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This is a real person with a file of paperwork to prove the nightmare he has been through. This happened in 2004 /2005.
Mr X Was a director of a large multinational company. He had lived at his address for 4 years and had and to his knowledge an excellent credit record.
Out of the blue he gets a call on his company mobile phone from an aggressive bully called ‘Mr. Faithfull’ (I kid you not) from SRJ collections triumphantly shouting ’got you’. He tells Mr x that he is working on behalf of Fredrickson International and specialises in tracing people who have run away from their debts.
Mr X has no idea what he is talking about and asks him to explain. Mr. Faithfull tells him Frederickson took over a debt from AmericanExpress. They have been chasing Mr. X for 4 years trying to collect £273.00 which had now grown to £393 with ‘tracing costs’.
Mr X told Mr Faithfull he did not owe Amex anything. Mr Faithfull said ‘prove it’.
Then began months of fighting and fear. The threatening letters were horrendous and the debt went up £15 each time they were written. The worst thing however was That Mr. Faithfull had contacted the head office of the company Mr X worked for and told them he was a debt collector chasing Mr X. He defended this by stating that it was the only way he could discover Mr X’s personal contact details and as this was a legal matter they complied.
Eventually the rumours filtered through the upper layers of the company. Mr. X was in a position of trust. He signed off many thousands of pounds worth of expenses and purchases every month. His contract clearly stated that he could not be a bankrupt or have any sort of financial irregularity against his name.
Mr X’s wife eventually found the closing statement from Amex showing a zero balance. Mr X sent a copy of this by post to Mr Faithfull at SRJ, Fredrickson international and Amex. He also emailed and faxed it. None of them confirmed receipt even though all posted copies were signed for. Eventually Mr X had to employ asolicitor to fight for him and prove he did not owe this money. By now his reputation at work was destroyed. In a meeting with his superiors he explained he did not owe the money and showed them the letter he eventually received from Amex confirming this was so but the whiff of scandal was enough.
By now Mr. X is a very broken man. Legally his company cannot sack him but his position is very uncomfortable and he is being left out of strategic meetings and passed over for a promotion he had been promised. He eventually received £200 from Amex in compensation. He could have fought for more but he just did not have the mental energy and just wanted an end to all the grief. Within 4 months he was made redundant. It was over a year before he secured another job paying half his previous salary.
Technically the law was on his side all the way through but there is absolutely nothing to stop these companies from doing this –nothing at all. This man’s career, reputation and mental health was ruined. This is all because debt collectors do not have to produce any evidence that a debt exists before wading in with threats and court action. If this had gone to court they may have been required to produce documents but let’s face it; that is not always required by the judge.
Recently I read a case on here where a chap assumed his debt was statute barred. In court this was his defence. The judge asked the claimant was this true? They said no; he made a payment 2 years ago and the judge accepted this. The claimant did not have to offer any proof. The defendant would have to prove he did not make a payment! How on earth can one do that?
I am sick and tired of organisations and my (now shifted) MP simply stating that organisations such as CAB will help and the CCA rules /OFTguidelines will protect people against this sort of thing. The truth is they don’t.
Mr X Was a director of a large multinational company. He had lived at his address for 4 years and had and to his knowledge an excellent credit record.
Out of the blue he gets a call on his company mobile phone from an aggressive bully called ‘Mr. Faithfull’ (I kid you not) from SRJ collections triumphantly shouting ’got you’. He tells Mr x that he is working on behalf of Fredrickson International and specialises in tracing people who have run away from their debts.
Mr X has no idea what he is talking about and asks him to explain. Mr. Faithfull tells him Frederickson took over a debt from AmericanExpress. They have been chasing Mr. X for 4 years trying to collect £273.00 which had now grown to £393 with ‘tracing costs’.
Mr X told Mr Faithfull he did not owe Amex anything. Mr Faithfull said ‘prove it’.
Then began months of fighting and fear. The threatening letters were horrendous and the debt went up £15 each time they were written. The worst thing however was That Mr. Faithfull had contacted the head office of the company Mr X worked for and told them he was a debt collector chasing Mr X. He defended this by stating that it was the only way he could discover Mr X’s personal contact details and as this was a legal matter they complied.
Eventually the rumours filtered through the upper layers of the company. Mr. X was in a position of trust. He signed off many thousands of pounds worth of expenses and purchases every month. His contract clearly stated that he could not be a bankrupt or have any sort of financial irregularity against his name.
Mr X’s wife eventually found the closing statement from Amex showing a zero balance. Mr X sent a copy of this by post to Mr Faithfull at SRJ, Fredrickson international and Amex. He also emailed and faxed it. None of them confirmed receipt even though all posted copies were signed for. Eventually Mr X had to employ asolicitor to fight for him and prove he did not owe this money. By now his reputation at work was destroyed. In a meeting with his superiors he explained he did not owe the money and showed them the letter he eventually received from Amex confirming this was so but the whiff of scandal was enough.
By now Mr. X is a very broken man. Legally his company cannot sack him but his position is very uncomfortable and he is being left out of strategic meetings and passed over for a promotion he had been promised. He eventually received £200 from Amex in compensation. He could have fought for more but he just did not have the mental energy and just wanted an end to all the grief. Within 4 months he was made redundant. It was over a year before he secured another job paying half his previous salary.
Technically the law was on his side all the way through but there is absolutely nothing to stop these companies from doing this –nothing at all. This man’s career, reputation and mental health was ruined. This is all because debt collectors do not have to produce any evidence that a debt exists before wading in with threats and court action. If this had gone to court they may have been required to produce documents but let’s face it; that is not always required by the judge.
Recently I read a case on here where a chap assumed his debt was statute barred. In court this was his defence. The judge asked the claimant was this true? They said no; he made a payment 2 years ago and the judge accepted this. The claimant did not have to offer any proof. The defendant would have to prove he did not make a payment! How on earth can one do that?
I am sick and tired of organisations and my (now shifted) MP simply stating that organisations such as CAB will help and the CCA rules /OFTguidelines will protect people against this sort of thing. The truth is they don’t.
