Do i write to Cabot or Ruthbridge? I assume Cabot. Thanks

I did waffle a bit.. Its just that i know what spam is like and even the most obscure email address will get some at some point, but when my financial trouble started the spam on my credit card email address increased substantially. And when i checked out one of the links in the email it was registered to an employee at one of the debt collection agencies. Yes trying to trick me into contacting them or trick me into trying to buy something which would then let them know that i had money to spend i guess.

100% true on the adverts for big screen TVs at discount prices, this was back in 2007 ish when they were always doing naughty things like posting little white cards saying you missed a parcel and to call to arrange redelivery. Yet it had a stamp in it. Someone did mention which company that was likely to be. Something logistics? I know i have jumped the gun a bit on some unknown phone numbers. But i am 101% sure that the website offering cheap goods was registered to the same person working at one of the debt collection companies. Fairly sure it was a Chinese name. Anyone remember a chinese guy working work a debt collection company. Vaugue memory that the company being London based but the domain registered more towards Devon? The guy had also setup his own debt company, or another company with him named on it. If it was just general spam then i totally agree, but the only link to the email was my CC bills and my ISP. And that doesnt explain the website being registered to the same name of the guy at the debt collection company. I know its far too late to for them to do anything, just the wife worried. I said i need to post a letter tomorrow and she worried again that it would start something off. I dont care either way thanks to all the info from you guys. She is in 2 minds about the letter. She said ignore them, i said are you sure because a letter should stop them calling ever again. Thanks, guys. Printing the letter now so she can have the choice to ignore and tell them to go away or post it in the morning. A big thank you.

Andy, if it was just me then they can call as much as they like. I have a call blocker which is probably stuffed with their phone numbers over the years. If i do actually pickup then they wont get far with me. But the wife worries and will always think they can come in and take everything. LATE EDIT: For the cost of a stamp, it may put a stop to them. Its been a long time now, and i have probably mentioned when it first happened we didnt know what would/could happen. Phone calls at all hours of the day and night, text messages to the house phone which came through at midnight and then repeated if you didnt pickup within a couple of hours. Cards received with a stamp saying we have a parcel and call to redeliver. The email address i used for banking was then suddenly hit with a ton of SPAM, Websites offering cheap TVs etc. Registered to someone that worked at one of the debt companies.. Coicidence? I think not.. Chinese guy? I had letters from virtually all the debt companies... Thanks everyone.

Is the local number a ruse to get those that know the 013 numbers are mostly debt collectors and to ignore it where a local call maybe answered? Or to make me think they have a local office and worry i will get a knock on the door? I wonder if they will play the you paid us ££ on (date within 6 years) so its not statute barred? So just send the letter as it and not modify it at all? Will do that,. Thanks

Persistent little so and so's. Heard nothing for years and now a call virtually every day. Wife answered a call today with a local number, do they have offices all over or do they have batch numbers they use from a call centre? Caller was arrogant and sounded threatening she said "I NEED and I WANT to speak to (My Name)". Must remember to try and record them if they call and i answer. Re: the SB letter. I dont need the without prejudice do I? Not admitting to anything new which could have reset the SB clock. No payments since Aug 2006. Although i thought it was later. Do i change the number of years or just leave it at over 6? 7.15.4 applies to me mostly. I have not spoken to them since at least Sept 2006 never mind admitted anything to them. Do i still put 7.15.8 in ? even though i have not actually conveyed this to them? I chose the ignore until they give up. I wonder how many other accounts they have of mine? Would i need to do this to any other letters with different account numbers? Or should this give them warning im not interested? Thanks.

Thanks. I really must stop being so lazy. Although i read something the other day, someone had been paying a token amount to a debt collector for many many years and the debt has increased and increased. Someone told them it would be statute barred after 6 years, but they were quite upset to be told no because you're still paying them. So glad i looked into this and i am not in that situation. Time to move on Thanks again. No more credit... Want it now. Pay for it now. Thanks all.

It was mentioned before the debt still exists and they can ask for payment. But what method is acceptable and how often? Is there a general rule. After sending the SB letter how often can they still ask "can we have some money please mister"? Thanks

Sorry guys, i took the lazy approach and ignored everything again. I have received nothing for a long time and then suddenly a letter from Cabot saying they are passing my debt to Ruthbridge, a debt collection agency. In the same envelope (is money too tight to post 2 letters?) A letter from Ruthbridge saying to contact them. I had a message on my answerphone.. This is a call for (silence) Please contact us using your reference. Thats it. I googled the number to see Ruthbridge mentioned. This is a Citi card debt with the last payment in 2006. So long past being statute barred. Its time to move on now and put a stop to these letters dragging up a period i would rather forget. Will they stop or will they write forever? Thank you. PS i know i am a pain the the bottom and so lazy when it comes to dealing with these people but its time to do something. (if possible) PS. Do i phone, email or write to them? Thanks

Similar issue here. Cabot sent a letter saying they are passing my account over to "Ruthbridge Limited, a debt collection agency." Ruthbridge will contact me within 7 days, and in the same envelope is a letter from Ruthbridge saying to contact them and not Cabot. Same envelope i presume the same company? These debts are well past being statute barred. Last payment towards them being 2006. Had a half baked phone call left on the answer machine from someone also. Contact us using your reference. They didnt mention my name. System glitched and missed that. They didnt say who they were also. I have been rather lazy and just ignored all attempts of contact and even though, advice on here (excellent advice, thanks) i have been ultra lazy and just ignored them. But now its time all this was forgotten and put behind me. As per the OP i expect its time to move on. Sorry if this intrudes on your thread. But please dont be lazy like me. Otherwise 11 years on you maybe getting silly letters also.

Maybe me worrying too much? I have switched to first direct and no problems so far. Shame i have no money to put into it, I have had my ESA stopped. Getting a mandatory reconsideration in now and hoping to be able to get some more evidence from the doctors, but it seems they dont like having to supply this because its a lots of work and they appear to have had a run of them. I may have to pay for it? Thanks for asking.

Is it normal for the manager to sit in on an account opening? Would my past history have affected that and he had the decide whether to allow us to open it or not? Seemed strange to me. Especially when they found my old emails address etc on file.

Thanks. I have been told that banks can take funds even though it maybe statute barred, were they wrong? My last payment towards the debts was approx August 2006 so statue barred before 2013. I know the Santander had my details on file and i was curious as to why the Manager sat in whilst we opened the account. Making sure i was genuine and not going to run up debts? If he had doubts about me opening the account would he have said no? Thanks.

I posted a while back about my concern when opening a Santander current account that they had my details on file already. This was from a cahoot loan/credit card combination account. Going back to 2006 ish i had a lot of credit card debt and totally stuck my head in the sand and ignored them all. I tried to explain being off work on the sick to MBNA or Citi or Capital One i forget which now. But they were not helpful at all and wouldnt do anything until i had missed a payment. So they whacked charges onto charges and i had nowhere to turn and ignored them Moving on and they were all statute barred and nothing ever paid to them, not proud but circumstances gave me no other options. When i opened my account and they mentioned the cahoot details i had a panic moment and thought they would take the money away to pay the old debt. Nothing was ever mentioned but when opening the account the manager sat in taking notes but said nothing. To make matters worse i opened the account with my partner so she will be linked to me now also. Looking to change accounts now and wonder is it safe to choose a company linked to any of the credit cards i had all those years ago? How many of these cards are linked to accounts and am i worrying over nothing after all this time? A call blocker on my landline now means it rarely rings. I was still getting dodgy calls at all hours of the day and night until that was installed. The 2 email address that i used for the banking still gets tons of spam every single day, although the tempting offers of cheap consumer goods and PPI protection and offers of loans have reduced now. Rather more than a coincidence that out of 14 AOL email addresses the only 2 that get the spam are the 2 i used for banking. Even the ones used for chat which used to get harvested do not get anywhere near that much spam. The domains are mostly registered in Bermuda. If my memory still works i had these cards/accounts Citi, Capital One, MBNA, Monument, Cahoot CC/Loan, Barclaycard. Its embarrassing to see all that now but credit seemed easy back then. I think thats the lot? Any banks not safe to open an account with? You maybe pleased (or not) to know i have stayed debt free since. I have one credit card with a small limit thats paid off 100% each month. I do not wish to make that mistake again. Thanks all

Are they supposed to still send statements out? I have had nothing for several years now. Its possible they got sold on, but as i mentioned in my debt threads there were a lot of letters from many different companies, some chasing the same debts. From what i gather it was probably just internal departments with different names. This account was for the wife, she has not been able to open an account for some reason, slight issue with her not appearing on the electoral roll. She was accepted and we should have left it at that and not made it into a joint account. Just trying to cut our costs and get a few extra pennies here and there. Were told the 123 account will save us money on our household bills. Costs £24 a year but it will save us more than double that. My plan now is to just put enough in there to cover the direct debits and not leave a penny extra. Since all the defaults in 2006/2007 i have not spent more than we get, I do have a credit card with a small amount that we use for the shopping and pay in full every month. Wife is under strict instructions that the first time we cannot pay it all off it gets cut up and binned. I thought i had a 2nd chance having learned a big lesson and a fresh start and this has popped up. Do i just hope they sold the debt on and wont be claiming anything back? Another worry is we put the bill money in and setup the direct debits and then the direct debits fail. With companies adding charges for missed direct debits will hurt us financially.

Oh dear, So my partners small savings account which is also with them is safe? There is a couple of hundred she keeps for emergencies only. As the ESA money is a joint claim is there any limit on what they can take? Whats my best option do you think? Dont use the account and then switch to another hopefully get one that pays to switch if there is one? Or just remove my name from the account? We dont want to be paying £2 a month to have an empty account sitting there and not able to use it. The idea was to save money as funds get ever tighter. I know i didnt pay my debts and owe the money but my future doesnt look like i will be able to sort that any time soon. Thanks.

I was going to use it to put my ESA money into it instead of having to goto the postoffice. And then pay my bills by direct debit from the account. Have i now scuppered my partners credit file also? Surely they cannot add my old debts onto her file as this debt was solely mine. Partners credit file is empty nothing at all, Just a post office account and nothing else. Had issues with not appearing on the electoral roll for some reason. But thats sorted now. Would they have opened the account and given me an overdraft and chequebook etc if they were going to offset any money in there? Can they take money from an ESA payment?

Oh dear, The account paperwork has been done and as far as i am aware approved and just awaiting the paperwork. They even offered me an overdraft facility which i declined. I dont want more debt and have avoided falling into the trap of spending what i do not have. It was a big lesson when i could not pay the bills. I have no idea if they sold the debt on or have kept it inhouse, Anyone know what cahoot would have done in this situation? Maybe they sold it on and closed their file? Or should i expect everything to go smoothly then find they take money i put into the account? Are there any limitations on the offsetting? Easy credit and a spend now pay later attitute has certainly come back to bite me. Thanks. Another detail that may have an affect. The first missed payment was late 2006, Santander didnt take over until 2007 i think? Been googling and i found some info from 2014 that said Santander cherry picked the customer from cahoot and left the bad ones? Is that right?

I had a feeling that maybe the case, Can they dip into my ESA money though as its barely enough to live on these days. Bills increasing and no increase in what the ESA pays. But i am in a limbo where my health prevents work, but does not fit into a category where i am entitled to more benefits. It sucks, but i know of people in worse situations so i have to look on the bright side. Is there anything to stop them taking the money? What if i open as a joint account instead of just being in my name? They cannot link my old debts to another account holder can they? Thanks. PS. whats E&W?

Apologies if this is the wrong section but its a bit awkward. I had some serious debt issues that are now statute barred, Cahoot was one of them and i went to open a bank account at Santander and they had my details already. I thought how will they have that, Then i found out they took over Cahoot some time ago. As the debts were not repaid and are now statute barred if they do let me open this account will they be able to claim any funds from it towards the debts i did not pay? I still have health issues and i am not working, Just claiming ESA with no other income. Will they let me open an account and can they take any money towards the old debts? Thanks in advance. PS. My credit file is now empty and nothing showing, All i wanted it a basic account that would let me pay bills etc. They said a 123 account would suit me. Do you think they will reject me?

She has just filed for JSA. She will be doing maths/english at the local college whilst looking for work also. Waiting for them to contact her to find out what money she will get. In the meantime we have received the rent form and seems we will have to pay £18.45 a week rent and an additional £14.73 council tax. Im puzzled how they arrive at these figures? Rent even shows her earnings at 1p ? What does a young person get on JSA £57? I have no idea how we are going to manage. Lose £70 a week? Tax credits and family allowance. I was on IB and IS. Now ESA. My health prevents me from working but apparantly not bad enough to claim anything for it. The guy at the job centre calls me to see if there is any change in my condition. I think he knows im not putting it on and only phones so he can tick his form to say he spoke to me. Thanks.

Thanks, I didnt think anyone was going to reply. Because i am not working my CT bill was around £200. We had already paid £80 when the letter arrived saying the new balance was £680 after deducting the CT and the £80. So my discount would be around £2 a week? So if she signs on and gets what £50 a week? One weeks money pays that months countil tax, Another weeks money to go towards the rent? Then money to travel to and from the job centre? So she will have less than £25 a week to buy food and clothes? I know they want to stop people living the life of riley but thats madness. No wonder youngsters move out and have 20 kids.

This maybe a long thread. I will try to keep it short and add info as required. Major concern at the moment is the constant council tax bills. Since May they keep sending me bills for higher amounts because my circumstances have changed. No changes in May though. Quick bit of basic info. I have been off work since 2007 with a prolapsed disc which in turn affects my toilet and bowel works. Originally on IB but now i guess ESA? The job centre call me overy 6 months or so and say hello any change. Then say they will call in another 6 months. In the meantime my Daughter has grown up. Done 6th form and 2 years at college. But her grades in Maths is holding her back from the next stage in the courses. She will be 20 next month. Wife also doing Math's and English courses at a different college to my daughter. I spoke to the Council (Birmingham) in May about the bill. They said its because my daughter has left college. No she is still at college and not due her exams until June. Bill revised and all quiet for a month. Then a late payment letter and they said they didnt receive the proof she was still at college. Sent again. Another bill with the original figures on it. And now 2 weeks later another higher bill. Daughter went to sign on but told she shouldnt sign on until tax credits and family allowance expire. In September she will be starting a Maths and English course. But will she have to sign on still? She is hoping to get a part time job also. But just missed out on one recently. And what happens about this council tax bill? Our money will br drastically reduced yet they want more money? I wont be able to afford to pay it. I dont even know where to go to get advice these days. All the offices seemed to have closed. And the job centre is deserted except about 10 security guards for each person signing on. (exaggerated of course. But it looked that way). Thanks.

Safe to start shredding? Or not? Its well over 6 years so what can they do now? Just CC debts that i could not afford to pay due to being off work. And currently still off work on ESA/Income support. No other benefits or income, And no fraud commited on the accounts or change of address and not told them etc. Got me worried again now. What can happen?

Nope not moved or denied living here, And never received any genuine court papers. Last transaction August/Sept 2006. No court record on credit file either.