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I'm just updating this to let anyone that's interested know that finally this year, HMRC stopped objecting to strike off. I have no idea why, they didn't communicate with me about it at all. I only found out because I rang up for the umpteenth time to ask them to stop sending reminders to file accounts etc as the company was no longer trading. I explained that they were the ones not letting me strike it off and therefore keeping teh process open. The lady said that they were no longer objecting, so I rang companies house, and completely out of the blue they said that they had proposed strike off again 3 months ago, and it was due to go through in two weeks. I got a letter confirming the company has been dissolved as of 14th August! To say I am relieved is an understatement. It's drawn a line under a very painful chapter of my life, and it means I don't have to worry about what *might* happen all teh time. If I have any advice to give to anyone in similar circumstances it is this: Get yourself a good accountant who is local to you and who you can visit in person, and make sure they are interested in giving you good advice and help, and not just taking a monthly fee and sending you reminder emails. Secondly, When you speak to HMRC, no matter how scared you are, do it promptly, get it out of the way, and make sure you get the Name of the person you speak to, teh dept they are in, and make notes of EVERYTHING they say. Keep records of anything you post to them, including post office tracking receipts. Good luck to everyone else still trying to sort their companies out.

well, just to update: Due to acquiring a boyfriend, and then a family bereavement, I did nothing with this at all, and figured that if they think they have a case, they'll write to me. I have heard no more from Carters consequently (touch wood). I may still SAR Cap One, as they added a fortune in charges (I wasn't stupid enough to take out PPI), and then I have a defence in place if needed, and also may be able to reclaim some money

hmm... I think perhaps it's better not to poke the sleeping dragon then. I should probably be grateful that i walked away not having to pay the horror debt I got myself into.

can I do an SB letter while saying I don't acknowledge the debt?

yes I concluded today that an SAR was probably the way to go now. I'm worried about sending an SB letter just in case they can use the IVA contact to extend the SB time by a year. Saying 'yes this is mine, but it';s statute barred' seems to me to be a dead cert way of acknowledging it but putting myself in a position of uncertainty. I am still not clear what rights Arrow/Freds/Carter have here, as it seems to have been sold on to Arrow. Hopefully a SAR will clear this up?

(one of these is HSBC, who added the most money of all, and who also kept forcing me to 'consolidate' debt into ever larger loans)

I have about 7 credit card and bank accounts which fell into debt 6 years ago, and I am wondering if i can claim back the charges on them? Has anyone done this successfully? I am concerned that if I did try this they would start chasing the debts again, or it would be seen as an acknowledgement of the debts. I am pretty sure they are now statute barred as my last payments were over 6 years ago, but I did enter into an IVA after that date, and the last contact from that plan was Aug 07. I'm not sure if that counts as acknowledgment from a statute barring POV. Can anyone help? They added several thousand pounds in charges between them, and oh boy, could I use that money now!

*bump* Anyone help with this?

well, Arrow Global is now the owner, isn't that the same company as Freds/Carter? I would still like to stop them sending me letters if they don't actually have any legal power, but I don't know how and am just getting partial answers here, and no one is really answering the questions I am asking. I would appreciate a bit more depth so that I actually understand where I stand.

I agree that the debt is probably statute barred, but I don't seem to be able to get any certainty around this. why ignore them? They have the right to take me to court don't they if the debt has been assigned to them? I was really hoping for more constructive answers than these, so that I know what my options and rights are at this stage.

Just checked my CRA again, and it doesn't state the last payment, but the default is registered as 6th August 06. What are my options at this stage?

Thanks for this, I'm still not sure it really answers the main question of how to proceed at this stage though. Does what they have sent me (confirming dates the account was taken out, and debt amount etc) constitute adequate 'proof' that the debt is mine? I feel that the longer I can stall them, the better my chances of having the debt statute barred. What should I write in response to their latest threat letter above?

Well, I think that given the last payment would have been before the default in Aug 2006, I must be in the clear then. I am certain that when the IVA collapsed after a few payments, I asked the IVA practitioner how much had been paid to the creditors, and she said that so far no money had gone to the creditors, just to the insolvency firm (I remember because I was quite annoyed). In any case, I still think that if I could definitively say to Bryan that they have no provided 'evidence' that this debt is mine, that might put the matter to rest. Or the matter of assignation (I've never received anything saying the debt has been assigned etc) Is there any definition for what they have to send you to say that it's definitely yours? I could really do with some constructive help in the next couple of days as their letter is talking about imminent action. Cheers

Cheers for unapproving the letter, I'll get that fixed and repost later. Is the last payment DEFINITELY the SB date to count from? Some people further up this thread suggested the IVA letters might also constitute contact? The last of those to be sent was 1st June 2007 (informing creditors the IVA had collapsed). Also- whatever happens, I need to send them some form of reply to their latest letter, and I would like to get the matter put to bed. So even if they are phishing, I'd still like to have a response based on whether the letter they sent me = proof of anything, and anything I can say to make them go away and shut up for good. The debt is mine, it's on my credit record, but I understand that they may not have provided me with correct paperwork at the time of opening the account etc... what is the best way to proceed now?

Hey Well two weeks ago I had a letter back from them in reply to my 'prove it' letter. They stated some details about the account and said that I had had terms and conditions provided to me on opening the account so that constituted proof. HOWEVER- although I know this account is mine, does this latest letter constitute proof? I will scan and post it below. i haven't replied yet, and therefore have had another letter from Bryan Carter solictors with more threats (also scanned below). What are the next steps? I don't think their letters constitute proof, but what WOULD? I opened the account in '02, and I am pretty sure they wouldn't have given me the correct T&C's at the time, or have kept them for the last 10 years, so is it worth just asking for the original paperwork in order to prove the acct was invalid all along? I know that they haven't established that it IS my debt as they sent me a letter on 15.12.11 saying they were trying to trace someone of my name in regards to a personal matter, and did I know of this person's whereabouts. I didn't reply, and a short while later started getting the 'pay now' letters. I have said I do not acknowledge the debt so far. The account defaulted on 01.08.06, and an IVA was accepted, covering this debt among others on 30th August 06. The IVA then failed and a letter was sent to creditors on 01.06.07 - what actually constitutes the date from which I can count towards statute barring of the debt? If it's the last date of payment, I'm in the clear. If it's the default, I can string it out a bit longer (a month) till I'm in the clear. If it's the IVA practitioner's contact with them, I have until June next year. I haven't made payments or personally acknowledged anything since before the default obviously. Whether Frederickson's even know about the IVA, I don't know. Any help on this would be gladly received - essentially I need to understand what would constitute proof that the debt is mine from them, and when I can legally count the debt as being statute barred. Please see the most recent letters below Thanks in advance.

Thanks, I think that's what I'll do for now. There's a standard 'prove it' letter in the CAG library, so I'll use their wording and some of yours (love the valid even if not read by you!), and see what they come back with. I'll update you when I get a response! The step after will be the SAR I guess?

I will put money on it not having properly assigned. I've certainly not received anything to that effect, although i have moved about 5 times in the last 5 years. If I say it's statute barred, am I not then inadvertently acknowledging it as mine? I thought if I can get them running about for a few months trying to prove its mine (and to be fair I'm very unclear as to where the amount came from) and then go down the route of getting them to produce paperwork to show that the agreement was set up properly to begin with, then by the time that's done it will be more or less statute barred by that time. It's a bit of a grey area though, as I did have an IVA after 2006, which this was part of, so does that count as the last time i 'acknowledged' the debt?

Ok, I've now recieved a letter from our friends at Bryan Carter, stating that Arrow Global Guernsey is their client, but that i should contact Fredericksons if i want to make payment arrangements and avoid legal action. Nowhere is teh original client mentioned. the upshot of the letter is that pmnt should be made in next 14 days or they will recommend the client go with legal proceedings, further charges will be added blah blah, but that If I dispute liability for the debt I should provide my reasons in writing and any documents to support my defence to any claim (HAHAHAH!!) Obviously I have never confirmed my identity, so should I start with the letter asking them to prove that I am liable for the debt, and point out that fredericksons failed to do so? The longer I drag it out the better, as only 3 months till its barred i think.

They seem to have stopped for the most part now. When they do call, they call from different numbers, presumably to avoid being blocked. I haven't had any more letters (yet), which would worry me more. I now just don't answer any calls whose numbers I don't recognise. I'm surprised though- they've let this lie since 2006, why try and chase it now? I shall continue avoiding and if they produce anything meaningful I'll respond, but my understanding is that they couldn't take me to court anyway, only the original company can do that, and I would put money on it that they don't have any of my original paperwork, and if they did, it wouldn't contain the correct terms etc. They can go whistle.

Update: Still no further letters, but I did get a phone call from a woman at Fredericksons wanting information for data protection. I told her that if she couldn't confirm the nature of her business, I wasn't willing to confirm my identity over the telephone. She said in that case she couldn't proceed any further. As you can imagine, I was heartbroken. Got a few texts asking me to contact them. I didn't. Today I got a recorded message from them asking me to press one if I was the person concerned. I hung up. I'm pretty sure this debt isn't legally enforceable any more, but that seems to be their thing doesn't it, picking up statute barred debts and then pursuing people with illegitimate threats. I get the impression that if you don't confirm your identity, they can't go any further, despite the letters etc, so I'm just ignoring them now. If they ever produce a letter of assignment etc I'll pay more attention. Hopefully they'll get bored and go and play with someone else eventually.

well, I haven't acknowledged any contact from them yet, although they keep sending text messages. I am going to see if they send a third letter. The fact that they sent a letter asking if I was the correct person, then a week later sent a formal debt recovery letter proves in itself that they have not confirmed that I am the correct person to send correspondence to. I seriously doubt if there is any enforceable agreement that can be produced at this stage, as the card was taken out in 2002, so I think I've always got that on my side.

In fact thinking about it, I am 90% sure I made no payments after 2005 I just wonder if the IVA can be used against me?

ok, I've just looked at my credit record, and it says that the account defaulted in August 2006, but I am certain that there were no payments made for at least a couple of months before that, and there's nothing to indicate when the last payments were made, its just blank for all of 2006. I'm wondering if rather than go down the routr of getting them to prove everything, maybe I should just chance it and say the debt is now statute barred? I'll have to see what paperwork I still have existing as well, and see if I can work out from that. I've got most of my debts becoming statute barred this year, and a few have already dropped off my credit record.

well i dont think I've paid into or used it since at least 2005. The IVA was in 2006 I think, but it only lasted 6 months, and when i looked at the money I'd paid in, none of it had gone to the creditors, it had only gone to the arranging company at that point. I've not heard anything from them until now. I'll be very surprised if there is any correct paperwork for this existing in their archives as it must be ten years old at least.