Debt collectors and court threats

[tim123]

I get frequent bills through my door, both for previous tenants and for one of 13 different (fictional) properties that the Gas Board are sure are behind my front door.

The largest so far is 260 pounds. None of them get beyond the threating letter stage.

tim

[BrilloPad]

Is it true baliffs are about to get powers to enter you home and beat you up?

[PRC1964]

A friend of mine did some IT work for a debt collection agency in the 90's. According to him, a lot of the debts are "sold" to the agency as uncollectable. If the agency gets any payment from the person then they hand it back to the original company and take their pay off.

His advice was that if you ever get chased by debt collectors agree verbally to pay them in installments of £20 and only make the first payment.

The agency will stop hassling you as the debt has been shown to be collectable (and they've done enough to get paid) and unless the debt is vast, the original company will often just give up.

[MrMark]

I get frequent bills through my door, both for previous tenants and for one of 13 different (fictional) properties that the Gas Board are sure are behind my front door.

The largest so far is 260 pounds. None of them get beyond the threating letter stage.

tim

tim123 is really Prince Charles! Long live the Prince!

[PAH]

His advice was that if you ever get chased by debt collectors agree verbally to pay them in installments of £20 and only make the first payment.

Maybe things have changed since the 90s.

I recently came across an interesting term "statute barred", which basically means if a debt has been ignored for over 6 years it can't be chased via court action, as it's deemed to have expired due to inactivity on the part of any debt collection proceedings.

So my advice is keep on running!

[BrilloPad]

Maybe things have changed since the 90s.

I recently came across an interesting term "statute barred", which basically means if a debt has been ignored for over 6 years it can't be chased via court action, as it's deemed to have expired due to inactivity on the part of any debt collection proceedings.

So my advice is keep on running!

But mortgages are special? There it is 12 years?

[SantaClaus]

Is it true baliffs are about to get powers to enter you home and beat you up?

nah, I think you're confusing them with the government

[Sysman]

This seems to have beome standard business practice with telcos and ISPs (since the Enron/MCI collapse?). It's probably deliberate, as the amount they save by not having proper support staff probably exceeds what they lose by selling debts off to a collection agency.

They don't give a monkey's about your credit rating.

[PAH]

But mortgages are special? There it is 12 years?

Yeah, I'd imagine the bigger the debt the quicker they get off their arses to chase you for it, and don't just resort to the odd 'scary' letter.

[PAH]

They don't give a monkey's about your credit rating.

How well is a credit rating linked to one particular person?

Say for example I rent a different place each time I change contracts, do a runner and don't pay the last utility bills, month's rent etc. Are they only going to get me on record at that property, or are they clued up enough to link all my naughtiness together?

Somehow I think it's the former.