Clare

A friend needs some advice, so I said i'd ask on here for him.

About 5/6 years ago he used to run a business that went belly up, he ended up owing the bank a lot of money but managed to cut all ties and disappear.

Just recently he has spilt with his girlfriend of 9 years and it has turned very nasty.

Yesterday he had the day off work and his Boss rang him to say some Debt Collectors had turned up looking for him. He wasn't too surprised at this as his Ex would without fail try and drop him in sh1t by telling them where he was.

What we cant work out tho is if they are genuine or not. The 'Debt Collectors' proceeded to tell his boss why they were there, how much he owed the bank and how the debt occured. They also rang his work today and again told his Boss all the details.
Now from my short time in the past working in the Credit Industry, is it not against the law to discuss these sort of details with anyone other than the account holder or named party?

We think his ex may have got some 'mates' to pretend to be debt collectors to try and get money out of him........ or at least his car as she knows this is the one thing that will crush him.

Anyone on here familiar with the way the law works with regards to what info a Debt Collector can disclose to someone other than the Account holder?

MadMac

well al I can say is; he's fucked.

I got into debt bigtime a few years back and I tell ya what, it aint nice when they turn up on your door.

Five years later, I'm still paying it off

EIL132

Debt collection is generally past from company to company, so there can be more than one interested. They all work from commission

Anonymous

but they shouldnt say any info apart from who they are and who there looking for. sounds like bollox to me.

NEO™ŽŠ

well from my experience they cant talk to anyone about it other than the debtor!!!! tis the law i belive

Clare

Thats what I thought Rob, but I told him I wasn't 100% sure on the law so couldnt say for sure if its just her playing games or if its legit.

Stu, we are talking nearly Ł60k here, and he's in no position to pay anything off, but that's not the issue he has, he's not worried about the debt as such as he will just make himself Bankrupt, he should have done this at the time as he has nothing else to loose. What he is more concerned about is if these guys are legit, they surely should not be allowed to discuss his personal circumstances with any tom dick or harry? They did not know the bloke they were talking to was his boss, they just knew he worked at the same place.

EIL132

Nope, they can disclose what it is they are after, accounts, amount, address, phone number, etc. What they can't do is access accounts directly to get money

tiny

I think youll find out they can, and often do disclose details to employes,
so that money can be stopped before its paid out, that way there is no way
of avoiding paying the debt, unless the person leaves the job.

Anonymous

wouldnt that be put in writing after they found out that the employee was working there? instead of telling them info etc. they normally leave a letter for the person that has the debt too.

i have them in and out of my place all the time. my boss opens and closes business alot to avoid the I.R rates etc. been getting away with it for yrs. they ask who owns the place, sometimes leave a letter then they foook off

EIL132

Only the sheriff officers, inland revenue or courts can access bank accounts directly/take money. Debt collectors can only hassle you and apply for court orders

mAX_CARSnFAGS

baseball vatz em, i can help ya

Anonymous

EIL132 i see said the blind man

xr_craig

iTrader: (2)

hope this helps

http://www.peoples-law.com/consumer/..._Practices.htm

mAX_CARSnFAGS

fuckz me

tiny

You would think so, but this isnt always the case, there not always on the
right side of the law, just like bailifs.

Clare

Okies, thanks for the advice guys, he's not worried about his job as he is fooking off at the end of the month anyway as his Ex will not stop until he is dead so he needs to uproot and start again somewhere (and no that is no joke, she can and will have him put six feet under).

I will pass on what you've said and tell him to lie low until the end of the month.

Anonymous

ps anyone wanna pay my debts off seeing as were on the subject?

EIL132

What I would say is 60k is a large amount and he will have every bandit in town after him. If they get a lock, i.e. he answers his home/work phone or answers the door to a collector and gives an indication of where he is, they will pursue it through the courts and they can be very persistent, deffo. He becomes bankrupt, but it isn't as simple as just writing it off. It can follow you around forever unless you know what you're doing. Get legal advice

Clare

Thanks James, the small amount I do know about the law is I know you cannot persue a bankrupt person for money, but I shall look into this a bit more for him and make sure there is nothing im missing.

Ive just spoken to him and it turns out these 'debt collectors' didnt actually turn up (I mis-understood) all contact has been by telephone............ it just all seems a bit fishy to me, and it wont be the first time his Ex has got someone to ring him pretending to be someone in authority when they are not.

fjk404

Whats her name and where is she, just so i dont go and chat her up in a club or somewhere

Dragon

Does he own a house? Or have any assets? By the sounds of things he hasn't. If he has then there are more complicated issues regarding a bankruptcy and you will loose anything you have, including your car and anything else of any re-saleable value.

Don't be under any assumption that you can 'simply make yourself bankrupt', as it doesn't work like that. You have to create a petition for bankruptcy which has to be submitted to your local County Court for consideration and approval.

It is not a simple process and will take some time to sort out, so my advise would be to contact his local CAB and get them to advise him as they have people who can help process a request.

In addition you have to pay the Official Receiver's Office and County Court to activate a signed petition from the Judge.

Once you have been made bankrupt the Official Receiver's Office will contact all of your debtors on your behalf and make them aware of this. Only at this point will things come to an end.

dave green

Ive been in bussiness for twenty odd years and in that time had a few dept collectors round my workshop.And if they are REAL dept collectors they are not allowed to discuss the dept to anyone other than to the person who has the dept, sounds to me this could be a joke.


Dave

Micky The Finn

they CAN discuse the dept with anyone they care to.
sorry dave but you are wrong here.

BUK

They can say to anyone they want !!

They say who they are , who they are looking for, and why they are here (ie the debt). Why dont you get him to ask his boss to call their company and say look we have had so and so round here looking for so and so , then you will surely find out if they are legit or not.

Iain Mac

For 60k and a debtor who has vanished I would guess that the bank obtained judgement in his absence. If the ex has told the bank where he is, the bailliffs or debt collectors can go to his employer to confirm that he is employed there and if that means disclosing the debt they can do that.

Once they know he's there, the next step is likely to be a wage arrestment. We used to do that in the good old days when you could take half of the debtors net wage for the week/month, less Ł4, and keep doing it till the debt + costs were paid or he quit the job! They changed the law years ago and restricted the amount to be taken this way - spoilsports!!!

I remember this method worked very well on the arsehole who marched me down his garden path with a 10" screwdriver pused into the bit of my face where nose and top lip meet.

MADMATT

i dont know much about the law but if i was him and i had a nice car then i would get him to "sell" it to you so that it cant be taken away.

hope it all works out for him

Matt

churchy

And tell him to talk to them through his letterbox if they knock round, then they can't enter his home, unless he opens the door

Iain Mac

I'm sure all these helpful tips would also be passed on to anyone owing you money!

Clare

Dragon, he has no assetts at all, hasnt done for years since he 'disappeared' the only thing he has is his car which will be gone within the next 48 hours as he cant risk them taking it. I think he needs to look into the Bankruptcy thing a bit more, it is defo his best option in the long run but I dont think he realises it takes a bit of time to go through.

Ive been away for the weekend and only just got back but he's had a right couple of days of it all. The debt collectors are for real, and the Ex has had it all back fire on her a bit as they turned up at her house looking for him. He is laying low for a couple of days to try and get things sorted his end before he faces the debt collectors. I believe he is going to register for bankruptcy tomorrow, or at least get the wheels in motion.

Thanks for all your advice, he does appreciate it

Ginge !

clare bankrupcy aint that hard to do tbh, i sould have done it with my debts as i was paying out most of my wages a few years ago and was living off 30 quid a week to sort the debts quick as poss, i fooking hate all credit firms and i also hate debt collectors as they bring misery on people, remember that not all people in debt cause it !!!, sometimes its abit like drinking beer, ya know its not good for ya but ya carry on and get carried away


i personally aint worth anything at all, i got into big debts and sorted em but i am still technically blak listed , i was lied to and told that the sooner i pay then 6 months later its cleared


fooking bollxs as its 6 years from date of chasing , if i knew that i would have payed the 3 quid a week then fooked em off after 6 years

as for talking half of a persons wages think about it, the guy in debt is poor, he cant afford to pay and ya gonna claim 50% of his wages

if that was me i would sign on and then tell ya to accept the queens silver , al rent ect would be paied ( unless your a twat like me with a morgage and fook all but the interest gets paied )

i advise anyone whos in sooo much debt now and has problems copeing to go bankrupt and then no only does the stress go but then ya black listed and cant gt in anymore debt and got 6 years to learn to live with no loans

thats what happened to me and now i dont have any debts , i learned to live without em

EIL132

Bankruptcy can work for or against you, depending on what your circumstancies are. You have to remember you cannot take out a bank account (you have to disclose that you are and most will say no), credit card, create a business unless you tell them lol or indeed own anything else effectively unless it is deemed unworthy at time of bankruptcy. It will/can effect inheritance, pension, life insurance, etc and will follow you around as you have to declare otherwise it is effectively fraud. It may last only 3 years, but they can still revoke any assests in that time

Clare

Thanks James, all those things are not important to him, he has no family and no pension etc..... he's 42 and had the same lifestyle for years.
He has no problem about not being able to get credit as he never wants to be in the position where he owes money to anyone ever again.

Ginge, he wont sign on, he's more than happy to work hard to earn a living.

BUK

Program on BBC 1 tonight called Bailiffes 8.30pm Watch it and see how these people work

Clare

He's with Citizens Advice as we speak, hopefully he'll have a better idea what to do when he leaves there.
He's still not 100% convinced these people are for real, he cant find the Company listed anywhere. CAB should be able to confirm this for him

Ginge !

ironic really as he wont sign on as he wants to work hard yet he dont like paying for anything

i was saying as if hes gonna be chased for all his money then i wpuld rather sign on and work cash in hand

otherwise ya dont even get a wage ya can live off


just cause i aint got a job dont mean im signing on, i dont get any help with my bills by doing it so im working on cars for money

got another job for a engine this week too

Ginge !

in a way i agree with that BUT i noticed that all the people with money are the ones who go bankrupt and the ones with no money and jobs get chased for bills they owe as they dont know the rules and pay em

as for the credit morgage ect, lets be honest, if ya owe 50k and dont own a house ect, ya not gona loose, ya just win

how long will it take to pay of 50k, alot longer than 3 years

oh and ya can have a bank account but not a curant account, you can have a normal non cheque book account


and tbh considering that when i got my debt in 2000 and i could not get credit even though i payed it all off by 2002, i got accepted for shited high interest loans ect and credit cards but i id rather not bother

now i prob could get a proper bank account ect but i dont one as i dont want any bills that i dont need

so they done me a favour but i could have saved a few quid and alot of stress if i wasnt lied too, oh and i dont avtually even have a CCJ, just default but it all goes against ya

thats my opinion based on my experience, i know what i went through with it and the only reason im bitter was i was lied to !!!!!

if they said " when ya pay it all off it still counts against ya for 6 years from the start anyway" i would have told em where to stick it

anyway theres my rant over

im personally glad ive got a a few cars with no debts and i got a morgage the long way but i had no choice tbh, thats the only thing that i wpuld be missing but im sure i would have found a way