Debt Collection
Many people are not aware of the fact that, the Office of Fair Trading publishes Debt Collection Guidelines on their website, that sets out the type of behaviour that the OFT considers fall within the category of unfair business practices.
Many residents have been threatened by debt collection agencies that have been appointed by their property management company to chase debts that either do not exist or are due to residents disputing the debt.
In the event that a resident does dispute a debt due to with holding payment, ensure that you put in writing:
That you are not with holding payment but the amount is in dispute and then quote the guideline:-
“not pursue debts where it has been notified in writing that the debt is disputed until the dispute has been properly investigated”
We recommend that residents who have been threatened or harassed by a debt collection agency, read through the OFT Debt Collection Guidelines as per the following web link to check for any potential breaches:
http://www.oft.gov.uk/shared_oft/business_leaflets/consumer_credit/oft664.pdf
