Debt collector help PLEASE!

[help me if you can]

Hi,im trying to work out my first move(if any)with regards to my Allied International Credit debt.I managed to get myself into a debt of 5000 pounds with the Royal Bank of Scotland in 2005.Since this time ive been out of the country living in New Zealand.Having returned home in novermber 2009 my parents have informed me they have been receiving mail from a couple of different debt collecting agencies and had decided to return all the mail to the sender.After being home 2 weeks i received a letter from Allied international telling me to get in contact regarding my debt which i ignored.Last week i received a letter stating URGENT!FINAL NOTICE OF INTENT!They are making threats of taking me to court,arresting my wages and most worringly a bailiff could come to my parents home if i dont pay the full 4.868.53 immediately.I am living with my parents but its there house.Im worried sick could someone please give some friendly advise on this matter.

Edited April 21, 2010 by help me if you can

[maroondevo52]

Hello and Welcome,

 

When was the last time you acknowledged this debt or made a payment towards it, I take it your in Scotland.

 

If no acknowledgement or payment has been made to this debt for a period of 5 years, it will become statute barred.

 

If you could give us some more info on this alleged debt we should be able to advise.

 

Regards.

 

Scott.

[help me if you can]

Thanx for the swift reply Steven!

 

The last payment was sometime in 2006 im unsure exactly when.Is there some way i can find out that information from the debt collectors?Or should i avoide all contact further?

 

The debt was a bank loan of 5000 pounds form the royal bank of scotland.

Is there anymore ifno i can give you?

 

And what about this business of the baliffs coming to my parents address?Surely that is just scaremongering tactics?

 

Thanx so much for the help thus far.

[Lewis1982]

I'm pretty sure the threat of bailiffs is just that, without a court order you have no obligation to admit anyone to your home anyway. Debt collectors love to make us panic and worry so we'll just roll over and do what they want, so personally I wouldn't worry until a letter from their solicitor arrives, as well as checking to make sure their solicitor is actually eligible to practice law in Scotland.

 

In the meantime, since as far as I can see the debt isn't statute barred, I think you're going to want to send off a CCA request letter, the template for which is here along with the £1 postal order to pay it, and as people have said in other threads it's important that you don't sign your name on any correspondence with the debt collectors as some have been known to lift the signature. Once you have the CCA there are people here who will be able to tell you if it's enforceable or not.

 

Finding out when the last payment was made and how much will take a SAR letter which has a fee of £10 and the template for which is here, you may have to send it to the RBS depending on whether the debt collector bought the debt or is acting for them.

 

I'm pretty new to this as well and in the process of dealing with a debt collector myself so you might want to get confirmation before sending anything off, but the main thing is not to panic because as far as I can see there isn't much they can actually do without a court judgement beyond letter and telephone harassment, well aside from messing with your credit rating.

[help me if you can]

Both of you guys have given me great advise and im vey greatful.Now i just dont know if i should avoide all contact with AIC and hope they do the same untill my debt goes statue barred.If i send them a CCA thats me confirming that i am actually back at my parents house and they will pressure me further.Your information has been invaluable so far but i just need that last push..

 

Thanx guys.

[help me if you can]

These AIC guys have me so worried im missing work through it now,please help..

 

Cheers,Andy.

[rory32]

The debt was a bank loan of 5000 pounds form the royal bank of scotland.

Are there any charges on the account do you know e.g. no payment fees, collection fees, etc?

 

They are making threats of taking me to court,arresting my wages and most worringly a bailiff could come to my parents home if i dont pay the full 4.868.53 immediately

While they can take you to court the letter that you have received is a standard one designed to frighten you into calling them. If they were to take you to court you would be informed of this by the court and have 3 options.

 

The first would be to admit the debt and apply for a time to pay order based on your disposable income. The court would decide the amount you had to pay each week/month and not the DCA/creditor. You on no accounts should be pressurised into paying this debt in full even if you do agree that the sum quoted as outstanding is correct. A court would deem this as unreasonable and it is also against debt collection guideance from the OFT.

 

The second option would be to dispute the amount owed (you would still have the opportunity to apply for a time order to pay back the monies in installments).

 

The third option would be to fully defend the claim.

 

Only if after decree was granted against you would they be able to apply for an arrestment of wages and only if you had then still refused to pay. Of course they would need to have your bank/employers details to do this.

 

As far as bailiffs coming goes we don't have bailiffs in Scotland. We have sheriff officers. Unless they are acting on behalf of the court, they have no more powers than you or me.

 

Finding out when the last payment was made and how much will take a Subject access request letter

An alternative is to ask for a statement of account as part of the CCA request if you just want to know when the last payment was made and then add 5 years to get the date when it would become time barred.

I wouldn't worry until a letter from their solicitor arrives, as well as checking to make sure their solicitor is actually eligible to practice law in Scotland.

 

AIC are a Scottish DCA so they would use a Scottish solicitor.

 

 

Ultimately it is up to you whether or not you want to try and wait it out until the debt becomes statute barred. If you are registered in any way at your parents address then it is highly likely that the DCA will know that you are already there through credit agency searches, etc. I would however point out that asking for a copy of the credit agreement and details of any charges on the account in no way acknowledges the debt and in no way resets the limitation clock.

[rory32]

These AIC guys have me so worried im missing work through it now

I forgot to say, first of all you should stop worrying as realistically there is very little they can do to you and you may wish to do some readying around the forum to confirm this for yourself.

 

Secondly, I would say that if you continue to not address this by acting you will just continue to worry about it which obviously isn't healthy. In my opinion only by acting do you remove the stress and worry caused by these situations and get on with having a happy normal life.

[help me if you can]

I have a new update which has left me even more confused..Ive just received a letter from the RBS credit managment services branch.They are now stating the date of first movement on the account as 25 April 20005.As the loan was taken on a 48 months period which ended on april 2009 and i'll have a annual rate of 9.84 percent.That i should contact them for a final settle ment figure?

 

What should be my next step?Does this mean i need to wait 5 years after april 2009 for my account to be status barred or is it from the last time i paid anything?

 

Does this mean AIC have passed the debt back to the Royal bank and could this be good news?

 

Chhers for the help so far guys.

[rory32]

AIC work on behalf of RBS so it's not uncommon to hear from both of them. The time barring of a debt runs from the last acknowledgement of the debt by you. Acknowledgement can be in the form of a written acknowledgement that the monies are owed or by way of a payment towards the debt.

[help me if you can]

Hey,how do i find out when i was last in contact with them and when my account will become status barred?

 

Cheers mate

[maroondevo52]

Send RBS a Subject Access Request, will cost you £10 but should let you know the score regarding payments made ect.

 

 

http://www.consumerforums.com/resources/templates-library/48-bank-templates/110--data-protection-act-1998-subject-access-request-