Have just checked dates - if its 5 years in Scotland this is def statute barred. Thanks for help 42 - 2nd part of post quotes English law as i am over the border up north i cant add to my letter but thanks anyway. LB

NB I didnt get any communication from BCW once I had sent my letter.

I have been chased for an old alleged debt now for the last 2 years. Originally it was Ruthbridge who I CCA'd back in April 07. I got nothing back from them. I then got a letter about the same debt from BCW in June 08. I sent them a letter stating the dispute with Ruthbridge. The letter that starts " I am rather bemused . . . . . " I made a complaint to the ICO re BCW which has yet to be investigated as they have a huge backlog. Yesterday i got a letter from MacKenzie Hall about the same alleged debt telling me they were going to come round to my house for a doorstep assesment in the next 10 days regarding the same alleged debt. I have no doubt this a scare tactic and they won't appear but still not very nice. Are DC's totally above the law? Can they do what they want? What do I do now with regard to Mac Hall? The ironic thing is that I am pretty certain this alleged debt is statue barred. Any help, as usual, very gratefully receieved. LB http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/debt-collection-industry/146029-cabot-ruthbridge-bcw.html

Does anyone have a template for a letter i could Send to BCW stating that; 1/ They have no credit agreement 2/ They bought an alleged debt that was in dispute with another DCA 3/ The debt is statute barred 4/ They have broken nearly every rule in the book ?????

Back in August 2007 I got a few letters from Ruthbridge about a Debt with Cabot. I sent the a SAR - the threatening letters kept coming but I didnt get a true signed copy of the alledged agreement. The letters eventually stopped. I am pretty sure the debt is statute barred. In June of this year i got a letter from BCW asking me to pay the same debt. I pointed out to BCW that Ruthbridge were in default of the orignal CCA request and whilst this was the case no enforcement action was permitted. I asked them to return the account to Ruthbridge as BCW could not lawfully pursue it. I have now discovered that BCW put a table 1 outstanding debt search on my credit file with Equifax. I complained, equifax contacted bcw and i got the following response "search is in relation to an outstanding acct due to our clienst Cabot Financial in respect of an outstanding mastercard debt. We have not been advised that the balance has been cleared or queried and therefore the serach cannot be deleted" So BCW have acted outwith the law yet Equifax is happy to let them continue you put their grubby paws over my credit report. IS there anything I can do or are DCA's totally above the law? I am so bl**dy angry. LB

Sorry - it was Equifax not experian - not sure how to edit that??? LB

I have just got my Equifax report and there are 'Outstanding Debt' searches on there which are not 'Soft' searches. I am told these will stay there for 6 years. One of them is from a company that tried to chase for a debt that was statute barred. The debt was already in dipute with another DCAand i wrote telling them so and pointing out that they were in breach of OFT collection guidlines, the Consumer Credit Act and the Data Protection Act. The orignal DCA was also in default of my CCA request. Another DCA has searched my account twice at two of my addresses in Aug 2007 - a company I have never heard of and have no rcollection of ever having any contact with. Yet they have left their mucky footprint all over my credit file. Can I get these searches removed as one is certainly spurious to say the least and the other i hve never heard of?? Your help would be much appreciated LB

I have just got my Equifax report and there are 'Outstanding Debt' searches on there which are not 'Soft' searches. I am told these will stay there for 6 years. One of them is from a company that tried to chase for a debt that was statute barred. The debt was already in dipute with another DCAand i wrote telling them so and pointing out that they were in breach of OFT collection guidlines, the Consumer Credit Act and the Data Protection Act. The orignal DCA was also in default of my CCA request. Another DCA has searched my account twice at two of my addresses in Aug 2007 - a company I have never heard of and have no rcollection of ever having any contact with. Yet they have left their mucky footprint all over my credit file. Can I get these searches removed as one is certainly spurious to say the least and the other i hve never heard of?? Your help would be much appreciated LB

Thank you! LB

Can someone help me with these templates? have had a good look round but can only find letters that help me recover bank charges - that's for another day . . . . !! Thank you.

Thank you - where do I find the templates???? LB

About a year ago I got a spurious letter from Ruthbridge claiming that i owed them £4,916.04 for an alleged debt with Cabot. I was pretty certain the debt is statue barred. I went through the process of writing to them to ask to see all relevant info regarding debt and not admitting to having any indebtedness with anyone. Needless to say all I got back from Ruthbridge was more letters demanding payment and they didnt acknowledge my letters. I never talked to them and eventually the letters stopped. Recently I got a fromal demand letter from bucahan clark & wells stating i owed them £5,475.53 for apprently the same alleged debt. Do I have to go through the whole process again and keep going through this process as the alleged debt gets passed around??? Any advice on how to take this one forward would be very much appreciated. LB

I have worked for sales Cos in the past and I know that their methods are often underhand. They often want you to buy without realising what you have done. Its often not against the law but perhaps goes against the spirit if the law. When the MD has just bought a new Aston Martin he doesnt care about the spirit of the law just what the sales volumes are. The sales ptich is designed to be subtle. 'How does this sound . . . ?' 'How does that sound . . . ?' 'Is 2 days delivery ok?'. And its done. The only way around it is to say at the begnining of the call 'you can describe your goods but I am not going to buy anything from you on the evidence of this call as I am not authorised to do so' Usually gets rid of them. Have found a company that will courier the delivery back for about £15. Seems the most sensible way out. Better check their canx policy on their T&C's!!!!

What about when it is signed for on delivery???

The total amount of the invoice was never mentioned in the conversation, just its component parts - ie five units contaning 5 litres each at £x per litre. Shipping cost and total costs were not mentioned. T&C's were attached to the invoice. I agree in my mind there is no sale - but it may well be tricky to prove. These sales co's know how they can push the law and reasonable practice to the limit. Thanks anyway.