Debt Collectors not Speaking Anymore

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What do you do when the muppets chasing you for an alleged debt stop writing to you? They have failed to respond to the last 2 letters I have sent them, I know it is not safe to assume they have dropped this matter, but how do I get them to make contact?

This might seem an odd request, given the seriousness of shortfall claims, but they do claim that it is urgent and important yet they are the ones who seem to place matters on hold on a whim, or refuse to respond to letters.

If they don't write to me soon, can I safely ignore all of their future requests for contact?

What are the opinions of my fellow readers?

-- Stiffed By Ex (stiffed_by_ex@yahoo.co.uk), August 06, 2003

Answers

Typically, they first stop writing because they have commissioned private investigators to try to find out where you work, how much you earn and how much you own.

(People sometimes find this hard to believe but various people put their notes together a couple of years ago and found some common "symptoms" that this is going on. The CML addmitted to one of the trade magazines that they do this. You can see the SARN response in which we first discovered this practice at http://www.home- repo.org/reposses/mindset.htm.)

So what's happening in this silent period is that they are collecting evidence about you so that they can decide if it is worth suing you or not.

Depending on what they find out (which depends on what kind of papertrail you have left in your life and how obviously you are going to work every morning, etc), they will either start writing to you again or will "diarise" a note to themselves to send you a sequence of "we're going to court" letters in six months or a year's time.

It's surprising how many investigator man-hours lenders are prepared to spend on observing you. The most common sign of it is a man/woman sitting in a car in your street, perhaps talking on a mobile phone. There have been several instances of dustbins being gone through. A couple of people being followed to work. This is the time when you can typically expect funny phone calls, notes saying there is a package/gift waiting for you, odd calls from the "Inland Revenue" or "DHSS". This is also when your mum/dad/ex-partner receives phonecalls from "an old friend" who is trying to look you up.

If you have already gone through this period and the correspondence between you and the lender started up again without them actually suing you, then a new silence typically means only that you have been "diarised". Ie, they are cutting the cost of your case by simply threatening you every few months or so.

-- Lee (repossession@home-repo.org), August 06, 2003.


No, I don't think you can safely ignore future requests. Often lenders or debt collectors leave things for years in the hope that your financial situation will improve and then contact you again, for example after 11 years & 11 months have passed since the accrual of action.

Has this alleged debt been properly assigned to the debt collector ? If not, I would cut them out of the equation altogether and deal directly with the lender.

Mark.

-- M Amos (idgroms@hotmail.com), August 06, 2003.


I don't honestly know. If it is assigned to a debt collector, does that mean that they have "bought" the debt from the lender.

I have written to the lender direct only to be told that I have to write to the debt collector as they are the ones dealing with this - don't remember exact wording.

At the same time as I wrote to the debt collector I also wrote to the lender direct - nothing to lose - asking for further documents. Only response to that so far is that they are looking into it.

Will their letters state if the debt has been assigned to them, or will it be somewhere in the documents received as a result of serving the SARN's?

-- Stiffed By Ex (stiffed_by_ex@yahoo.co.uk), August 06, 2003.


Unless the lender has proved the debt they cannot instruct debt agents to collect payment.

The debt must be proved by the lender (with evidence to back up their case)

If they cannot prove the case then they will have to take it through the courts

Just write to the lender and inform them that you require further proff of the alleged debt and until this time they cannot send debt agencies to chase a debt that they have not proved. Seek legal advice and inform the lender of your rights.

-- Kaveh (na@na.com), August 06, 2003.


As I understand it when a debt has been assigned to a debt collector by a lender they (the debt collector) have been given the same legal rights in respect to the debt as the lender, now whether this means the debt must have been sold on in order to do so, I am not sure, perhaps a legal pro could enlighten us ?

Have you sarned the debt collector/lender ?

Have you contacted your MP ?

Mark.

-- M Amos (idgroms@hotmail.com), August 07, 2003.



Thank you for the response. I have sarned everyone who has been involved (BS, debt collector, solicitors).

As to contacting my MP, I have seen it recommended on this site on a number of ocassions but as yet have not done this. If there is nothing from the debt collectors/BS in todays post then I will write to my MP, nothing ventured nothing gained right!

By the way, did you get the email that I sent yesterday?

Regards

Stiffed By Ex.

-- Stiffed By Ex (stiffed_by_ex@yahoo.co.uk), August 08, 2003.


As a former debt collector I can tell you from my experience that once the contract has been bought by the debt collection agency; it is assigned to a debt collector. If the debt collector does not get a response or a payment arrangement it then is shuffled to yet another debt collector. It is true that you as a debtor, are entitled to proof of such debt. It amazed me to see at what lengths we were trained to collect debts. I shall never again be employed as a debt collector the experience was overwhelming to say the least. I feel it would be in your best interest to tell the original company that in order for you to pay your debt off, you demand a copy of the promissory note or loan paper in which you signed. This is your right.

-- Debbie (debyado@yahoo.com), September 03, 2003.

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