Hi all
Thanks for the positive feedback on my post. Yes I did swear a bit but reading the same crap I faced just brought it all back.
I am going to be somewhat evasive regarding my own details, profile, history etc as I don't want this lot to identify me (you can be sure they read this forum) but I'll keep it as close to the fact as possible.
A credit card is an unsecured debt, by its nature it is high risk (which is why the interest is so high) and if it goes wrong, it is an extremely difficult and expensive debt to pursue. It is nonetheless a credit agreement/contract and both parties are bound to comply with its terms etc.
If the consumer/borrower runs into difficulty as a result of financial trouble, ie; unemployment, illness/injury etc, then the first thing to do is assess your financial position and prioritise your debts. Establish what you can afford to repay and to who. It may be the case that you can afford to pay nothing, and there is no shame in that whatsoever. You have to look after yourself and your family first.
I ended up in a similar situation as to what I outlined above, just after the last general election, and once I realised the severity of my own situation, I immediately wrote to all of the institutions I had debts outstanding, which were not what you call spectacular. Not even at 1% of the debt levels of what some of these developers and speculators racked up and conveniently had them wiped off.
The answer I got from the institutions, was absolutely nothing. Not even an acknowledgement saying "kiss my ass". Instead, these buffoons called Cabot wrote to me, a generic unsigned letter saying that they were now 'dealing' with the account etc the letter had a 'velvet glove iron fist' approach, something which I don't take kindly to, as this was a 3rd party interfering with my business.
I sent their letter back to them, with a polite yet forceful reply saying that I was not going to deal with them, I outlined my situation and referred them back to their client (bank) regarding my initial letter. I stated could not afford to make any payments, due to my situation it would be inappropriate to commit to a repayment agreement, and if they or the bank didnt like this, then they could do whatever tricks they liked, but it would change nothing.
Again I received no reply, except another letter from their 'solicitors' (Belgard) making a demand of payment within 7 days. Again the letter was unsigned and it was sent back to them with a reply of equal measure, telling them to refer to my previous letter sent to both the bank and Cabot.
At this stage, it became like a game of letter volleyball with these clowns. They sent me a letter, I sent it back with a reply. Each letter they sent got more menacing as time went on, and my replies became equally as dark. Belgard Solrs then sent a few letters, which would normally frighten the absolute This post will be deleted if not edited to remove bad language of a lay person, but I didn't react to its contents in the way they wanted me to, ie; panic and pay up. They were told that their client, their bedfellows (Cabot) etc had all the information they needed, and they were getting nothing more off me until they climbed down off the high horse they were on, and spoke to me like a human being, instead of issuing threats and insinuating that I was some kind of financial cheat or blackguard.
I got a few mealy-mouthed, authoritive one liners, saying the usual, you owe the money, you have to come up with a statement of means so *we* can assess your financial situation, and if you don't comply then we will issue legal proceedings. I started to think, if they are *going* to start legal proceedings, then why is a 'solicitor' writing to me at the same time as Cabot??
That is when the light bulb moment came.
I researched both Cabot and Belgard Solrs and both of them are located in the same building, and would you believe it, on the same floor. That was an awfully odd coincidence. I then checked the bottom of the letters they sent me (kept copies of course) and the same name, Kevin Callan, appeared as both a director of Cabot and as the Solicitor who was the principal of Belgard Solrs. The more I dug into it, the more of a farce the whole thing became. Belgard Solicitors is a legal firm, but oddly enough, they dont actually seek out work from the public, as most solicitors do. As I outlined in my previous post, thats when I discovered that both Cabot/Belgard were the same body, and that's when their mask slipped, and I could see what they were at.
A few weeks later, I got another letter from Cabot, with a drastically reduced demand amount, and an instruction for me to pay them X amount a month for 12 months. They then said that "your account" will be reviewed in 6 months time. Like a red flag to a bull (who was still out of work) I wrote back to them and told them where to stick their demand. I also told them explicitly that I had no account or contract with them, I had no intention of holding an account with them, and I had no intention of paying them. I said that the only party that I would engage with was the original lender. I wrote all of this and sent their letter back, as I had a feeling it may go to court, and you do need a paper trail if you are going to fight a case.
I then hit BOTH Cabot/Belgard with a 1988/2003 Data Protection Act section 4 access request (cost €6.35 each) demanding full disclosure of what information they held about my person. To say it was eye opening in terms of incompetence was an understatement. The file they had was littered with errors, half entries and mistruths. They had copies of EVERYTHING I sent them, which proved that they had all the facts, but couldn't be arsed to follow up on them. This would be grounds for an argument that if legal proceedings were commenced, then they were commenced in bad faith and believe it or not, that is a substantial ground for dismissal of a case. It is also substantial grounds to report the legal practitioner to the law society for a fitness to practice tribunal.
They continued to chance their arm for a short time afterwards, sending follow up demand letters that were not worth the paper they were written on, and they themselves knew it. I thought to myself 'If they had a case against me, then why were they sending more demand letters after all this word wrestling and not just go to summons?'
I wrote back to them in one final letter and said, if you have a case to take, then stop playing games and issue a summons, and we will see who wins. If not, then go forth and reproduce, and kindly leave me alone. They chose the second option. The bank then sent another bunch of debt collector clowns after me, who used the very same tactics, and equally got nowhere. They all seem to use the same modus operandi (DC/in house solicitor), and if you know how to play them at their own game, then you will beat them. I don't condone anyone not paying their debts, but if you end up out of work or injured/Ill through no fault of your own, then this kind of bully boy This post will be deleted if not edited to remove bad language is the last thing you need.
NEVER EVER talk on the phone to their agents. Never commit to a repayment schedule with any debt collection agency, AND NEVER send them a statement of means. Instead of playing fair, they will use all of this as a weapon against you they will dictate their terms to you. These guys are professional bullies, they do this This post will be deleted if not edited to remove bad language to 1,000s of people a day. But they have no power behind it all. If they don't have any of your financial information, then they are totally blind and have less leverage. EQUALLY THEY CANNOT CHARGE YOU FEES FOR THEIR SERVICES IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO ENTER A CONTRACT WITH THEM. BY AGREEING AN INSTALMENT PLAN YOU ARE CREATING A CONTRACT AND ACCEPTING THEIR PRESENCE. THE BANK CANNOT CREATE A CONTRACT BETWEEN YOURSELF AND THE DEBT COLLECTION AGENCY!!
You MUST keep a paper trail of all letters sent/received. If it's not in writing, it didn't happen. And if you dont have a paper trail, then you dont have any defence. You can be bloody sure they are keeping copies of what they send you! Keep the letters professional and polite. Forceful but not emotional. They don't want to know your stories about having 15 kids and 8 of them are special needs with the other 7 blind. This is largely irrelevant in the eyes of the law. If you are going to smash their case then you need to be able to prove that you have tried to engage with the creditor but they have failed to engage meaningfully with you.
As for unsecured debt purchase etc, I cannot offer legal advice on this one, as to who actually in the eyes of the law "owns" the unsecured debt, but I would not entertain any such engagements with debt purchase farms like Cabot, Intrum Justicia etc. I'd refer all correspondence to the original institution and let the vulture collection company go and swing. Again not legal advice just my own opinion. Best of luck