I think the first thing I would do (if I were in your shoes) would be to verify with the most clever folks on this site that the CCA they sent you is actually enforceable. If you can, scan it and upload it to this thread

I would definitely CCA them, provided they are debts that come under the limitations of the Consumer Credit Act ( credit card, loan, catalogue debt, etc) In fact I would be tempted to CCA all the outstanding debts that you have Hopefully others with more know how will be able to advise you more fully. Good luck.

I'm in agreement here, I always used to do my damndest to smoke twice as many as I usually did because I refused to give up just because the health police (and my mother ) were telling me to In actual fact, in his most excellent book, the late, great Allan Carr (of EasyWay glory) also stated the same fact - the more you TELL a smoker to give up the more they will smoke. He was of the opinion National No Smoking day was a complete waste of time :-| I eventually gave up (nine months ago) because hubby's health problems -smoking related- became too severe too ignore, so we quit together. That was my own decision and as such I feel good about it!

No, the only way they'd get round the statute barred rule is if you'd acknowledged the debt IN WRITING or made a payment within the last six years. Please don't worry yourself over it, they're just doing their best to scare you into paying. Charming eh? Just send them the letter above and go from there. There's lots of clever folk on here who'll advise you if they don't crawl back under the rock from whence they came. And by the way, you don't sound like a big baby, you're only human lol Don't let them get to you any more! And no more phoning them!! Good luck

Same here, they are the reason I found this great site. Capquest are trying to get me to pay an old catalogue balance that I actually paid off years ago. When I'm all done with them I'll also be complaining to their local TS so I'll be following your progress very closely Chris. Good luck, these people need to be taught they are not above the law

Well, technically they can but in reality they probably won't. At the end of the day if it did go to court the judge would only order you to pay what you can reasonably afford to pay, taking into account all your other living expenses. This would likely add up to less than the £20 a month you've offered due to hubby's redundancy so they'd be shooting themselves in the foot if they did go the court route You have verified that the CCA is complete I am assuming? Have you had the clever peeps on here take a look at it? And my final word of advice, NEVER talk to these people on phone, keep everything in writing!!

Hmm, I'm not sure this is the best advice for everyone on this site.... Sometimes it's better to face up to your debt problems and tackle them face to face, ignoring them just means they drag on needlessly. There is usually a solution in my experience

Eww what a nightmare Is it possible to pop it back in the envelope without making it look too tampered with? If it is I would return it to sender after writing clearly on the outside of the envelope the usual "not known at this address" etc. Failing that (if it were me) I would make a call to my local court and actually find out how far they can go. I would also have no hesitation in contacting the company directly and explaining the situation to them. Surely they would need proof that the debtor actually resides at the address before going so far as to break in?! I really hope someone more knowledgeable than me has replied to you already and good luck

From my experience and from what I've read on here yes, it is normal. However it doesn't mean you let them pressurise you into paying more, particularly if it's more than you can afford. When I used to get these letters I found the best thing to do was ignore them completely and continue to pay the usual amount. Out of interest, have you CCA'd them to make sure they have the legal right to actually extract your hard earned money? (Something I have only recently learnt from this excellent site!)

Well, I am currently having dealings with this bunch of shysters. About a month ago they had the audacity to send me a letter demanding money from a long ago settled catalogue account ( as far as I remember the account was settled back in 2001!). This was before I came here and learned a few lessons regarding the law lol. Being naive I phoned them straight away (I actually thought someone was [causing problems] me, as you do :-| ) They assured me they were genuine so I told them someone must've been using my details to obtain credit. They then asked me if I was saying that someone had fraudulently used my name/details, etc. I told them I don't know, you tell me! You're the one demanding money LOL! The guy then went on to suggest I write to them disputing the debt for those reasons and that someone would phone me in due course. I then phoned said catalogue and got them to check both my current and previous address (where I was living at the time the account was open) and they had nothing whatsoever on me. I was told that if I'd defaulted and my account passed on it would've shown. Then I got angry, grrr And I got on the internet and googled CapQuest. I found several complaints on Grumbletext and found out about the CCA stuff. I also found out that if I did for some reason still owe this (small) amount it would by now be statute barred. But I thought I'd play with them first, as you do So I CCA'd them. They sent me the standard crapquest 28 days account on hold letter, that was written back on the 17th December and I still haven't heard anything. Nitto, zilch, diddly squat. The twelve day deadline came and went without a murmer (as expected) and I'm now just waiting. I'm not worried, just disappointed they haven't written back yet LOL! What annoys me is that many people would've received the threatening letter I received and paid up out of fright. I now realise that they were probably phishing and I should've ignored the letter but human nature dicatates otherwise (unless you're a CAG member and better informed lol). I guess my saviour is my incredibly tight nature. Had many debt problems in the past and NO dca is going to get the better of me again. I am not going to part with any money to any old Tom Dick or Crapquest who demands it! It is my full intention to report this bunch of (edit) to the OFT and TS as soon I feel the matter is closed. Either they reply to my CCA or (with any luck) they start demanding money - in which case I will duly shove the statute barred letter from this site somewhere they'll be on a REAL Quest to find Sorry for the long rant!

The Lumberjack song by Monty Python, the silliest song ever

Hi Robbie, I'm new to the forums here too The reason I joined is because I had exactly the same sort of letter from Capquest stating I owed an amount to Shop Direct (Choice catalogue) with no further details but lots of threats about what would happen if I didn't pay, etc. To cut a long story short as far as I was concerned I had paid off this small debt back in 2001 so why were they writing to me?! I phoned Choice catalogue and they could find nothing on me either, I checked both possible addresses, nothing! Anyway, I researched and discovered that even if (for some reason) it hadn't been paid it would be over the six year limit by now and therefore statute barred. As yours is I have decided to play with Capquest for a bit so CCA'd them, however I wouldn't like to advise you as I'm new myself. I just wanted to say don't worry as the debt is too old to even be enforceable by law. I'm sure someone will by now have advised you of this and the correct letter to send (I type slow!) Good luck