Not upheld: Debt collection practices complaint against BPO Collections Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mr M complained that BPO Collections Limited harassed him about a statute barred debt relating to a laptop credit agreement originally with company P, which was sold to company J and then assigned to BPO for collection. Mr M also alleged GDPR breaches, including when BPO requested identification for a Data Subject Access Request. The ombudsman found BPO acted fairly in locating and contacting Mr M, did not breach GDPR, and noted that only a court can determine if the debt is statute barred or if harassment occurred. BPO's apology and agreement to return the debt to J was considered a fair resolution.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman could not legally determine if the debt was statute barred or if harassment occurred, as only a court can decide these matters. Instead, the ombudsman assessed whether BPO handled matters fairly. The ombudsman found BPO acted in good faith: the tracing was not done incorrectly, BPO were instructed by J to collect the debt, Mr M did not dispute the debt was his, and identification processes for DSAR are sensible practice. The ombudsman was satisfied BPO acted fairly throughout.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website