Help please, ruthbridge

[mummy2girls]

Hi I wonder if someone could advise me. I received a letter from Jason Evans of Ruthbridge Limited stating that I owe them nearly £2000 from a debt from DLC that came originally from citifinancial. I remember this as being a loan I took years ago of £1000 but I have had no contact from them for years and admittedly comletely forgot about it. When I say years I mean it was probably 2003 or possibly early 2004 but definately not any later. They are asking for payment in full or they will;

 

A) Instruct a county court bailiff to take my goods - I live with my partner and own nothing except a car that is worth only £600.

 

B) Obtain an attachment to my earnings - I have just left work as my second baby is due in 9 weeks, I had not been with them long enough to recieve maternity pay so am not even recieving that.

 

C) Obtain a charging order to my home - I don't own a home and as I said am living with my partner in rented accomadation.

 

I am not in a position to pay this and could afford only small repayments should it come to that. The debt is in my maiden name so my Mum has suggested I send all letters back saying not known at this address. Is this the right thing to do or am I commiting an offence in doing this? The debt might be over 6 years old or if not it is very close to it, is there any way I can check how old it is? If it is over 6 years old does this mean they cannot ask for it anymore? What should I do if they send someone to my home or contact me by telephone? My partner has just shelled out a lot of money to clear other debts and the last thing I want is him having to pay this aswell. I'm completely at a loss as to what to do but don't want this hanging over me. Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thank you.

[mr.ton]

Firstly no-one will turn up, if so they can simply be told to go away.

Only court officials have that power & its along way from that stage - you'd have to have had a CCJ & defaulted on it etc..

If anyone rings by phone - refuse to answer their security questions & insist everything must be in writing only.

Their threats are just that...threats, designed to frighten you - when infact they have no legal powers over you whatsoever.

[42man]

Firstly, a warm welcome to the CAG forums, you will find plenty of threads on here about Ruthbridge. Ruthbridge are well known for chasing statute barred debts so in the first instance I would send them this letter here by recorded delivery - http://www.consumerforums.com/resources/templates-library/86-debt-collectors/599-letter-sent-when-debt-is-statute-barred Be advised Ruthbridge NEVER respond to letters and will continue to state that Xmas is cancelled....Also be wary of the letter saying EXPRESS DELIVERY with the Twickenham postcode on it, Ruthbridge use this as a tactic to get you to phone them (don't ever phone them unless you can record the calls - why ? just read some of the other Ruthbridge threads)....!!!

 

Once you state that you will not be paying towards a debt that is statute barred they have to stop harrassing you...otherwise the OFT regard it as harrassment.

 

Keep us posted as to how/when/if they respond.....

[42man]

If they prove that the debt isn't over 6 years old (they have to answer your query) then you could then request a copy of the agreement...

[mr.ton]

 

A) Instruct a county court bailiff to take my goods .

 

Only a county court can issue out the instructions/bailiffs they cannot

 

B) Obtain an attachment to my earnings

 

Again..they do not have the power to do this, only a court does

 

C) Obtain a charging order to my home

 

Only relevant if a court says so & if you sell your home

 

 

In other words..the fools are talking gibberish & just report them to the OFT if need be

[mummy2girls]

Thankyou so much for your help. I'm going to print out that letter and send it today recorded delivery. I've also ordered a copy of my credit file from Experian so I can double check how old the debt is. I really appreciate the advice and I'll update as to whether or not I get a reply!

[mummy2girls]

Ok change of plan! Have just trawled through some old bank accounts and have found that until August 2006 I had beenmaking payments to DLC who Ruthbridge have obviously bought the debt from. It can only be the same debt so I assume if my last payment to DLC was in August 2006 then it is not statute barred. So what would be my next step? Is it likely that after it being shifted from one place to another there won't be any original credit agreement? Or should I do as my mum says and send the letters back saying not at this address. As I said they are in my maiden name so I would know which letters they were. Sorry to be a pain again!

[mummy2girls]

Does anybody have any further advice please?

[zazen.warrior]

Yes, now is the time to send a CCA request.

 

Ask your creditor for a copy of your credit agreement under the Consumer Credit Act 1974

 

 

1 High Street,

Newtown,

Kent

R21 4RH

 

June 28, 2006

 

 

The Loan Company

Company House,

Church Street,

Newtown,

Kent,

R1 7HG

 

Dear Sir/Madam

 

Re:− Account/Reference Number 4563210025897412

 

This letter is a formal request pursuant to s.77/78 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974. I require you to provide me with a true copy of the credit agreement relating to the above account, together with any other documentation the Act requires you to provide.

 

I expect you to comply fully and properly with this request, within the statutory time limit. You are reminded that should you fail to comply with my request, the provisions of s.77 will apply.

 

If it is your view that you are not the creditor, s.175 of the CCA 1974 applies in the case of a simple assignment, and places a duty upon you to pass this request to the creditor. In the case of an absolute assignment, you are a creditor as defined by s.189. If you contend that you purchased the rights but not the duties of any agreement, you are reminded that s.189 of the Act is clear that an assignment is of both rights and duties.

 

Your attention is drawn to ss.5(2), 3(b),6 and 7 of the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 (CPUTR).

 

I enclose a postal order in the sum of £1.00, which is the statutory fee. Note that these funds are not to be used for any other purpose.

 

If you are unable to comply fully and properly with this request, you should confirm this in writing at the earliest opportunity, and certainly within the statutory time limit for compliance, and return the fee.

 

We look forward to hearing from you.

 

Yours faithfully

Mr A N Other

[Undercover-Elsa]

Hi Mummy2girls

Right, change of tack then..

Unfortunately if you registered with Experian they'll soon be able to link up your maiden /married names anyway, if you gave Experian that info.

If that's the case then as 42man mentioned earlier you need to make them prove the debt by supplying the agreement.

As above..posts crossed

Elsa x

[mummy2girls]

I did wonder about that so I put my old address, where my sister still lives down. At least if they visit her she can prove she's not me and hopefully they'll leave her alone! Lol! Thank you very much for your advice. What are the chances of them coming back with an agreement? Should I start to work out how much I could afford just in case?

[zazen.warrior]

I hope that didn't involve providing the phone number

 

A larger percentage don't have the agreement or it could be unenforceable; come back here with their response.

[mummy2girls]

No I didn't give them the phone number, I put my old mobile number down! Thank you all and I'll update with their response.

[Undercover-Elsa]

Wise girl