3G (or 3) are in my opinion the most awful company and I dont know how they get away with it.

For the last 5 years Ive been hassled on and off for a bill I actually paid in 2003

Although they cashed the cheque they never credited off my account

Ive made 100s of call, sent 100s of letters, including my bank statements and copies of the actual cheque they cashed

Normally after 6 months they then accepted I paid the bill then after another year it starts up again

Yesterday I got a new request from Lowell over the same paid bill

Three should be fined for selling alleged debts that dont exist

The customer Services in India is a shambles and they didnt reply to emails at executive office

I wrote to the CEO yesterday and said that I would sue if this didnt stop.

SHAME ON 3 - THE GOVERMENT SHOULD CHANGE THE LAW SO COMPANIES LIKE 3 CANT REFER FALSE DEBTS

Hello everybody. It has been very interesting reading down through this thread.

My partner received a letter from Mackenzie Hall back in September of this year saying she owed them money. There was no indication in the letter what the alleged debt was for.

Mistakenly it now seems, my partner phoned Mackenzie Hall and was told it related to a Barclays account, and they claim to have acquired this alleged debt from Lowell Portfolio.

My partner did have an account with Barclays but it was closed 8 years ago. It was closed in person, in the local branch, with nothing outstanding. The current manager of the local Barclays branch confirmed that an account could not be closed unless it was all square and could find no trace of her on there system as a current or passed account holder. Also, the account reference in Mackenzie Hall's letter was not a valid Barclays account number. The manager at Barclays phoned Mackenzie Hall and spoke to them, they gave her another reference number which was also not a valid Barclays account number.

In the initial phone call to Mackenzie Hall, my partner told them that the account had been closed 8 years ago with nothing out standing and therefore she did not owe any money. Their person said it was up to her to send them proof that she didn't owe this money, my partner replied that they should send her proof that she did. Nothing has been forthcoming from them so far.

At the end of October another letter arrived demanding the money be paid by November 3rd.

My partner has now received a letter from the local Law Courts regarding an application for attachment of earnings and asking for details of her employment.

This is all getting very disconcerting, it is causing me loss of sleep and to be quite honest, I am downright annoyed by the whole thing.

My partner has been to see the CAB, in fact she has an appointment this Monday which I am also going to attend.

I would like to send Mackenzie Hall one of these "Prove it" letters. However they all seem to mention a request for a "Consumer Credit Agreement", is this relevant in this case? And would we need to send a £1 postal order?

Any advice or a more appropriate "Prove it" letter would be much appreciated.

Simon.

Simon -- The burden of proof that this debt exists lies firmly with M.H. you could send a copy of the "prove it" letter below to them by recorded delivery and see what they return, if anything.

If she gets a court summons or the court ask then defend it by attending with all correspondence denying any liability for this alleged debt. as M.H. will have to show proof beyond doubt that this is a valid debt, before the court would make an order in their favour. ---Do not let them work you into a state of worry, that is how they win..... by intimidation.!

PS -- No £1 payment is needed for this letter.

......................................

Name, address & Date.

Dear Sir/Madam

Account / ref no.

You have contacted me/us regarding the account with the above reference number, which you claim is owed by myself/ourselves.

I/we would point out that I/we have no knowledge of any such debt being owed to (insert company name).

I am/we are familiar with the Office of Fair Trading Debt Collection Guidance which states that it unfair to send demands for payment to an individual when it is uncertain that they are the debtor in question.

I/we would also point out that the OFT say under the Guidance that it is unfair to pursue third parties for payment when they are not liable. In not ceasing collection activity whilst investigating a reasonably queried or disputed debt you are using deceptive/and or unfair methods.

Furthermore ignoring and/or disregarding claims that debts have been settled or are disputed and continuing to make unjustified demands for payment amounts to physical/psychological harassment.

I/we would ask that no further contact be made concerning the above account unless you can provide evidence as to my/our liability for the debt in question.

I/we await your written confirmation that this matter is now closed. Otherwise I will have no option but to make a complaint to the trading standards department and consider informing the OFT of your actions.

I/we look forward to your reply.

Yours faithfully (Print name, don't sign)

If she is getting letters from the local court it would sound like Muck Hall have got a CCJ by default and without informing you. I would suggest that she checks her credit file ASAP to see what is on there. If this is the case then she will need to get it set aside. I would suggest she googles 'CAG debt action group forums legal issues' and posts the details on legal issues section as they have qualified legal people that help people like her overturn these under handed tactics. This is urgent!

Thanks Conmankiller and Tartan Army for the quick reponse. We will proceed with all haste.

Simon.

Simon,

Sorry to hear about you being buillied and mistreated like this. You are not alone, and the victims are fighting back!

If you write a letter add that you will be charging for your time to defend this outrageous situation- say £15 an hour

It costs £30 to action a small claims against them. you can claim these reasonable costs for your time and admin When you win your claim - which they 99% wont defened anyway - then you will get your £30 back too

The law should be changed to stop bullies like this - its an outrage that someone can put a debt collector onto you without the slightest bit of evidence of any debt! In the meantime people can get individual recomense via the small claims.and its not difficult to do, and the Judges are normally very sympathetic.

Hello Colin. Thanks for the suggestion but the letter has already gone off to them.

Simon.

Simon1958 are under way with the credit file checking?

Hello Tartan Army. Not yet, where would you suggest is the best place to check this?

Experien do a free 30 day trial for their online services. This really is urgent as if they have got a judgement by default that you don't know about then all those nasty things like bailiffs, charging orders, attachments of earnings etc can easily come true regardless of what letters you send them. Make this your number one priority.

Does the letter from the court state any ruling reference???

Thanks, I'll give Experien at go. As for the letter from the court, I don't have it with me (I'm at work). I recall it has a case number, I'm not sure if it has a ruling reference. I'll check when I get home.

Hello again Tartan Army. I've just been on the Experian site and I need some information from my partner in order to complete the process, so it may have to wait until I get home, unless I can contact her before then.

I cant believe the aggravation this company is causing people. Its a disgrace. I checked my credit report with Experian and I had absolutly no adverse credit history on there. I did however see that Lowell had done a credit reference check on me (on what basis I have no idea). I had previously told them I had no knowledge of the debt they claimed that I owed to HSBC but still they send me letter after letter. I cant stand them, they are the lowest of the low.

I am really impressed with all the advice on here, its good to know that there are people out there who care enough to be helpful to people without getting anything in return.

The key thing is not to be intimidated by these bullies.

Good luck with it.

OK Tartan Army.

I've done the business on the Experian website. However, it says that it will be two days before we get anything, something about having to do more checks on the information provided.

As for the letter from the courts. There is a Case Number and an AE Number but nothing about a ruling reference. It does say near the top of the page "Attachment of earnings proceedings have been issued ( and are in force ) against you in the above court." But as I say, nothing about a ruling reference.

What do you think?

Simon.

Simon -- What date does it give for the case.?..... It sounds like they have only applied for an AEO and the case has yet to be heard pending a successful court ruling in which MH hope an order would be made.

The paperwork you have been sent should have a defence form N9B to fill in if you dispute you owe this money, if not get one at your local court, fill it in and the particulars form enclosing copies of letters you are using in your defence, it is preferable to attend the hearing also in order you can let them know that MH have provided no proof whatsoever that your partner owes this money, that they have totally failed to comply with your reasonable request so far to produce any evidence......this will get the case thrown out, === Don't forget to ask the court for your costs incurred i.e. time off work and travel costs.

Note -- If you do not defend then a "judgement by default" will be issued against your partner, failing any defence or representation being made by your partner.

..........................

If you want to defend against the claim you should:

Return the 'Defence Form' N9B to the issuing court

Answer all the points raised ('allegations') in the particulars of claim

Make sure the court receives the form within 14 days (allowing at least two days for posting)

.............................

If your defence is complicated and you need more time to respond, you can fill in the 'Acknowledgment of Service Form' N9.

If you file an acknowledgment of service within 14 days, this will allow you an extra 14 days to complete the defence form.

If an order has already been made then an application for it to be "set aside" can be made, let us know. !