Pursued in NZ by NZ DCA for UK debt

[podling89]

Hi there,

 

I'm new here. This is my first post on this site and I'm at my wits end.. I've looked through many many other threads but don't seem able to get the required info or help. ANY help would be gratefully received. We emigrated to NZ in 2006 from the UK. I had a couple of minor debts that I paid before leaving but had MAJOR issues with XXX over my credit card for a while before leaving, namely excess charges etc - they refunded some and agreed that they had been in the wrong and credited some back to my account at various times and for various amounts. Some were for wrongly calculated charges, and the rest blatant overcharging etc. I tried paying them as much as I could afford but utterly lost patience after a while as they were so intransigent & treat me like a piece of dirt. To cut a long story short I thought 'st88F them', especially after when we arrived here in NZ my promised job never materialised, and we have ever since been relying on my wifes paid post and I being the 'house dad', so not much money and going the wrong way. I know that some people will not agree with me for this attitude but to be honest I'd worked out I'd paid them all their original amount back anyway and then some...the amount at the end was not a lot..about £3K (well it's not a lot to some people but still seems a lot to me).

 

Now utterly out of the blue I have a NZ DCA asking me for 10000 NZ dollars as a collection agent for a XXX card (no supplied acc number etc). They got my address here by pestering my father who was scared witless, as they told him they would trash his credit record as the debt was now at his address. I know, I know now they cant do that but they scared him into giving my address here. Gutless the lot of them...

 

So I ignored the first demand for full payment, & the second reminder but have now (in the space of 16 days) been issued with a notice of intent commencement of legal action etc with intent to gain a judgement, trash my NZ credit rating etc.

 

A few questions - and I really need some help here - please;

 

Obviously XXX sold on my debt to some DCA who then sold my debt onto some DCA in NZ..I guess??

 

Can they do this in NZ as the agreement with XXX was a UK 1974 CCA signed agreement, I remember it - and I guess only legally enforceable in the UK. Or now that the debt has been sold (I'm guessing here) does that then become automatically enforceable in New Zealand?

 

Do I reply at all, or is that giving them what they need?

 

Do I just ignore it? Do I return envelopes back marked not at this address??

 

OR;

 

do I fire off the CCA request, subject access request letters (as on here) and state that as the debt was signed under UK law as a UK resident it is not enforceable here in NZ and they must comply & that they have no ability to cllect this under NZ law. Do they have to have registration under UK CCA to to do this. They don't even put the card acc number on their letters.

 

Does the OC have to gain CCJ in the UK first, then the NZ DCA 'domesticate' the debt' before it can be collected here?

 

I really need advice here one way or the other. I was under the impression that a UK debt could not affect your NZ or Australian credit record and couldn't be enforced here. I have read the 'Inside the DCA' thread and I have some suspicions about it at times. I'm not proud of walking away but I was pushed to the edge on this when back in the UK - I even conversed with some oik from XXX by email when we first came to NZ and had a h8ll of time stretching out finances as they wouldn't accept interest only on our mortgage and forced is into full payment even when we had to convert NZ$ to £. I never forgave them for that as we had banked with them for years, never missing a mortgage payment until the end when I was laid off. So not proud but I do sleep at night...until now that is.

 

Please, help would be appreciated...thanks..

 

Sorry if this is not right but I've also posted this into the Debt Collection Industry forum too..