The letter would be great setting out particulars of claim for a court action but is far too long to be sent to a debt collector of dubious reading and comprehension abilities. I would cut it back drastically so as to be short and to the point - you have failed to provide me with the requested details as required by law, remove the default and p*** off.

Bear in mind that opening someone else's mail is illegal! Intrigued to know who the company is - the threats it makes can only be carried out after a court order is obtained.

If you think you're paying too much each month you should write to Crapquest stating as much - don't do it on the phone, you need a paper trail. Enclose an income and expenditure statement which will show you really can only afford £so much. State clearly if the offer is refused you will pay only that sum anyway and if they feel strongly about it they could take you to court. This is something that Cquest and others will not do because a) it will cost them money upfront and b) a judge will only order you to pay what you can reasonably afford. If this is less than what you are offering then so be it. Crapquest would then also be prevented from hassling you for more money because the amount could only be varied by a court. If they try to hassle you that would be contempt and they would face the wrath of a judge. What everyone must remember is that the debt collectors really have very few options other than to bully and harass and will run a mile from court action.

This isn't really an old debt and while Capquest may appear to be acting unreasoably in calling you 3/4 times a day and being rude they could justify that by your actions too. You could write to Capquest and ask them for a copy of the signed, true copy ofthe credit agreement and proof of their entitlement to chase you for this money plus a statement of account. If they fail to provide it you are in quite a strong position to offer them a full and final offer of considerably less than you owe - say 10-15%. This would be on the basis of "well you don't have the documents so p*** off but I'm being reasonable" If they do have the paperwork and provide you with copies you could still make them an offer but it would need to be higher, 50-60%, and Capquest then may turn it down.

SLH said the debt was run up 10 years ago and MHall asked them to contacted them which they did. The payment appears to have been made well after the statute barred limit kicked in. Once six years have passed nothing will unbar it and while a payment may have been made it does not start the clock ticking again. There is nothing MHall or any other debt collecting company can do to make you pay a debt that is statute barred other than huff, puff and threaten. The advice i would give is to make MHall prove the debt isn't statute barred and if they can't to crawl back up their drainpipe.

A SARN to Mackenzie Hall will cost you £10 - a cheque they will cash as soon as their grubby little hands open the envelope. BUt this company have a poor reputation for responding to legitimate requests for information so it may be a waste of money. Incidentally MHall don't appear, yet, to be in the debt-buying business. Every letter I have seen from this excuse of a company suggeststhey are acting on behalf of clients.

Every case is different and we don't know the full facts of this one but it apears to be typical MHall bulls**t. From what you tell us the debt is 10 years old so it is statute barred and nothing, not even you making a payment recently will unbar it. I would write to MHall demanding they provide you with proof of the debt - there's a template letter on this forum that you can use. It will cost £1 (a postal order is best even though that costs a bit more, make sure its crossed and made payable to MHall) and send it recorded delivery. Then wait for their reply - in my experience it will be quite a while! If they cannot provide the proof, in the form of a statement of account, a signed true copy of the credit agreement and their right to chase you they cannot do anything. In any event if it is statute barred while they can huff and puff and make outrageous threats there isn't anything they can actually do to make you pay.

If you used the template letter found on this forum and others and paid the statutory £1 for the details - a signed, true copy of the agreement, statement of accound and a deed of assignment (if applicable) the company are obliged under the CCA 1974 to supply them - end of story. What you have received is bulls**t and you need do nothing more than report the company to the OFT and your Trading Standards office for non-compliance. Remember to send a copy of this letter when you do so. I would not bother them with a reply and if their tame debt collectors start hassling you for cash tell them the matter is in dispute, you have asked for details and until these are supplied you will not discuss the matter further. By the way who is this company?

If you send the letter by recorded delivery you have proof of postage and delivery. Check the Royal Mail website and you'll have confirmation someone signed for the letter. The Royal Mail will provide a copy of that signature for a fee - useful if it goes to court. The 12 working days starts from the date of receipt. Working days are Mon-Fri. The month is described as a calendar month so October would be 31 days plus a couple of days leeway for the Royal Mail - unlikely to be needed because if they haven't provided the details within the 12 day limit the scumbags are hardly likely to come up with the goods at the deadline.

You don't need a template - if you do want to write you tell them simply they are in deafult of your request, a criminal offence has been committed, you are reporting them to the statutory authorities (OFT and Trading Standards), you will ignore all future correspondence until the requested documentation is provided. Furthermore you may regard any collection action harrassment and could report this to the police. But if I were you I would ignore them. At the same time I would carefully file away their letters and log any calls they may make.

Technically a CCJ never lapses until its satisfied but if it doesn't show up on your credit file it strengthens your hand because the muppets at Mackenzie Hall will have tio go to court and persuade a judge to renew it. From what you say it sounds very much as if our mates from Ayrshire are on a fishing trip and if Mackenzie Hall say there is a CCJ they will have to provide details it exists, simple as that.

Ignore Westcot and for that matter Moorcroft. The latter have defaulted on a legitimate request for information they are legally required to provide and cannot take further action. Westcot cannot just take over because it is against OFT guidelines to have two ****** companies chasing the same account. I would report both companies to the OFT as soon as possible. By the way you may be wrong in thinking Moorcroft has sold the account on to Westcot. Few **** collectors are actually buyers and more often than not are agents collecting on behalf of a larger company usually the bank,credit card company or finance house. If this is the case write to this company, tell them you will not deal with their monkeys and insist on dealing with this through them. They are responsible for the actions of their third-party agents whatever they may tell you. The threat of a press notice appearing as a story in one of the papers is usually enough to make them realise you know what's what.

One months water rates in my house would be £16. A whole year's rates is less than £200. Mackenzie Hall are having a laugh demanding £400 - and its at your expense. I own a property which is let to students. While they pay no council tax (exempt the lazy gits) they pay the other utilities. When they leave, usually in June, I hold onto their deposits until August to make sure they have no unpaid bills. As the landlord I am ultimately responsible for the utility bills. This may be the same in your case and it is your former landlord who should be chased by these ****. You could find out the identity of the landlord by paying £2 to the Land Registry.

You don't have to prove anything to them. Simply write to them stating you moved out of the property when you did, you have no way of contacting the landlord and you will challenge any action they may take against you in court. You should still write to Ofwat and the OFT to lodge complaints about both companies.

Hold on right there! Something isn't quite right here. They don't have your current address, they spelt your name wrong and the information is sketchy but they want you to pay £650 within a week. I could do that with lots of people I know but none of them would pay me. They would tell me to f@@@ o**! For a start make no more phone to Mackenzie Hall or the finance company. Write to both companies requesting full details of the debt, This is the CCA S77/78 letter and it will cost you a £1. There is a link round here somewhere and when I find it I'll post it. It is important you send this letter by recorded delivery. This letter forces Mackenzie Hall and the other company to provide you with full details and a statement of account within 12 working days. Set your calendar. If they fail the debt becomes unenforceable and a judge will laugh them out of court. If they take more than 30 days they commit a criminal offence and a judge would take an even dimmer view. You say the finance company said the settled figure was the sum they sold it to Mackenzie Hall who are now chasing you for £650. Is there a big difference?

Write to the information commissioner outlining what has happened. Do so briefly offering full details and copies of correspondence etc later. Ask the IC to take action to remove the defaults. Write to the OFT to report this compnay for failing to comply with the law. Don't expect them to do anything though. You don't have to write to aktiv and you should be aware that failure to comply with the request means any action they take is unenforceable. Some would say no details = no debt.

Write to Northumbrian Water and address it to the chief executive - he can re-direct it to the appropriate deptartment. Send it recorded delivery so you have a record of it being received. Tell them you expect your costs in this matter to be set against your water bill.

I would love to send the bailiffs in but to do that I would need a court order and I doubt whether Mackenzie Hall's bosses, for all their ignorant and arrogant posing, would allow that to happen because it would seriously affect their ability to hold a consumer credit licence. If puhs comes to shove they will pay!

Not up to you to prove the debt exists, that's for Mackenzie Hall to do. If thye say you owe it they should be able to provide the documents. You have not been sent court papers. This is Mackenzie Hall posturing and threatening as usual and you should do as has already been suggested write to Northumbrian Water to complain about THEIR debt collectors and insist they take the account back. Whatever they may say about the matter being locked they are responsible for the actions of their colectors. Mackenzie Hall won't volunteer to give it back because they will lose money on it. As I said earlier make a fuss and let everyone know about the actions of these scumbags

"I therefore seek an IMMEDIATE REFUND of the CCA statutory fee totalling £1.00, which you happily cashed without being able to honour my request." A VERY,VERY good idea but the remark about the £30 charge isn't. It smack of a penalty charge which this website was formed to advise people how to fight! The best thing would be to give them a deadline then insitigate legal action to recover it. That will cost you money -I don't know how much for a £1 but by then it will also include your costs so failing to pay you back a quid will set them back a lot more! I want to know how you get on with this one because I'm in the same situation with this company only they owe me £11 - CCA + SARN, neither of which they have complied with.

Send the complaint to Northumbrian Water. Tell them you will not deal with their debt collecting muppets. Also send a copy to Ofwat, the water company regulators. Check to make sure that it is a real court action. Are the papers signed, do they name the county court, is there a seal - Mackenzie Hall have a habit of sending out fake or court-looking papers. There have been suggestions the company has had its knuckles rapped over action of this kind. If this is what they are doing write to the OFT, they won't do anything but at least you've told them. You may also consider reporting it to Trading Standards, your area and East Ayrshire Council There are also suggestions, contained in the minutes of Northumbrian Watervoice, the consumer's panel, that Mackenzie Hall will not discuss anything with third parties like CAB's. They had their knuckles rapped on this too so a note to them would not go amiss. To conclude - make a fuss If Mackenzie

You need to find out more information about this new default. A default cannot be re-registered. It is lodged once, has a life of six years on your crf and then automatically drops off. Find out what it is and if it is related to the matter you have raised with MH get it removed. Tell them it is defamatory and you will sue for libel. This will cost money but there have been instances reported recently of banks paying out cash sums after defaults etc were wrongly registered.

Don't forget to send it recorded delivery. And enclose a postal order crossed and made payable to Mackenzie Hall. This will be your proof that you have sent the request and they have received it. While the fee is theirs to do as they please cashing the postal order will confirm (in a court's eyes) their responsibility for providing the requested details. When they will fail to deliver, as they tend always to do, report them!

No details = no debt. Its as simple as that. Mackenzie Hall/Moorcroft et al would be barking up the wrong tree if they tried to collect without providing you with any proof. You wouldn't pay up on their say so would you? They are unlikely to take it to court because a judge would take a dim view of their actions and could take it out on them by awarding costs against them for wasting the court's time. (If they try you must make sure to dispute it)

As far as I am aware the Limitations Act 1980 applies when no contact (at all, at all!!) has been made between the creditor and debtor within the six year time limit. The law says: "Should the creditor fail to maintain contact with the debtor, for a period of 6 years or more, it is possible to claim that the outstanding debt is "Statute Barred" under the conditions of the Limitations Act 1980." Cabot may have instructed Logic and ScotCall to collect this debt (the latter have collecting agents) but if you keep your head down and make no contact with them once the time is up you can decide to send them the statute barred letter which you will find on other threads. If a creditor continues to contact you after accepting that a debt is Statute Barred and you have stated that you no longer intend to pay the debt, you may be able to claim harassment contrary to section 40 (1) of the Administration of Justice Act 1970.