I understand that an unsecured debt is statute barred six years after the last payment so long as the creditor does not obtain a CCJ during that period, and so long as the debtor does not acknowledge the debt in writing during that time. Does anyone have any reference material on what acknowledging in writing might look like? Any past examples of cases with samples of what would and would not count as an acknowledgement? I don't want to post some letters I sent here for obvious reasons, but I did send change of address letters which refer to "the account" and so on. Would like to get a better idea of how these would be treated.

Thanks for the reply dx. The claimed figures are (approximately): Cabot Financial (Europe) Ltd (OC Citicard) £500 remaining, payments made here a couple of years ago MKDP LLP (OC Barclaycard) £4,500 Hillesden Securities (OC MBNA) £4,000 HBOS (Amazon Card) £1,250 Tesco Personal Finance (Tesco Card) £1,900 Lowell Portfolio I Ltd (OC Marbles card then Aviemore Funding Ltd) £3,700 I attempted to reach a settlement figure with one or two of these over the past year or two to see where I got but my offers were not accepted (they were low - 25-30% if I remember) and I didn't put much effort into follow-up. Hillesden sent standard form letters offering 50%, then 25%. They're the only one I'm certain have no CCA at all. Only three have provided anything with a signature however (Lowell/Marbles, Tesco, HBOS/Amazon). 1st Credit (acting on behalf of Aviemore/Marbles before that one was sold to Lowell) indicated that Aviemore would have accepted 75% in two instalments. Is the goal with the SARs to flush out a CCA, or to claim back fees to reduce the claimed balances, or both? All the fees will be £12, as I didn't get into trouble until after the charges all dropped to that level.

I have a number of credit card debts, a few years old now, all of which resulted in defaults. I've since moved house a few times, and have notified the (up-to-date) assigned creditors of my new address to try to ensure I get any and all mail involved. Some have provided me with signed CCAs, others have not and occasionally send an offer for 50% off. Some of my darkest evenings were spent reading these forums a few years ago, and I learned a lot. I'm now in a much better position, but wondering what I should be doing to resolve these debts, if anything. My thinking has been that I should just wait for them to act, or wait for six years to elapse. It'll be a couple more years before all my defaults drop off my credit file. I'm building good credit histories with my bank and a credit card, which has a colossal interest rate, but which I pay religiously in full each month. Is there anything else I can/should be doing? How likely is it that they'll file court claims as the six year term comes closer to an end? And what can I do to prepare now? What would prevent the debts from becoming statue barred? I haven't made any payments for a couple of years. Does contacting the creditor prevent statue barred status? Appreciate your help!

dx, I've rooted out my various default notices, some of which are obviously full of problems and others a bit more ambiguous. I'll post them one at a time for while in this forum so I get a clear picture on each. However, I'm wondering about dates in particular. Your example above differs from what I've found elsewhere and I'm wondering whether I'm missing something. Let's take an example: Date of DN: Monday 20 Sept 2010 Deemed Served: Wednesday 22nd September 2010 (the second working day after posting) - your example above would have it on Thursday instead? Why? Earliest date to rectify: Wednesday 6th October 2010 ([not less than fourteen days] after the date of service) Also a few of my DNs were issued on Saturday. The second working day after posting would still be Tuesday wouldn't it? Thanks, broc

Thanks dx. I'll take a closer look at the DNs I've received and maybe post a few to verify that I've understood correctly. Appreciate your help. broc

Thanks for your help everyone - appreciate it. On the default notice question, is there a definitive guide somewhere on the site? I'll go have a root around but if anyone has the link handy.... Something that shows what criteria a valid DN would have to meet? Thanks, broc

if the first is invalid, it'll be a good defence in court, won't it? That much I'm pretty sure of - the account was closed improperly. they wont/cant go to court on an invalid DN But realistically speaking, if the paper notice is invalid, am I likely to get the corresponding CRA entry removed? yes if the default was as a result of a faulty DN - MUST be removed The bottom line is that I am in default. And, realistically again, are the creditors and CRAs likely to leave my file free of a new DN if the first was invalid? you cannot be defaulted twice for the same event!! They're unlikely to accept that the DN is invalid without first taking me to court, aren't they? as above they will not dare to go near the court with a faulty DN, they will be blown right out the water. Whatever the technicalities, it's the presence of the DN on my file that causes the problem. I don't want to waste my time going down this route, or save like hell to pay in full, unless I can actually clean up the CRA file a bit with some chance of success. as in post 2 What do you think? Thanks again, broc dx

Assuming some were faulty, and I got them removed, couldn't they just issue new ones? I'm sure a few have issues from memory. I posted them on this forum when I got them ages ago.

Hoping you can help with this one. I have multiple defaults on my credit file now and I'm trying to save up to do some full and final settlements. Given the defaults being on there, is there any advantage to me in aiming to save the entire balance of the debt up (it'll take a great deal longer but probably achievable one way or another), or would I be in exactly the same position either way, even with "partially settled" all over my file? If the defaults will rule me out of all credit for the whole six years until they come off my file, there's little point postponing making offers for reduced settlements. Am I right, or is it still better to have 'settled in full' on the record despite the defaults? broc

Not sure babybear39, what are the implications?

By the way, these offers are coming from 1st Credit. Should I be making any offers to them when the time comes, or to the original creditor? Will the OC be aware of the discount letters at all (and therefore is it worth waiting for them to come out before I put mine in)?

lord_tiger_putin, you've made my morning. I'll just wait. The reasoning that "if they had a signed agrement, they'd send it" makes sense on the surface, but it's possible that they just couldn't be bothered searching until they decide to look at court action. In my case, I'm guessing that they don't have enough info about my current circumstances to determine whether or not they should. I've stonewalled for quite some time while I get myself together. Must they though? Is there some legislation to that effect? I guess a SAR would show all their cards, or am I wrong about that? Ultimately, I want to get to a conclusion which they agree is a final settlement. The unenforceable CCA (or missing CCA) will not necessarily get them off my back, nor bring closure to the whole thing. They can keep chasing me for six years (and, from what I understand, possibly beyond if they break the rules) even though court action isn't possible in those circumstances... Thanks! broc

Hi folks - thanks for the fast responses. It's in relation to an HFC (formerly Marbles) credit card. I believe 1st Credit are acting on their behalf as I have not received an assignment notice. I sent a CCA request last year and received a print-out of an unsigned agreement. From reading these forums, I was very confused about whehter this constituted full compliance with the Consumer Credit Act. I though that it did, given the later legislation (don't remember the details) which spelt out that a signature did not need to be present. Long and the short of it is, I've no idea if they have a signed agreement. The account was opened in 2006 so I'm guessing not so long ago that an agreement wouldn't be available if they had a rummage in the depths.... Curious though that you mention this as a tactic when the CCA is missing... broc

Hi all, I have received a couple of 25% off letters from 1st Credit but not responded to them. When the time ran out on the first offer, the second offer came and extended the deadline another month. Is this part of a standard series of letters, and is there more to come? Should I hold off before making my own counter offer for a FFS? broc

Hi folks, I wonder if anyone knows the answer to this? It's got me in limbo a bit as to my next steps... Thanks for any help you can offer... broccoli