3G Debt collectors

Darksaga87

Hi, In the past few months I have been battling 3g. I called them about the time my 12 month contract was up, to cancel it and finish with it.
They said no problem. I thought that was it sorted, Until I got another bill for the month that had past, post cancellation They continued to call, and i continued to inform them, that I had canceledit, and am not going to pay it.
They called every day for some time, i answered the odd time to tell them again it would not be paid.

Now I have a debt collector banging on my door for like €60. I really dont want to pay them, plus if I pay it, there is a good chance they will just continue to bill me for every month. Even after they sent me mail saying that until I paid it i would be cut (not that I care, i havent used the service in about 9 months) They still bill me. so as i originallyd owed them €20, now the months have gone by and they want about €60.

Is there anything I can do?

Thank you.

Brady

Hey,

sounds like a right pain in the arshe, personally i would ring up the cust services dept and ask to speak to accounts then ask to speak to the operators manager and explain the situation ASAP.

Explain that you have already contacted them on several ocasions to cancel your contract, and now they are bordering on harrasment for a problem which is clearly not your fault as it appears to be a clerical error on thier behalf. ALTHOUGH.....Just a heads up, most phone companys (small print) require contract cancellation in writing so they might hit you with that one.

Also If they havent already its likley they might add your details to a Bad debitors list which may effect you in the future for anything that requires a credit check i.e. bank loan, morgage, hire purchase buys such as Cars, TVS etc...

so to be honest id say its in your best intrest to get this sorted ASAP


hope this helps

Elessar

Brady wrote: »

Also If they havent already its likley they might add your details to a Bad debitors list which may effect you in the future for anything that requires a credit check i.e. bank loan, morgage, hire purchase buys such as Cars, TVS etc...

so to be honest id say its in your best intrest to get this sorted ASAP


hope this helps

They will do no such thing. We get threads on debt collectors all the time on this forum. The only people who can affect your credit rating are financial institutions. Telecoms operators and debt collectors are not financial institutions.

OP, ignore the debt collectors. They can't do jack sh*t. If you cancelled your contract after the 12 months like you said, you owe them nothing. It might help to send a registered letter explaining that you cancelled the contract already, state the date and time you called. IIRC, after a contract is up, they cannot put you into another one without your permission.

So just ignore them, they will go away. Don't worry about debt collectors, they are just gangsters who bully and intimidate people into paying money. They have absolutely no legal powers. Ignore them too, and they will go away.

Darksaga87

Have they not got the power to bring the case to a court?

Elessar

Darksaga87 wrote: »

Have they not got the power to bring the case to a court?

Of course they do, just like any joe soap on the street. But for a €60 debt, you can be sure they are not going to fork out the thousands of euro in legal proceedings and months waiting for a court date.

Darksaga87

Ill give them a call as "Brady" recomended, If that goes ok, well and good, If not...well fudge em.

Brady

You could call into one of the stores might be a better idea, get them to do all the ringing around??

Darksaga87 wrote: »

Ill give them a call as "Brady" recomended, If that goes ok, well and good, If not...well fudge em.

RangeR

The only "power" the debt collectors have is that of "aggression". They will try their best to "convince" you to hand over the money but they have no legal powers over you.

However, if they call to your door with the county sheriff or police, you must stand aside or they will take you too

dudara

You said that you called 3G around the time your contract was up. Did you hand them sufficient notice (it's usually 30 days)?

smilingeyerish

just to let you know about my knowledge of what has happened. i worked for a for a mobile phone network provider. after awhile of you not paying your bill the provider actually sells your debt to the debt collector so it is not in the providers hands anymore. so not too much point ringing 3g maybe just try ignore the debt collector, im not really familiar with how they work though...

jor el

Is this 3G, the shop that sells telecoms products and computer equipment, or Three, the mobile phone and midband operator, that we're talking about? They're two completely separate companies.

If you didn't owe them anything at the time of canceling, then you can safely ignore the debt collectors. If you did owe them something, then you'd have to pay that, and possible penalties for late payment. Check your records to see what's what.

In either case, you can ignore the debt collector as you don't owe them squat, and if they are actually banging on your door, then report it to the Gardai as harassment.

kittenkiller

Hi OP,

Right, you need to get onto 3G and have them resolve the issue from their end.
Ask to speak to the manager, don't get off the line until you do.
Don't accept the offer to get the manager to call you back, stay on the line.

Once they have checked their records and logs they'll see that the balance on your account is an error and they will need to credit it off.
Once this has been established insist on a written letter of confirmation to be sent to you.
To finalize, ask them to contact the debt collectors and have your details removed.
It's highly unlikely that they will have registered your details with the credit bureau at this stage and for such a small amount, but ask that a confirmation letter is also sent from them just for you to have on file.

RangeR

kittenkiller wrote: »

Hi OP,

Right, you need to get onto 3G and have them resolve the issue from their end.
Ask to speak to the manager, don't get off the line until you do.
Don't accept the offer to get the manager to call you back, stay on the line.

Once they have checked their records and logs they'll see that the balance on your account is an error and they will need to credit it off.
Once this has been established insist on a written letter of confirmation to be sent to you.
To finalize, ask them to contact the debt collectors and have your details removed.
It's highly unlikely that they will have registered your details with the credit bureau at this stage and for such a small amount, but ask that a confirmation letter is also sent from them just for you to have on file.

You may also need to be a little forceful as you MAY find that £ will tell you that it's been a mistake and will be rectified, only to find "your door still getting knocked on". You may have to threaten some form of legal action if it's not sorted soon.

• Write formal letter of complaint, detailing the facts. Don't get emotional in the letter.
• Send the formal letter of complaint by registered post to their head office.
• Wait for 10 business days [2 weeks to you and me]
• If no response, initiate proceedings as you choose [probably Small claims court, although I'm not sure in this case]

BnA

Screw them.

I made the mistake once of being intimidated by debt collectors. A TV Rental company claimed I owed them about 50 quid at the time which I didn't. A few months later a Debt company rang me giving me bull smap about how a local rep would call to my door if I didn't pay and it would be embarrassing etc etc. I was on Summer holidays from College and at home with teh Parents and didn't want someone calling to teh door, so like a fool I paid them the 50 quid than I didn't even owe in the first place.

Now that I am older and wiser, if the same thing happened, I would tell them to kindly, take their threats and place them up their..... well you know where I am going with it.

As a few more people said, don't be intimidated by twats like them. If they call to your door again, tell them to Fupp off. If they call again after that, ring the Gardai. They won't be long telling them where to go.

Darksaga87

I rang them today, they said they had no record of me asking to cancel contract or pay 30 day cacleation fee, so i said ill pay it today but i am not going to pay the outstanding balance as i was uner the impression that it was cancled, as i was told on the phone.

Going from what you have said here, any debt I have is with 3, not the debt collectors? So i can tell them to feck off back to their mob hide out.

To be honest I may end up paying the balance just to get rid of them. (to 3 not the collectors)

jor el

Darksaga87 wrote: »

I rang them today, they said they had no record of me asking to cancel contract or pay 30 day cacleation fee, so i said ill pay it today but i am not going to pay the outstanding balance as i was uner the impression that it was cancled, as i was told on the phone.

All cancellation requests should be put in writing, regardless of what they say on the phone, or you should request written confirmation. If you know the exact date and time of the call, you could get Three to look up the recording (if one exists). You should be able to find out from your call history when it was made.

Darksaga87 wrote: »

Going from what you have said here, any debt I have is with 3, not the debt collectors? So i can tell them to feck off back to their mob hide out.

Yes, your debt (if one exists) is with Three.

Darksaga87 wrote: »

To be honest I may end up paying the balance just to get rid of them. (to 3 not the collectors)

If you can't prove, or Three don't accept, that you canceled when you did, then you may have to.

ArseBurger

Elessar wrote: »

Of course they do, just like any joe soap on the street. But for a €60 debt, you can be sure they are not going to fork out the thousands of euro in legal proceedings and months waiting for a court date.

Have you ever been to court? Every day there are cases brought by debt collection agencies. Most have representatives there and they run through their list. They'll take you to court for any and all money on their books. Simple as that.

My advice to the OP is to use the medium of print. Just because you called means nothing unless you have it in writing. You should converse with them over the phone and then send a letter referencing your conversation. Carbon copy the regulator and the CEO of the company you are dealing with on your correspondence and register your post.

It might seem like a pain in the hole, but unless you have documented proof - there isn't much you can do legally. People these days rely too much on phone calls and a quick chat over issues like this. Without any proof - you may as well have just ignored the bill. Trust me, the operator will have proof that you owe them should it ever come to court.

Also, note that email is considered a legal document and form of communication in Ireland.

slimjimmc

RangeR wrote: »

The only "power" the debt collectors have is that of "aggression". They will try their best to "convince" you to hand over the money but they have no legal powers over you.

However, if they call to your door with the county sheriff or police, you must stand aside or they will take you too

AFAIK:
*Sherrif can't enter or seize goods without a warrant.
*Gardaí can't enter or seize goods without a warrant which I don't think they can get unless a crime has been or is likely to be committed.
*Debt collectors can't enter or seize goods at anytime even in the presense of the other guys. The Sherrif would do the seizing and hand the loot over to them off your premises.
*Anyone can enter and seize goods if you invite them to do so, i.e. give permission.

I doubt they'd do all this for a disputed €60 debt, but I hope you don't find out if they do.

RangeR

slimjimmc wrote: »

AFAIK:
*Sherrif can't enter or seize goods without a warrant.
*Gardaí can't enter or seize goods without a warrant which I don't think they can get unless a crime has been or is likely to be committed.
*Debt collectors can't enter or seize goods at anytime even in the presense of the other guys. The Sherrif would do the seizing and hand the loot over to them off your premises.
*Anyone can enter and seize goods if you invite them to do so, i.e. give permission.

I doubt they'd do all this for a disputed €60 debt, but I hope you don't find out if they do.

I feel you are nit picking. If the sherrif calls to the door, you can bet he has a warrant. He wouldn't bother calling without one.

Elessar

ArseBurger wrote: »

Have you ever been to court? Every day there are cases brought by debt collection agencies. Most have representatives there and they run through their list. They'll take you to court for any and all money on their books. Simple as that.

Show me what proof you have that a €60 debt will land you in court.

Darksaga87

If they cant bring ya to court to reclaim cost's, short of hold you by the ankles and shaking you, what else could they do beside issue a court summons.

If they call to the door and you tell them to shag off, there must be a plan B.

I doubt they will walk away: "Well... he told us.."

slimjimmc

RangeR wrote: »

I feel you are nit picking. If the sherrif calls to the door, you can bet he has a warrant. He wouldn't bother calling without one.

Not nit picking at all. You're right about the Sherriff bit but you also said "or police", clearly indicating that all a debt collector has to do is turn up with a Garda and you can't deny them entry.
I merely added a bit of clarification since some people may be unaware that even Gardaí can't enter under these circumstances unless invited or there's a warrant allowing them to do so. They can of course assist a sherriff to keep the peace and ensure the execution of lawful order but that's about it afaik.

ShooterSF

If you have a garden of any form could you put in writing your decision to revoke a bare license (the right to walk up your garden to your door without being considered trespassing, i think) and send it to the debt collectors?