HFO service ltd and my case Oct 2010

[boxhave]

I will try to keep it short as an sure you have heard it all

 

I recieved a letter from HFO on 12/9/2010 saying they were sold my debt by barclaycard etc, gave me the date it was sold to them, how much it was and now is. Lets say it is nearly a mortgage! in the Tens of thousands.

 

I called them spoke to them, asked for more info and denied all over the phone. A week later i get a letter saying the last payment was made on the account to barclaycard on 24/9/2010.

 

I knew it was nearing satute barred period.

 

I wrote them asking for credit agreement clearly stating i do not admit the claim. I did not sign the letter and included a £1 standing order.

 

It has taken them 1 month to reply with a front sheet of the agreement with my signature on it which i supposed bought me more time.nI got the letter and credit agreement yestarday 28/10/2009.

 

Clearly 1 month and 4 days after the last payment date. of to put it into the limitatons act law, 4 days after "the cause of action accrued" I understand the cause of action as the day you missed first payment which is 1 month after your last payment? (please correct me if i am wrong)

 

I now know that as i have not admitted the claim in the 6 years, have not paid in the 6 years and they have not taken me to court in the 6 years, is it statue barred?

 

I know their is no court claim against me as i did a credit check and it came clear on court cases and i actually asked HFO if they had taken me to court yet and they said no.

 

HFO say no it is not SB as they wrote me in Sept 2010 and i recieved the letter and that is when i contacted them, therefore it does not matter that i did not admit the claim so they will see me in court.

 

What are my chances of winning if i go to court and should i be getting a solicitor involved? They are blooming expensive!

Anyone konw something i have missed so far and any other actions i should be looking to take or is it just wait and see time?

[DonkeyB]

Their merely writing to you does not undo the SB. If you do not acknowledge the debt, that’s it – it has now gone. They are telling you a lie. Once you have stated it is SB – and they offer no proof that it is not – they are in serious breach of the OFT guidelines:

 

Statute barred debt

2.13 This guidance applies to the pursuit of debt regardless of its age. We will be

carrying out further work on this aspect of debt recovery including analysis of

relevant legislation and practice throughout the UK.

2.14 In the past we have dealt with a number of statute barred debt cases governed by

the Limitation Act 1980, which applies to England and Wales. Based on that

experience our position with regard to England and Wales remains:

a. we accept legally the debt exists

b. it is the methods by which the debt is collected that can be

unfair as follows:

• it is unfair to pursue the debt if the debtor has heard nothing from

the creditor during the relevant limitation period

• if a creditor has been in regular contact with a debtor before the debt

is statute barred, then we do not consider it unfair to continue to

attempt to recover the debt

• it is unfair to mislead debtors as to their rights and obligations, for

example, falsely stating or implying that the debt is still legally

recoverable and relying on consumers not knowing the relevant legal

provisions, and

• continuing to press for payment after a debtor has stated that they

will not be paying a debt because it is statute barred could amount to

harassment contrary to section 40 (1) of the Administration of

Justice Act 1970.

 

Note that they have not been in REGULAR contact.

 

So there you have it. Make it clear to these idiots that any further contact will be reported to the police as harassment.

 

Complain to the OFT and your local Trading Standards anyway. They deserve all the aggro they get by telling blatant lies like this.

[dx100uk]

yep ignore!

 

dx

[DonkeyB]

I’m guessing they acquired the debt sometime in 2007, and have done nothing about it since? It’s their own fault then. If they knew how to run a business properly, they might stand a chance. If I owned the company, I would make sure heads rolled for cock-ups like this.

 

I would also aver that threatening legal action when the debt is SB is a contravention of another OFT rule:

 

False representation of authority and/or legal position

2.3 Those contacting debtors must not be deceitful by misrepresenting their authority

and/or the correct legal position.

2.4 Examples of unfair practices are as follows:

a. falsely implying or claiming authority, for example, claiming to work on

instructions from the courts, claiming to be bailiffs or, in Scotland,

sheriff officers or messenger-at-arms

b. falsely implying or stating that action can or will be taken when it legally

cannot, for example, referring to bankruptcy or sequestration proceedings

when the balance is too low to qualify for such proceedings or claiming a

right of entry when no court order to this effect has been granted

[sillygirl1]

I would suggest you get a complaint into Trading Standards, the OFT and the Ministry of Justice. HFO are behaving very badly here. Writing to you does not reset the statute barred clock nor keep it ticking from that point. They are very economical with the truth and with their figures, they like to slap on backdated interest to 2007.

 

I still find it very hard to believe that a company would not chase debts worth 10s of thousands from the day they got them. Something is clearly very amis with their business administration if they have missed these debts in all that time.

 

We really need a good audit of this firms internal processes - including the assignments and allocations after assignment.

[Bazooka Boo]

You gotta laugh at their inept foolish employees, where do they get them from??? I know they like to recruit ex burger flippers from the golden arches but jeez!

Here is the list of organisations you need to complain to for their immature threats;

OFT&TS via http://www.consumerdirect.gov.uk/contact

 

http://www.justice.gov.uk/contactus.htm

 

Local MP http://www.writetothem.com/

[boxhave]

Thanks all, advice appriciated.

I will wait to hear from them again before i put in any form of complaints. I was suprised to learn they had not got court actions underway from ages ago as the debt is huge, i certainly cannot afford to pay it.

[DonkeyB]

Well, you’re in luck. So it’s now irrelevant. The actual debt won’t go away, but what they can do is severely limited.

[DonkeyB]

Any feedback on this?