Hello to the group - I'm new and in need of help!!!

[mopayne]

Hi to everyone. my name is Mo and I'm need of help and advice concerning a certain debt collection agency. It is a very long winded story so thank you for taking the time to read it.

Here goes .........

In 1999 my husband took out a loan with Welcome finance for £500. The repayments were £79 per month for 12 months. Everything was going great and the repayments were made on time but did fall behind with a payment when he changed jobs. Then in August 1999 out of the blue he suffered a huge heart attack and had to a by-pass op. The job he was doing at the time was comission based and was probationary so sick pay was out of the question.Our income went down to £60 per week at one point until benefits were sorted out. The loan had payment protection on so we made a claim for sickness. The policy didn't cover the first 30 days and we didn't have any money to bring it up to date but it was the least of our wories at the time. Every month he had to produce sick notes which continued until the loan was paid by the insurance. But there were still 2 payments outstanding. We then received a letter & statement from them informing us he owed them £750. We thought they had overlooked the fact that the insurance had paid it off BUT this was the interest acrued on the 2 missed payments. We didn't fully understand and still don't know how this worked as to us the £79 monthly payment included the interest.

 

In the end we took it to a solicitor (with all the associated paperwork) and even he couldn't fully understand but he put our case to them that we owed them only the 2 missed payments totalling £158. after much to-ing and fro-ing they agreed to accept £159 but wanted it in a lump sum. Well we couldn't afford to pull this amount out as we were on rock bottom and asked if we could pay by installements but they refused - it had to be paid in full. The solicitor lost interest in the case and it was never resolved. I can't really remember what correspondance we got from them after that but whenever we got any we responded with the fact we only owed £159 not the £750 they were asking for.

Then it all went quiet................

 

Until last year. My husbands son got a letter from a debt collection agency called Ruthbridge demanding £751. He lives 30 miles away from us. He rang them asking what the hell it was all about and in the end they admitted he wasn't the person they were after. He shares the same first name but not the same birthday (obviously). They had done a trace looking for my husband at his previous address and linked his son's address. But we hadn't gone anywhere to warrant them looking for him. He was on the electoral register, was at home most of the time if they wanted to do a doorstep visit ???? Anyway it caused a lot of upset and his son was promised that it wouldn't happen again and he would not be linked to the case.

But it did happen again at exactly the same time this year - again his son rang and complained. Only this time I rang them to tell them that he had never moved from the original address and to send all correspondance to him.

So they sent him a letter dated 31st July demanding £751 and that if he didn;t contact them in 7 days then they would take it to court. They didn't even give him a chance to respond in the 7 days because 3 days later another letter arrived from them dated 2nd August informing him that they had advised their client (Welcome) to commence bankruptcy proceedings. He rang up and asked them to talk to me on his behalf to be told they are proceeding to bankruptcy regardless. I argued with her about what happened all those years ago but she wouldn't budge. I asked if we could sort this by installments but all she could offer was a settlement figure of £563 to be paid by 18th August. If it wasn't paid by then it would be the original figure of £751 by the end of August and if no payment is received by this date then they would proceed to bankruptcy.

 

Can anyone out there advise me how we stand on this. I feel that there are a lot of unfair practices taken place here including the recent letters (2 in one week stating different things) and the data protection act (pursuing the wrong person). This is really scaring me and I would appreciate any help.

[Bookworm]

What you need to do is write to them this:

 

 

"I do not acknowledge ANY debt to your company. I require you to supply the following documentation before I will correspond further on this matter:

 

 

1. You must supply me with a true copy of the alleged agreement you refer to. This is my right and your obligation to supply a copy of the agreement under the legislation contained within s.78 (1) Consumer Credit Act 1974 (s.77 (1) for fixed sum credit) - your obligation also extends to providing a statement of account. I enclose a £1 postal order in payment of the statutory fee, PO Serial Number xxxxx.

 

 

2. A signed true copy of the deed of assignment of the above referenced agreement that you allege exists. *

 

3. You are notified that you are obliged to supply these documents, whether you are the original creditor or not under S189 of the CCA 1974.

 

 

Non-compliance with my request is a criminal offence under the above Act and will result in a report being submitted to the relevant statutory authorities.

 

 

As you are aware, a credit agreement that is not properly documented and signed by the customer is totally unenforceable under the CCA and therefore is a complete defence to any court claim that is issued.

 

Take note at this stage, that any legal action you may contemplate will be both vigorously defended and contested. "

 

 

*The deed of assignment line should only be used if the debt has been purchased by a debt collection agency.

If they fail to provide the copy agreement within 12 days then court action can only take place with permission of a judge. After 30 days the creditor commits a criminal offence and can be reported to the OFT and Trading Standards.

Go from there, and let us know how you get on. Don't let them intimidate you, and do NOT phone them, or accept any phone call from them! If they call you, tell them you will only accept communications in writing and put the phone down. When you write to them, do NOT give them any phone numbers.

[mopayne]

Hi there,

Thank you so much for replying so quickly. I will do that tomorrow and send it recorded delivery. What a fantastic site. I will keep you up to date with the progress.

Thanks again.

Mo.