Old Debt Advice

[UpNorth]

Hi

 

Found site today and would like a little advice, about 8 years ago i got into debt and then lost my job the debts piled up and i got several ccj's against me, i ran away from the debt and have moved house several times, as im older and hopefully more responsible now, how do i now find out what ccj's i have againt me and who i owe money to and how much it will be, i recently got a letter from wescott but hav'nt contacted them as i've read horror stories in the forums about them, i'm on a low income as im a carer for my wife so paying back the monies i owe in 1 payment is a no no i'm unsure of how much the debts are but a rough guess is between £2000 - £4,000.

 

thanks

 

any help would be appreciated.

[djdavep]

I have dealt with westcot myself and on reciept of my letter recieved advice from CAB.

 

The first and most important thing is that they cannot request that you pay more than you can afford, you can arrange to pay them a fixed weekly or monthly amount and as long as you are making a payment to them I believe they cannot take it any further.

 

I would also look into the debt and check it is correct as well as they doubled the amount i owed them before i got proof from the original debt in writing as to the true amount I owed.

 

Hope this helps, my first post, i'm not an expert but this is from personal experience

 

Dave

[UpNorth]

Well i've applied to the 3 credit reference agencies to see whats on my credit history, will the CCJ's be on there that the companies years ago said they were gonna do in there letters, or have i got to look elsewere for those i've been reading in the forums about the 6 year rule and i gather it dos'nt apply to CCJ's so what is the law/rules on CCJ's.

 

thanks in advance.

[gizmo111]

Well i've applied to the 3 credit reference agencies to see whats on my credit history, will the CCJ's be on there that the companies years ago said they were gonna do in there letters, or have i got to look elsewere for those i've been reading in the forums about the 6 year rule and i gather it dos'nt apply to CCJ's so what is the law/rules on CCJ's.

 

thanks in advance.

 

Debts that have been acknowledged by yourself in writing or by payment by yourself in 6 years become statutue barred and cannot be ebforced. This does not apply to CCJ debts as they have already been the subject of court action and are in theory enforceable forever.

[andrew1]

Debts that have been acknowledged by yourself in writing or by payment by yourself in 6 years become statutue barred and cannot be ebforced. This does not apply to CCJ debts as they have already been the subject of court action and are in theory enforceable forever.

 

 

Gizmo, I think you mean " Debts that have not been acknowleged by yourself in writing or payment by yourself in 6 years become statute barred."

 

Good advice from Gizmo as usual, UpNorth, if you are now trying to sort these out just think smart and be careful. If you contact any of these creditors they'll just start as they left off. I had one with Morgan Stanley that for some reason died a death until I had to query a linked address on my credit file which was a mistake. The debt had been sold to Wescot but had for some reason not followed up for some time. By querying the linked address with Experian Wescot picked up on it and are back to their old ways so I am CCA requesting them to keep things right. Just be careful about what you are doing, these beggars are as thick as thieves. Keep the whole thing in perspective and once you know what you are doing you can approach the right ones at the right time with offers to settle or whatever. You'll probably find all kinds of charges which are reclaimable if you have run from them all but most of all keep in control and do things at your own pace. That way you will continue on your quest to get some kind of normality back in your life. Believe me it can be done. Good luck and keep posting.

[gizmo111]

Gizmo, I think you mean " Debts that have not been acknowleged by yourself in writing or payment by yourself in 6 years become statute barred."

 

Well spotted!

[UpNorth]

Well wescott phoned today and my wife just fobbed them off shes good on the phone a bit of a pitbull when she wants to be, anyways i'm waiting to receive my credit reports, just after a bit of advice do i lay low till i recieve them to see what debts i actually have or what? any help apreciated. :-|

[andrew1]

Sounds about right to me unless you have anyone pressing you for anything at present. The credit reports will only give you a picture of those accounts you've had and companies that have had accounts on them. The reports tell you how the debt stands and the dates etc, whether you have defaults & ccj's ( which are the nightmares) and once you have the reports come back here and we can tell you how to deal with them.

 

As for Westcot, Do you know how old this debt is and who it originated from ie which Bank or finance company? If you haven't spoken to anyone about it for 6 yrs or more it is statute barred. So never acknowledge any debt to Wescot, or that you owe them money, theres a template letter in the Templates Library under the CCA Act asking for copies of the original agreement etc and telling them you do not acknowledge the debt, but we will come to that later.

 

If it's not 6 yrs old:

You will also need to know whether they own the debt or not now, same with any Debt collection agencies ( DCA's). You should have been written to and told the account was sold/bought by them but if you've moved about them you may not have had them. They obviously know where you are now, but remember you can write to them telling them that you do not wish them to telephone you and you will only deal by correspondance under a variety of Acts of Parliament. Theres a letter by Hagenuk in the Cabot thread which is worth reading and it will stop the phone calls dead: you'll need to work it to suit you but it goes something like this : ( with thanks to HagenUK)

 

Dear Sir/Madam

 

Ref:

 

Despite my letter regarding any communication from your company, which stated that I require all communications in writing, your telephone calls continue.

 

This behaviour constitutes harassment; the letter stated quite clearly to you that I require all communications in writing for future possible Court use. Do not telephone me again and remove any telephone numbers you hold for me from your systems.

 

Your telephone calls are in breach of the Office of Fair Trading guidelines. If you continue to telephone me after the receipt of this letter an official complaint, together with a log recording the times and frequency of the calls will be passed both to that office and to the Trading Standards office. For your information note that all telephone calls are recorded.

 

This type of debt collection method is contrary to the ‘Administration of Justice Act 1970’ in that it is intended to cause alarm and distress to the recipient. Your methods will not be tolerated. Should the telephone calls not cease immediately a formal complaint, containing copies of all correspondence including yours, will be submitted to the relevant authorities. This will be relevant to questions of your fitness to hold a licence under the Consumer Credit Act, whether or not it results in a prosecution.

 

Take further note that continued telephone calls after the receipt of a request not to call may constitute a criminal offence under Section 127 of the Communications Act 2003.

 

I trust that I have made myself understood on this matter.

 

 

 

Yours faithfully

 

Once you know who and what you have and the age of the debts you can come back here and we'll talk you through it.

 

Main thing..... don't worry.

[UpNorth]

Right finally got all my credit reports today and there clean as a whistle so all my debts are older than 6 years i guess, is there any way to see past the 6 years so i can see if i have any ccj's in my past.

[james141]

I personally wouldnt worry about it

 

Were you old addresses listed on your credit file?

 

If not be carefull when you next apply for credit or they will link it all up and they will be back on to you.

[andrew1]

Something else to bear in mind: I found out that when you move house and set up a redirection order with the Royal Mail others buy their data from them telling whoever you have moved and where to. If you set up one of these make sure you do not allow the ' third parties' to receive your data, just like a loan, mortgage or any other box to tick about others getting your info. My identity was stolen and the way I found out - Nectar cards! not even a credit card but a sainsburys points card. Nectar buy the redirection info just like all the others. So beware of the redirection orders too. Edit: and the new ( ficticious) address found it's way onto my credit file!

[phunkeymonkeh]

As said, be careful.

 

New enquiries onto your credit record could allow previous lenders to find you.

 

Also any debts that have had CCJ's are still enforceable. So they can still chase you. And send in bailiffs.

 

Any debts that didnt make it to court and were not acknowledged by you over the past 6 years should be written off.

 

My advice would be to contact each and every person who writes to you demanding money.

Write them a letter asking for proof of acknowledgement of the debt by yourself over the past 6 years. If they cant present it the debt is statue barred.

If they do provide you with proof of acknowledgement you may have to start paying them again.

 

 

However, if you contact them and they advise you that judgement was made (CCJ) , then they can persue you and send in bailiffs at any time.

 

 

So it is a risk.

[UpNorth]

yeah wesott had contacted me about debts from HFC, they are mine, but i hav'nt admited this or talked to them as i was waiting for my credit histories to come through, so now i guess i do the CCA to wescott and see if there is a ccj or a signed agreement is this the right course of action to do now ?

[adamw]

To Upnorth

 

I had a debt collection agency Mckensie Hall after me after I had a very stroppy and rude employee i sent them this letter and it worked they then dropped all claims against me you shoukd try this if your debt is over 6 years old it worked for me so try it.

 

 

WITHOUT PREJUDICE

Dear Sir/Madam

You have contacted me regarding the accounts with the above reference numbers, which you claim is owed by myself.

 

I would point out that under the Limitation Act 1980 Section 5 “an action founded on simple contract shall not be brought after the expiration of six years from the date on which the cause of action accrued.”

 

I would also point out that the OFT say under their Debt Collection Guidance on statute barred debt that “it is unfair to pursue the debt if the debtor has heard nothing from the creditor during the relevant limitation period”.

 

The last payment of this debt was made over six years ago and no further acknowledgement or payment has been made since that time. Unless you can provide evidence of payment or written contact from myself in the relevant period under Section 5 of the Limitation Act, I suggest that you are no longer able to take any court action against us to recover the alleged amounts claimed.

 

The OFT Debt Collection Guidance states further that “continuing to press for payment after a debtor has stated that they will not be paying a debt because it is statue barred could amount to harassment contrary to section 40 (1) of the Administration of Justice Act 1970”.

 

I await your written confirmation that no further contact will be made concerning the above account and confirmation that this matter is now closed.

 

I look forward to your reply.

 

Yours faithfully

[andrew1]

yeah wesott had contacted me about debts from HFC, they are mine, but i hav'nt admited this or talked to them as i was waiting for my credit histories to come through, so now i guess i do the CCA to wescott and see if there is a ccj or a signed agreement is this the right course of action to do now ?

 

 

If you had a ccj it would show on your credit file, so you won't need to ask wescott for that info. If they have tracked you to an address ( and they have tracing agents doing this all the time) All you need to be doing is obtaining a CCA request to get them to prove they are legitimately claiming monies from you and they have all the documentation to support their claim. Find out if they now own the debt ( have bought the debt from the bank) and if so they should supply you with the original deed of assignment. Once they have shown you all those then you can make your deal or pay according to your means. If they don't provide it tell them where to get off!

[UpNorth]

so even after 6 years i could see if i've had one in the past ?

[andrew1]

No. If there's been no contact written or by phone with the claimant during the six years by you then effectively the debt is wiped out under the Statute of Limitations and the record is removed from your credit file 6 yrs and three months after it was lodged or issued, so you will never know if you had one or not. Unless you need a copy for picture framing and putting on the wall I'd stay stum!

[Tinkerbelle]

Just buy yourself a shredder and when these letters for statute barred debts land on your doorstep, feed the machine

[phunkeymonkeh]

All of the above is correct.

 

However, if you had a CCJ issued, and its no longer on your credit record...doesnt mean they cant still enforce it.

 

If a CCJ has been applied the Statute of Limitations does not apply.

[andrew1]

All of the above is correct.

 

However, if you had a CCJ issued, and its no longer on your credit record...doesnt mean they cant still enforce it.

 

If a CCJ has been applied the Statute of Limitations does not apply.

 

My apologies if I have been misleading. That's worth knowing, thanks. I phoned experian and they said it was written off, but then Experian don't know everything do they as we are beginning to find out!

 

Does it ever get written off or does it have to be settled before it's gone altogether? What is the liklihood someone would be followed-up again after the 6 yrs do you think?

[UpNorth]

Received a letter from credit security limited today after i sent wescott a time barred 6 year letter, there both apparently chasing the same debt do i have to send of one these letter to all these ****** companies .

[andrew1]

Received a letter from credit security limited today after i sent wescott a time barred 6 year letter, there both apparently chasing the same debt do i have to send of one these letter to all these ****** companies .

 

I'd re-read through the thread again. I think most of your concerns are covered in this thread. Either wescot or Credit security can own it but you have to get the details from them. If, as stated there's a ccj on the debt then it's never statute barred, but if you've have no communication, paid nothing towards clearing it or had any acknowledgment of the debt then it is statute barred.

 

CCA requesting Credit Services is one way of dealing with it - ignoring it is another, but if you write to Credit Services with a cca request I'd suggest you tell them anoither company has already written to you about the same 'alleged' debt and you are dealing with it through them, you do acknowledge any debt to them or anyone else and if they chase again you'll report them for harrassment.

[Tinkerbelle]

I'd re-read through the thread again. I think most of your concerns are covered in this thread. Either wescot or Credit security can own it but you have to get the details from them. If, as stated there's a ccj on the debt then it's never statute barred, but if you've have no communication, paid nothing towards clearing it or had any acknowledgment of the debt then it is statute barred.

 

CCA requesting Credit Services is one way of dealing with it - ignoring it is another, but if you write to Credit Services with a cca request I'd suggest you tell them anoither company has already written to you about the same 'alleged' debt and you are dealing with it through them, you do NOT acknowledge any debt to them or anyone else and if they chase again you'll report them for harrassment.

 

Just added a correction

[andrew1]

Just added a correction

 

 

Whoooops ! Thanks Tinks - you're always watching arn't you ?

[UpNorth]

got a letter from wescott today saying they will no longer be pursuing the debt after they got my statue barred letter.