Harassment from banks

[hammerman]

We've been pretty damn skint lately and let our Halifax credit card payments slip a bit....we haven't made a payment for 2 months.

We only owe �600 but we've been getting constant phone calls from Halifax...starting at 8am and continuing until 9pm....we're getting up to 10 calls a day.

We don't bother answering them any more as we know the drill etc but when does this become harassment ?

We're all up for school and work early and have to go to bed early but these calls keep waking us up.

I've paid �100 today so that'll keep the wolves from the door for a while but these phone calls are getting beyond a joke.

Any suggestions ?

[tigwig]

the worst thing you can do is ignore them. Unfortunately they won't go away and things will get worse. Speak to them and tell them your situation, can you not even afford your minimum payment? Are you paying interest? If you are either get them to freeze it or try and switch to a new card with no interest. The best thing to do with anything like this is to keep them informed they will try and help if they can

[factor-fiction]

Have you considered answering the phone and speaking to them about the situation. Explain the situation and agree a repayment schedule.
I'm sure you'd pester them if they you owed you �500 and seemed reluctant to pay.

[goldenoldie]

I agree you should answer them, but they are not allowed to harass you - I'd tell them that late evening phone calls are not acceptable. They also take very little notice of anything you say, as far as my experience goes. Before I actually went bankrupt, I was trying to negotiate a lower repayment schedule with my creditors. It wasn't that they refused - they simply ignored me and made the same phone call the next day. In an odd way, it's a relief just to tell them 'I'm bankrupt'. (Not that I'd recommend it!)

[kujawski]

if i where you i'd answer the call, then start talking to them in a foreign voice, to confuse them , and do the same when they call again,

[kujawski]

in the manner

"hallo, wat you say, i do not understand!"
say again
no sorry repeat again
no sorry

[factor-fiction]

When they ring ask them for their password/mother's maiden name, 2nd digit of security code etc

[sandmaster]

Don't ignore the calls. Protect your credit rating if possible. Make the min payment each month - you can always make a small purchase with the card to get some of the payment back if you cannot afford it any particular month. But don't forget the interest rate is very high - and avoid cash withdrawals. If you can transfer to an interest free card and pay off as much as possible by the time the int free term expires. If you have kept payments up to date you should then be able to transfer to yet another int free card. It is surprising how little your balance reduces when interest is added!!