6 Jul 2013 18:40

Are you being hounded by your bank or any other type of lender or their debt collectors?

If like thousands of others you are experiencing this, a recent court judgment against the Bank of Scotland will be music to your ears.

The court therefore determined that the Bank of Scotland’s actions, in making or attempting to make over 500 telephone calls to a customer about her overdraft, amounted to harassment.

As a result, the Bank was ordered to pay the customer £7,500 in damages.

Here’s what to do if you’re being hounded:

1. You need to collect some evidence: make a note of every call or visit to your home that you get, including details of the time, date and who you spoke to.

2. Have they crossed the line?: There is no clear guidance on how far a lender or debt collection company can go when chasing you for money.

However, if they make repeated phone calls to you or repeated visits (meaning more than 4/5 times per week), call or visit you at work or call or visit you late at night this will almost certainly cross the line into being classed as harassment.

3. Complain to the company hounding you: Write to them and say that their level of chasing the debt amounts to harassment. Tell them that you have a record of each time they have chased you and that if it does not stop you will report them to the Police for harassment and/or to the Financial Ombudsman or The Office of Fair Trading in the case of a debt collection company.

4. If it’s a bank: All banks, building societies and credit card providers have signed up to “The Lending Code”. Under this Code, organisations are supposed to act sympathetically and positively towards customers who are experiencing financial difficulties. In your letter of complaint tell them that i) you are being harassed and that you have a clear log of each time you have been chased 2) that you believe that they are breaching the Lending Code and 3) that if they do not stop you will claim compensation.

5. Taking your complaint further: If you get nowhere complaining to your creditor, complain to a professional body. This could be a trade association your debt collector belongs to, or if it’s a financial firm, the free Financial Ombudsman Service, which can arbitrate.