Good AfternoonOk Thanks very much most appreciatedWessex

Thanks for the advice so far- I have been refused a mortgage twice in recent weeks now because of this default account on my credit file, so if I pay off the debt in full, Santander will not remove the default on the account - so where is the incentive to clear the debt,

What is that then

Good Evening This is the latest reply I have had back form Santander I have had the opportunity to review the details of yourcomplaint and I can confirm that our original decision remains unchanged. It is your contention that the account should have become StatuteBarred in October 2007 as this was the date when six years had passed since anypayment was made into the account. Any subsequent collections activity shouldtherefore be disregarded as had the correct procedure been followed previously,no subsequent action taken would have been necessary. Furthermore, you suggest that the onus was on Santander totrace you to your new address and citer the fact that the third party debtrecovery agency was able to trace your new address as a further example of negligenceon Santander’s behalf. You trust that an amicable arrangement can be reached enablingthe removal of the default information from your credit file. I have investigated the matter and tried to call you todaybut unfortunately I was unable to make contact with you. I can confirm that aspreviously advised we would not consider that the account qualifies undersection 5 of the limitation Act until the point that collections activity was initiated.Prior to this point the account was operating within the agreed terms andconditions. In accordance with our obligations set by the ConsumerCredit Act 2006, we have been writing to your previous address advising of thebalance owed on the account. The aforesaid correspondence of ours was in thereform of Transaction Summary Statements. The Office of Fair Trading guidelines statesthat “if a creditor has been in regular contract with a debtor before the debt isstatute barred, then we do not consider it unfair to continue to attempt to recoverthe debt. It is your responsibility to amend your correspondence details if youchange your address. We are only obliged to correspond with the last knownaddress and cannot be held responsible if you fail to update your details. The account balance remains outstanding and payable to us. Irecommend that you contact us with regards to an offer of settlement of thebalance. We can either consider a full or partial settlement. On receipt ofpayment your credit file can be updated to show the debt as settled. The default will remain on your credit filefor six years from the date it was registered but if you feel that thecircumstances surrounding the default needs to be more fully explained then youcan add a short explanatory statement, called a Notice of Correction, to yourfile by contacting the credit reference agencies directly. This is our final response to your complaint, if you remainunhappy and do not feel etc. Go to the Financial Ombudsman Service

I just have a quick question before I draft a reply letter, this account is now shown as a default account on my credit reference. Can a SB debt still be recorded as default with the Credit Reference Agencies Wessex warrior

Not quite there is more the letter was over three pages Wessex Warrior

Yes that's what I thought as well as saying I have a moral obligation to repay the debt I am assuming that Cahoot had problems in their systems and process (when it was Abbey) now that Santander has taken over they are trying to get some money into their coffers, seems that Cahoot didn`t attempt to recover any debt in over 10 years. If I didn't use the account since November 2001 and didn't make a payment then November 2007 would be when it become SB Thanks Wessex Warrior

Thanks does that mean that I write back to them and counter their statements, where do you interpret that they agree that it is SB

I agree but I was looking for a bit more of a steer ! Looks like I now need to write to the Financial Ombudsman, I was hoping to get this sorted asap

Good Evening Just got this reply to my SB letter Having investigated the issue, I would like to advise you that I am unable to agree with the points you have made> I would like to advise that Section 5 of the Limitations Act 1980 does not apply in your case and the account cannot be deemed Statutory Barred in this instance. I will explain below why as to I believe that to be the case. I would like to clarify that Cahoot MTA accounts weremigrated in September 2010 to the Santander IT platform and started to be administeredin a similar why to other Santander current account. I feel it prudent toremind you that a current account is credited on a regular basis, especiallywhen the Arranged overdraft limit is in use. If no significant credit is madeto the account every month, it becomes credit dormant and its administration isreferred to the Collections and Recoveries department (C & R). Previously, whilstthe dormancy policy existed, it was never executed on the Cahoot MTA Accounts. If the credit dormancy continues, C & R may cancel thelimit, in which case the entire balance becomes an Unarranged Overdraft,instantly payable. If the account continues to be overdrawn and the customerdoes not come to an acceptable payment agreement, the account will be defaultedand cancelled. I note that in your case the limit was cancelled on the 28December 2010 and the balance became Unarranged Overdraft payable instantly. According to our records, your account was last used inNovember 2001. This being said, I note that the account was within its ArrangedOverdraft limit of £1000 until December 2010, when it was cancelled andtherefore, until then we did not record any adverse information against it. On the 23 November 2011 a notice of our intentions toregister default information with the credit reference agencies to which wesubscribe was registered, and the following day we sent you furthercorrespondence give you 4 weeks to clear the overdrawn balance in full, whichwould have prevented the account defaulting. The account balance remainedunpaid on the expiry of the notice period; hence, on the 28thDecember 2011 default information was recorded against the account with thethree credit reference agencies to which we subscribe (Experian, Equifax andCallCredit). It will remain on your credit file for a period of six years. In case of your account no demand for payment was made – dueto the fact the relationship between the parties did not break and that you didnot default on the terms and conditions of the account until December 2011. Itis only when a demand is made to repay an overdraft that the limitations periodbegan to run, and in your case demand for repayment was on made on the 7thOctober 2010, following referral the account to be administered in C & R. We did not have your current address registered for theaccount, and correspondence from C & R was sent to your previous address.The correspondence which we sent to you was never been returned from your previousaddress marked “Gone Away”. However, Cahoot MTA account was designed as anonline account and as such, it was your responsibility to regularly checkonline statements that were sent to you to your registered email address, Hencethe argument that you were unaware of the accounts status is a moot point. It is also you responsibility to update your address detailsand if you failed to do so, we could interpret your actions as avoidance of thedebt. If you have lost access to the account online, you should have liaisedwith Cahoot Customer Services team to get access restored. Whilst we have no intention of taking court action againstyou to the amount outstanding, I can confirm that the debt exists, and you willkeep receiving statements for the account from Santander, highlighting theoutstanding amount. We are obliged to notify the account holders of any balancesoutstanding they have with us, as per the relevant provision of the CustomerCredit Act. The amount £ is a valid debit, and you still have a moralobligation to repay it. It will remain outstanding on our records and we neitherhave the intention to adjust the balance to nil, nor is it our policy to do so. In view of my findings, whilst I acknowledgethat which you advise, I am unable to comply with your request or confirm thatno further contact will be made regarding the above account. The earlier yousettle the debt, the sooner your credit scores improves The final paragraphs are about if I feel that decision is wrong then go the Financial Ombudsman Any advice Thanks Wessex Warrior

Hello Just an update, Letters sent off on Monday, however I have now received the evidence I asked for A computer print out listing transactions from 2000, since 2001 the only transactions have been debit interest on a monthly basis, until Jan 2011. Whilst I changed address in 2003 - between 2001 and 2003 Cahoot obviously made no attempt to recover any debt ! I now have a letter from MC says that if I don`t arrange a repayment plan in the next 14 days they will commence further action Wessex Warrior

Thanks for the offer I will wait until I have had a reply to the Stat time letters that I am sending off tomorrow I am learning a lot here and hopefully may be able to use my knowledge to help others in future Wessex Warrior

Thanks for you reply Yes the accounts are still in the name of Cahoot What information would I require to challenge this practice. Is there any case law for instance Wessex Warrior Wessex Warrior

Do you mean do I have another account in default Is there a reason why Cahoot have waited 8 years to default the account although there has been no transactions by me during that 8 years On my credit report there is another account started at the same time as the current account - a credit card this is also showing in arrears but only for £54 and is showing as green not red. Wessex Warrior

Good Evening I have looked at my Experian report and it show a current account in default - account opened in 2000, I have not used this account for the past ten years but it is showing a default date 28/12/2011 Does the 6 years stat still apply Wessex Warrior