Back in 2008 I got into a debt problem.

Thanks to great advice from this forum I came to an agrred repayment plan of just £1.00 per month with no interest or additional charges being added with several of my creditors.

Recently one of the debts was taken over by a new company by the name of "Baker Tilly Creditor Services LLP".

At their request I provided an up to date monthly budget sheet which proved that my circumstances have not changed.

They responded that it was obvious that I could not afford to increase my level of repayments and said therefore they would take a charge against my property so that the debt would then be repayable in full if I ever sell or pass away.

There was no mention of whether further interest or charges would be applied to the account.

I answered that having just taken over the debt they were obliged to adhere to any agreement that was already in place and did not have the power to vary the terms and conditions.

Their last letter to me said that the matter was not open to debate and that they intended to proceed with court action.

Can they do this after the plan has been in place for around 8 years with no missed payments and no change in circumstance on my part?

No, they can't change an agreement in that way. On the other hand, they might argue that they are not changing the agreement and they are simply protecting their position. I have to say that it's not such a bad argument to make and a judge might go along with it.

I'm not quite sure what the position would be, but if they decided to do this against your wishes and therefore by means of a court action, then I can imagine that if they won, some level of costs might be awarded against you and this would be added to the debt.

You might need to think carefully as to what harm it might do you to have this charge registered against you. I'm not saying that you would lose a legal action, but there is quite a chance that you might.

I personally doubt very much they would proceed to court action on a debt that has been maintained albeit at a very low payment arrangement...as you would have a track record that you are adhering to the previous arrangement with the other DCA.

With regards to charging orders etc they must first attain judgment...I would continue to make the payments or try to increase them slightly...show willing.

PS Never seen a court claim yet on a debt by Baker Tilly Creditor Services LLP.

Regards

Andy

they are VERY lowlife indeed

whats the debt thy are collecting?

so theres already a CCJ?

i'd be seriously questioning why you have been blindly paying this as with ALL your debts.

all these years

dx

Baker Tilly are accountants and auditors who have branched out because they arent big league,

are you sure they own the debt and not just acting on someone else's behalf?

It also begs the question why you sent them an I&E document as this now looks like it is coming back to bite you.

You are paying so showing willing and therefore court action would be a gamble for them,

if you are on benefits or only a state pension they probably wouldnt even get the court filing fee from you

but as said above they may well want a charge on your property as a sword of Damacles over you regardless of having to lose out in the short term as this move would effectively give them something to grab if you get put in a care home or otherwise have to dispose of what they see is the only asset you cant hide.

Hello and many thanks to all for the advice. I am very grateful.

I will try to answer the queries your raised.

The debt in question is with NatWest,

it was a Bank loan and was dealt with by a different agent until recently.

I had heard nothing from them for years.

Then out of the blue comes this request from Baker Tilley asking for an updated I/E report.

I have had similar requests from other agencies regarding other arrangements I have in place and have responded to them in like manner with no ill consequences, so I responded with an udated I/E report.

That report shows that our only income is in the form of benefits, my wife and I are both in receipt of State Pension (Old Age Pension), and we both receive the new PIP as we are both disabed.

My wife also gets a small amount in the form of Guaranteed Pension Credit. All of which proves our inability to increase the level of repayment we currently maintain.

I have looked again at the correspondence I have received from Baker Tilley, and see that none of it actually says that they now own the debt, so you might be right and they may well just be trying to muscle in.

It's interesting to note that they are not actully a Debt Collection Agency but just Accountants and Auditors.

Their correspondence is interesting and self contradictory.

The first letter asks for an up to date I/E which I sent.

Their second letter says it is obvious that I can't repay the debt so they will be taking a charge on the property.

I replied to that saying that they were not in a position to change the terms of the agreement which was already in place etc, etc.

Their third and last letter said that the matter was not up for debate and that they intended to proceed with Court Action, but also suggested that I increase my monthly payment to £150 per month.

Given that their second letter said it was obvious I could not afford to pay more therefore they would take a charge on the property, that is daft.

Given all the good advice that has been forthcoming from you all, I think my best course of action is to do nothing and just wait to see if anything further transpires.

Many thanks to all.

Wheels60

Have you recently checked your CRAs files to see who actually owns and is reporting on this debt ? It wont be Baker Tilley and as you have already been advised are not legally entitled to your personal financial details.

Regards

Andy

might be an idea as with every debt you are paying

send whomever you money goes to a CCA request.

sorry but I smell a cash cow here

as for baker tilley

I would suspect their letters state 'our client'

who is?

scan the BT letters up

I bet they don't say WILL anything.

Thanks again everyone!

I have not checked with any CRA but did take another look at the correspondence received from Baker Tilley. No where does it describe NatWest as being "their client". They just refer to them as "the bank". Nowhere does it actually say that they WILL take further action if I don't agree to increase my payments.

I have written to them again asking them to confirm that they own the debt and pointing out that if they don't I am not obliged to provide any financial information. We shall see if they respond or not.

Many thanks,

Wheels60

Me thinks you are being had

Can you scan to PDF the letters...upload