Allied international calling constantly

[exmanc]

Hi Everyone hope someone can help me as im getting more and more stressed to the point i am now on medication to control it. Allied international have been calling my home phone for a while now and i didnt answer because i dont know what they want, i have recently received a couple of letters from them stating i owe them money but the letters give me no information other than my name, a reference number and how much they believe i owe them. I have never had dealings with this company before and although i cant say this debt is definately not mine as it may well be i have no info on what it is actually for. My marriage ended about five years ago and there were quite a few unsettled debts, we went our seperate ways and i didnt hear anything regarding these debts for a number of years probably because my address changed a number of times but i am settled in my new home and the calls and letters have started. I am just looking for some advice on what my best move is regarding the debt collecting agency. I have looked through the forum and have seen a lot of advice but im just unsure which advice would suit my situation best. Im not overly knowledgable regarding laws and where i stand and ive noticed people suggesting template letters to prove the debt and mentioning SAR and CCAs but some of this stuff goes over my head and the bits i do understand im not sure at what point to use them for them to be relevent. This has become more stressful recently as the collection agency are now phoning my work which they somehow have managed to get hold of the number for the room i work in at a big complex building with hundreds of phones and i dont know how they have done this as these phones are only intended for internal calls although they do accept external calls. Im worried that colleages will answer the phone and find out my business. Any assistance with this will be greatly appreciated as it just feels a lost cause right now.

[Kati]

Re: Allied international calling constantly

First things first ... they shouldn't be calling you at work at all (Are you 100% sure it is them calling?) and this could be classed as harassment!

Is there any way you can post up redacted copies of the letters? or email them to me (kati@legalbeagles.info) and I'll do it ... even a photo taken on your phone would do

I'm sure you'll get lots of advice from the other Beagles too, but maybe a 'prove it' letter to AI would be a good first step?

Please try not to worry

[exmanc]

Re: Allied international calling constantly

Hi Kati thanks for your reply, yes its definately them calling some of my colleagues have come to me to tell me i had missed a call from someone asking for me and when i checked the number it is coming up as allied international. It is now starting to feel like harassment as i am unable to accept personal calls at work but when they are constantly phoning im unable to ignore it either so i feel stuck as to what i should do. I will try to post an image of a letter they sent

[Kati]

Re: Allied international calling constantly

There's lots you can do to stop harassment by DCAs, Step Change has a lot of info here - http://www.stepchange.org/Debtinform...ourrights.aspx

Examples of unfair debt collection practices

The following actions are all unfair. We've been providing debt advice for more than 20 years, and in this time we've seen all these activities and more. Some of these are outlawed by industry rules or codes of practice, and some of them are illegal:

• Calling you at unreasonable times
• Calling you at work without permission or after you've told them to stop
• Discussing your debts with a family member or employer
• Taking payments without your permission
• Refusing to deal with advice agencies like us, or not giving you a fair 'breathing space' after you've contacted an advice agency for help
• Pressuring you to pay off a debt by borrowing more money
• Using legal or technical language to confuse you
• Sending letters that look like court forms
• Refusing to give you information about your account when you ask for it
• Pretending to have legal powers they don't have
• Adding unreasonable charges, higher than the actual costs of collecting the debt
• Continuing to contact you for payment when the debt is being disputed
• Continuing to demand payment when a debt is statute barred – meaning the law says the debt is too old to chase through the courts

If you feel you're experiencing any of these actions, or if a creditor is treating you unfairly in any other way, it's a good idea to keep a record of everything that happens. For example, keep a notebook by the phone to log all the calls you get. This will help if you need to make a complaint at a later date.

[exmanc]

Re: Allied international calling constantly

here is one of the letters they sent

[Kati]

Re: Allied international calling constantly

Have you any ideas what AI could be chasing? Have you looked at your credit report (noddle is free ) to see if there's anything there?

[exmanc]

Re: Allied international calling constantly

The only thing it can be is a loan my partner and myself had which was showing up on my credit file but it seems to have dropped off with a number of other debts as they defaulted a few years ago and have not been addressed since.

- - - Updated - - -

Reading information on this forum and doing some research my belief is that the loan im thinking of plus some other debts are now statute barred but i cant be certain of this.

[FlamingParrot]

Re: Allied international calling constantly

Hi Everyone hope someone can help me as im getting more and more stressed to the point i am now on medication to control it. Allied international have been calling my home phone for a while now and i didnt answer because i dont know what they want, i have recently received a couple of letters from them stating i owe them money but the letters give me no information other than my name, a reference number and how much they believe i owe them. I have never had dealings with this company before and although i cant say this debt is definately not mine as it may well be i have no info on what it is actually for. My marriage ended about five years ago and there were quite a few unsettled debts, we went our seperate ways and i didnt hear anything regarding these debts for a number of years probably because my address changed a number of times but i am settled in my new home and the calls and letters have started. I am just looking for some advice on what my best move is regarding the debt collecting agency. I have looked through the forum and have seen a lot of advice but im just unsure which advice would suit my situation best. Im not overly knowledgable regarding laws and where i stand and ive noticed people suggesting template letters to prove the debt and mentioning SAR and CCAs but some of this stuff goes over my head and the bits i do understand im not sure at what point to use them for them to be relevent. This has become more stressful recently as the collection agency are now phoning my work which they somehow have managed to get hold of the number for the room i work in at a big complex building with hundreds of phones and i dont know how they have done this as these phones are only intended for internal calls although they do accept external calls. Im worried that colleages will answer the phone and find out my business. Any assistance with this will be greatly appreciated as it just feels a lost cause right now.

There was a relatively recent court case involving telephone harassment and one of the site owners who works in the legal profession has put together a template letter to make them stop: http://www.legalbeagles.info/forums/...om+harrassment

Note how there is space for you to quote examples of the times they have called, you should also make a note of the times they've called you at work.

[FlamingParrot]

Re: Allied international calling constantly

I have looked through the forum and have seen a lot of advice but im just unsure which advice would suit my situation best. Im not overly knowledgable regarding laws and where i stand and ive noticed people suggesting template letters to prove the debt and mentioning SAR and CCAs but some of this stuff goes over my head and the bits i do understand im not sure at what point to use them for them to be relevent. This has become more stressful recently as the collection agency are now phoning my work which they somehow have managed to get hold of the number for the room i work in at a big complex building with hundreds of phones and i dont know how they have done this as these phones are only intended for internal calls although they do accept external calls. Im worried that colleages will answer the phone and find out my business. Any assistance with this will be greatly appreciated as it just feels a lost cause right now.

To clarify:

• A CCA request is a letter you send asking the creditor to provide you with a copy of the credit agreement for the account they are chasing your about. You would send that for most consumer credit accounts such as credit cards, loans, catalogue accounts and HP agreements but not if the debt was an overdraft, a mobile contract, a utility bill or a bill for services. You need to send a £1 cheque or PO to cover the fee.
• A prove it letter simply asks the creditor to prove that you actually owe them the money, it can be sent for any debt.
• A SAR is a request for all information held about you by a creditor, basically a way to obtain all your statements and other documents held by the company for at least the past six years, useful to establish what payments were made when, how much you paid in PPI and how much they applied in charges amongst other things. SAR letters should usually be sent to the original lender and not the DCA chasing you because they wouldn't have any of the data. They also cost £10.

If, in addition to the calls, you have received correspondence, you may want to send either a CCA request or a prove it letter.

Hope that explains it.

The only thing it can be is a loan my partner and myself had which was showing up on my credit file but it seems to have dropped off with a number of other debts as they defaulted a few years ago and have not been addressed since.

Reading information on this forum and doing some research my belief is that the loan im thinking of plus some other debts are now statute barred but i cant be certain of this.

This is where a SAR could be useful, although some companies will argue they hold no data older than six years. I've just posted a SAR letter here http://www.legalbeagles.info/forums/...123#post565123

[exmanc]

Re: Allied international calling constantly

Thanks Flaming Parrot that information makes things more understandable. Im concerned that if this debt is not SB it may be very close to it and i dont want to do something which resets the clock when i may be just weeks away from the company having no legal claim over me. Would the best way forward be a prove it letter to the DCA or should i send a SAR to the original lender and will any of these letters count as an acknowledgement which could reset the clock.
If i did send a SAR letter to the original lender would the information provided by them include payments to the account after they sold the account on or just up until they last dealt with it, also if a SAR letter is sent to the original lender can the DCA use this as acknowledgement of the debt. I guess im just trying to find out how i get the details to prove if the debt is SB or if not when it will be because if its not it will be very close as i live in scotland i understand it becomes SB after 5 years and i dont believe anything has been done with this debt for 5 years.

[FlamingParrot]

Re: Allied international calling constantly

A SAR letter is a request under the DPA for all data held by a company about yourself, it's not an acknowledgment of the debt. The original lender would have the data up until the time when the account was sold but any payments made after that wouldn't be included. The lender will have a duty to respond to the SAR but will have no reason to contact the DCA about the fact you sent one to them. A SAR can be sent for a live account you still use, a closed account that you've paid off and even for other purposes that have nothing to do with debt, i.e. you can send a SAR to an ex-employer, a GP or the DWP, it's purely a request for information, see the ICO site for further info: https://ico.org.uk/for-the-public/personal-information/

A prove it letter is not acknowlegment either, the wording of the letter says all the opposite, i.e. you have contacted me with regards to a debt I know nothing about. That should keep them busy for a while.

You are lucky to have just five years, if I was living up there my credit cards would also be SBd as not paid since 2010, :grin: however, I live in England.

[FlamingParrot]

Re: Allied international calling constantly

here is one of the letters they sent

The letter in question uses the word 'settlement' no less than five times! It makes no threats whatsoever, which is rather unusual for a DCA. :mmph: Given how close this is to SBd, it may well be a ploy to get you to acknowledge the debt :scared: by making a repayment offer or offering a F&F settlement, both of which would be acknowledgment of the debt. :nono: :nono: :nono: :nono: :nono:

[nemesis45]

Re: Allied international calling constantly

Thanks Flaming Parrot that information makes things more understandable. Im concerned that if this debt is not SB it may be very close to it and i dont want to do something which resets the clock when i may be just weeks away from the company having no legal claim over me. Would the best way forward be a prove it letter to the DCA or should i send a SAR to the original lender and will any of these letters count as an acknowledgement which could reset the clock.
If i did send a SAR letter to the original lender would the information provided by them include payments to the account after they sold the account on or just up until they last dealt with it, also if a SAR letter is sent to the original lender can the DCA use this as acknowledgement of the debt. I guess im just trying to find out how i get the details to prove if the debt is SB or if not when it will be because if its not it will be very close as i live in scotland i understand it becomes SB after 5 years and i dont believe anything has been done with this debt for 5 years.

The request for the agreement (CCA) and the Subject Access Request (SAR) are lawful requests for information and do not affect the provisions of the Limitation Act 1980.

nem.

[exmanc]

Re: Allied international calling constantly

Thanks very much for your replies, i really do appreciate them. So basically im looking to get 3 things, i want the DCA to stop calling me particularly at work, secondly i want the DCA to prove they have grounds to pursue me for the alleged debt and lastly i need to contact the original lender for information held on me to help me ascertain the date the debt became or becomes SBd. So am i right in thinking i should send a SAR letter to the original lender and send a prove it letter to the DCA asking for the CCA ? Would i just include a statement in the prove it letter to stop contacting me by telephone or would this be a seperate letter ?

[FlamingParrot]

Re: Allied international calling constantly

Thanks very much for your replies, i really do appreciate them. So basically im looking to get 3 things, i want the DCA to stop calling me particularly at work, secondly i want the DCA to prove they have grounds to pursue me for the alleged debt and lastly i need to contact the original lender for information held on me to help me ascertain the date the debt became or becomes SBd. So am i right in thinking i should send a SAR letter to the original lender and send a prove it letter to the DCA asking for the CCA ?

The SAR does go to the original lender but you'd either send a prove it letter OR a CCA request to the DCA. I would probably start with the prove it letter, the wording of which suggests you don't know what they're talking about and see what they come up with. If necessary, you could follow up with a CCA request. :thumb: There is no fee for the prove it letter.

Would i just include a statement in the prove it letter to stop contacting me by telephone or would this be a seperate letter ?

You could just put the two letters in one envelope. :thumb: :thumb: