Five Steps to Fend Off Dodgy Debt Collectors
If you find yourself in the situation where you are being chased by a debt collection agency, there are some important points to bear in mind – five of them to be exact. Here’s the Debtsolver lowdown on how to tackle those dodgy debt collectors.
- Make sure you know your rights; debt collectors have to abide by rules and regulations that require them to treat you properly. Any abusive language or threatening behaviour should not be tolerated. The Office of Fair Trading has issued guidelines for debt collectors on how to deal fairly with individuals who have defaulted on a debt.
- If you are being pursued by a debt collector, chances are that the debt has past the debt collection statute of limitations. This makes it a cheap debt for the collector to pick up from the original owner of the debt. In which case, they will usually consider the debt to have been settled; most often through bankruptcy. Interest in these so called ‘junk’ debts is growing but remember, the statute of limitations has probably expired so talk to a specialist debt advisor or the OFT.
- Whenever a collector gets in touch with you, make sure you get as many details from them as possible but do not divulge any of your own until you’ve looked into the debt collection agency and the debt they’re chasing. So, first of all, make sure you get the company’s name, address and a telephone number. Have them send you proof that you actually owe the debt; they should already know your address. If they’ve made a mistake and you’re not the debtor, reply with a certified letter and let them know they’ve got the wrong person.
- Monitor your credit report to make sure that you’ve not been the victim of identity theft and someone is out there running up bad debt in your name. You can request a copy of your statutory credit report, a one-off credit report you can order by post, online or by phone, for a £2 admin fee. We’d recommend getting into the habit of doing this once a year to make sure your records are up to date. Be sure to dispute any questionable debts or collection attempts, report any suspicion of identity theft to the police and keep records of correspondence with collection agencies.
- If the situation persists, you feel you are being improperly treated by the collection agency or they’ve got the wrong person, get help. The Office of Fair Trading will investigate the conduct of collection agencies and debt specialists will help you to solve the debt problem.
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