Debt Collectors Complaints Register and Debt Purchasing Companies Misconduct Registry
Applies to the UK Only
Apply For A Debt Consolidation Loan
Best Debt Consolidation Without More Debt!
What Happens When You efault On A Loan?
Our Rogue's Gallery!
1st
Credit
AIC Debt Collectors
Aktiv
Kapital Debt Collectors
Allied Credit
Allied
International Credit
Allied
International Debt Collectors
Apex Credit
Management
ARC Debt Collectors
Asset Recoveries
Avance Debt
Collectors
BCW Group Plc
Blair Oliver
And Scott
Bryan Carter
Buchanan
Clark And Wells
Cabot Financial
Capquest
CL Finance
Clarity
Credit Management
Close Credit
Management
Connaught
Debt Recovery
Credit
Solutions Debt Collectors
Debt Managers
Direct
Legal And Collections
Equidebt
Eversheds
Solicitors
Experto Credite
Ltd
First
Credit Debt Collectors
Fredrickson
International Ltd
Gothia Debt
Collectors
Hillesden
Securities
HO Collections
HFO Services
Ltd
Intrum
Justitia Debt Collectors
Lewis Group, The
Link Financial
Ltd
Lowell Group
Mackenzie Hall
Ltd
Marlin
Capital Europe Ltd
Mercers
Debt Collectors
Moorcroft
Debt Recovery
Newman and
Company Ltd
Red Debt Collection
RMA Debt Collectors
Robinson
Way And Company Ltd
Rockwell
Debt Collectors
Roxburghe UK Ltd
Scotcall Ltd
Sechiari
Clarke and Mitchell
Shoosmiths
SRJ Debt
Recoveries Ltd
TBI
Financial Services Ltd
Tessera
Credit Services Ltd
Thames Credit
Ltd
Turnbull
Rutherford Solicitors
Wescot Credit
Services
Note: We have received reports that the MOJ has had 'complaints' from one or more of the above. It seems these mountebanks of the financial world take exception to having the truth about them exposed. Our advice to them: don't give it out if you can't take it!
And stop driving people to such desperation that they take their own lives.
Readers of this content should also know that pressure is being put on this website's hosting company to remove certain content that certain debt purchasing companies find too close for comfort!
To those who would wish to silence the freedom of speech which has been won in this country at great cost, we would say that you would not have nasty (but true) things written and said about you if you didn't do them!
The Debt Collectors' Complaints Register
Complaints Against Debt Collection Agencies & Complaints About Debt Collectors and Debt Purchasing Companies Operating in the United Kingdom
Practical Guidance For Consumers
This website features content already in the public domain concerning the conduct and practices of specific offending debt collectors and debt purchasing companies. This website is intended as a source of reference and help to people who are already in the clutches of these firms or who fear that they or their loved ones will be targeted by them. We have a "tell it like it is" approach and will not be intimidated by debt collectors, their agents, or the lawyers who work for them, often on a "letterheads for hire" basis.
This is a registry of debt purchasing companies and "debt collector" companies (debt collecting agencies or DCAs) in the United Kingdom who buy the data of delinquent closed credit accounts from banks and other lenders for pennies on the pound and then attempt to get the full value of the original debt from the borrower. The site also features agents and associates of such companies, including solicitors and miscellaneous legal practitioners. All have been found to have used unreasonable behaviour and/or questionable methods in the pursuit of profit and without due regard for the suffering of their victims.
Many debt collectors and debt purchasing firms use such questionable means on a daily basis. Many are regularly featured in the various consumer websites which have sprung up in recent years and which have helped spread the word about DCA malpractice, much to the discomfort of the DCAs themselves, and have attracted the interest of government bodies such as the Office of Fair Trading and local Trading Standards offices.
The laws regarding what DCAs are allowed to do are bizarre and, it seems, not subject to logic. Even though bad debtor accounts have been closed and written off by the original lender, and the insurance and tax breaks have been taken to the benefit of the bank, the bad debt somehow comes to life again in the hands of the Debt Purchaser (who has bought the data relating to the closed accounts rather than the accounts themselves , as these have been written off), and who then seems to get away with making your life a living Hell in the pursuit of profit.
These bottom-feeders of the insolvency world make a living buying and selling information about debts of ordinary folk who have fallen on hard times, and then harassing and bullying them for the full amount, sometimes to the point of driving people to suicide, in order to turn a profit of 100s of percentage points.
Astonishingly, this practice is not illegal.
But you are now empowered to use the law to your own advantage.
The 1974 Consumer Credit Act made debts taken out before April 6th 2007 unenforceable (even by a court) if the original credit agreement did not contain certain details, known as the "prescribed terms".
It is thought that a large proportion of credit agreements drafted before this date do not meet the stipulations as laid down in the Act, and that they are therefore unenforceable. The very basis of their validity in law is unsafe.
The great news for people whose accounts have been bought by these debt purchasing companies is that you are much more likely to be able to write off these debts because the chances are very much higher that the debt purchasing firms who bought them would not have in their possession the original documentation. This is because they buy the information about bad debts in job lots, often as simple printouts or floppy disks which contain incomplete data sets.
This applies to any of the following types of credit agreement (not just credit cards):
Credit Cards
Secured and Unsecured Loans
Store Cards
Car Loans/Finance (up to £25,000 each)
Hire Purchase agreementsThere have been problems in finding reputable companies to do this for you, which is why we recommend you do this yourself. We do not supply this service ourselves and we do not know of any service which currently does (or at least none that we can fully recommend). The problem is the time it takes - it can take many months. If you have the lender's (or the DCA's) "Final Response" which shows that they cannot produce the original credit agreement, or what they do produce is nothing like a credit agreement (i.e. it does not contain ALL of the prescribed terms) then that's the battle mainly over (but see below).
Either they produce a copy of the original credit agreement or they don't. It's quite simple, which is why anyone can do it. Advice on how to go through the various stages of this is given on the consumer financial websites; their treatment of it is comprehensive, so there is no need for it to be duplicated here.
A case in the Court of Appeal (Phoenix Recoveries v Kotecha Jan 2010) found that "A creditor had failed to satisfy a debtor's request under the Consumer Credit Act 1974 s.78(1) for a copy of a credit card agreement as it had not, on the evidence, included the original, actual terms and conditions in respect of interest rates then in force. The creditor was, accordingly, not entitled to proceed to enforce the debt under s.78(6)."
This judgment is of the Court of Appeal Civil Division, it is binding on all lower courts including High Court. That means that it would almost certainly be binding in all cases heard by District Judges who normally preside over cases involving debt in a County Court, for example.
In more recent times there has been case law which shows that what was originally taken to be a valid credit agreement may also be a reconstituted document from a number of sources or different documents, and this has muddied the waters a bit. The cases of judges Carey and Waksman, in particular, have tended to shift the law slightly in favour of the debt purchasing companies. But nevertheless, documentation of some sort is still needed. We recommend that you take legal advice before making any decisions about going down this route. In particular, make sure that the solicitor whom you contact has a current knowledge of the law as it stands at the time you enquire, as the validity of your argument is likely to rest with the most recent precedent.
It should be made clear at this point that establishing that your account is unenforceable will not make the debt disappear. It will probably remain on your credit file for 6 years, unless the debt itself is proven to be in error or a factual mistake. Only then can the debt be eliminated from your credit file more or less immediately.
It should also be made clear that this website does not approve of people taking on debts which they have no intention of paying back! Everyone is responsible for the loans or other credit agreements that they voluntarily make, and should ensure that they have budgeted to meet the repayments according to the terms of such agreements. People should also ensure that they are able to meet the obligations of rent, mortgage, utility bills and council tax in addition to the debts which they have also taken on. The point of this website is not to encourage profligacy, but to curb the excesses of certain debt collectors and debt purchasing companies (and their solicitors, if applicable), and to pursue those who would wish to abuse the provisions of the law to make a quick and easy profit at the expense of the sanity and dignity of ordinary folk.
The Importance of Establishing a Good Credit Rating
It is particularly important at this time to know what your credit rating is, and also to be in a position to know if this rating changes, and why. Experian is usually the company which comes to mind when thinking of credit checks. But we recommend QuickCreditScore, which will not only give you a free credit check, but also monitors your credit profile constantly, and alerts you when anything changes or there is unauthorised access. They also have very robust ID theft monitoring with fraud alerts and very useful Identity Recovery Assistance. This gives a much more extensive service than the better known credit rating companies can deliver.
To get a free 10 day trial and see just how this will benefit you click here.
Being aware of your credit rating, and knowing how to increase your credit score, is just one aspect of your credit health recovery.
For People Seeking A Permanent End To Debt Misery
For people who have arrived here seeking a permanent way out of debt we can recommend independent advice leading to one of the many forms of debt management plan or debt settlement programme, including the ever-popular IVA (Individual Voluntary Agreement). This is the sensible alternative to a debt consolidation loan which should only be considered if you cut up your credit cards and other forms of temptation! The following link will take you to the debt management plan application.
An IVA Is A Different Instrument But CAN Be Used
Please note that writing off a debt on the grounds that it is unenforceable, as described above, is not a debt management plan or an IVA, where the debt is written off over 5 years. To write off credit card debt is a response to the law which says that lenders offering loans without proper documentation cannot enforce recovery of the debt resulting from them.
However, we are also affiliated to excellent independent IVA and debt management specialists, if that should be more suitable to your own circumstances. To apply for an IVA go to the Best Debt Consolidation IVA site.
In Scotland the equivalent solution is the Protected Trust Deed which is a legally binding instrument designed to clear personal debt.
There are special qualifying circumstances for both IVAs and PTDs; people are not automatically eligible for these and everyone has to go through an application process to see that they are suitable for each particular plan. More details are available at these respective websites.
We do not recommend so-called payday loans because of their extremely high rates of interest, although they have their uses in the short term if the circumstances are suitable. Instead we recommend reducing your existing debt with an IVA or debt management plan, or with a lower interest rate debt consolidation loan. Only take out another loan if you really can afford the repayments. That way reducing the overall monthly payments makes sense. Don't do it just for short term gains; that is a recipe for disaster. Remember Mr Micawber!
Extending the Scope of This Site to Debt Reform
Debt reform is a huge subject and it is not possible to go into any great detail about it here. But just reading the above information about what the law allows debt collectors to get away with will be enough to convince most people that the laws on debt need overhauling and reforming, and that these new laws need to be enforced with vigour. To this aim we encourage debate which will seek to widen the discourse and abolish the present Dickensian structures of the punitive debt profiteering sector, which is about as unjust as the law in the UK can get.
Double Spivving - A Debt Spiv's Dream!
Several people have written in saying that they'd noticed that there were several direct debit items on their bank statement for the same debt account, but that these were being paid on a regular basis to different debt purchasing companies.
It occurred to us that this would undoubtedly be the result of one DCA selling the same account on to another and creating enough obfuscation (or indeed fear) that the victim sets up a standing order or direct debit to pay more than one debt purchasing company at the same time for the same account! It then occurred to us that this practice, which we have named "double spivving" (or multiple spivving, which is also possible) may even be part of the overall strategy when several debt spivs get together (as they will do at their illustrious beanos and on other less "official" events) to work out how they can get more money out of people.
So we recommend that you keep close tabs on exactly which direct debts and standing orders are going out for which accounts. Also it is important to keep those Letters of Assignment which let you know who has sold the debt to whom (though we know that not all DCAs bother with sending out such letters because it erodes their profits, or they just don't bother). Be aware, also, that such debtor accounts may not be sold on if the account is in dispute for any reason. So if an account changes hands then the debt purchaser is breaking the law.
Not that it makes much difference because the law seems increasingly not to care.
The Future of DPCs
This site, in spite of appearances to the contrary, does not propose the abolishment of the debt purchasing industry by law. Everyone is entitled to earn a living, and to health, happiness and a quiet life (although not many DPCs believe in giving their victims a quiet life). However, what would kill off the more pernicious aspects of the DPC industry (and would reduce the number and frequency of "statute barred" scams which certain DPCs have come to specialise in) would be if the banks were compelled not to sell on details of dead debts which they had already written off, or not to sell on details of debts which they fully intended to write off (and what business does not intend to write off bad debts?).
But no such legislation exists, and banks are still allowed to sell the details of things which no longer exist, by way of making an extra bit of cash, on top of the compensation insurance that they receive when debts go bad and also the tax breaks when they write off such debts at close of year.
There is no doubting that such debts are written off by the banks. HMRC writes them off at the end of the tax year. So no higher authority than the Crown itself acknowledges that the debts are written off.
But, as usual, the banks seem to have the legislators where they want them. I've heard no breath of such a law even being considered.
Also, I can think of no other case in which something which ceases to exist becomes ready material for the second hand market. What if a car was sold for scrap, then the cube of compressed metal was bought by a second hand car dealer who then approached you and tried to convince you that you could drive away in it?
Would you consult Glass's Guide and consider the kind offer? I don't think so!
The other thing that would kill this nefarious trade would be if sufficient numbers of people were to realise that the DPCs have little or no powers. If less than 15% of people paid the money then it would not be worth the DPCs' time at all - they would simply not be able to turn a profit, because 15 percent would be about the same as what they paid for the dead debt plus their operating costs.
That is the real purpose of this website: to spread the word. If enough people know about this then that would be one injustice less that this country has to endure.
Good News: ICO Agrees Selling On Debt is "Unfair"
In a letter sent to us dated 27th October 2009, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has agreed with us that selling on written-off debts is "an unfair practice under the Data Protection Act 1998"
This is a good first step. But we are somewhat surprised to see that the ICO regards this as unfair without actually being able (apparently) to do anything about it.
We all know who does this unfair selling on of written-off debts, don't we? It's the banks, and also to some extent the clowns in the Rogue's Gallery on the left, or their clients.
So the first DPC who tries to take on this website will have the ICO to deal with as well as ourselves.
Bring it on, bullyboys! And get a taste of your own medicine!
Silent Callers Face New Fine of £2 Million
In a move welcomed by this website, Ofcom has raised the maximum fine for those pesky "silent" phone calls, so much loved of DPCs, from £50,000 to an ear-tingling £2 million.
The silent treatment, which results when auto-diallers are used, is one of the most hated aspects of modern technology. According to the BBC website, Ofcom has previously taken enforcement action against Complete Credit Management Ltd, Equidebt Ltd and Ultimate Credit Services Ltd. Perhaps the new level of fines will make the debt purchasing spivs think again before automating their greed.
Or perhaps it won't make the slightest bit of difference. Time will tell.
Legal Notice
The advice and opinions given here are for informational purposes only. They are offered informally, without prejudice and without liability. Use your own judgement and use due diligence. You are advised to seek the advice of a qualified, insured professional. We take no responsibility for any undue or adverse circumstances or results which may arise from your following the information on this website or on any of the subdomans adjacent to this website.
1st Credit
Allied Credit
Cabot Financial
Link Financial
HFO Services
Direct Legal & Collections
Sechiari Clarke And Mitchell
Wescot Credit Services
debt settlement for unemployed
debt relief for unemployed
debt reduction for unemployed
debt consolidation for unemployed
debt management for unemployed
debt help for unemployed
debt settlement for people on state benefits
debt relief for people on state benefits
debt reduction for people on state benefits
debt consolidation for people on state benefits
debt management on state benefits
debt help on state benefits
Complaints Against Debt Collection Agencies
Complaints About Debt Collectors
Debt Management For Unemployed Help
Debt Relief Help | Debt Management Credit Score
Main DPC Registry RSS Feed: Debt Collectors Debt Management Help:
Debt Collectors Debt Management RSS
Privacy Policy | Help | About Us | Contact Us | Compliance & Disclosure | Complaints Procedure
Take a look at the Insolvency Service's leaflet called 'In Debt', downloadable here.
DPC Registry (The Debt Purchasers' and Debt Collectors' Registry). Consumer Credit Licence No. 633327.
