When MIL were contacted by telephone to inform them of a change of address, MIL's operative became aggressive and provided false information regarding the court process, trying to imply that bailiffs would call round even before a court claim was filed.
MIL defended the complaint on the grounds the information was given in good faith. However the CSA ruled that the agent should not have answered the questions raised and should have made it clear at the start of the call he could not offer legal advice, and pointed the caller to free advice sources.
MIL stated that the essence of what was said was not oppressive or misleading. However the CSA ruled the agent was not following best practice and their comments could be construed as threatening in nature. The CSA therefore upheld this part of the complaint.
Prankster Notes
Best advice when contacting MIL Collections or any other debt collector by phone is therefore;
1) Don't. Avoid the phone if possible because you can be subject to bullying and false information
2) If you have to call, record the call. Although you may not be able to play this to a 3rd party, you can make a transcript
3) If they are rude, aggressive or give you false information, make a complaint to the Credit Services association
The CSA code of practice and complaints process can be downloaded from their web site.
http://www.csa-uk.com/
Happy Parking
The Parking Prankster
Any redress for the complainant or will the CSA simply give them a ticking off and nothing more?
ReplyDeletethe telephone representative will be sent for "training"
Delete"the information was given in good faith". Just shows how badly trained these "operatives" are. Or perhaps they have been deliberately told to say that.
ReplyDelete"the information was given in... ven in... ven in... ven in... " Oh look, this operative still works off a gramophone record!
ReplyDelete