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Talk Talk / Tiscali / Roxburghe Debt Collection

Talk Talk / Tiscali / Roxburghe Debt Collection

Received this letter tonight. It was forwarded onto me from an address I haven’t lived in for over four years.

It’s a little scary to receive stuff like this as nobody wants their credit rating messed with. I’m still trying to work out a course of action (apart from phoning Talk Talk—previously Tiscali—in the morning) and hopefully doing this will be a good start.

It seems I’m not the only one receiving threats of this kind as you can read here, here and here.

Related posts : Update#1: Talk Talk / Tiscali / Roxburghe Debt Collection and Update#2: Talk Talk / Tiscali / Roxburghe Debt Collection

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22 comments

  1. Really appreciate you taking the time to respond Olly – humble thanks.Obviously, my previous landlords have been sending me any stray post (hence why I got this) and it’s the first communication received relating to any ‘debt’ owed to Talk Talk/Tiscali.I can remember closing my account and settling up when I moved – don’t think I have any letters though relating to this… will have a dig though.Does seem crazy that in four years I have not received any other letters…

  2. Hi,This is possibly the worst debt collection letter I’ve seen.Here’s some non-legal expert advice:Essentially, your debt has been sold onto a debt collection agency who will now use threatening language to try and get you to cough up. Tiscali/TalkTalk reduces its losses and the debt collection agency makes whatever it can recoup. It’s unlikely that Talk Talk will look at your account once it has been passed to the Debt Collection Agency.Depending on whether know you owe this debt depends on obviously whether you should pay. If you genuinely know you owe that money then obviously pay up.If you are unsure about whether you owe this debt, you should contact the Debt Collection Agency, preferably in writing (email/fax a copy so they get it quickly) stating that this is the first communication you’ve had from them and therefore you would like 14 days to sort this out prior to them taking legal action. You also would like a breakdown of why they believe you owe this debt, and a copy of all communication that they have previously sent you and will present to the court. Also ask for all documentation that has been passed between the Debt Collection Agency and Talk Talk.If you settled and closed your account prior to moving then they’ve got a very weak case in arguing that they took every step in order to track you down but didn’t check you still lived at the same address. If you moved before closing the account and didn’t tell them, you have broken terms of your contract with them, and therefore they could reasonably assume that you still live in the same address. However, *you* are the debtor, not the address and therefore they would have to show that they had established that you still live at that address.If you are presented with evidence that satisfies you that you owe, then again pay up. If you don’t think that you owe the debt then write to them and explain why you don’t think you do. Explain that you will only accept a court judgment in determining whether you are liable for the debt and that they should not attempt to get the money any other way.Obviously keep copies all all correspondence you send, write notes of any phone calls you make (or record them, but obviously make sure you tell them you are doing so). A court will look kindly at someone who has acted promptly, reasonably and without emotion when presented with the kind of letter you’ve received.Finally, in all circumstances ask for the correspondence between the debt collection agency and Talk Talk. The OFT guidance on Debt Collection (http://www.oft.gov.uk/shared_oft/business_leaflets/consumer_credit/oft664.pdf) says it is bad practice to pass on details from a company to an agency without the informed consent of the individual – obviously if you failed to respond to their letters then this would be difficult, but if they didn’t make you aware then TalkTalk is breaking OFT guidance. And, most importantly, if TalkTalk/the agency accepts that you are not liable for the debt, then remind TalkTalk, in writing, that they have defamed you by passing details of your debt onto a third party and that you have every intention of pursuing that through the courts.Hope all this helps…Olly

  3. Oh, and one final thing. If they have not pursued the debt for six years then, in most circumstances, they can no legally pursue it. Again, worth checking when the dates of the letters were.Olly

  4. No problem; that’s what being a former BBC consumer journalist teaches you!The reason you’ve suddenly heard from them is because TalkTalk sold the debt on. TalkTalk probably happy to write off the debt but they can make some money out of selling it to a company that will be far more aggressive in collecting the debt.Other thing to definitely do is submit a “subject access” request to each of the three credit reference agencies:http://www.thesite.org/homelawandmoney/money/creditanddebt/boostyourcreditratingThe are legally required to provide you with this information for £2 (ignore the marketing stuff they’ll try and upgrade you to). Make sure they’ve connected your current address to your previous address (they’ll usually do this automatically when you change your address at your bank etc). They’ll be able to provide details of any outstanding debts that are known about. It’s also worth doing this to ensure that this debt to TalkTalk doesn’t affect your credit worthiness.OllyOlly

  5. Thanks again Olly – have sent them the letter as suggested in the link blogged about. Didn’t contact Talk Talk as it’s obvious they have said what you done (sold the debt on) and therefore would just fob me off…Will give it a week or two and then check my credit rating as well – thanks again.

  6. Hi DK,Just wondered how you are getting on with this? My partner is currently in a similar situation except the letter he has received states that he hasn’t repsonded to a CCJ and therefore is being summonsed to court (this is a debt he didn’t even know he had). We are going to follow Olly’s steps above but just wondered how you are getting on? Thanks in advance, Carina

  7. Hey there Carina – sorry to hear your partner is in the same position – your comment reminded me to put a link on this post to the update of what I did (see above). I suggest you and others do the same (at the time of writing I’ve still yet to hear back from them).

  8. i have recieved a simular letter to yours. i recieved mine this morning reguarding an account with HFO CAPITAL LIMITED stating i owe £1063.08. the whole letter says :RE: HFO CAPITAL LIMITEDACCOUNT NUMBER: 92XXXXXX21TOTAL AMOUNT PAYABLE: £1063.08ROXBURGHE REFERENCE: 22XXXX83WE HAVE WRITTEN TO YOU PREVIOUSLY AND YOU HAVE FAILED TO RESOLVE THIS MATTER WITH US. AS A RESULT, YOUR FILE IS BEING REVIEWED TO DECIDE THE BEST COURSE OF ACTION TO TAKE.YOU NOW HAVE 72 HOURS FROM RECEIPT OF THIS NOTIFICATION TO MAKE PAYMENT.FAILURE TO DEAL WITH THIS MATTER WITHIN THE TIME GIVEN WILL RESULT IN ACTION BEING TAKEN WITHOUT FURTHER REFERENCE TO YOU. THIS MAY INVOLVE THE COMMENCEMENT OF LEGAL PROCEEDINGS WHERE COURT FEES, SOLICITOR’S COSTS AND STATUTORY INTEREST CAN BE ADDED THUS SUBSTANTIALLY INCREASING THE AMOUNT OWED.PLEASE NOTE THAT IN THE ABSENCE OF PAYMENT OR ANY VALID DISPUTE WE WILL PURSUE THIS MATTER- WITH OR WITHOUT YOUR CO-OPERATION.YOURS SINCERELYLAURA KINGMANDEBT RECOVERY MANAGERROXBURGHE (UK) LIMITEDi have tried researching these companies online and all i am finding is that they are one in the same company and thatn it is a scam. i dont know anyone to whom i owe a debt that high to, only people i can think of is a hp car i got with an ex-bf in 2004 with welcome car finance and i know i had no contact with welcome after june 2004, which is over 6 years ago now. i have no idea what to do about this company. can you help please. thanks

  9. Wow! So interesting. Also in dispute with Tiscali/Talk Talk. Not in the UK any longer so my family received the Roxburghe threat this week. Now I am angry.This is Mafia Tactics. I called Roxburghe this morning (at vast expense) and was asked to confirm my address and phone number. When I said I didn’t have either in the UK, the girl suddenly went quiet, then said ‘no worries’ and hung up. This is what aroused my suspicions and decided to do a Google search on them. What a can of worms!!! Passing it all on to my family too…

  10. The same is continuing to happen to me re an address I left 2 years ago. I cancelled with Tiscali, they came to collect the equipment and the bill was settled. Beginning of 2010 I begin to get calls from CARS. In the last couple of months this has clearly been passed onto Roxburghe. I am ignoring all calls and texts from this company as I just know what hard work it would be trying to covince them of my “innocence” (it was hard enough 2 years back trying to speak to the various idiots at Tiscali).Meanwhile though I am getting increasingly stressed by the whole thing. Any thoughts?

  11. Sorry to hear about your situation Victoria – please follow the ‘related posts’ links above to find more information on the situation – there you will find a letter to use (so you don’t have to create one yourself), information on how to make a complaint to Ofcom plus details about how Talk Talk are being investigated for this very reason… good luck!

  12. Hey people, i’m having same problem with Talktalk, I have been trying to cancel with them since July this year!!! Each time they say it’s cancelled and then I receive a bill for line rental on a line we’re not using!! I ring them back and they say it hasn’t been cancelled. This has happened about four times now. I then received a letter from Roxburghe yesterday saying I have to pay them or they will take the matter further with or without my co-operation!! I’m livid! I wouldn’t mind but it’s all their problem, I have done everything correctly according to their procedures! I feel like i’m being harrassed. I have a new born baby and having to keep ringing them about this is driving me mad! I literally don’t have time inbetween the new born cries!! I’m going to have a go at what has been said above. I know it was a while back but if anyone is still having problems with this please let me know!!

  13. This has worked for me and I would urge anyone who is in a similar situation to do the same.Tiscali (Talk Talk) had been chasing me for a debt that I didn’t owe. The “debt” had been passed on to two different debt collection agencies – Roxburghe being the latest – who were becoming increasingly forceful and venomous. Having read – on Gnat Gnat – that Ofcom were investigating Talk Talk, I called Ofcom to make a complaint. Although they wouldn’t look into individual cases they took all the details, gave me a reference number and told me there was a team at Talk Talk especially set up to look at these complaints. So I called Talk Talk (Ofcom will give you the special help line) and to their credit they have sorted it and have assured me I will not hear from them or the debt collectors ever again. A result! So please please do the same. The stress and upset that they cause innocent people is totally unacceptable. Good luck!

  14. MM – thanks for coming back and for the update. Brilliant news and result, would you be able to share the Talk Talk number here for others who find this page? Thanks…

  15. Further to my earlier posting, here’s the tel. no that Ofcom gave me for the Talk Talk team that’s been set up to look at this whole sorry saga 0800 5428 073Hope that helps someone out there!

  16. We’ve just had a letter about an outstanding Invoice with TalkTalk. The service we had with them was crap. The broadband kept breaking doen we had 3 talk talk engineers and 3 BT In Touch engineers and still they couldn’t solve it. We had £99.00 added to our TalkTalk invoice. That was the last straw. we stopped our DD and went over to BT. I wrote to TalkTalk and never got a reply we have numerous phone calls from their Billing Team – I’ve sent them a copy of our original letter and still jothing until today a letter from Roxburghe. I intend to write to Roxburghe Recorded Delivery and advise them that my time is as costly as their and that my initila charge for seeting up an Account is £100 and each letter In have to send will cost them £25.00 and each phone call I have with them will cost £15.00 At the end of this dispute they will get an Invoice for my time and costs in dealing with this and I will pursue them through the small claims court for my costs if I have to. Hopefully that will shut the bastards up.

  17. May I suggest that people with justified complaints ring up their Member of Parliament and arrange to see them. Take along all paperwork and any other correspondance. May I also suggest that you do everything in a way so that you have evidence to what you have received and sent. Dont get involved with text messages. Dont be intimidated but stand your ground. oh yes you will get all the threats, its the way they operate. When I went to school it was called bullying. SEE YOUR MP AND GET LEGISLATION ALTERED, for the present system with the OFT is not working. Good Luck, Dont Give In

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