Dirty Tricks

Epykat · Post by **Epykat** » 12 Mar 2007, 21:34

I got a phone call last week. At the time I was up a ladder, roller in hand, painting the kitchen ceiling. Our cat, the lovely Selma, was also up the ladder trying to help me. I was therefore a wee bit flustered by the time I answered. The man on the other end asked for Mr E. I told him he was at work so he then said he had something to send out to him regarding work and was checking the address. He gave me part of our old address but with the wrong number (1 digit out). I corrected him. He said, "Sorry, I misread the number". When I informed him that Mr E had already changed the address with his work he gave me the "oh you know what it's like in here, takes ages for info to work its way round". By now the cat was walking all over the phone and I really just wanted rid of him, so I gave him the new address. A week later we got a letter from a Debt Collection Agency claiming that we owed the bank thousands, our cat was being repossessed, and our bank account would be frozen

. Thanks to our Bank Manager it was finally sorted out. But beware - this was allegedly a "Detective" for the Debt Collectors. I'm not allowed to answer the phone anymore

Poppy · Post by **Poppy** » 12 Mar 2007, 21:39

our cat was being repossessed

I assume you mean 'car' (a Freudian slip cos you are trying blame Selma for it all?!

), but, seriously, that's pretty nasty. And just goes to show how easy it is to be duped however clued up we think we are. I'd keep an eye on your credit rating in case you need to have it amended.

Epykat · Post by **Epykat** » 12 Mar 2007, 21:45

Poppy wrote:
our cat was being repossessed
I assume you mean 'car' (a Freudian slip cos you are trying blame Selma for it all?! ), but, seriously, that's pretty nasty. And just goes to show how easy it is to be duped however clued up we think we are. I'd keep an eye on your credit rating in case you need to have it amended.

No, I meant cat

. We can always get another car. What really annoyed me was that this is a legitimate debt collecting agency and the sum total of their detective work was to find a matching name in the phone book with a similar address and call the number

.

Epykat · Post by **Epykat** » 10 Jun 2007, 12:18

It's now June. The saga continues

After several more telephone calls from the 'Detective Agency' with the same spiel about 'This won't go away' and us protesting our innocence in an increasingly 'we are losing our patience' way - another letter reached us yesterday. Thankfully, they appear to have knocked 66p off the total that we (don't) owe and have thrown us a lifeline. They're knocking £257 in interest off and we only have to pay them £50 a month. Their generosity astounds me

Apparently the guy they're really looking for lives in Niddrie (they told us that!) but it seems to have slipped their notice that we don't live in Niddrie. In fact, they don't have a clue where Niddrie is because they're in Hampshire. We're now sending them a wee letter requesting a retraction and apology or to quote them "this matter will be referred to our Scottish lawyers for action". Not holding my breath!

Epykat · Post by **Epykat** » 12 Jun 2007, 11:48

Just googled 'Telogram' - a very interesting read and good tips.

Epykat · Post by **Epykat** » 28 Jun 2007, 12:04

And so it goes on........despite writing to the dreaded CapQuest debt collecting agency, demanding a copy of the original credit agreement which obviously won't have Mr E's signature on it, we got a letter last week warning us that litigation proceedings are imminent - but - they did kindly attach a form for us to fill in so that we can set up a direct debit to them

. You might see us on Watchdog yet

Poppy · Post by **Poppy** » 28 Jun 2007, 12:17

Epykat wrote:And so it goes on......... You might see us on Watchdog yet

Or Crimewatch!

Epykat · Post by **Epykat** » 16 Jul 2007, 20:57

Great excitement! We got, not one, but two letters from them this morning. Granted, they did both say exactly the same thing, but I think this only proves how seriously they're taking the matter

. They've given us a 28 day stay of execution whilst they 'investigate' further. Can't wait. If this investigation is half as good as the last one we'll probably 'owe' them £5,000 by the end of the week

Puerto bella · Post by **Puerto bella** » 16 Jul 2007, 21:09

Oh my god, what a nightmare. I can't imagine how frustrating this whole nightmare is. I hope it works out. Maybe you need your own detective to trackdown the guy.

Epykat · Post by **Epykat** » 16 Jul 2007, 21:17

I agree it could be a nightmare for some people of a nervous disposition

. Fortunately we're not allowing ourselves to be intimidated by these idiots because we know we're in the right and if it did come to Court they don't have a leg to stand on. There are actually whole forums dedicated to them and some of the people who post there have real horror stories to tell.

SoupDragon · Post by **SoupDragon** » 16 Jul 2007, 21:53

Good luck with them, Epykat
Seen some of the forums you were on about, scary and questionable legality

Epykat · Post by **Epykat** » 17 Jul 2007, 21:58

The advice on some of them are quite good though. We did as we were advised re the letter we sent them and things are going exactly the way we were told they would go - so far so good

. What should happen next is that after the 28 days they'll pass the debt back to the Bank who will then hopefully confirm that it isn't ours. But don't hold your breath!

rapunzell · Post by **rapunzell** » 17 Jul 2007, 22:23

Good luck!

Years ago I found my flatmates had been throwing away all mail coming in that wasn't for us. I opened the next batch to see if it could be returned to sender and was quite glad I had as it was a notice that as MrX hadn't paid his loan of about £26,000 or responded to any letters they'd be round to seize our TV etc. I don't know what they thought our TV would be worth...

Epykat · Post by **Epykat** » 17 Jul 2007, 22:27

To be fair they've given us every opportunity to pay which would be really nice if we actually owed them anything

. We refuse to speak to them on the phone now though which is maybe why they're sending us two identical letters every time - just to get the point over

Poppy · Post by **Poppy** » 17 Jul 2007, 22:30

Every so often I get a letter from a creditor chasing the former tenant of my flat who moved out nearly 6 years ago! To keep myself clear of any nonsense, I now open them "in error" and then return them with a covering letter and put a stamp on it to make damn sure it gets there. The price of the stamp is worth the peace of mind!

Epykat · Post by **Epykat** » 17 Jul 2007, 22:32

Poppy wrote:The price of the stamp is worth the peace of mind!

Where's your sense of adventure?

Poppy · Post by **Poppy** » 17 Jul 2007, 22:35

Epykat wrote:
Poppy wrote:The price of the stamp is worth the peace of mind!
Where's your sense of adventure?

I don't have Selma the Cat to ward off the Bad Men at the door!

(My late Mousie the Cat would have been no use - she's just have stood up on her back legs wanting to picked up and cuddled

)

Epykat · Post by **Epykat** » 17 Jul 2007, 22:40

It's all her fault! If she hadn't been prancing about on the phone I would have been concentrating

Poppy · Post by **Poppy** » 17 Jul 2007, 22:43

Epykat wrote:It's all her fault! If she hadn't been prancing about on the phone I would have been concentrating

I just can't abide badly trained cats

teddygirl · Post by **teddygirl** » 17 Jul 2007, 22:50

I had a cat day yesterday, we stopped at the Cockatoo for a drink on the way home from Dobbies and a black cat was sleeping on one of the leather sofas. Trying not to disturb it we sat down beside it but it climbed on to my knee where it stayed for the next half hour or so. I didn't mind but every now and again it did that clooky thing that cats do, ouch

Then after we got home I was sitting out in the front garden when that big grey fluffy thing(you know the one I mean,Poppy) came over and climbed all over me and wow were his claws sharp as he also did that clooky thing.
I told them both that I was a doggy person and they weren't going to convert me. I did enjoy a wee cuddle though.

Poppy · Post by **Poppy** » 17 Jul 2007, 22:56

teddygirl wrote:that big grey fluffy thing(you know the one I mean,Poppy)

I call him [?] "Fluffy 1" and his co-habitor (the brown striped job) "Fluffy 2". There might even be "Fluffy 3" who is black!!

Very unimaginative, but I tend to see them first thing in the morning before the brain's in gear!!

I'm off to the Oscar thread now.....

Black Mamba · Post by **Black Mamba** » 18 Jul 2007, 08:31

The Cockatoo is only about a mile or so from where I grew up. A little know place (it seems) called Hilltown.

Epykat · Post by **Epykat** » 18 Jul 2007, 11:43

I used to babysit for somebody in Hilltown. The big house that stands on its own just as you come into Hilltown. Their name was Blackie.

SoupDragon · Post by **SoupDragon** » 18 Jul 2007, 23:36

I know Hilltown . my late sis in laws daughter lived there,
I pass it about once a week ( to or fro from my mums )
Had a nice big family meal in the Cockatoo round about February ( was it the Marmalade Cat for a while... back to cats again )

teddygirl · Post by **teddygirl** » 19 Jul 2007, 07:56

Yes it was the Marmalade Cat for a while, it was called that the last time I had a meal there. (obviously a few years ago)
We occasionally pop in and have a drink there, their leather sofas are very comfy.

I don't know anyone living in Hilltown but I do have a friend who lives in Newton Village just along the road.

Talk Porty ~ Portobello

Dirty Tricks

Dirty Tricks

Mr E's saga