Please help me help my son

PAnsell · 28th March 2007, 10:47

Hi my son has a debt of £1200 with link that does nto show up on his credit file from experian. They have a number of times been very rude over the phone as we explain that he (my son) lives in overseas now. The debt is well over 6 years old more like 10 years since he stopped paying it. They are still chasing. I am retired and he (my son) deosnt have the money to pay this debt. If I use the template PDF offering part payment in F&F what should I offer. He is moving back to the UK to look after me and my wife who is hospitalised woth cancer and I would like to do this for him.

Do I need to do it if its not on his credit file?

Can't they still reissue a default or a CCJ?

What if he or I just ignore it what are they likley to do?

If I offer part payment and the refuse is it going to promt them into even more dedicated "hunting"

He is a wonderfully caring person and desevers a clean slate when he returns but between us we dont have the full money.

Please please help us....

Thanks you very much for your time.

Mr Ansell

PriorityOne · 28th March 2007, 11:15

First of all, I am very sorry to read of your wife's illness... this must be a very difficult time for you all and my heart goes out to you.

The debt that you describe sounds like it is statute-barred. This means that if no written contact has been made in relation to the account.... 6 years from the last contact... then it cannot be pursued now.

The only exception to this is where there is a CCJ is on the account, but since there is nothing on your son's Experian record, it sounds unlikely.

There are 2 other Credit Reference Agencies however.... Equidebt and Call Credit.... so you may want to check these out as well, if there are any doubts as to whether a CCJ applies or not.

If you are sure that no contact has been made and there is no CCJ, then click on the link below and scroll down to Letter M. Send this by rec. dellivery and keep the receipt.

Creditors and DCAs - Letter Templates & Budget Planner

Do not have any more dealings with these people over the 'phone.... as they tend to come out with all kinds of bowlarks that have no legal standing. There is another letter you can send about this and I will post the link on here shortly... if no-one does so in the meantime.

PriorityOne · 28th March 2007, 11:18

Harassment by telephone - response letter

Adapt this letter to your needs and post by rec. delivery as well. They should not be contacting you about your son's debt in the first place and you can report them for this. There are data protection issues here as well as harrassment.

mollywobbles · 28th March 2007, 11:20

Mr Ansell,

I notice this is your first post - welcome to this amazing site. I am a relatively new poster, but I will try to help as best I can. I'm sure you will receive other replies from more experienced posters as well.

Firstly, the abusive telephone calls - you have the right to chose who you speak with on your telephone. There are a number of things you can do.

1. Use the template letter provided on this site to inform the collector that you have asked them to communicate with you in writing at all times and any further telephone calls will be considered harrasment and reported to the relevant authorities. If you receive any further calls after this, they are breaking the law. Obtain some recording equipment and record all calls from these clowns if you intend on pursuing this as a separate complaint, which you are well within your rights to do.

2. Contact BT and ask them how to bar unwanted calls. You can set up "Choose to Refuse" which I believe costs around £3 per month - this enables you to bar specific numbers from whom you do not wish to receive calls. Use this if you know the number they are calling from. Alternatively, you can elect not to receive calls from witheld numbers. Use this if they call from a witheld number.

Secondly, the ten year old debt. Once six years has passed since a debt has been acknowledged or a payment paid, the debt becomes statute barred and as such unenforceable. It sounds like this debt would fall into that category. One of the things I am trying to find out for myself is how one can go about finding out when a debt was last "acknowledged" without acknowledging it in the process. Can anyone shed any light on this?

I am by no means an expert, but the following advice is based on my reading of various threads on this site over the past few weeks.

1. If you offer them part payment, they will almost certainly chase you for more.

2. If the debt was unsecured, the worst they are likely to do is continue to harrass you by letter and on the telephone. Solutions to the telephone problem above. Solution to the letter problem - ignore. Check the general debt forum for other posters experience of tactics used by debt collectors. You are not alone. Do not be intimidated.

3. If it turns out the debt is not statute barred, send them the CCA letter - again template on this site. This is requesting a copy of the original credit agreement between your son and the lender - without this, they have no right to collect on the debt, and must by law cease contacting you with immediate effect. Make sure you mention in this letter that you do not acknowledge any debt to their company. You would be surprised how many debt collecting agencies cannot produce these documents when asked.

I really hope this debt is going to turn out to be statute barred because it sounds like you and your son have enough to be worrying about without that as well. I'm sure there is a template somewhere on this site for sending to a company to inform them that a debt is statute barred and therefore unenforceable. Can someone please advise Mr. Ansell further about this, and also how he goes about finding out for sure whether the debt is statute barred or not.

For the time being...Send that letter about telephone harrasment, and don't agree to ANY payment until you have received further advice.

Good Luck, and keep us posted on your progress.

PAnsell · 28th March 2007, 11:21

thanks for you reply and well wishes, i regret to say that Link have continued to make contact but I wasnt aware is I also didn't live in the country and the letters have gone unopened.

So they can rightfully say that they have continued to make contact.

So i thought of offering £400 pounds. The default is over 6 years old.

I just dont want any more to go on his file as i would like him to be able to buy a house once he can go back to work after my wife passes away.

Sorry if i wasnt clear.

Thanks

PriorityOne · 28th March 2007, 11:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by PAnsell

thanks for you reply and well wishes, i regret to say that Link have continued to make contact but I wasnt aware is I also didn't live in the country and the letters have gone unopened.

So they can rightfully say that they have continued to make contact.

It doesn't matter about their contact. The statute-barred laws are about contact made between your son and them. Unopened letters to not constitute "contact"

So i thought of offering £400 pounds. The default is over 6 years old.

A default will have dropped off your sons credit file after 6 years

I just dont want any more to go on his file as i would like him to be able to buy a house once he can go back to work after my wife passes away.

Sorry if i wasnt clear.

Thanks

mollywobbles · 28th March 2007, 11:35

In many cases their letters are best left unopened, as they are full of empty threats and scare tactics.

Are The Link pursuing you directly, or has this been passed to a debt collecting agency?

dannyboy660 · 28th March 2007, 11:37

You should report them to OFT.

It's an opportunity too good to miss.

mollywobbles · 28th March 2007, 11:39

It doesn't matter about their contact. The statute-barred laws are about contact made between your son and them. Unopened letters to not constitute "contact"

"Contact" refers to a written acknowledgement of the debt from your son to them, or a payment made on the account.

Am I right in thinking that any communications Mr. Ansell may have made to The Link with regard to this account would be discounted as the CCA was between The Link and his son?

It sounds like you have not responded to them at all anyway, so this debt will most likely be statute barred.

PriorityOne · 28th March 2007, 11:43

Quote:

Originally Posted by mollywobbles

"Contact" refers to a written acknowledgement of the debt from your son to them, or a payment made on the account.

Exactly right.

Am I right in thinking that any communications Mr. Ansell may have made to The Link with regard to this account would be discounted as the CCA was between The Link and his son?

It would be discounted because it's not his debt. If this is a mobile 'phone account, I don't think it comes under CCA law.

It sounds like you have not responded to them at all anyway, so this debt will most likely be statute barred.

It certainly looks that way.

PriorityOne · 28th March 2007, 11:54

One more thing before I log off....

It is my understanding that the 6 year (statute-barred) clock can only be reset within the 6 year limit.... so, once a debt is statute barred it remains statute barred.

Therefore, even if it was acknowledged by your son now... if it is already statute barred, it cannot be restarted now.

Can anyone please confirm ?

djdave · 28th March 2007, 11:58

Could you clarify: is this The Link (the former mobile phone chain) or Link Financial (desperate DCA)?

dannyboy660 · 28th March 2007, 12:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by PriorityOne

One more thing before I log off....

It is my understanding that the 6 year (statute-barred) clock can only be reset within the 6 year limit.... so, once a debt is statute barred it remains statute barred.

Therefore, even if it was acknowledged by your son now... if it is already statute barred, it cannot be restarted now.

Can anyone please confirm ?

Pretty sure you're right in that.

Do you find after a while you start doubting these things???......I do

People question it and throw in the occasional difficulty but the Limitations Act '80 is there for the consumer.........at least at the moment.

Frugal · 28th March 2007, 13:26

Hi

I am new to this site so my advice is limited but I wanted to wish you luck with this.

I have a similar situation and know that the debt is now time barred by the Limitation Act.

Send NO money whatsoever and do not speak to these people on the phone. They are sure to know that they are unlikely to get anything from you without bullying as the courts won't do anything after this amount of time.

Here is a link to the letter templates on this site
http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk...templates.html

I believe it is letter M that you need - all is explained in there.

You don't need any extra troubles at the moment - I am so sorry your wife is so poorly - I wish you all strength and peace at this difficult time.

PAnsell · 28th March 2007, 14:36

Quote:

Originally Posted by djdave

Could you clarify: is this The Link (the former mobile phone chain) or Link Financial (desperate DCA)?

Thanks you very much for your responses. Its for a credit card i beleive originaly with MBNA - the card was deactivated 12 years ago - my son then went to cccs and paid an iva for a while.

It is no longer on his credit file and i only have one worry presently as they seem to have somhow upped the calls and letters recently somehow knowing that he will be in the UK???

CAN THEY DO ANYTHING MORE ON HIS CREDIT FILE TO HIM? CAN THEY AFTER ALL THIS TIME SEND BALIFFS ROUND OR DO ANYTHING OTHER THAN MAKE CALLS AND SEND LETTERS

wouldnt a part payment just get it all sorted and he be left alone to start a fresh. As i have mentioned ( and i dont mean to trade on it ) there are bigger fish to fry for us both right now and for the sake of a discounted final settlement ti just seems the easiest way.

He and I just want to be left alone...

Thansk very much for your support its touching.

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