I will certainly be making a complaint to the OFT as you have suggested. 1st Credit have now sent a letter confirming that the debt is statute barred and that they will be taking no further action and are closing the file. I am so glad that this is over as it has been going on for years. This breakthrough is down to the advice for the people on this site, so thank you all again. It also appears that 1st Credit and Lloyds have put the debt on my credit record as a default (and it has been double-counted as they are both registering the default). They are showing the incorrect default date. What I am doing now is to ensure that they remove this from my credit record. Thanks again.

Thank you for the reply. I will send them a letter. Thanks again.

After sending the letter saying that the alleged debt is statute barred, 1st Credit send a letter claiming that a payment was made on the account in October 2007. This is not true, but I suspect that they are referrinbg to a £10 postal order that was sent along with a Subject Access Request that was sent to Connaught at that time. I still have a copy of the SAR along with (1) the postal order receipt, (2) proof of postage, and (3) the letter that Connaught sent in response to the SAR. Additionally, I have a letter from 1st Credit sent after the SAR that shows debits and credits on the debt account with them. This clearly shows no payments. Just wanted some advice as to next steps. Should I ignore the letter as they are clearly grasping at straws, or should I send a letter stating that no payment has been made or asking for proof of the payment. Thanks in advance for any advice.

Thanks J007 - now I know where I stand I may just do that!!! Before the calls would bother me, now I just put the phone down.

Thank you so much for the quick reply. Is this the case even though I have had letters from them and have sent letter back but only to deny the debt (I clearly put in every letter that I do not acknowledge the debt and always refer to the debt as "the alleged debt")? Thanks again

Hello. I have been looking at this forum for a while and it has been very useful. I am having some trouble with 1st Credit and thought it best to begin a new thread. The background is as follows: - In July 2007 I was contacted by Connaught Collections (on behalf of 1st Credit) about a debt from Lloyds TSB for just over £50,000 - I wrote back to them disputing the debt and asked them to prove the debt. Also sent SARs to 1st Credit and Connaught Collections. Received nothing back from 1st Credit and just a letter from Connaught Collections giving one page of information (name, DOB, addresses, debt amount). No statements or credit agreements were sent. - From then on there were a number of letters from Connaught and then 1st Credit (and various “solicitors”) chasing the alleged debt and threatening legal action. Responded every time with a letter denying the debt and asking for proof. Periodically received letter offering a generous discount. Again, sent letters denying the debt and asking for proof. - During middle of April 2010 received a bundle of papers from 1st Credit with some statements for a current account, some screen prints from a computer system that show some other account although it is difficult to identify what the account is. There is also a faxed copy of a credit agreement which isn’t very legible. I have written back, still denying the debt and questioning the information they have sent. I keep getting phone calls from them even though I have asked them in writing to only communicate by letter. Sometimes the people on the phone get very abusive and shout. Although I can’t remember the period very well for various reasons, it looks like the £50,000 they allege is made up as follows: - A loan for £22,000 + PPI cover for around £4,000 (added to the loan balance) giving a total loan of about £26,000. This was I think a consolidation loan for an overdraft that had run up on a current account. Loan was taken out in early 2002; - The remainder looks like an overdraft that continued to accumulate, although the statements are unclear. For various reasons I got into trouble. I moved house and then the debts look like they were sold. The last payment on the loan was in late 2002, after which the payments stopped according to the screen prints. From then until late 2005 interest continued to be added to the loan until it looks like it was sold in Oct 2005 (balance £34,000). There is a small payment into the loan account just before it was sold, although this wasn’t by me (it is marked “ccd rebate” on the statement). I’m not sure what to do or whether they can take me to Court as they keep threatening. I’m not sure whether the loan is Statute Barred. Also, I think the loan agreement may have some issues (although the copy is a fax copy and not very good). For example, is says that the Credit Agreement is regulated by the Consumer Credit Act 1974 even though the total loan (inc. the additional amount added to the loan for PPI) is over £25,000. Sorry for the long post – just wanted to put as much info as possible. And thanks in advance for any help.