Legal notification - help please!!

[Mooley]

Hi, any help would be appreciated on what to do next.....

I was contacted by Buchanan Clark and Wells with regards to a debt to Aktiv Kapital First Investment Ltd. After reading various threads on the forum I decided to check out my credit files with the three main companies and found no defaults or mention of this debt. However there was a search on one by Buchanan Clark & Wells.

After receiving a 'Final Notice' from BC&W, I decided to send by recorded delivery, a standard CCA letter and the £1 postal order notifying them that I did not acknowledge the debt and that it was 'in dispute'. This was in mid February.

A couple of days later I received the postal order back and a letter advising me that BC&W did not hold credit agreements, as they were not the creditor and that they would ask Aktiv Capital to forward the documents directly to me.

Two weeks later I received a letter from BC&W giving various details of the alleged account (i.e. the creditor, contract start date, current balance, last known address) saying that it'd been defaulted in early 2000 and that I'd also breached the contract by not advising them of my change of address!!!! They also stipulated that Aktiv Kapital were the owners of the legal title of this account and that BC&W had been authorised to act for them.

Today, I received a legal notification from BC&W outlining that documents could be prepared to take me to court unless I pay now!

As yet I have still not received the information requested in the CCA letter i.e. true copy of original credit agreement, statement of account (this I suppose could be the information given in their third letter) and executed deed of assigment. I've also received nothing directly from Aktiv Capital. I still can't recall what the debt relates too.

So should I get in touch with Aktiv Capital directly and send them a CCA letter or was it fine to send it initially to BC&W, who were demanding payment?

Should I write to BC&W mentioning that the account is still 'in dispute' as I haven't received the three requests outlined in the CCA letter? Obviously their 12 days are up and the additional 30 are creeping by!!!

Just to add the last known address given by BC&W in relation to a debt is an old address and cannot be used when getting my current credit file as its older than 6 years. Do I have to search on this address even though I haven't lived there for 7 years??

All help would be well appreciated.... thanks

[lookinforinfo]

Mooley, the account that BCW searched on your credit file-have you paid
any money off it in the last six years, or acknowledged the debt in any way,
also within the last six years.
If not, I suggest you contact your local Trading Standards Office and complain
that they are threatening you with legal action for a statute barred debt.
And advise TS that you sent them a CCA request that they know has not been fulfilled yet they are still pursuing you.

PS After you have informed TS, write and tell BCW that you have contacted TS and they will reply on your behalf.. Do not mention anything about the debt-just give them the reference number on their
letter and be very brief. And do not mention the debt. [Yes I know I
have said that twice now]

[Mooley]

Thanks for the reply, no this is the first I've heard of it. Apparantly, its default date is early 2000 and I've never heard of or corresponded with Aktiv Kapital Investment Ltd.

[Mooley]

Bump

[sequenci]

Originally Posted by Mooley

Bump

take another look at lookinforinfo's post. all info you need is there.

it seems like it is statute barred (so long as there has been no county court judgment), this means that the money owing becomes frozen in time, it would also mean that it is unfair for these people to keep chasing you.

a bit more info can be found here:

National Debtline England & Wales | Debt Advice | Factsheet 25 Liability For Debts And The Limitation Act

[Mooley]

Thanks lookinforinfo and sequenci for your excellent advice.... will get straight to it.

[demonbiker]

I also have exactly the same letter from BCW and now passed to a solicitor who want s paying in 7 days or start legal proceedings!

Was going to call them and say the debt is ststute barred, i do not acknowledge the debt and i am contacting TS as this is harrassment!

[demonbiker]

Solicitor is called geoffrey parker bourne - all in lower case??? and the print type on letter is strangely the same font as BCW and layout the same??

Same people from a different angle??

[tiglet]

It's interesting that BCW have used the line that as you did not advise of change in address, you breached the contract. mackenzie Hall have tried the same tactic with me (although they said I'd committed a criminal offence) and when I spoke to TS about this, i was advised this seems to be a new tactic DCA's are using to get around the statute barred angle. He also told me it was a load of crap.

I'd definitely reprot them to TS.

[Jeff2000]

Hello everybody,


If the DCA knows that these debts are statute barred surely they wouldn't be stupid enough to start legal proceedings? Or would they?

It seems like they are trying it on to me. They are hoping that people are unaware of the law etc, and make some sort of payment.

Anyway don't you have to acknowledge the debt in writing? I'm sure I've seen this somewhere else on this site!

Cheers, Jeff.

[kennyparkroad]

subscribing

[TotallyWithoutPrejudice]

Hi Jeff,
Just had to reply to your comment about the DCA "not being stupid enough to start legal proceedings when they know it's statute barred" -Oh yes they are that stupid!
I've just been taken to court by one of the DCA' s mentioned on here, for a statute barred debt that was nearly 20K. It cost them £400 to issue the claim to us, we defended it, and they seem to have gone. The case was "stayed" by the court last week , so they will have to reply to our defence and apply to a judge to get the stay removed and move it on to our local court. Which of course they won't because they were trying to scare us witless. Which they did! But at least they are off our backs. (However, am still waiting for the credit reports to come through in case of any spiteful entries they may have added when they knew we we getting away....)
So yes, they really are that stupid, but it depends on whether they think the amount to be gained is worth the cost of issuing the claim.
Don't let them intimidate you - if we could do it, you can!

[Jeff2000]

Originally Posted by TotallyWithoutPrejudice

Hi Jeff,
Just had to reply to your comment about the DCA "not being stupid enough to start legal proceedings when they know it's statute barred" -Oh yes they are that stupid!
I've just been taken to court by one of the DCA' s mentioned on here, for a statute barred debt that was nearly 20K. It cost them £400 to issue the claim to us, we defended it, and they seem to have gone. The case was "stayed" by the court last week , so they will have to reply to our defence and apply to a judge to get the stay removed and move it on to our local court. Which of course they won't because they were trying to scare us witless. Which they did! But at least they are off our backs. (However, am still waiting for the credit reports to come through in case of any spiteful entries they may have added when they knew we we getting away....)
So yes, they really are that stupid, but it depends on whether they think the amount to be gained is worth the cost of issuing the claim.
Don't let them intimidate you - if we could do it, you can!

Hello TWP,


This does sound like they were trying to put the frighteners on you. Basically they were hoping you wouldn't defend, and therefore get a judgement by default! I don't think they had any intention of actually going ahead once you had defended!
But you never know!

Jeff.

[pmhcfc]

Originally Posted by TotallyWithoutPrejudice

Hi Jeff,
Just had to reply to your comment about the DCA "not being stupid enough to start legal proceedings when they know it's statute barred" -Oh yes they are that stupid!
I've just been taken to court by one of the DCA' s mentioned on here, for a statute barred debt that was nearly 20K. It cost them £400 to issue the claim to us, we defended it, and they seem to have gone. The case was "stayed" by the court last week , so they will have to reply to our defence and apply to a judge to get the stay removed and move it on to our local court. Which of course they won't because they were trying to scare us witless. Which they did! But at least they are off our backs. (However, am still waiting for the credit reports to come through in case of any spiteful entries they may have added when they knew we we getting away....)
So yes, they really are that stupid, but it depends on whether they think the amount to be gained is worth the cost of issuing the claim.
Don't let them intimidate you - if we could do it, you can!

Which DCA?? PM me if you dont want to post the answer