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Almost certainly statute barred-advice please


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Hi everyone,

 

I'm in Scotland and I have debts from several creditors, one of which has popped up again recently, after over 7 years, in the form of a letter threatening a 'doorstep assessment'. I havent had any contact at all with my creditors for over 7 years, much less written to them acknowledging the debt or made a payment. There is no record of any court action ever having been taken against me on my credit report, and no court documents have ever been delivered to my address, so I'm 99% sure nobody can have taken court action against me.

 

National debtline has said its almost certain that my debts are statute barred, assuming nobody has taken court action against me, which as I deduce from the evidence, has not happened. The thing is, I was living abroad for 6 years, and my creditors knew this, and even though they sent threatening letters to my parents address, I dont think they would have wanted to waste their money taking to court someone who was living at the other side of the world, right?

 

The name of the company is 'Mackenzie Hall', they are claiming to be collecting on behalf of 'Cabot financial Europe Ltd', and they say the original creditor is 'Morley', and they are threatening to use a 'field collection agency' called 'Meritforce' (I have never heard of any of these companies before in my life but I am guessing at least some if not all of them are part of one and the same group). I notice that in their letter they didnt even bother to threaten court action, they just said they may have to 'advise their client to take any further action which may be appropriate'. I suspect they know they cant take court action against me, and this may be an attempt to intimidate me into a last minute payment. Am I wrong?

 

Anyway, I wrote a letter of reply(recorded delivery, printed signature), telling them the alleged debt was statute barred and for them to send proof of my payment/written acknowledgement of the debt if they disputed it being statute barred. I also said I gave no permission for them to call on me, stating that I would make a complaint of harrassment against them and seek damages for a deliction of trespass should they call at my home. I also mentioned that I had called my local police force, who told me these debt collectors have zero legal powers, and I have no obligation whatsoever to communicate with them, and indeed i would engage in no communication with them should they call. I also said that if they could not produce the evidence I requested but continued to contact me then I would consider it harrassment and file an official complaint with the financial ombudsman service.

 

Can I ask some questions?

 

1. What is their likely response to this letter to be? Will they Ignore it and send people round anyway? And continue to hassle me for the money?

 

2. Has anyone had dealings with these companies? What happened in your cases?

 

3. Assuming they do ignore it, who else apart from the financial ombudsman can I complain to? The OFT? Police? Can I get legal aid to take court action?

 

Thanks alot,

 

Vince.

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simple fact is you are on a phishing list

pers, i would not respond to anything.

 

the problem with doing that [as you already sadly have]

is that its puts a marker on file that a potential mug exists that maybe fleeced. hence why, what the phishing list has been passed on, [brought] you have gotten more attention.

 

it really matters not what you send back, if it is the bug off letter [which you sent], it will certainly chase 'that' dca away, but it most certainly will not be fwded 'on' that you know your rights, else the next 'buyer' will not pay money for 'you' being on that list.

 

ignore!

 

there is nothing they can do to you.

 

dx

ps its 5yrs in scotland too!

please don't hit Quote...just type we know what we said earlier..

DCA's view debtors as suckers, marks and mugs

NO DCA has ANY legal powers whatsoever on ANY debt no matter what it's Type

and they

are NOT and can NEVER  be BAILIFFS. even if a debt has been to court..

If everyone stopped blindly paying DCA's Tomorrow, their industry would collapse overnight... 

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Thanks for your advice, although it read kind of like a sonnet :confused:. Surely writing the something that I did will help deter them from making in-person visits?

 

Will this just keep getting sold on and on, even though the selling companies know it's statute barred?

 

 

Yeah I know it's 5 yrs in Scotland, I was just saying I was abroad for 6 years :D.

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Mckenzie Hall are notorious for pursuing Staute Barred Debt. The standard letter normally confuses them as it contains big words.

 

It goes something like this.

 

Dear Sir/Madam

With reference to the above named client.

We would ask you to consider the following points:

1. This debt has now prescribed under the Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973 as the debt has subsisted for a continuous period of five years-

(a) Without any relevant claim having been made in relation to the obligation,

A relevant claim in a consumer credit contract would normally be the raising of a court action-

And

(b) Without subsistence of the obligation having being relevantly acknowledged,

Then as from the expiration of that period the obligation shall be extinguished

A relevant acknowledgement in a consumer credit contract would normally be an unequivocal written admission by the debtor that the debt still exists or by making payments to the debt

We would further advise you that in Scotland unlike England and Wales the debt is totally extinguished and ceases to exist.

Unless you have contrary and irrefutable proof to the above we would ask that you refrain from making any further claims against our client.

You will no doubt be aware that the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has issued guidelines as to practices which it considers to be unfair. We feel that your continued pursuit of this debt when it no longer exists under the above legislation is a contravention of these guidelines and throws it to question your fitness to hold a consumer credit licence.

It will therefore be our intention, if your activity persists; to report the matter to the OFT Consumer Credit Enforcement Team

Yours faithfully

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they wont

but the next one that buys the debt will, cause they will not see it.

 

doors step callers.....yea ok

its made to make you respond

and you did.

 

now take that and times it by 100

if they manage to fleece one person , the whole 100 letters have been worth it!

 

dx

please don't hit Quote...just type we know what we said earlier..

DCA's view debtors as suckers, marks and mugs

NO DCA has ANY legal powers whatsoever on ANY debt no matter what it's Type

and they

are NOT and can NEVER  be BAILIFFS. even if a debt has been to court..

If everyone stopped blindly paying DCA's Tomorrow, their industry would collapse overnight... 

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Are you saying that nobody will come round? I looked on their 'meritforce' website and it does seem like they really do hire field collectors, or is this just engineered to make it look like their doorstep collection agency is a real and present danger to people like me?

 

Have you ever heard of anyone who has had debt collectors come round from 'Meritforce'? or anyone from this company?

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Are you saying that nobody will come round? I looked on their 'meritforce' website and it does seem like they really do hire field collectors, or is this just engineered to make it look like their doorstep collection agency is a real and present danger to people like me?

 

Have you ever heard of anyone who has had debt collectors come round from 'Meritforce'? or anyone from this company?

 

There field collectors are normally little old retired gardeners.

 

Just tell them to sod off if they turn up.

 

Remember these companies have NO legal powers at all. Also, can you see them employing 1000+ people to turn up on doorsteps, when they can't afford to pay the people they already employ.

 

Jogs

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Sorry to take so long to come back to you. I agree that it is extermely unlikely that anyone will call at your home. In the highly unlikely event that they do, dont enter into discussion and simply refer them to your previous corespondence.

 

AND NEVER EVER ENGAGE WITH THEM OR ACKNOWLEDGE THE DEBT. IT IS IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER THAT IT IS UP TO THE PURSUER TO PROVE BEYOND DOUBT THAT THE DEBT STILL EXISTS AND NOT THE DEFENDER TO PROVE THAT IT DOES NOT.

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