=aHgZPRhf1p95?d=103

http://www.csa-uk.com/

http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/

and the OFT guidance i was referring to can be found on -
http://www.oft.gov.uk/shared_oft/
business_leaflets/consumer_credit/oft664.pdf

Complain away folks - its cost free and what have you got to lose ????


A good ploy is to tell them you care recording the conversation and simply press one digit on the telephone. The caller just hears an electronic beep and could assume that you are recording the call. They will either hang up or be careful what they say..

Complain anyway. [8D]

[scaredkez]

fedup you don't have to make token payments if you cannot afford to do so, its no point in pushing yourself into further debt, if you make token payments to one then you will have to do it with another, i never made any token payments when i was waiting for my iva proposal, do what the others have suggested i did, kept talking over them over and over again, it does grind you down but once your proposal is in it all quietens down until the meeting, don't let them get to you, remember you have taken a huge step in admitting you have a debt problem and should be commended for facing up to the reality of it, i know how you are feeling as i had months of it as my company took so long in getting to a meeting, it was horrendous, but please try and stay calm don't let them upset you this is a hard enough time as it is.
kerri

[J-DOUBLEYA]

forgot to add - dont be bullied and dont pay what you can not afford.

Dont forget, the telephone is a marvellous tool, if you dont like what someone is saying put it down. Alternatively, put the telephone down next to some boring music and leave it. I am sure that at some point these idiots at the DCA call centres will realise you are not going to be intimidated.

The decision regarding whether or not to vote ofr you IVA will not rest with the brainless morons who become gutless brave bullies on the phone !!! [}:)]

I hate bullies - end of rant !

[aguise]

Hi there fed up and broke. Dont let these calls get to you. I had exactly the same 14 calls in one day from just one creditor. I then broke down as well. Next day though I was back to normal and stronger. I did as jd said and rang their customer services and made a complaint. The initial call got nowhere but after the second complaint all calls stopped. Each time they ring and act this way ring their complaints and complain that they are harrassing you . That many calls is nothing short of bullying and should be stopped. Be polite but firm and certainly dont make any payments

Ang x

[J-DOUBLEYA]

Well said Aguise.... although I am sure the 'be polite' bit might be a stretch under the circumstances but then I suffer with road rage - which is why i now take the train !

[Sensible77]

If you can afford it, get a digital phone with caller ID. I did this and only answered calls from numbers I recognised. You can put a name to the number as you can on a mobile. It saved a lot of stress.

[sblack]

Hi,
Stay strong and hopefully you will soon have the safety of an IVA and the calls will stop. Stick to your guns and do not give in to their constant barrage of letters and calls. Personally I grew in stregnth and gave as good as I got as time went on. I know it is hard as we have been through exactly the same but believe me it is well worth it in the end.

[scooby0]

Hello

BT customer's can now have caller display free of charge as part of their BT privacy package. As long as you make 2 chargeable calls through BT network a month (6 per quarter) then this service will be free of charge.Otherwise chargeable at £5.25 per quarter. Also BT can register your number with the Telephone Preference Scheme, which stops telemarketing calls from UK based companies. That can take approx 28 days for your number to register with the company but caller display will be on normally the same day.
If after the 28 days you still receive calls from companies tell them you're registered with the Telephone Preference Scheme and you wish to be removed from the calling companies calling list and if they ring you again you can complain to the TPS.
Hope that helps some if not all.
[:D]

[kallis3]

Caller ID is wonderful and at least it means you do not have to talk to them. If they do ring, refuse to confirm your details as they cannot speak to you if you don't (data protection).

I am waiting for my creditors meeting, and have been told not to make any payments this month which I haven't. The calls haven't stopped even though the companies have obviously had the proposals.
I wasn't aware though that they couldn't ring on Sundays. I have always had two or three phone calls a day spaced out between 8 am and 9pm seven days a week. They don't call at Christmas though. Because I have a second phone number I have not had to speak to creditors for a long time and it is bliss