Hi

After 6 months of correspondence with DLA on behalf of Abbey, all went quiet while they took their clients further instructions. Their last letter to me was dated 31/01/01. Today I have received a bog standard letter from them demanding completion of the I & E form addressed to me at work. I have no intention of completing the form and have a copy of the same letter they sent to me last year so I'm not unduly worried - they still haven't been able to provide me with any documents to back up their claim. My question is, am I within my rights to take this as harrassment and reply to them as such? I will refer them to my last (very detailed) letter back in January but dont want them to contact me again at work.

Thanks

-- Joanna Berry (foxwood60@aol.com), September 06, 2001

Answers

What you can do is write back to DLA acknowledging receipt of their letter and asking them to correspond with you at your home address and not at work.

If they continue to write to you at work then you could call this harrassment, especially if the letter is not marked private and confidential.

You can refer to previous correspondence with them, don't forget the reference on their letters, and if you like , ask them why they have decided to write to you at work.

Its important that you reply to all their letters, even if it is only an acknowledgement, because if you don't reply to letters sent to your home, they will try the next available address they have - your work.

Good luck.

-- pendle (pendle_666@yahoo.co.uk), September 06, 2001.

I'm assuming the previous correspondence went to your home?

A. IF so, then just this single letter counts as harassment; they know where you live, and have no right to harass you at work. end of story.

or B. IF you've been corresponding so far from at work, then its not harassment (IMHO), they are entitled to ask, provided they are polite, for you to complete a form. Equally, you are equally entitled, politely, to say no. They've got no legal right to the information they are asking for, you've got EVERY legal right for the information you are asking for.

If you fall into category B my advice, for what its worth, is to write back declining and refer them to your earlier letter, to which you are still awaiting a response.

-- (bluemoon@mcfc.co.uk), September 06, 2001.

Thanks for your responses.

I have politely answered every letter sent to me at home so what I dont understand is why, after 8 months of no contact they now write to me at work.

Sould I respond and ask them, explaining that I see this as harassment? Should I ignore this letter - after all there's no guarantee that I would get a letter sent to me at work? Are they just trying to scare me or find out if I'm still working at the same place?

Thanks

-- Joanna Berry (foxwood60@aol.com), September 06, 2001.

Hi Joanna,

IMHO it's a psychology trick. The time (8 Months) between letters is to lead you to believe, even if it's only in the back of your mind, that they have given up the chase, only to be sent another letter which you were not expecting. This is designed to wear you down into making an offer.

They are also letting you know (in a roundabout sort of way)that they know where you work.They will, of course, definately know where you work if you answer the letter.

If you do reply, make sure you ask them to explain fully, why it has taken them 8 Months to reply to your last letter, immediately followed with a request for them to explain why they still havn't dealt with any of the issues/queries in your last letter after having 8 Months to think about it.

As for harassment, sorry, don't have a clue, but previous answers seem very plausable to me.

Best of luck

Stephen.

-- (stephen.pooley@ntlworld.com), September 06, 2001.

I suggest you answer the letter, it makes no difference that they'll know where you work - they know already because they sent the letter. Ignoring the letter will only prompt them to write again to your work and you can't run the risk of your employer finding out what your business is.

If I were you I wouldn't mention harrassment at the moment. Keep your letter simple and polite. If DLA carry on writing to you at work, then you can play the harrassment card.

As for the delay in writing to you, who knows? My guess is that like most solicitors chasing shortfalls, they think that you'll give in immediately, but you didn't and they had to go back for instructions from their clients. So your lender decided to leave it for a while, and your file has gone back to DLA and they're treating you like a new victim rather than realising that you've been down this road before. As already advised, do ask for a reply to your previous letter.

-- pendle (pendle_666@yahoo.co.uk), September 06, 2001.