Debt???!?!?!?

Today, I received possibly the worst (and most surprising) letter of my life. Let me start from the beginning.


In October, my %26quot;friend%26quot; decided to get a pay-monthly phone on o2. However, she was living in a hostel at the time and was waiting for a permanent place to come up. As a result, she failed an in-store credit rating. She asked me if I could put myself as the contract holder, and she would still pay for the bill. I agreed seeing as it wasn%26#039;t my problem, right?


Then, a couple of months later, a place finally came up for her and she moved in. I phoned o2 and asked them to change the mailing address to her new one and to cancel the money coming out of my accound (she would give me the money back every time). All was well.


However, this morning I have received a letter from %26quot;Moorcroft Debt Recovery%26quot; claiming that I have £577.47 to pay before the 26th of this month, otherwise they are going to take me to court.


1) Why are they sending this to my address when I changed the address

Debt???!?!?!?
debt collectors are not understanding or sympathetic. they are only interested in retrieving that money.


there is no proof that the phone bill was for ur friend during those times. she has obviously not been paying the bills and has changed the bill back into ur name or something.





my ex got me into a lot of debt bcos of a similar thing with a phone contract. i had to pay up the money or i was going to be arrested. no matter how much i pleaded with them they said i had to pay it. i hope u sort things out :(
Reply:the bottom line is %26quot;you%26quot; took out the phone and just gave it to her. the phones in your names. Giving them your friends address means nothing, you could have moved and they just changed it. talk to them about the situation but it sounds like they have the right person, your friend just stop paying the bill and the money is out standing, be very carefull on this one they are not the niceist of companies to deal with.
Reply:Register with them AND O2 that you dispute this debt. They have to stop all debt recovery action at that point. Write a letter to O2 explaining the situation and copy the debt collection agency in on it.





Don%26#039;t let them intimidate you. once you have registered a dispute they MUST stop recovery action (under new consumer protection law). Go to your local C.A.B. and tell them whats happening.
Reply:A friend of mine had the same experience, but they left the country and somehow Moorcroft found her. She spoke directly with O2 and they told her that the debt was passed on but they waved the fees and told her to pay the original outstanding balance as she hadn%26#039;t been notified of the debt for TWO years. Speak with O2 as I doubt you will ever get through to Moorcroft.
Reply:Can I suggest that you contact the CAB for advice (I am presuming that you are in the UK)? It all sounds very odd. One thing I would say is that it is usual to cancel standing orders or direct debits in writing. Only then do you have the proof that you need.





I do hope that you manage to sort things out.
Reply:Moorcroft actually approached me asking for a ridiculous amount for an unpaid utility bill and had their facts completely wrong.


Phone them and tell them the situation.


They%26#039;ve messed up again by the sounds of it.
Reply:Unfortunately the debt is in your name and wether your friend agreed to be responsible for the bill or not I think LEGALLY YOU are responsible.


Its a hard lesson to learn. They will not write the debt off, you will have to work out a payment plan I think.
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Try them out and good luck
Reply:Because you signed the contract and it is in your name the debt is your responsilbility.


Not what you want to hear but I am afraid it looks like you will have to pay this debt.
Reply:You allowed a friend to take advantage of you through allowing them to use your credit and they screwed you. Learn from this and never allow this to happen again. Good luck.
Reply:If you signed the contract, %26quot;YOU are liable for the outstanding debt. Sounds like your %26quot;mate%26quot; has done the dirty on you. You need to get in touch with this company pronto %26amp; explain.
Reply:This seems weird. If its a by monthlty plan or %26quot;pay as you go%26quot; then how could she have racked up a bill like that? And you dont need a credit check to get a prepaid phone either. Also, if the bill was coming out of your account everymonth, why would she owe them any money?? You need to make sure this is really from the phone company and not for something else. Also, as long as the contract was in your name, you owe it. It doesnt matter who used the phone. Sorry to tell you the bad news. There is no way you can legally make your friend pay up if the contract was in your name.
Reply:I am sorry but if you signed the contract (check that) then you are bound by the conditions and minimum term. You can obvioulsy recover the money from your %26quot;friend%26quot; if that is possible.





The only other option would be to suggest that the contract was missold in some way but that doesnt seem indicated





Moorcroft have presumably contacted you at the most address they could find you.





Once you have satisfid your self that the bill is the one you signed for and the amount is contractually correct then the best course would be to make an weekly/monthly offer you can afford to pay
Reply:tell them what you have just told us and be firm with them don%26#039;t let them talk over you keep on telling them that you are not paying and are not liable for this debt .Make an appointment with Citizens Advice who will advise you and also they won,t take you to court as it will cost them too much to do so but even if they do the court would find in your favour anyhow do not be bullied by debt collectors there are laws protecting you get advice from the Citizen advice center