Barclaycard : Mercers D.C.L contacting my old address

[vietgibbs]

Hi guys,

as i've seen there is a lot on this website about mercer and how to/not to deal with them, but i'm in a slightly different situation and i was hoping some one could give mke some advice.

I'll explain my situation first and apologies if it is long winded.

I am currently living in Vietnam and have so for the last year and a half. I have an outstanding credit card bill with Barclays and have not paid any payments for 5-6 months. My last registered address and contact number was my parents house, which is where i lived before leaving England. I did contact barclays, several months before and told them that i now longer lived at that address but obviously they are still contacting it as it's my last known address. My mother has recently contacted me saying that she has received many phone calls and letters from Mercer and that she wants to pay them something to make them stop. I have told her not to pay them anything and just to tell them that i don't live there and haven't done for a year and a half, and that the only way she is in contact with me is via email. I have no plans to return to England but I don't want debt collectors turning up at my parents house as this would be upsetting for them, also my mother is worried they will 'black list' her house and it will effect her credit. I can't believe this is true as all debt are in my name and nothing to do with them. Can anyone clarify this for me?? Also any advice on what to do would be very much appreciated.

Many thanks

[cerberusalert]

Moved to the Overseas Forum.

[cerberusalert]

Your parents should return all the mail unopened & marked 'Not at this address' & if they continue to send any or make any 'phonecalls they should make a complaint to their local Trading Standards. They are not responsible for your debts nor are they privy to your personal business & have no involvement whatsoever & should not suffer this harassment.

 

They cannot blacklist an address so your mother should have no worries in that respect, a credit reference agency reports on the person not the address.

 

Because you are in Vietnam they cannot take any enforcement action against you, there are no reciprocal agreements between the two countries. Have a read through the stickies at the top of this forum and things will be explained.

[cerberusalert]

Incidentally, Mercers are Barclays in-house collection arm and not debt collectors per se.

[vietgibbs]

Your parents should return all the mail unopened & marked 'Not at this address' & if they continue to send any or make any 'phonecalls they should make a complaint to their local Trading Standards. They are not responsible for your debts nor are they privy to your personal business & have no involvement whatsoever & should not suffer this harassment.

 

They cannot blacklist an address so your mother should have no worries in that respect, a credit reference agency reports on the person not the address.

 

Because you are in Vietnam they cannot take any enforcement action against you, there are no reciprocal agreements between the two countries. Have a read through the stickies at the top of this forum and things will be explained.

Thanks a lot for the quick response and information, i will pass this message on to my parents back home and continue living my new, very happy life here in Vietnam.

[vietgibbs]

So just to clarify things, I have no intentions of going back to live in England, may just go back for a short holiday to visit friends and family for a week or 2, and the above mentioned debt is with 2 credit cards totalling 16000 pounds. Can i just ignore them and forget about it as I'm in Vietnam and not pay them back anything or am i best to do something else ??? declare bankrupt from here ?? Also, I have no morale problems with not paying them back, I just want to know if it would ever be forgotten about or cleared after a certain amount of time???

Many thanks

[cerberusalert]

A debt becomes Statute Barred after 6 years if you do not make any payment or written admission of the debt. They cannot legally obtain a CCJ against you which they would need to take any enforcement action. If they did obtain a CCJ using a previous address this can easily be set aside.