Written by John Kruse, one of the leading experts on Bailiff Law, this consumer friendly guide is essential reading for anyone who comes into contact with a bailiff.
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hi there,im new here and found your forum by accident and wish i found it sooner and hope someone can help me.
10 years ago(nov 97 to be exact)i held an account with the Halifax and had an overdraft of £1oo,in nov 97 i lost my job and informed the halifax that id lost my job so no money would be going into my account but as soon as i got a new job i would start to pay back the overdraft,in dec 97 me and my partner split up and i had to move out and in the jan 98 i found out i was pregnant so as im sure you will understand this debt went compleatly out of my head.
fast forward now to jan 08,i went into my bank to order a new bank card as i had snapped mine and was told that i could now get a current account(was just a wages account i had before)so i said ok and had to give details et.Afew weeks after i done this i received a letter from bcw saying they were acting on behalf of thames credit for an outstanding debt of £1050.i spoke to someone i work with and he said to send a letter stating that if i had had money left in said account that after this amount of time i would not be able to claim the money back(dormant account)and as far as i was aware the reverse was true.
A few weeks passed then received another letter basically saying that if i didnt call them they couldnt help me so to give them a call and they would do all they can to help,well i stupidly called them(and believe me i really wished i hadnt)the woman i spoke to asked me a few questions,do i have a partner(no),do i have any dependants(yes 2)do i work(yes part time)do i have a bank account(yes)then said she could reduce the debt to £685 but would need payment that day(what??)i said im sorry but i dont have that kind of money so she said can you get it by fri(this was tue)i said i suppose but id have to borrow it so she asked if i could pay anything and i stupidly paid £100 and she asked my to call back on fri with the rest of the money.
On the thurs i managed to get through to the citizens advise bureau and lady was horrified both that i had been contacted about the debt and that id paid money to them and told me to call bcw and say that under scots law a bank/building society have only 5 years to contact you about a debt and after that it should be wiped and that i would not be sending anymore money to this company and as the original debt was for £100 and i had alredy paid bcw £100 that should be it,instead of phoning i faxed the letter to their office in glasgow and heard nothing till tues(22/4).bcw phoned me to ask why i didnt phone them to which i replyed i take it you didnt get the letter i faxed them and the lady said no,funny that i said,i have posted a letter and faxed a letter and none of which you have ever recieved.
i told woman what id put in the letter and said that the cab had advised me not to send bcw anymore money,she said that as i had acknoledged the debt with bcw that i would have to pay the outstanding amount even after more than 10 years,so i asked her to put that in writing and send it to me and that as soon as i had their letter i would contact the cab again.if you got this far thanks for reading and any help/advice you can give me would be most appreciated,thanks again and sorry its such a long post.
Sweet Hun. Could I ask you to click the edit button on your post above and seperate the post into paragraphs? It will make it a whole lot easier to read and you are likely to get many more responses (as opposed to people who will see a whole block of text and just leave the thread).
It would appear that the debt was statute barred being something like 10 years old. If my understanding is correct once a debt is statute barred it is always statute barred.
However I understand that you are in Scotland? The rules may be slightly different up there.
Anyway, if you can edit that first post so that its a bit more readable I am sure there will be many people on there that can offer you some helpful advice to get you through this.
You have taken the first step and asked for help. Now its time to use CAG to fight back at them.
Lowell Financial - No CCA available
NDR - CCA request sent 08/04
Looks like they obtained money by deception. Someone with knowledge about Scots Law should be able to help. They conned you IMHO.
We will not be intimidated.
'The pen is mightier than the sword'. Petition to Outlaw Debt Sale and Purchase
- can't read/post much as eye strain's v.bad.
VIVA CAG!!!
If you look here (the Web version of OFT664), and scroll down to 2.14, that's the debt collection Guidelines for English statute-barred debts. May help but I know nothing about Scottish Law, and only just getting to know bits of English Law!
We will not be intimidated.
'The pen is mightier than the sword'. Petition to Outlaw Debt Sale and Purchase
- can't read/post much as eye strain's v.bad.
VIVA CAG!!!
Also a quote pinched from one of Curlybens posts which has some relevant info
Originally Posted by Law relating to debts: statute-barred debts
If a lender allows time to pass without receiving any payment an action for recovery may become barred.
Under the Limitations Act 1980 the time limits are
* in simple contracts (credit cards, loans, etc.), 6 years
* in contracts under seal (mortgages), 12 years.
If the debtor acknowledges the debt in writing or makes a part payment within the original limitation period, then the time limits start to run again from the date of acknowledgement or the date of payment.
Even though the lender may be barred from pursuing recovery, a debtor may decide to pay the debt after the expiry of the time limits. Because of this you should allow a debt which is otherwise statute-barred if the personal representatives pay the debt and you receive evidence that the payment has been made.
The above instructions do not apply to debts in Scotland. Under Scottish law, if a lender allows time to pass without receiving any payment an action for recovery may become barred under the Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973. (For details of this Act see Gloag and Henderson 10th edition at Chapter 15.). These debts are completely extinguished and cannot be enforced. Once the prescriptive period expires the debt cannot be allowed as a deduction.
To sum up, basically once a debt becomes statute barred it is up to the debtor whether or not they wish to pay the debt. A debt can not become unstatute barred.
It looks to me that they have obtained money from you by telling porkies and they need reporting to Trading Standards and fos.
It is statute barred, but that does not mean they are obtaining money by deception - the debt exists, but it is unenforceable through the courts.
Once the debt is statute barred, it cannot then be "un" statute-barred. you should send them the statute barred letter and if they continue to press, report them to TS & the OFT for harassment.
All help is merely my opinion only - please seek legal advice if you need to as I am only qualified in SEN law.
she said that as i had acknoledged the debt with bcw that i would have to pay the outstanding amount even after more than 10 years,so i asked her to put that in writing
They won't put it in writing. Do not speak to them on the phone, they will tell you any old rubbish over the phone which they would not dare put in writing. As has previously been stated the debt is statute barred after 5 years and no action can unstatute bar it. Send the following letter via recorded delivery so that you have evidence that they have received it
Dear Sir/Madam
Acc/Ref No xxxx
You have contacted me regarding the account with the above reference number, which you claim is owed by myself.
I would point out that under The Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973 Part 1 Section 6 "If, after the appropriate date, an obligation to which this section applies has subsisted for a continuous period of 5 years:
(a) without any relevant claim having been made in relation to the obligation, and
(b) without the subsistence of the obligation having been relevantly acknowledged,
then as from the expiration of that period the obligation shall be extinguished:"
I would also point out that the OFT say under their debt collection Guidance on statute barred debt that "it is unfair to pursue the debt if the debtor has heard nothing from the creditor during the relevant limitation period".
The last acknowledgement of this alleged debt was made over five years ago. Unless you can provide evidence of payment or written contact from myself in the relevant period under Part 1 Section 6 of The Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973 , I would respectfully suggest that you are no longer able to take any court action against myself to recover the alleged amount claimed.
Should you continue to pursue this account without providing this evidence I shall seek an interdict and damages accordingly. A formal complaint will also be made to Trading Standards along with a report to the OFT questioning your fitness to hold a consumer credit license.
I await your written confirmation that this matter is now closed and that no further contact will be made concerning the above account after that last letter.
hi all,thanks for your help and advise,i received a letter from bcw this morning dated 24/4/08 saying,
we refer to your recent letter and to the information supplied by you.
the account at this office has been placed on hold while we refer back to our client for further instuctions.we will advise you further in due course.
please do not hesitate to contact us on blah blah.you can also email us on blah blah.
Hi sweet hun - got your PM. As BCW have phoned you asking for payment after stating in writing they were putting your account on hold (due to finding your fax) I would make a complaint to Trading Standards about their conduct and their fairy tales about unstatute barring it by making payment.
Also send the statute barred letter to BCW making direct reference to their telephone call of today and informing them that the account is now subject to a Trading Standards complaint and that BCW should also supply you with a copy of their own complaints procedure. Also inform them that you will consider any future phone calls from them as harassment and report them accordingly.
hi there,iv just got in from work to find a letter from bcw saying,
i herby confrirm your query has been duly recorded on our system file,however we now have a response from our client and would request that you contact us to discuss the matter further.
your account has been delayed for ten days to enable you to respond to this letter.
i will send the statute barred letter tomorrow recorded delivery.the amount has now changed to £950.59.
buchanan clark and wells help please
and had an overdraft
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