Getting a refund from Moorcroft?

[andychurchill]

We had a letter from Moorcroft recently regarding a catalogue debt. It was paid to Moorcroft, but after phoning the catalogue to close the account they had no record of any debt.

 

Any help on how to reclaim the money paid, and also fix any credit record problems that may have arisen from this?

 

Smartarse answers about how it should have been ignored or confirming debt before paying up etc will not be useful - you're preaching to the converted, this is query on behalf of someone with less strength of conviction and doesn't like this sort of thing, which is why I'm only getting involved at this late stage.

[inkslinger]

Id reckon you have as much chance prying that out of their fingers as I do turning lead to gold. Id think you can write until your blue in the face, but without going to court they are going to dig their heels in. Im not saying it cant be done, just your going to have to be very prepared for a big fight to get it back.

[FORMISTER]

Bit more back ground would be of use. I take they used to have a catelogue? And were they aware if any old debt was outstanding on it? Also was this payment made to Moorcroft under duress?

[FORMISTER]

They are not allowed to make you pay money under duress, so if this was the case then you have a claim. How did they contact this person, letter, phone calls and what was the manner of the contact, agressive? threatening?

[andychurchill]

I'd be surprised if any/much duress was needed. There was a letter, she phoned them back to find out more. She assumed the debt was valid as she did have an account with the catalogue in question at one point, so she paid it there and then, because she's not in the habit of ignoring debt collection threats. She has now phoned the catalogue to close the account, and who has told her there was no debt, and the account has been inactive for years, and couldn't send her a statement because she hadn't ordered anything.

 

So, I think I'm going to have to write to Moorcroft explaining the problem, but I expect I'll have to do all the ground work in investigating it before they'll refund the money. Which will mean writing to the catalogue and requesting information under DPA laws, and probably request information from Moorcroft to find out where they obtained the debt from, etc?

[FORMISTER]

Yep, im afraid there is no over night solution to this. Did Moorcroft say that they had bought the debt or they were acting for someone else?

[andychurchill]

It wouldn't have been brought up specifically, it would have just been "on behalf of", or words similar to that. This is part of the nformation that I will need to request from Moorcroft if I'm to be successful in chasing this up.

[ScarletPimpernel]

I think that what's needed here is a very straightforward letter to Moorcroft, setting out the facts - that the person concerned took what they said at face value, but has since discovered that in fact no debt was owed, that in the circumstances they expect Moorcroft to repay the amount within 7 days. Before that, though, I'd write to the catalogue company asking them to confirm that no money was owed, because Moorcroft will find it very difficult to deny such evidence.

 

If they fail to respond satisfactorily, send another letter, this time headed Letter Before Action, again setting out the facts, and making clear that failure to repay/adjust CRA files will result in a court claim.

[andychurchill]

Update: Was relatively pain free in the end, at least it appears to have been as we've not gotten the money back yet, but have got the debt struck off. Having phoned the catalogue (Simply Yours) in question again to request printed proof of the account balance and lack of debt, the person I spoke to this time investigated and was able to confirm there WAS an outstanding amount, which was why it had been passed to Moorcroft. They weren't able to tell me much other than that, so I got put through to another department at JD Williams, the parent company, who was able to give me a bit more information. Eventually after further probing it began to look like the item had been ordered and delivered to an address we would not have been leaving at the time, but she seemed reluctant to confirm over the phone until I'd sent proof.

 

So I managed to get a copy of our tenancy agreement from the house that we'd moved to, showing the date we'd moved in, and faxed that off to the investigations team at JD Williams. A week and a half later, we've just received confirmation that the account will be amended, and that credit files will be amended accordingly. apologising for any inconvenience or upset caused.

 

My fiancee had never actually ordered anything from that catalogue herself, except requesting a catalogue itself, before deciding they were too pricey, but subsequent seasonal catalogues that they send out would have been sent to the old address. It's a bit surprising that this was even possible, but also makes me wonder what else is on her (and my) credit files that have been due to fraudulent activities since we've moved.

 

Apart from the original refund request from JD Williams (I got confirmation from both parties that Moorcroft were only working on their behalf, JD Williams still owned the debt), I wasn't planning to do anything in terms of compensation, but having seen the phone charges that have mounted up in chasing and confirming the problem, it's probably worth me requesting these charges back. Despite Moorcroft's heavy handed approach ("are you going to pay?" and so on) it's not really their fault that my fiancee paid them before actually disputing the debt, so I don't think I'll bother with them. I do wonder if it's worth me claiming compensation for the hassle and stress that has been caused by JD williams allowing someone to purchase something in my fiancee's name so easily, though?

[PGH7447]

put all your expenditures down in date time form and send it to the OC and aks for these to be refunded due to their error