Scotland / England - which law applies?

[ninjag]

Hi all, I'm new here and would greatly appreciate some help.

 

I racked up a few unsecured debts in the past whilst living in London and since 2006 I made deals with them all and cleared a few and still pay off three on the monthly and have so far never missed a payment.

 

Another unsecured debt has cropped up again which I'm sure I paid but according to them I haven't. It's only for just under £2K but I'm wondering where I stand. Here's the details:

 

The agreement was made in England whilst I was living in London (in 2003 according to my credit file)

• The last payment ever made according to my credit file was in May 2006 whilst I was still living in London (in June 2006 it shows a "1" on my Experian file)
  
• The default date on my credit file is showing as March 2009 which is odd considering the last payment was made in May 2006.
  
• I moved to Scotland in 2006 and have resided there ever since
  
• The only time I received correspondence from them was in July 2009 upon which I replied on the same day stating that I did not acknowledge the debt and I asked for copies of any signed contracts/agreements, statements of payments made and copies of the most recent correspondence; whilst reiterating that these requests did not constitute an admission of liability.
  

I never received a response to my request but I thought that under the Data Protection Act they had to provide me with such information? I'm not sure though.

 

I've heard nothing since until today upon which the original company Black Horse Finance have sold the debt to Lowell Portfolio 1

and they are now looking for payment or they will pass the account over to Lowell Financial Ltd.

 

Now, putting aside the fact that Lowell Financial Ltd's credit file is loaded with CCJ's against them including a recent one in July 2011 for £14,592

they've got a mighty cheek chasing others for money!!!

 

Not to mention that their profit after tax is negative £1.8M and their working capital is negative £8M and their net worth is negative £4.9M - yep, they are insolvent!

One might think that it's ok because they are part of the Lowell Group Ltd, but they have a working capital of negative £19M

and a net worth of negative £92M so they are also in the brown stuff..

..ok, I'm getting side tracked here because all that doesn't really matter.

 

What I'd really appreciate is which law applies?

Is it the Law where the contact was originally formed being England or is it the law where I reside permanently being Scotland?

I own my house here and pay council tax and I am on the voters role here in Scotland.

 

If it's Scottish Law then would it be safe to say the five years is up and I'm in the clear? Or is it English Law and should I lay low for another 8 months?

 

Any advice would be greatly appreciated

[dx100uk]

scottish

 

does this and all of the debts you are paying show on oyur cra?

 

if not - no pay time

 

dx

[ninjag]

scottish

 

Thanks for the speedy reply and that's good news indeed!

 

I'm paying off one loan and two credit cards of which the Loan and Credit card (both BOS) are on my credit file. The other card isn't on it but I've been paying that each month without fail since it defaulted and I'm guessing it may be on my Equifax file (or some other credit reference agency) instead which I've never checked. There are other debts on my Experian credit file which I cleared in the past without defaulting them.

 

I made deals on the loan and two credit cards directly with the debt collectors of the banks and not through someone like the CCCS or other debt management firm.

 

Speaking of my Experian file, it states that all debts will no longer show on it after 6 months from the date of default and that will be next year. So I'm guessing that even the ones I'm still paying will come off my file and essentially I'll have a much nicer credit score?

 

 

Thanks again

 

 

 

does this and all of the debts you are paying show on oyur cra?

 

if not - no pay time

 

dx

 

 

EDIT: Just to confirm, are you saying that if this particular debt which is over 5 years old is showing on my credit file then I can't claim the 5 year rule?

[dx100uk]

nope not in the least......

 

sb clock starts ticking from YOUR last financial transaction

 

i am a wee bit concerned you appear to be paying DCA's

 

i would NEVER EVER pay a dca unless they have brought the debt

and even then ONLY after i'd seen a CCA out of them.

 

have you also looked at reclaiming

unlawful fees [late/over/phone/letter/cats died] & mis-sold PPI

 

it would be interesting to see a list with some dates and history for each debt

 

poss start a thread for each one in the named OC forum?

 

i'm sure we can save you money here.

 

dx

[ninjag]

nope not in the least......

 

sb clock starts ticking from YOUR last financial transaction

 

Nice one!

 

i am a wee bit concerned you appear to be paying DCA's

 

i would NEVER EVER pay a dca unless they have brought the debt

and even then ONLY after i'd seen a CCA out of them.

 

Sorry, I'm a little lost here. What's a DCA and what's a CCA?

 

 

have you also looked at reclaiming

unlawful fees [late/over/phone/letter/cats died] & mis-sold PPI

 

I'm not sure what fees may be classified as unlawful and not sure about PPI, although I'm sure that due to my age and income at the time of taking out all these debts I would never had obtained so much credit unless I ticked the PPI box - which was the clever/easy way of getting the credit. In retrospect it was very foolish and isn't making life any easier.

 

it would be interesting to see a list with some dates and history for each debt

I'll post the details below in a seperate thread. I can only get the details from my Experian report so which details would be required as there's only really the default date, default amount, current balance and date updated.

 

Thanks again for the reply. I do believe that if you borrow money then you should pay it back but to be honest the interest and charges were so crazy I've probably paid the principle back twice over! lol

Edited September 23, 2011 by ninjag

[dx100uk]

dca=debt collection agency, ie NOT THE ORIGINAL CREDITOR

anything labelled 'fees' [other than bank account charges] on statements can be reclaimed

i bet you have loads.

as for PPI get reclaiming too

time to do some reading around

dx

[ninjag]

Thanks again. The DCA has bought the debt for this recent one so that's all above board I guess.

 

I've tried in the past to get statements / copy contracts but they won't provide them and simply ignore my letters. When the collection agency calls they say that I have to contact the actual bank and round and round we go! lol

 

The collection agencies for the older stuff are not charging interest or fees, it's all frozen and I can see the full amount I pay monthly being allocated against the balance on my credit file so I think it's ok in this case to be paing the DCA?

[dx100uk]

me thinks you are taking what these DCA's say as to much of the truth.

 

and you mention more than one debt?

 

have you CCA'ed and got paperwork back for ALL the debts you are paying to DCA's?

 

and you talk of 'callers?

 

if this is to your door - not alloweed in scotland

 

if to your phone -

why are you takling to them!!

 

never ever discuss your debts on the phone to a spoofing DCA

that have NO LEGAL POWERS TO DO NOWT to you.

 

more info please.

 

something smells here!

 

dx

[ninjag]

Hi

 

What does CCA mean? I hope it doesn't mean County Court Action!!!

 

The only paperwork I've received was the letter from the DCA with the balance etc. It was all correct though but I would like to see the original contracts and statements as I'd be interested to see what interest I've paid over the years. If it's all accurate numbers etc then are they still a spoof DCA? Do you reckon they are skimming some interest off my payments?

 

Nobody has ever come to my door and I only ever get either a letter or a phone call every six months to do a review. Strangely, the BOS DCA called a month or so ago and I explained I couldn't change the amounts and they accepted this. But just the other week BOS have been directly trying to call me about a review??? Don't they talk to each other?

 

Also, I would have thought the DCA can start action against me on behalf of BOS?

 

 

Thanks again!

 

 

Forgot to add, the DCA is Blair, Oliver & Scott

[ninjag]

Oh my God, I've just noticed something!

 

Blair, Oliver & Scott........Blair, Oliver & Scott.....BOS!.....Bank of Scotland!!!!!! Could this be the ultimate in irony?!!!!

[dx100uk]

cca anyone you are paying

 

dx