It's not so much a naked figure on what my personal allowance for the period concerned is that I'm looking for; I'm wondering how to go about paying, whether I should have been paying all this time, whether I'm in any trouble, and so on.

A while ago, I started putting AdSense ads on a hobby website I was keeping. It didn't really make any money, until 2012, when it took off. Since April 2012, until today, it's made about £8,000. This has been my only income in that time (I claim no benefits). I'm hoping to formalize this website in to some kind of business very soon, but I have absolutely no idea about what tax (if any) I should pay on my 8 grand, when I should pay, how, or anything. I have no problem giving the government what they want. What should I do? Thanks.

Just as a recap for anyone who is skipping right to the end, I have £500ish debt that I am 90% sure is statute barred. They've recently obtained my new address and have sent various letters. People in this thread have advised I ignore the letters. They have since sent me a letter offering reduced payment by a certain deadline which has now passed. I ignored this letter too. Today, the 7th, they've sent me a new letter dated the 2nd, saying that 7 days after the date of the letter they intend to instruct they're Legal Department to review "my" account. It says it may involve applying for a CCJ. Then it goes into a bunch of reasons why I wouldn't want a CCJ, etc, and ends in the normal plea to contact them. So, is this the time to contact them, or is this yet another phishing attempt? I pretty much figured, after they sent me the payment option, they had nothing. If they had something - or so my lay logic goes - they'd have used it by now. If it's still wise to ignore them, when do I contact them? Thanks again.

If the door is open, can they just walk in?

So the best course of action is to just sit tight? At what point should I take action? Just a recap for anyone jumping straight to end of this thread: I have an approximately £500 debt which I last acknowledge around 6 years ago. I'm 75% sure it was over 6 years ago, 25% it will be 6 years within a couple of months.

(I originally posted this in a new thread, but I'm merging it with this one instead. I'm still trying to work out how to delete the superfluous ones). I received a new letter from them last week, with he following text: In previous letters sent to you it was made clear that unless an acceptable offer of repayment was made, we would take appropriate steps to recover the amount owing. As you have failed to enter into a repayment plan we may instruct an agent in your area to visit your home to discuss repayment of your account. Unless you make contact with us within the next five days our agent will contact you with a view to arrange a visit Monday to Saturday between the hours of 8.00am - 9.00pm. To prevent the above action taking place you MUST contact us URGENTLY so we can advise you accordingly. Chances this is still phishing, and the debt is statute barred? Chances they will turn up at my door? Any advice on the best way to proceed? Somebody replied in the other thread saying to ignore it. At what point do I stop ignoring it?

Once again, thanks to everyone for their help. Is this an assumption, or are you sure? Isn't this a violation of data protection, on their behalf? I've asked for no credit from them.

So my bank would have given my address to a credit ratings agency, even though I haven't applied for any credit with them? When they notified for change of address, would they have given the old address I changed from, as well? If not, they're still just fishing, right?

I haven't applied for any credit, or checked my credit history. I was claiming JSA with this as a care of address about 3 years ago. My bank account is registered here. I've ordered various small items online from here. I have a few online poker accounts registered here. Other than that, that's it. I'm not on the electoral roll, I'm not registered for tax anywhere. I'm not employed. Nothing.

Okay, they've sent me a new letter now. It's a "Statement of your account". It says "This notice is being given to you as required by the consumer credit act 1974 because you fell behind with your payments under this agreement with your original creditor." The period covered is 01/10/2008 to 30/04/2010, and there are no payments shown. Does this change any of the advice above? One thing I'm wondering is, how do they know it's me? Sure, they know my name, and that I live in roughly the same part of the country as where the debt was incurred, but how do they know it's the right me? I haven't got a very common name, but it's not uncommon either. Are they likely to know it's me (I'm not on the electoral roll) some how, or are they likely sending this stuff to everyone with my name?

Ah right. How can I be sure it is a phantom payment, though? Basically, if they're going to play that game with me, how can I be sure it's a game, without acknowledging the debt? There's always the 1% chance that I have my dates mixed up. If I do, it won't be by much more than a year, in which case I won't have to stall for much longer (like a few months) until the 6 years is up. Is there anyway I can enquirer, without resetting the clock?

Thanks again guys. sam614: I don't understand this line: "first reponse from them would be the "attemped payment that you recently made," Could you rephrase?

Thanks for the replies, guys. I incurred the debt in early 2003, and I don't have detailed records for this anymore, but I'm sure I only made a few of the payments, back in late mid-late 2003, before I put my head in the sand (I was 19, at the time). I may have even made a payment in early 2004, but basically, it's got to be over 6 years. What has happened in the interim is that my parents have received plenty of calls from various different companies (unless it's the same company, changing it's name) every couple of months, to which they've said a variety of different things. The whole gamut, ranging from "Me no speak English", to "I've never heard of him", to "He was lost at sea 2 years ago", and perhaps even the semi-truth, which is "That guy moved out a few years ago, we don't hear from him". Could any such answers count as acknowledgement? Even if they don't come from me? Plenty of letters have been marked return to sender, though never so by me. And I haven't replied or responded to any of their communications for over 6 years. The recent letter says this (sparring you the full text): Reference number, Original Creditor, Outstanding Balance: £501 (minus £8.02, to hide it from search engines), my original address. A blurb about how I should contact them to resolve the matter between them and their client, in order to avoid their client taking further action. The company is Lowell Financial, and the "client" is Lowell Portfolio I Ltd. A request to pay in full, or contact them to agree a term. It then says "On contacting us you will also be given the opportunity to discuss how we can work together to find a solution to clear your outstanding balance." This seems a little weird to me, because is the figure above the outstanding balance, and wasn't the previous text about clearing it? It makes me wonder if the "client" is owed that balance, and the people who are writing the letter have a balance of fees they consider me to owe. There's the usual thing about not making my situation worse, a phone number, and a paying slip. I have the ability to contact them by email pretty well anonymously, but I would really rather not acknowledge my address at all, as I'd like as few people as possible (especially them) knowing where I live. I'm not sure how they got my address, I'm not even on the electoral roll. I guess perhaps my current bank gave it to them, though I would have thought this was a violation of data protection. I also have the ability to contact them addresslessly (so to speak) by Skype, where I can also record the call. My biggest short term concern is getting bailiffs at the door. Our flat is unlocked with the front door ajar quite a lot of the time. Is there any risk of this happening imminently, without further warning? Any ideas on the best way to proceed?

Hi, I incurred a debt of about £500, back in early 2003. I was paying it back for a short time (over six years ago), but I haven't contacted them, or acknowlegded their letters at all during that time, because they haven't had a real address for me. However, now, somehow, they've found my real address. I'll pay it, if I have to, but I'm just looking for advice on what traps not to fall in to. Is there any chance that as soon as I contact them they'll say that in the 6 interim years, it's skyrocketed to £5000, or something ridiculous like that? Should I know anything about how to acknowledge their letter, or anything? Can I be cheeky, and offer them a penny a year for the rest of my life, or some such? I'm just looking for some quick entry level information on what sort of things I should consider before I make that first response. Thanks.