Letter from Arrow Global Ltd - Please help!

[Lyndz]

My Dh got a letter this morning from Arrow Global Ltd saying that they were trying to contact him re a personal matter and that they had our address as a probable address.

He rang them and they said that they are trying to get back a debt of £430 for an Orange phone bill from 6 years ago!

He's had no letters re this apparent debt at all, and he's not lived at the previous address for 7 years odd!! He's had loans/overdrafts in the past 6 years but they're all now paid off, and he's been with Orange since! He's never had a single letter about this and surely if this were a debt, they would have made more of an effort to find him??

I'm really really worried now. We don't have this amount of money

 

[claire99991]

I know its scary to get these kind of letters from debt collectors but usually there bark is worse than there bite! there is no way they can demand this money from you, i advise you to go on the consumer forums and go to the debt recovery section and post your problem on there they will give you template letters to send them back and tell you how to deal with it, it sounds like a fishing letter to me they are just trying it on bascially so go on the consumer forums get the template letter you need and send it back recorderd delievery and keep a copy, they will soon go away. xxxx

 

[claire99991]

also dont bother ringing them as they will try to intimdate you, just make it clear you will only deal with them in writing x

 

[Lyndz]

Thank you. I've just registered for the consumer action group forums and posted this. I've looked through some threads as well and there seems to be alot of my problem. Makes for interesting reading.

 

[aimee-lou]

We get a few of these from past indiscretions of both me and hubby.

Only deal with them in writing
They have to prove the debt is yours so don't admit to anything!
Don't pay anything over the phone - only send cheques or get banker's drafts/standing orders set up so you have a record of the payments.
Always offer them less than the debt. They will have 'bought' the debt from Orange for a lot less than the actual debt, so offer them a figure and they'll usually accept.

Keep all of the letters and you'll see that the debt recovery letters will change agency about once per year! Apart from annoying junk mail, there's not a lot they can do, and you can deal with them as and when you see fit.

 

[bigbetty]

Could you not contact Orange to make sure they are genuine and find out exactly what amount the debt is for and from when? Also why they haven't contacted him before about it?

It all sounds a bit dodgy to me - I wouldn't say anything to this company until you have got some genuine facts xx

 

[jellybean83]

They buy old debts in bulk off company's that are not expecting the money to be recovered then they use and load of old intimidation to try to get you to pay up...I dealt with them last year...First of all if you have to speak to them tell them you will only deal in writing....2nd of all acknowledge NO debt to them whatso ever and 3rd of all when they send round letters threatening bailiffs dont be scared they can only at most send round a "payment scheme adviser" who will work out a payment plan with you and i highly doubt they would even do that....I had them try to intimidate me last year and after weeks of phone calls to my house i finally bought a whistle and every time they rand i blew it really loudly down the phone every time they rang...Never heard from them again!

 

[Lyndz]

That's what i have read, that they bought a bunch of debts from Orange and are now just making a mint on the interest they're charging on top of the debt. My DH hasn't admitted to anything, he's asked them for proof and they saidd they'll send a statement withing 2 working weeks, which seems laughable to me. Big betty, it seemed dodgy to me too, debt doesn't just materialise out of thin air after near on 6 bloody years! We've been at out current address 4 years so they couldn't have been looking very hard. My husband has an ok credit rating, and i don't think this has ever shown up, in fact it couldn't have done as he wouldn't have been allowed the 2 loans (which are now paid off) and the contract phones he's had since!

GRRRRRRR

Thank you ladies!

 

[Lyndz]

They buy old debts in bulk off company's that are not expecting the money to be recovered then they use and load of old intimidation to try to get you to pay up...I dealt with them last year...First of all if you have to speak to them tell them you will only deal in writing....2nd of all acknowledge NO debt to them whatso ever and 3rd of all when they send round letters threatening bailiffs dont be scared they can only at most send round a "payment scheme adviser" who will work out a payment plan with you and i highly doubt they would even do that....I had them try to intimidate me last year and after weeks of phone calls to my house i finally bought a whistle and every time they rand i blew it really loudly down the phone every time they rang...Never heard from them again!

Thats what worried me, sending round baliffs. I'm home alone for about 13 hours a day while DH is at work with our baby, i was terrified of baliffs. But i've been told they can't send baliffs round till they've been through courts and we still don't pay. Now i've read these replies and been on the consumer website and read what they're truely like, i'm just plain fuckin angry that they have the nerve!

 

[blondie_]

You can not claim for a debt that is longer than 6 years. The debt after 6 years becomes statute barred. They can still contact you and ask for the debt to be paid but can not take you to court and issue a CCJ.

 

[bigbetty]

You can not claim for a debt that is longer than 6 years. The debt after 6 years becomes statute barred. They can still contact you and ask for the debt to be paid but can not take you to court and issue a CCJ.

So you can basically tell them to eff off then???

 

[blondie_]

You can not claim for a debt that is longer than 6 years. The debt after 6 years becomes statute barred. They can still contact you and ask for the debt to be paid but can not take you to court and issue a CCJ.

So you can basically tell them to eff off then???

Yes 6 years has passed. So if you don't pay it they can't take you to court for it.

 

[pandaspot]

they are just trying there luck, personally i would ignore it. They wont send baliffs, even if they said so in the letter. the majority of them havent got the money to send a baliff round to peoples houses.

your on the best website consumer action group, lots of helpful people there

 

[Lyndz]

I've heard that it becomes barred after 6 years, but i think it's just under 6 years old, but DH hasn't had any notification that he owes this, EVER! I too think they're just trying there luck, but they will not get anywhere, we're gonna do our up most to stop them. DH is seeing Citizens Advice next week.

 

[claire99991]

they wont send bailiffts honestly they just bomard you with rubbish as a scare tactic! dont worry about it xxx

 

[RJ01]

My husband had one from a company called Mackenzie Hall, turns out they had sent them to everyone with the same name as my husband hoping someone would pay up, so it was a debt of someone with the same name but they didn't know who exactly.
I emailed them and said we do not acknowledge this debt and please do not contact us any further, haven't heard another peep out of them. x

 

[emzul]

Bailiffs can only be sent to your property for a Court appointed debt (unpaid Council Tax/parking fines etc) and these will be County Court Bailiffs. Debt collectors are NOT bailiffs, they have no power to do anything! They are basically what jellybean83 said, they can come to your house, but they are only to try and get an arrangement in place. You dont have to speak to them or answer the door, and they more than likely wont even come round! They use these tactics all the time, masqerading as "bailiffs" to frighten people into paying them. They all work on commission, they arent allowed to charge interest on the debt so they try to scare people into paying over the phone "to prevent further action" when all they want is the money so they can claim their bonuses!
Write to them, asking for proof of the debt, 6 years of no contact usually means they cannot chase the debt anymore anyway. If they can prove the debt exists and is your OH's then he only needs to offer a very small amount per month (a fiver will do!) and they will accept this.

Do not worry, I work in Debt Management and Insolvency, and know allllll about this sort of stuff, we speak to clients/creditors on a daily basis and this debt is not one to lose sleep over. I have about £8k worth of debt and get daily letters from creditors, but knowing what they say is threats they cannot act upon, they get binned!

xx

 

[Lyndz]

Bailiffs can only be sent to your property for a Court appointed debt (unpaid Council Tax/parking fines etc) and these will be County Court Bailiffs. Debt collectors are NOT bailiffs, they have no power to do anything! They are basically what jellybean83 said, they can come to your house, but they are only to try and get an arrangement in place. You dont have to speak to them or answer the door, and they more than likely wont even come round! They use these tactics all the time, masqerading as "bailiffs" to frighten people into paying them. They all work on commission, they arent allowed to charge interest on the debt so they try to scare people into paying over the phone "to prevent further action" when all they want is the money so they can claim their bonuses!
Write to them, asking for proof of the debt, 6 years of no contact usually means they cannot chase the debt anymore anyway. If they can prove the debt exists and is your OH's then he only needs to offer a very small amount per month (a fiver will do!) and they will accept this.

Do not worry, I work in Debt Management and Insolvency, and know allllll about this sort of stuff, we speak to clients/creditors on a daily basis and this debt is not one to lose sleep over. I have about £8k worth of debt and get daily letters from creditors, but knowing what they say is threats they cannot act upon, they get binned!

xx

Many thanks for this, most helpful. They told my husband that they have applied interest to the "debt", which is why it's £430. When my husband rang the CAB they told him to get proof of how much the original debt was, my husban has asked for proof an they're apparently sending a statement out. If we absolutely have to pay it, and believe me that will be the very absolute last course of action, we'll offer a tiny amount as suggested. I still believe they're trying to come it, a debt just doesn't magically appear after nearly 6 years!

 

[Eala]

I wouldn't even talk to them any longer. This bunch of scroungers tried to tell my DH that he owed Orange money as well, when it was actually paid off years back (and my DH too has had an Orange phone on contract since then!).

Just bin the letters, they have no power, and are basically scam artists trying to scare people into giving them money.

 

[Lyndz]

My DH also has had Orange contracts since this aswell, but they've trie to tell him that wouln't make any difference and they woul have still allowed him another contract, to which i pointed out, surely they shoul have found our address by now.