Dear Sir/Madam
Account No:
You have contacted us about the account with the above reference number, which you claim we owe.
We have no knowledge of any such debt being owed to .
We are familiar with the Financial Conduct Authority's (FCA) Consumer Credit sourcebook which states the following.
"A firm must not ignore or disregard a customer's claim that a debt has been settled or is disputed and must not continue to make demands for payment without providing clear justification and/or evidence as to why the customer's claim is not valid." 7.5.3
"A firm must suspend any steps it takes or its agent takes in the recovery of a debt from a customer where the customer disputes the debt on valid grounds or what may be valid grounds." 7.14.1
"Where a customer disputes a debt on valid grounds or what may be valid grounds, the firm must investigate the dispute and provide details of the debt to the customer in a timely manner." 7.14.3
If you do not stop collection activity whilst investigating our dispute, you are breaking the FCA's rules and guidance.
Also, ignoring claims that debts have been settled or are disputed and continuing to make unjustified demands for payment is harassment.
Please do not make any further contact about the above accounts unless you can provide evidence of our liability for the debt.
We await your written confirmation that this matter is now closed. Otherwise we will have no option but to complain to our local trading standards service and consider informing the FCA of your actions.
We look forward to hearing from you.
Yours faithfully