Collection Letter From Old Debt

[Marky2]

First time poster here, hope somebody can help.

 

Anybody have any suggestions if this debt is enforcable or not? Should I make arrangements to try and pay it? Is the debt too old to enforce?

 

Any suggestions to help me would me in this case, thanks in advance for your help.

Edited May 17, 2009 by Marky2

[cerberusalert]

If you have not made a payment or written acknowledgement for a period of six years it will be Statute Barred and they cannot legally collect it or take any enforcement action unless there is a CCJ against you, which given they have not mentioned one, either there isn't one or they're not aware of one existing.

 

Send them this;

 

Dear Sir/Madam

 

Acc/Ref No

 

You have contacted me regarding the account with the above reference number, which you claim is owed by myself.

 

I wish to point out that under the Limitation Act 1980 Section 5 “an action founded on simple contract shall not be brought after the expiration of six years from the date on which the cause of action accrued.”

 

I should also point out that the OFT say under their Debt Collection Guidance on statute barred debt that “it is unfair to pursue the debt if the debtor has heard nothing from the creditor during the relevant limitation period”.

 

The last payment of this alleged debt was made over six years ago and no further acknowledgement or payment has been made since that time. Unless you can provide evidence of payment or written contact from me in the relevant period under Section 5 of the Limitation Act, I suggest that you are no longer able to take any court action against me to recover the alleged amount claimed.

 

The OFT Debt Collection Guidance states further that “continuing to press for payment after a debtor has stated that they will not be paying a debt because it is statute barred could amount to harassment contrary to section 40 (1) of the Administration of Justice Act 1970”.

 

I await your written confirmation that this matter is now closed and that no further contact will be made concerning the above account after that last letter.

 

Yours faithfully

 

Print Name do not sign

[clemma]

If you have made no payments in 6 years and have not acknowledged this in writing, then it is statute barred.

 

Send them letter M from the template libraby http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/general-debt-issues/20758-creditors-dcas-letter-templates.html

[Marky2]

Is it worth sending the letter anyway?

Edited May 17, 2009 by Marky2

[clemma]

Yes, send it anyway. It's then up to them to prove that its not statute barred

[cerberusalert]

By the sounds of things they know it's statute barred too, compare the figures on the statement to what they are asking you to pay.

[Marky2]

OK, bit of an update here now with this one. They have sent a letter saying that they have received 4 x payments of £35 from me in the 2005, now this sounds fairly likely - but if it is the one I am thinking off these payments could have come from my then partners bank account, not mine (if this is the one, and I dont remember for certain it is). The letter they have sent me has no proof of these payments and no statement or anything else.

 

Seriously thinking about just paying it to get them off my back, but still the amount from the last statement they sent me differs widely from the amount they say I owe...... Its a bit annoying that a massive amount of this debt is made up of bank charges from 2002.

 

Any thoughts anybody please?

T.I.A

[Marky2]

Sorry, forgot to add: This debt does not show on my credit file, whats the likelyhood of them adding adverse information on it now (something I can not afford to happen).

 

Thanks in advance.

[cerberusalert]

A default drops off your file after six years, which has probably happened here with you. Only one default can be registered against a debt.

[Marky2]

A default drops off your file after six years, which has probably happened here with you. Only one default can be registered against a debt.

 

OK, thanks. Couple if things this throws up - I have checked my credit file and there is no trace of either a default or a registered account for this account/debt, so is it a fair assumption that nothing negative can be left on my file now?

 

If nothing negative can be left on my file, whats the worse that can happen? CCJ? SHould I concentrate on other more pressing/important debts?

 

Thanks

[cerberusalert]

As strange as it may sound, you can't actually always believe what a DCA might tell you. For example some have been known to say that payments have been made when they haven't in order to 'circumvent' the Statue Barred status of a debt.

 

It may be worthwhile if you send a SAR to the original creditor which should throw up the payment history & also allow you to reclaim any unfair charges to reduce the debt if for any reason it's not Statute Barred'.

http://www.consumerforums.com/resources/templates-library/86-debt-collectors/576-subject-access-request-debt-a-dca

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/faqs-please-read-these/25457-guide-reclaiming-bank-charges.html

[Marky2]

As strange as it may sound, you can't actually always believe what a DCA might tell you. For example some have been known to say that payments have been made when they haven't in order to 'circumvent' the Statue Barred status of a debt.

 

It may be worthwhile if you send a SAR to the original creditor which should throw up the payment history & also allow you to reclaim any unfair charges to reduce the debt if for any reason it's not Statute Barred'.

http://www.consumerforums.com/resources/templates-library/86-debt-collectors/576-subject-access-request-debt-a-dca

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/faqs-please-read-these/25457-guide-reclaiming-bank-charges.html

 

Thanks for the info, sounds like a decent plan - given that I reckon over the years the amount of charges I have racked up will probably outweigh the amount they are saying I owe the DCA. Just a couple of further questions though if anybody has the time:

 

If I request the information from Barclays, what happens to the DCA - am I entitled to have the account put into dispute to prevent them taking any further action against me? And As asked before, as the account doesnt appear on my credit file, what action can they take? I cannot risk my current reasonably good recent credit history ruining with a bad entry from this blast from the past (taken me a long hard time to get it sorted since these bad old days).

 

Thanks for your help so far.....Sorry if I am asking silly questions.

[cerberusalert]

You can dispute the a/c on two counts, the first you've already stated it's Staute Barred & according to OFT guidelines until such time that the DCA proves otherwise they are barred from carrying on with collection activities which also includes processing your data or taking enforcement. The second count is you can dispute it because of unfair charges.

 

It should be interesting to see exactly what if anything you get back from the original creditor because they only have to keep your data for a period of five years after they close the a/c., so if they cannot produce any evidence of the a/c neither could the DCA.

[Marky2]

You can dispute the a/c on two counts, the first you've already stated it's Staute Barred & according to OFT guidelines until such time that the DCA proves otherwise they are barred from carrying on with collection activities which also includes processing your data or taking enforcement. The second count is you can dispute it because of unfair charges.

 

It should be interesting to see exactly what if anything you get back from the original creditor because they only have to keep your data for a period of five years after they close the a/c., so if they cannot produce any evidence of the a/c neither could the DCA.

 

If I challenge the charges though, am I acknowledging the debt?

[cerberusalert]

You're not challenging anything just yet, all your asking for is a SAR. Once you get that you can then decide what route to take once you've got the information. If it's not Statute Barred because it shows that a payment has been made within six years, then you can reclaim the unfair charges & dispute the a/c. If no payments have been made for a period of six years you can continue to claim it's Statute Barred. If they cannot provide a SAR they are stuffed because there will not be any evidence of a debt.