That sounds fine by me! Telephone letter and a missive to the Trading Standards people, it is. Thanks again for the reassurance.

But would that be at my peril?

Thank you both for the suggestions. I'm tempted to fire off the telephone harassment letter and otherwise ignore them on the basis that whilst they don't respond to my letter of 1 March, the debt is unenforceable. Does this make sense?

I apologise for resurrecting this old thread, but matters have moved on a little. I sent the letter and postal order as recommended by NailPost and the Royal Mail tracking site confirms the letter as having been delivered from their Kilmarnock office on 2 March 2007. No reply to this has ever been received. However, about two months ago, I began to get voice mail messgaes on my home phone asking me to contact Red and latterly Mackenzie Hall. I ignored them but today received a letter from Mackenzie Hall which is more or less identical to the first one I received a year ago. It seems that they've just decided to forget that I'd written to them in March, and are starting the whole process again. How do I get 'em to stop contacting me. It's worrying because we have my aged mother living with us and she is prone to answering phone calls, merrily divulging any information which the caller requests without enquiring of his/her bona fides. Thanks again for any guidance.

That's good enough for me. Thank you both for your help.

Thanks for the guidance, although the finer points of libel law do escape me . I have prepared the you-can't-touch-me-cos-the-debt-is-older-than-six-years letter but the thought crossed my mind that what if it isn't older than 6 years? Would I be dropping myself in it by sending such a missive only for MH to turn round and say, "Ah ha, it's only 5 years 363 days."? For the life of me I cannot remember, and my nomadic lifestyle means that I've mislaid papers along the way. Thanks.

Hi, and thanks for the informative site. I have been a lurker for a while, soaking up the mounds of information available, but I have an issue of my own, now. Since November time, I've been receiving communications from Mackenzie Hall to which I've not responded. These have been both by letter and by telephone and claim that I owe an amount on an old credit card. The first letter basically stated please can you confirm whether you used to live at such-and-such an address, but, as I say, I've never responded to any communication. I have now received a letter headed "Notice of Court Action" stating that if I don't immediately respond and pay the amount in full, they will issue a claim in my "Local Court". The letter does not mention a county court, just "local". Is it for real, or are they just trying it on? What are other members' experiences? I have moved around the UK a lot and spent 4 years abroad (work-related, not to avoid debts), so, for the life of me, I can't recall this debt, and even if I were to be mine, it is more than likely over six years old, but I don't know for sure. Grateful for any guidance, and thanks in advance.