Collections Company Chasing Me For a Debt They Cannot Prove I owe.

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PatrickJ

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I am looking for advise on the following please:

Some years ago I took out an unsecured loan with an institution that is no longer operating in the ROI. Apparently they sold on their loan book to a collections company which I was not informed of; however, that is beside the point as I am sure they are entitled to do so.

Sometime later I started receiving threatening letters from this collections company followed by calls from their unfriendly staff. I received a call to my mobile in work one day and I stupidly paid €10.00 over the phone and agreed to a payment plan etc. Seriously stupid on my behalf as it was not clearly stated how much I supposedly owed just demands for payment.

Roll on sometime and the letters kept coming through the door for for more money. Enough was enough and I started hitting back by asking for proof of the debt. Proof of the debt was not forthcoming and I requested an internal review.

My complaint was not held up and all I was issued with was the T&Cs of my original lender. Strangely the balance on my original lenders T&C's is zero.

I am most dissatisfied by the complaint failing and I will take it to the attention of the Ombudsman.

Why would this collections company allow a complaint go to the ombudsman when they clearly cannot prove that I owe them if anything at all?
 
PatrickJ said:
Some years ago I took out an unsecured loan
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If you don't owe them money, tell them to stop ringing you.

If you owe the money, pay it.

I can't see how the FSO comes into it, but maybe I am missing something.

The FSO doesn't listen to generalised moans. You would have to have an actual complaint.

Brendan

p.s. please edit the title of the thread to reflect the substance of the question.
 
I see your point Brendan.

It was the collections company who said I should take my case to the FSO if I was dissatisfied with their decision. I understand this is minuscule nonsense compared to what the FSO is dealing with but nonetheless . . .

The CC are avoiding directly answering my questions just spouting that they are entitled to buy up debts. I have no problem with them buying up debt but do have a problem with them chasing me for a debt I do not owe. I have told them to stop harnessing me but they continue to do so and cannot provide evidence of the debt I owe.

I presume they cannot get a judgement against me without all paperwork which they appear not to have.
 
They called me one day in work threatening to make a personal visit if I didn't pay up. I told them the debt was cleared and the caller informed me there was a small amount due i.e. a few hundred Euro including stamp duty. I stupidly agreed to paying them €I0.00 weekly. This few hundred euro has now turned into demands for thousands. I have ceased paying the €10.00 weekly because they could not prove I owed them the money. The original debtor claims to no longer hold a record of this debt.
 
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This is one of these threads I have to click into every time there's new posts... like a good book, the whole story is delivered over time and you get the feeling that there's more to it than meets the eye. Who's got the popcorn?
 
PatrickJ said:
T This few hundred euro has now turned into demands for thousands.
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Can you tell us how much was the original debt for and how much you actually owe now. It's no joke having these people hounding you every day, it is harassment and threatening to call to your workplace is totally out of order. They are trying their best to intimidate and frighten you, that's how they get their money. The fact that you acknowledged the debt has put them in a very good position. If you hadn't acknowledged it, your debt would have been statute barred after 6 years. Have a read through this thread http://www.askaboutmoney.com/thread...g-or-cant-fit-find.177438/page-2#post-1319284

You could try and make an appointment with MABS who might be able to advise you further. In the meantime try not to stress too much over it and look after your mental health.
 
Hi Patrick

I am a bit confused. Are you asking them to prove that you borrowed the money or are you asking them to prove that you have not repaid it?

1) You borrowed the money
2) You made some payments
3) Do you think you have paid it in full?
4) If so, tell them that they must issue you with a statement showing the amount borrowed, the interest charged and the repayments made

Which lender was it? Although they are no longer operating, I wonder if they are still covered by the Consumer Protection Code.

If you don't owe the money and if you are being hassled, I presume that there is some recourse to the law. A complaint to the Gardai should stop the harassment.

Brendan
 
Hi Brendan, I am asking them to prove what I owe them from today's date and they keep sending me a letter with the amount for the original loan which was for approximately €8,000. I also asked them for a copy of the deed of assignment which arrived but again was missing the vital figures i.e. amount supposedly owed. I did request a statement which merely showed €8,000.00 with a €10.00 repayment.

I thought the debt was paid in full.

I had considered contacting the Gardai re harassment.
 
You're not being very clear.

Did you pay 10, or 10 for a number of weeks. Do you have records of these payments?

Do you have a records of the original loan and its terms? What were they.
 
Patrick J.

Please give us more info.We are giving comments without a full picture ,let us know lender/collector etc, we probably know their way of operating.
From experience ,this looks like a debt collection company trawling to see what they can get from old debts that they have bought.
Since you have paid them something, then you are a likely candidate to pay them more and are a (soft) touch to squeeze.

1. Do not answer any Withheld numbers.
2. If you answer a call from them , do not give your date of birth to the caller, remember they are ringing you so its up to them to ID themselves (probably they will not do so as it puts them in probable breech of data protection)
3. Request copy documents and statements.Do a SAR (subject access request )to whoever last wrote to you.
4. Request no further contact until you have sighted said docs/statements.
5. Keep copies/notes etc of any future contact .

Don,t use Garda/Ombudsmans time on this.

Unless and until you have sight of a proven genuine debt ie Docs/statements ,do nothing.
I do not expect you to get clear documentation , so expect this to die off in time.
 
How much do you think is outstanding at this point ??
from what I can see you borrowed €8000
the original loaner sold the outstanding balance to CC, how much was outstanding at that point ??
you agreed to a €10 weekly payment, how long did you pay that for ??

Nobody can help you here if you don't provide us with information about payments and balances and time frames.
 
To clarify, I believed the bill (8k) was cleared in its entirety. It was some years later I received a telephone call from this collections crowd who informed me they had purchased my debt from the original lender. I explained to them I had cleared this debt off and didn't understand why they were calling me. I didn't hear from them for a time until they called me at my workplace. The individual that called this time said there was a stamp duty payment outstanding including a small debt outstanding totaling €580.00. I stupidly said I would clear this off weekly as I did not have the money at the time to pay it. She accepted €10.00 weekly. I paid this for approximately two weeks before I stopped; as a colleague in work had heard on Joe Duffy about callers with a similar experience!!.

On that note I wrote to inform the CC I would be paying no more until they could issue me with proof of any debt outstanding. The information that I received in return was scatty i.e. a copy of the original T&C's from my original lender clearly showing a blank balance, a statement for the original 8k loan which have been followed by numerous threatening letters.

It's been approximately five years since cleared off.

I am just out of the other end of an internal dispute with them and my complaint hasn't been held up.
 
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Patrick,

16 posts later, as its as wishy washy as the beginning.

1) You think the loan was cleared... it was or it wasnt,
2) You paid €10/week for just 2 weeks..
3) A colleague heard this and that from a Joe Duffy caller..

If you owe the money, work out a deal and pay up and stop looking for a way out, if not, ignore.
 
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