Merrils ede Solicitors HELP NEEDED

[caretaker]

hi guys,i got some very good advice regarding my mortage shortfall,anyway it was with the halfax,gave flat back,in 1994 never herd anything untill a couple of weeks ago,from above dca(solicitors),as i said got great advice sent a letter(template)stating stat/barred after 12yrs,now just had another letter from them saying that if i dont contact them withen the next 24hrs our clint is now left with no alternative but to consider issuing legal proceedings/bankruptcy against you without further notice together with interest and cost,any advice on what to do now,are they bluffing????,sorry i have gone on a bit,any help would be great,thank you all.

[IdaInFife]

Hi caretaker,

 

As i am lead to believe that in England then it is 12 years. did you send the ltter by recorded delivery?

 

ida x

[maroondevo52]

Hello and Welcome, caretaker.

 

Yep, agree with Ida.....

 

If a lender allows time to pass without receiving any payment an action for recovery may become barred.

 

Under the Limitations Act 1980 the time limits are

 

in simple contracts, 6 years

in contracts under seal, 12 years.

 

If the debtor acknowledges the debt in writing or makes a part payment within the original limitation period, then the time limits start to run again from the date of acknowledgement or the date of payment.

 

 

The Limitations Act 1980 outlines the time limit within which a creditor can chase a debtor for outstanding debts. The Limitations Act 1980 only applies when no contact has been made between the creditor and debtor within the given time limit and only applies to residents of England and Wales.

 

Creditors are given a fixed period of time to chase their debtors, which is outlined in the Limitations Act 1980. The time scale mainly depends on the type of debt and can be extended at the courts discretion. The time limit begins when you last admitted owing the money or made a payment.

 

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.

 

The Limitations Act 1980 also has additional effects, depending on the type of debt in question:

 

Unsecured debtYou may have assumed that your creditor has "written-off" a debt if you have not heard from them for a long period. In many cases, it could be down to your failure to inform them of a change of address, but the debt will still exist and creditors are entitled to chase the debt indefinitely (even after the debt has become Statute Barred), however they can only use the legal system to recover the monies for up to 6 years after the last payment was made to the account.

 

Remember, creditors are still able to pursue an unsecured debt if:

 

They have previously obtained a judgement against you (a CCJ);

You have made a payment to the account within the last 6 years (this includes anyone else named on the credit agreement)

You have established any contact with the creditor (this can be a phone call or letter to request a balance or change your details), except to deny that the debt exists.

 

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.

 

County Court Judgement. If the creditor has previously taken you to court and you have received a County Court Judgement, you will be unable to use the Limitations Act 1980 to dispute the debt. If the judgement is over 6 years old the creditor may need the permission of the Court to enforce the debt.

 

Like Ida's implying you'll need proof of them receiving your Stat Barred letter.

 

Regards.

 

Scott.

[caretaker]

hi guys,thanks for getting back to me so quickly,yes i did send it recorded delivery,but the only response i had was the letter that i seeking advice about,so what do i do now,just ignore it?????

[toddle2u]

I'd write back to them referring to your comments in your previous letter and any court proceedings will be vigourously defended on that basis. That is if you haven't admitted or paid towards the debt in the last 12 years

[ODC]

Ask them for details of their complaints procedure and consider making a formal complaint to the Solicitors Regulatory Authority

[caretaker]

hi guys,done what you adviced,sent a letter off,will await outcome,but can they still go ahead and use legal proceedings/bankrupty proceedings against me or not,is it a scare tatic??.

[ODC]

They cannot take you to court for a Statute Barred debt and indeed for them to say they can is a breach of the OFT Guidelines and an offence under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008

[caretaker]

thanks guy,i now await a return letter from them if any,will keep you informed as what happends next,once again many thanks.

[caretaker]

hi guys,back again,got a reply,now you might laugh at this,anyway here it is word for word,WE can confirm that you have been traced to this address and are just choosing to ignor this matter.As you are aware you are indepted to our above named clint. We have tried to help you resolve this matter,hoever you have chosen to ignore all our offers of assisting you in this matter. Owing to your reluctance to address this matter you leave this office with no other alternative but to advise our clients to consider Legal Proceedings.Legal proceeding may take the form of Bankruptcy proceeding or issuing a Claim Form. Should a claim form be issued against you and judgment be entered our clients may then proceed to enforce that order of which one method is an attachment of earnings, where your employer would be ordered to deduct payment straight from your wages.,thats the end of that one,it seems to me that they choose to ignore the stat/barred letter that i sent recorded delivery which as i have checked was delivered.o.k. good people any idea,s what to do next,at least they have stoped rining me at home.hope to hear from you soon,tace care.Dave.

[42man]

Dear Sir / Madam.

 

Further to your recent correspondence dated XXXXXX I would now like to make an official complaint against your company.

 

I will state for the final time, that I have no wish to make any payment towards a debt that is barred by the statute of limitations act. I am now of the opinion that your letters are pure harrassment. I wrote to your company on the (date) which was signed for by your company on (date) stating that the debt was indeed barred by statute and that I would not be making any payment towards this alleged debt.

 

It is evidently clear that you are in breach of CPUTR2008 in line with the Office Of Fair Tradings guidelines on debt collection which CLEARLY state - Section 2.14 (b) -

 

•

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.

If I do not receive confirmation that you will be not pursuing me any longer along with your official complaints procedures, then I will have no hesitation in referring this to the Office Of Fair Trading, Trading Standards and my local MP and highlight your obvious disregard to CPUTR2008 and your suitability to hold a licence.

 

If it is your intention to submit a claim or a statutory demand I will defend this vigorously and highlight my correspondence to the judge when the matter of costs arises.

 

I trust this makes my position clear

 

Yours faithfully.

[42man]

And report them to the OFT anyway...!!

[caretaker]

hi guy,just had a reply after all this time,please bear with me while i type the whole letter,re-halifax, we refer to the above and your previous letter.In accordance with section 20(!)of the limitation act 1980 claimant has 12 years to bring a claim when the cause of action arose.However by virtue of section 29-31 of the limitation act 1980 upon a payment or written acknowledgment being made in respect of the dept the limitationclock is restarted. we can confirm that this matter is not statue barred as date of last payment was 1st january 1998 and therefore have 12 years to pursue from that date. We must advise this debt will not be written off and you are liable with your co-debtor for the remaining balance of this shortfall. should we not recive payment of this debt or your compleated form and return it to us within the next seven 7days we will have no alternative but to advise our clients to consider issuing Bankruptcy Proceedings/legal proceedings against you. Now i have never made any payment or acknowledgment of this debt,so can i ask them for proff of this so called payment??.over to guys ,what do you think i should do.many thanks.Dave.

[mr.ton]

They cannot un barr a statute barred debt..simple as that.

Re-send them the letter as shown above by 42 man.

Also report them to the OFT.

[ODC]

You must ask them for proof of the 1998 payment

[lickthewallfatboy]

what a bunch of (Edit)

Edited July 10, 2009 by maroondevo52
Removed inappropriate word

[caretaker]

hi guys,thanks for getting back to me so qickly,one reply made me laugh,thanks for that,so i should writ back and ask them for proff of this so called payment in jan 1998,and just await there reply.Dave.

[caretaker]

p.s. any idea how i should word this letter.

[lickthewallfatboy]

Dear one-handed pleasure seekers

 

I invite you to take this to court,where you will be exposed for all to see as people who either ignore,flaunt or are just plain ignorant of the law regarding statute barred debts

 

 

 

 

I believe in getting straight to the point

[maroondevo52]

[IdaInFife]

Dear Twats,

 

Thank you for your letter dated xx/xx/xx stating that a payment was made on 01/01/1998.

 

I have further checked my records and cannot trace any payment made on or around that date to yourselves.

 

Please substantiate your claim with providing the amount paid, time of payment and method of payment with paperowrk as evidence.

 

Please forward the relevant evidence to me within 7 days,

 

 

 

something like that

 

considereing the 1st of january is a holdiay and most dates are around it, i cannot see how they would have any evidence

 

ida x

[ODC]

Dont forget these are the same sorts of DCAs who send out threatomatics dated 25th December. Bah Humbuggers

[Ell-enn]

Dear Sirs,

 

Re:XXXXXXX

 

I refer to your letter dated XXX in respect of the above alleging that a payment was made on the above account on 1/1/1998.

 

On checking my records I find that no payment was made on the above account on that date (the fact that 1st January is a bank holiday would render it impossible in any case!).

 

It is therefore my belief that this "mystery" payment has been fabricated in order to give validity to your claim and I now require you to forward the following documentary proof:

 

Date, time and method of alleged payment

Amount of alleged payment

Name of Payee

 

I have made a complaint to Trading Standards, The OFT and my MP regarding your behaviour in this matter and you should expect to be contacted by them shortly.

 

I would also advise you that any court claim instigated by yourselves in respect of the above will be vigorously defended and all correspondence between ourselves will be made available to the court.

 

I trust you understand my position in this and look forward to your confirmation that the matter is closed.

 

Yours

 

XXXX

[lifeafterdebts]

Hi Caretaker

I have also had dealings with this firm. They are currently under investigation for malpractice. I believe, from your posts, that you have also had bad treatment. Please contact me regarding this. You may be able to make a complaint about them to the Legal Ombudsman.

[workingdog]

Hi All, just found this thread and this last post from lifeafterdebts.. are we talking Merrils Ede solicitors in Cardiff by any chance?