i’ve been getting a few letters lately, and a couple of knock-knocks turning up at the door with their clipboards. people who have lived where i’m at before me who have died are also getting bombarded with these letters as well. and a couple of people i know have fallen for this, which is a shame
some context for you
if you’re in debt, or someone is trying to scare money out of you by threatening you with court bailiffs because of something unenforceable such as private car parking charges for not buying an extra hour to cover the 3 minutes you overstayed on mcdonald’s car park or whatever ..
the debt collectors seem to have dropped this approach, and the more established ones are a bit clever about it and wait until the time is right to dispatch you with this sneaky twat attack
debt collection agencies are private companies who buy your unpaid [or completely disproportionate / made-up] debts for cheap, because the original party have given up trying to chase you for it for any reason. once this debt has been bought, any money the debt collection agency manages to claw back from you is 100% pure profit. no small-claims court worth their salt would award your assets / your goods to a company who has paid for your liability, so the debt collector company will typically claim to be working on behalf of the original asshole trying to take away your money. this is why the only point of contact you are allowed to deal with is the collector and not the original company, once the debt has been sold to these – often unscrupulous – thugs
their new tricks of the trade
once a debt is owed – whether you agree that you are liable to pay it back or not – a time begins from the first full 24h day that the other party claims the money is due. this time goes on for six years, and if a settlement hasn’t been reached and you have not made one payment in that time, the debt becomes statute barred and is then written off – even in your credit file [because they have free reign to fuck your credit file up, even without a direct debit and / or default] but their sour grapes only stay on your record for six years, otherwise any company would be able to fuck you up for credit for life – and anyone who drives or simply wants to have broadband will be able to tell you that the credit file is an anchor weighing you down by any cunt who has a limited company
if you have gone without making a payment / acknowledging the debt for six years, then it’s all gravy. if they haven’t got you over a barrel with a big contract or something, then it’s bye bye – according to case and contract law, that’s the end of it
now there’s one thing that will send your six years straight back to day one … if you contact the original “creditor” or even worse the collection agency “acting on their behalf” and say/do anything that agrees you owe them anything, or even worse make even the smallest payment
so what’s their cunning plan?
i got a letter from a company that haven’t heard a peep out of for a long long time. they told of a sad, sad tale about their going out of business – and their customers could contact them about getting a rebate they may be entitled to, if you only just get in touch and claim your award from our benevolent liquidation [or whatever]
as far as traps go, it was more the cardboard-box-propped-up-with-a-stick-and-piece-of-string variety. even though this company and their offer i’m having nowt to do wi, a few people i know have fallen for this shit and if there’s one type of scum we can all agree on is debt collection companies. you might think this post an over reaction and every once in a while i would be inclined to agree… but i know people, even family – some of the nicest people you will ever meet – their lives have been destroyed by asshole companies paying for the right to come and take your assets and your goods, with their CCJs and even voluntary agreements battering your credit report even more and on public record. people have killed themselves over shit like this and when i see them trying to pretend to be benevolent it pisses me off
so if you get a letter saying you “may / might” be entitled to some kind of money back, or even a special offer to settle the debt “starting with” a manageable payment they can agree on if you give a full breakdown of your earnings etc. .. particuarly if you haven’t heard a peep from them for about *checks calculator* 6 years, just let it slide
because after all, it’s not really taken up much of your time in the meanwhile … when they can’t get some sort of concerned / worried reaction, or try to tempt you into contacting them [you don’t have to make a payment to restart the 6 years, all you have to do is make contact] thinking you might get awarded a few quid from the suddenly nice and amicable business that made itself by clamping the wheel of your car on private land [before the protection of freedoms act 2012] or breaking into your home with a locksmith while your kids are frightened and upset in the background; these oafs who do sly shit like adding another £80 to your bill because they had to knock on your door or phone you up … they will fuck off and leave you alone
and wouldn’t that be a wonderful dream come true
reality sucks.
Leave a Reply