Lowell/Hamptons...again.

[nmtuk]

Hi All,

 

I've recieved a few letters from Lowell/Hamptons which it seems from reading here are the same company.

 

Now, having been away from home I have returned to a small collection of correspondence initially from Lowell and most recently from Hamptons.

 

The letters are regarding a Barclays loan of £1000 that was taken out, if I remember correctly, in 2003. Hamptons are asking for £2605.52...which I find unusual as I recollect paying that loan off in 2005...though to be honest there could have been a couple of hundred pounds left to pay due to me losing my job and also my grasp on reality for a short while.

 

Anyhow, the most recent leter I have recieved is:

 

Dear Sir

 

We refer to our previous correspondence and note you have failed to enter into a repayment plan or make realistic arrangements to settle the amount outstanding to out client.

 

We are now going to request a copy of your credit file from experian the credit reference agency, which will help us decide what form of litigation is best for us to recover the monies that are due.

 

If you are a home owner and the balance warrants it, we could issue legal proceedings against you , if we are granted a judgement we could then apply to the court to enforce the judgement by way of charging order, if you then still persist with none payment we could apply further inforcement and ask the court to grant an order of sale, if granted this could ultimately mean you losing your house.

 

If you are not a home owner we could issue legal proceedings against you. If successful in obtaining a judgement, we could then apply to the court for an enforcememnt order which could, for instance, take the form of an attachement to your earnings, or instructing a bailif or sherriff to remove goods from your property.

 

Please note that if we are successful with court action you would incur further costs being added to the outstanding balance in the form of court costs, solicitors fees, and interest.

 

You still have the ability to bring this outstanding matter to an amicable conclusion without any of the above happening.

 

Please call the number below to arrange repayment.

 

0844 844 4720

 

Yours faithfully

 

Advice on where I go from here would be hugely appreciated.

 

Thanks in advance.

[sillygirl1]

Send them the 'prove it' letter from the templates. Sounds like they are trying it on. They should NOT be allowed to look at your credit rating to 'asses whether you are a homeowner to decide what litigation they will take' for that little bit (misquoted here) you can report them to the OFT for breaching guidelines.

 

Also sounds as if it is statute barred so you could send that letter as well as the prove it letter.

 

Dont forget to put an electronic signature on both letters..... just to be on the safe side.

[Seminole]

If the last payment was made in 2005, it's not statute barred I'm afraid.

 

Would be worth sending a CCA to Hamptons and a SARN to Barclays to see what's been going on here.

[nmtuk]

Ok, have readied a letter to send tomorrow.

 

Any ideas of predicted outcomes here?.....just to put my mind at rest.

[Deb T]

First off, forcing a house sale on such a small amount allegedly owed is just not going to happen.

 

For them to even get to court they'll first have to establish that the debt is owed and the amount that they're seeking is the correct amount.

 

If they went to court and won the case it would result in a judgement against you and usually an amount for you to pay each month....at this point there is not a chance of them getting a charging order on your home. It is only when you miss a payment on the court order that they can go back to court to gain a charge on your property. This still does not mean they can force a sale, it just means that their unsecured debt has been transferred into a secure one (wrong as it is)...but for them to then get the courts to order a sale of your home on what is a relatively small amount of money owed (allegedly) would be terribly difficult and most likely just cost them heaps of money....which is why not many DCA' go down this route.

 

I wouldn't as yet send them a cca request but in the first instance send them this. DO NOT SIGN you usual signature, in fact I would just print your initials, give them nothing to go on.

http://www.consumerforums.com/resources/templates-library/86-debt-collectors/573-general-debt-letter-if-you-know-nothing-of-the-debt

 

Let them first show that they have the right person/right debt and only then would I send them a request for a copy of the original siged credit agreement (something that they would usually have to supply in court for a judgement to be even considered)

 

See what they send you and then come back here and post up their efforts.