Harassed by a company called Legal&trade collectors?

Question

Hi my partner is being harassed by a company called legal&trade ltd, they are a debt company who is demanding £150 a month which he certainly hasnt got. its all to do with the child support agancy we split up when my daughter was born in november 2003 and i was on income support, and he had a rubbish job and they wanted £90 a week of him but they came to an agreement of £40 a week which was fine we we got back together in june 2004 and been together since, now this legal & trade are onto him phoning every 2 minute they are very nasty and tell him he will go to jail he gave them hi NI number now they say there going to take it out of his wages and that they can cause they have his NI number they say he owes £2000 he has told them that he cant afford £150 a month that he can pay £20 and they said no he is so worried and isnt sleeping or eating what can we do its tearing us apart thankyou xx

Answer 1

Hi,

Unfortunately these agencies seem to think they are a law unto themselves and rely on the fact that you are not legally educated in a way that you can effectively fight them off.

Lets redress the balance a little.

You have rights under the Administration of Justice Act 1970 section 40 (1) (a).

They cannot continually and persistantly menace you or make threats under this act.

You need to catalogue all their calls with the date and time and the nature of the call. Then take the evidence to the Office of Fair Trading and or the Police. If they are convicted they could loose their licence which basically means they go out of business.

Good luck

Answer 2

Some of the other answers on here have been fine but we need to know more about the debt.

The CSA are a preferential creditor which means that they can have preference over other debts - even in bankruptcy.

For a normal credit card style debt- in order to get an attachment of earnings to take money from wages they would normally have to get a court judgement.

If the debt is maintenance there may already be a court order in place.

The CSA have only just started using debt collection companies - they (CSA) will be winding down soon and replaced with a new agency.

The rule of thumb for the CSA is that they will take 15% of his income.

I'm going to be honest with you - if this is child support due via the CSA- it might be best to accept the attachment of earnings - it would be the most efficient and least stressful method of collection.

Legal and Trade are only agents however, don't speak to the monkey - speak to the organ grinder. Contact the CSA.

The CSA are responsible for the actions of their agents.

If you feel L and T have been unprofessional contact the OFT (www.oft.gov.uk). It is the OFT which issues the consumer credit licence that debt collectors need.

I hope this helps

Answer 3

debt collection agencies have a habit of behaving in such a manner. Most of them act well outside the law and use pressure to get what they want. My advice to you is to consult a local solicitor (Legal AId if you dont have money) and get the solicitor to write a letter to the debt collectors telling them that if they wish to obtain any monies from you they must first obtain a Court Order. They should also be placed on notice that they are harrassing you and that you will report the matter to the Association of Bailiffs and Debt Collectors. These people can take away their licence. I would also report them to your local county court too. I did this for a client last year and managed to get the debt collectors licence revoked. He came round fast and offered my client £500 cash just to withdraw the allegation because otherwise it meant the end to his business. We negotiated this kind offer up to £1,200 withdrew the allegation and I had a very very happy client. Naturally the debt collector decided to drop the case after that and my client never heard back from them.

Do not be bossed around by these people. Most of them are unlicensed and if that is the case then you need to get the police straight onto them.

Answer 4

Tell this company that they can take you to court for the debt and in this way you will have a fair judgment on what you can afford to pay. As for there harassing you with phone calls, you can ask Bt to change your phone number because you are suffering harassment with this company YOU DO NOT GO TO PRISON FOR DEBT and it is wrong for them to say that . If they phone again before you change your number, tell them that you are filing for Bankcruptcy( although you aren't) and you will see a big change in their attitude when they think they will not get any money. But at least it will get them off your back. They have no authority to take any money from wages without a court order. They are bluffing you on that.

Answer 5

If they are using threats like this tape them and take the tape to the citizens advice bureau along with a record of time and dates of calls .
what they are doing is illegal , the HSBC Bank has just recently been sued for damages when a student committed suicide because they rang him 5 times a day to ask when he could settle his account .
The judge said that this was completely unreasonable and ordered them to pay the students parents compensation .

The company will very probably be shut down and it might even be investigated by the police .

PS it is illegal for them to refuse payment of any amount though they do have the right to ask for more .

For your partners peace of mind just tell him to send a cheque (its traceable by the bank) monthly for whatever he can afford , a court if he ended up there would then accept that he intended to pay but couldn't afford what the firm wanted .

good luck there are to many of these pirates nowadays but believe me the law is on your side .

Answer 6

Go and see you local Citizens Advice Bureau. They will be able to advise you of the best action. Also, if this company is being abusive, they can flag them up nationally.

Answer 7

pay waht they ask and they will let you alone