Do SLC sell debts to Credit collection agencies?

[shuck]

Hi,

 

Can anyone advise me if the SLC sell debts to credit collection agencies?

 

I received a letter from a CA in March stating that I should pay £3K within 7 days etc, etc. After reading through several threads on this site, I sent of a statute barred letter as I was sure that there was no acknowlegement of this debt for over 5 years (Scotland). I never received a response to this letter. After several weeks I received a letter from Scotcall who are based in Glasgow stating that the account had been passed to me. The letter included the usual demands 7 days to pay etc. I decided to send the same statue barred letter by RD and have yet to receive a response. It is now approximately 6 weeks since I sent this letter off.

 

Has anyone got any advice on my situation?

[tiglet]

Hi,

 

Firstly, they may not have sold the debt but may be asking debt collectors to collect on their behalf - you should have received a notice of assignment if they had sold it.

 

Secondly, when is the debt from? If it's an old style loan (you started uni before 1997) then it will be statute barred. If it's after that, then it is a contract under seal and they have 12 years to collect.

 

Give us a few more details and we will see if we can help you.

[rory32]

If it's after that, then it is a contract under seal and they have 12 years to collect.

This is a Scottish debt tiglet. Contracts under seal are 20 years not 12 as in England.

[shuck]

Thanks for your response Tiglet and Rory32. The debt is from 1998, so I guess that it is still enforceable. I am surprised that the SLC did not just deduct payments from my wages as they should have my national insurance number and be able to trace where I work from contacting HMRC.

 

Am I right in thinking then that the debt is enforceable? If so what can I expect from Scotcall? I only have a mobile phone so there is no chance of them threatening me on the phone, which is a blessing.

 

Any advice on how best to deal with this situation?

[shuck]

I forgot to ask if the SLC do in fact sell debt to Debt collection agencies?

[knoxvillain]

SLC have passed my debt to 3 collection agencies, I won't say they never sell them on but in my experience so far they haven't.

 

Was the 1998 loan your only one or did you take out any before 1998? I started in 1997 and my loan was old style so my 1998 and 1999 ones were also old style, it goes from when you first applied for your first loan I believe.

[rory32]

it goes from when you first applied for your first loan I believe.

Spot on knoxvillian. If your first loan was the old style CCA one then all modifying agreements e.g. a new loan would be covered by this.

[shuck]

The loan I got was in 1998. I have today received a letter from the SLC stating that I should pay all the arrears on my account which is the sum of £3440.86 within 10 days or court action will commence. Is it worth sending the SLC a statute barred letter asit is over 5 years since I have had any contact from them? I cannot afford to pay this as I do not have the funds, any advice would be welcome.

 

I am surprised that the SLC passed this debt onto a CA and have now decided to contact me directly. Surely the SLC having my NI number etc could have got in touch with me or taken the money directly from my wages via HMRC. Why then did they have to send it to 2 different CA's? What has went on here?

[IdaInFife]

It is not statue barred if you took this out in 1998.

 

If you are unsure of the amount or date and think their maybe fees and charges added you can send them a SAR to get all the info you need.

 

 

Ida x

[tiglet]

Might also be worth sending a CCA request.

[IdaInFife]

I thought that the the loans after 1998 weren't covered by the CCA

 

 

ida x

 

 

A student loan is a debt under statute, this means that the Limitations Act (LA)1980 does apply. The limitations period on this debt is 6 years and not 12 years. However, as this is a new style student loan, HMRC can deduct repayments directly from your PAYE even if the debt is statute barred, which only allows you to defend the matter if it is taken through the courts.

 

It will be up to you whether you want to contact SLC or wait for them to contact you. If they did find you, they could start to recover the debt through your PAYE. If they were unable to find you, there is a possibility that they may treat this as a bad debt and sell it onto a debt collection agency (DCA). If this was to happen, the DCA would then try to recover the debt from you. If 6 years have passed with no written acknowledgment and no part payment you can then use the statute barred argument. If the DCA were to start court action, this can be used as a defence, however we would recommend that you get legal advice and take into account the additional costs that may be involved if your defence is unsuccessful.

 

 

If in Scotland it is 5 and 20 years

Edited July 5, 2008 by IdaInFife
add on

[rory32]

I thought that the the loans after 1998 weren't covered by the CCA

Completely correct Ida.

[tiglet]

I'm obviously not on the ball on this thread, am I?

[IdaInFife]

No but first time iv'e ever seen you not being

[shuck]

Hi,

 

I received a letter from the SLC in Glasgow today advising me that they have again passed my account to a company in Sheffield by the name of Close Credit Management and that any future enquiries should be made through them.

I sent the SLC a Statute barred letter last week as it is over 5 years since this debt was acknowledged by myself. In fact I have received no correspondence from the SLC during this time.

In their reply they state that the Act I referred to refers to a period of 6 years and not 5 as I quoted. However I quoted the Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973 Part I, Section 6,

"If (an appropriate debt) has subsisted for a continuous period of five years −

A) without any relevant claim having been made in relation to the obligation, and

B) without the subsistence of the obligation having been relevantly acknowledged,

then as from the expiration of that period the obligation shall be extinguished"

Unless you can provide evidence of payment or written contact from me in the relevant period under Part I, Section 6 of the Act, I suggest that you are no longer able to take any court action against me to recover the alleged amount claimed.

Can any one help me with the folowing:

Is there any reason why the SLC would state that it is statute barred only after 6 years?

Why do the SLC not pursue this debt themselves, through the courts,or through HMRC?

Why do the SLC not stick with one DCA when pursuing this debt?

Can an English DCA pursue me through the Scottish courts? (I think not)

Does anyone have any information on Close Credit Management?

Any help would be very much appreciated!

[knoxvillain]

Is your loan the old style CCA one or the new style "mortgage" ones?

 

They did the same to me with the limitation, i wrote back to them and pointed out that I lived in Scotland so it was the Limitation & Prescription (Scotland) Act that applied and what they had quoted was irrelevant and they changed their tune.

 

I CCA'd them when it was with Capquest and then wrote to Close Credit Management and told them Capquest and SLC were in default of my CCA request and it was therefore unenforceable. Close Credit just disappeared after that. however, it then got passed to BCW and they are a royal pain in the arse to deal with, very rude on the phone.

 

I've no idea why SLC pass it round several DCAs.

[shuck]

Thanks for your response Knoxvillian.

 

The debt I have is a new style SL as I took it out in 1998. How long have the SLC been chasing you? Any reason why they just don't pursue these debts through the Scottish Courts or contact the HMRC to confirm whether and where someone works?

 

How are BCW a real royal pain in the arse? Why do you communicate on the phone with them?

 

Cheers!!

[knoxvillain]

Hmmm, my loans are old style so I'm no expert on the new style ones. I believe the new style ones give SLC 12/20 years to collect depending on where you live (England or Scotland). I've no idea why they don't go through the courts or HMRC. I guess until recently most people caved in when they just sent a DCA after then.

 

BCW are just the most relentless off the ones they sent after me. And yes I wouldn't recommend dealing with any DCA on the phone, I made the mistake once with BCW and the guy was really rude.

[shuck]

My main concern is ensuring that the debt is statuted barred so the SLC or any DCA cannot pursue me through the courts.

 

I really don't kow what action a DCA from England can do to enforce this debt?

 

What action are BCW threatening to take against you?

Knoxvillain?

[knoxvillain]

the usual "we may take you to court" etc etc

 

I don't think it matters where the DCA is based. Plus, as I said above, with the new style mortgage SLC loans, I believe they don't statute bar after 5 years, it seems to be after 12 or 20 years. I've seen this mentioned in other threads.

 

If you don't want them to take you to court you could make an offer to pay the arrears at a reduced rate, this should stop legal action.

[shuck]

Hi Knoxivillain,

 

Idainfife wrote on this thread That:

 

A student loan is a debt under statute, this means that the Limitations Act (LA)1980 does apply. The limitations period on this debt is 6 years and not 12 years. However, as this is a new style student loan, HMRC can deduct repayments directly from your PAYE even if the debt is statute barred, which only allows you to defend the matter if it is taken through the courts.

 

It will be up to you whether you want to contact SLC or wait for them to contact you. If they did find you, they could start to recover the debt through your PAYE. If they were unable to find you, there is a possibility that they may treat this as a bad debt and sell it onto a debt collection agency (DCA). If this was to happen, the DCA would then try to recover the debt from you. If 6 years have passed with no written acknowledgment and no part payment you can then use the statute barred argument. If the DCA were to start court action, this can be used as a defence, however we would recommend that you get legal advice and take into account the additional costs that may be involved if your defence is unsuccessful.

 

If in Scotland it is 5 and 20 years"

 

Therefore if my tthinking is correctif my debt is over 5 years then neither the SLC or any DCA can pursue me through the courts?

 

I wonder if these DCA's have the authority or capability to trace where someone works in order to apply for a wage arrestment?

 

You ever been threatened with this type of action?

[knoxvillain]

I haven't luckily. As stated before I don't know much about the new style loans, so I would say there's a good chance IdaInFife knows more than me about it

[shuck]

I recently received a letter from the SLC advising me that my debt is not statued barred as I applied for a deferment in July 2003. I know that under Scottish Law a debt is statued barred after 5 Years.

 

As I entered into dialog with various DCA's from Feb 08, does this mean that the clock starts ticking again? In the correspondence I sent to the various DCA's I always stated that I did not acknowledge this debt.

 

If the SLC have my address why do they not pursue me themselves or take money via my PAYE?

 

Please help!!!!!!

[knoxvillain]

Would depend what date in July 2003. If, for example it was July 31st 2003 then technically it doesn't statute bar until the end of this month. Have you made any payments or acknowledged the debt in any way since July 2003? If not then it will statute bar on the same day in 2008 I believe.

[shuck]

Does stating that the debt is statued barred before it is mean that I have acknowledged the debt?