Bank Debt forwarded to Lewis Group

[Oli2009]

Hi there guys really need some help with this one.

 

My partner had a student account with Barclays 5 years ago which went over the overdraft limit around £3000.

 

I finally convinced her to go to the bank she was worried about it naturally, Barclays has told us the account has been closed. My partner had moved address and so did not receive the letter informing her that the account had been closed. The bank staff printed out the letter which basically informed that the account had been closed and to phone a number to sort out repayment.

 

After ringing this number it turns out this debt has been sold to the Lewis group. I have heard nasty things involving this and am now very worried.

 

She has had no contact in the 5 years mainly i guess due to her not updating her address with the bank. However, she is on the electral vote and employed so it would not have been hard to track her down.

 

She has been given a number at the Lewis group to phone but after reading things on here i am unsure what to do. I have images of massive interest on an already large sum of money.

 

What should i do next, should we phone them or what is the best way forward. The debt is now 5 years old so the interest is worrying me.

 

Please help

[cerberusalert]

You do realise that if six years have passed and your g/f has not made any payment or written admission of the debt it will be Statute Barred? (5 years in Scotland).

 

She could check online to see if a CCJ has been obtained against her; CCJs, court orders & fines - Search yourself and others - Trust Online this will cost £8. If there is, don't worry because it can easily be set-aside.

[Oli2009]

Hi Thanks for the quick reply,

I just checked the letter it says.

 

"It is a term of your agreement with the Bank that the full amount outstanding on your account is repayable, with interest, on demand at any time. Pursuant to that term, the Bank hereby terminates your agreement with effect from 03/05/2005 and makes demand for full and immediate repayment of the balance on the account (currently £2830.40) with effect from thatdate. In the meantime no further drawings on the account will be permitted. Daily interest charges of £0.00 will accrue from the date shown velow until full repayment is made, assuming no change in the interest rate.

 

If you do not settle the balance on your account the Bank may transfer responsibility for recovery of the debt on to one of its recovery units or agents with a view to taking further action. Additionally, it is the Banks intention to register details of the account with credit reference agencies."

 

She never received the letter because she had already moved by this point. By nor informing the bank of her movement she has also not received any further contact.

 

I am of the mind it was a mistake to go into the bank this late. I don't believe she gave her new address to Lewis Group but its possible they have the phone number though she didn't get through to the right department so we haven't contacted the people dealing directly with the account.

 

I will check for a CCJ now and let you know what i find. In light of the date on the letter what do you think is the best way forward?

 

Thanks for the quick response and help

[cerberusalert]

To be honest I would just sit tight and ride it out. If Lewis do contact her by post she can then send a CCA request to see whether the agreement is in fact enforceable. As I said, check for a CCJ & if Lewis 'phones back just say it's a public 'phone in a cafe or something that they've dialled.

[Oli2009]

Great thanks, My friend can run a credit report from work tomorrow so should have more information tomorrow evening.

 

Is it worth contacting the CAB as well?

 

Thanks

[cerberusalert]

If she checks her credit file there is every likelihood that Lewis will find her because she'll have to register her new address.

 

There is nothing that CAB can do that you can't through this site.

[Oli2009]

is the credit check different to the CCJ check? I tried running a check on the site you linked but unfortunately it didn't like the post code entered. Presumably i have to check the address where she was originally, are there any alternatives as it doesn't like the address entered?

 

Is the answer to try and hide for 2 years? i am nervous of this especially now i have contacted the bank and afraid i will accrue more interest and they catch her just before the 6 years is up. I have no issues with paying off the original debt but the fact its been sold is a realy worrier.

 

Thanks in advance.

[cerberusalert]

is the credit check different to the CCJ check?

Yes, a credit check is done through a credit reference agency & those are monitored by the DCAs. Checking for a CCJ is totally different & can't be monitored.

[Oli2009]

Ok i ran a CCJ check the road appears to be now under a different name, the post code is slightly different.

 

There are no CCJ's though im not entirely satisfied because of the address issue.

 

Detailed Report for :

 

England and Wales Orders & Judgments

 

NOTHING REGISTERED

I will make sure my friend does not run a credit report. Other problem was that i was looking to buy a house in a month obviously putting her on the mortage would mean a credit check would be run so going to have to avoid that now too.

 

Do i just sit tight now and hope it all goes away? If there is a CCJ that i've missed what could that mean?

 

Many thanks

[cerberusalert]

If you've had difficulty with the address any DCA will have too. Don't worry about not finding a CCJ the chances are there isn't one and if they try now using her last known address they'll have difficulties + as I said you can have it set aside.

 

When you apply for a joint mortgage they'll want both your addresses for the past six years. Has your g/f been registered on the electoral roll over the past six years or obtained other credit such as a mobile phone, bank a/c loan etc. ?

[Oli2009]

She is on the electral vote has been since we moved to this new house which has been the past 5 years. She currently is named on my flatmates account as she could not get her own bank account but thats about it. She is also named on my phone bill, oh she also would have had a CRB check when she started her new place of work sometime in 2005/6

 

I remember the estate agent telling me they would run a credit check on us both once we follow through with a mortage obviously this would not help matters.

 

 

Apparently the debt was passed from Barclays to Lewis Group in 2007. Again had no confirmation of this actually happening, in fact nothing has come through to this new address yet. I was in mind of actually getting the debt out the way so i could forget about it but the fact it has been sold on has made it far more complicated. The 3000 pounds is payable i fear the interest that some private company would put on it though.

 

is the fact she went into the bank and asked the status of the account considered as an admittance of the debt therefore resetting the timer?

Edited August 10, 2009 by Oli2009

[cerberusalert]

If the bank has sold the debt there is no reason for them to notify the DCA that there has been an inquiry into the a/c, besides asking about it isn't admitting to it.

 

If she has been on the electoral roll for the past five years any tracing company couldn't have been looking very hard to find her.

 

With her not being able to get her own bank a/c (I assume it was a chequing a/c) it could mean one of two things; the first is that there is a default registered against her name with the credit reference agencies or she didn't fullfill the banks credit criteria i.e they couldn't find any reference to her having had credit. Unfortunately it can work the same way, having no credit can be as bad as having a default. Obviously if she passed the credit check for work it points to the fact that there isn't a default against her. Even if there is it will drop off her file six years from when payment became due anyway.

 

As it stands, I would just sit quiet and see what happens. Even if they do manage to trace her she can then SAR the bank to determine what unfair charges have been added to the a/c with a view to reclaiming them. This should reduce the alleged debt somewhat anyway.

[Oli2009]

If she has been on the electoral roll for the past five years any tracing company couldn't have been looking very hard to find her.

 

Was my thoughts exactly.

 

 

So if they find her i can ask for a SAR basically to try and remove any additional interest that Lewis Group have put on? Certainly the original letter said there would be no interest added to the debt so presumably if i have to take this further within 6 years (i.e. they trace her) then i can argue that because she has at no point been informed or responded because she is at a new address that it is unreasonable for them to ask for anything additional to the original debt.

 

Does the fact she did not at any point inform the bank of a change in address negatively impact upon her in a court? Obviously she was the debtor so i imagine ignorance is not an excuse?

 

Thank you so much for your help so far its really putting things into perspective.

[cerberusalert]

So if they find her i can ask for a Subject Access Request basically to try and remove any additional interest that Lewis Group have put on?

Yes, because the letter you received from the bank states that it will not add any daily interest onto the a/c.

 

Does the fact she did not at any point inform the bank of a change in address negatively impact upon her in a court?

No because she hasn't tried to deliberately hide her whereabouts, after all she has been on the electoral roll all the time. Besides how many letters disappear in the postal system every year?

[Oli2009]

OK i think for now i will explore getting the mortage under myself and sit tight on this and see whether they actually try to find her in which case i will fight to pay back the original debt and not any additional cost. Like i say its not the 3 grand i have a problem with its the fact that the debt has been sold on like some form of making money.

 

Thank you so much for your help its been really helpful. I'll keep you posted

[cerberusalert]

A lot of people don't realise that when they have joint mortgages, bank a/cs loans etc they then become financially linked with the credit reference agencies and if for some reason one of them has a default filed against them such as for an unpaid catalogue debt or mobile 'phone, it can have an impact on them both for six years.

[cerberusalert]

You could double check for the CCJ. You can find the correct postcode for her old address at http://postcode.royalmail.com/portal/rm/postcodefinder;jsessionid=DDHTFUYPQHP0OFB2IGIVEOQ;jsessionid=DDHTFUYPQHP0OFB2IGIVEOQ?catId=400145&gear=postcode

[maroondevo52]

Thread moved.

[Oli2009]

Yeah the address is correct. double checked