Now it's Ruthbridge!!

[undernie]

Hi All

 

I recently wrote to ScotCall regarding an old statute barred debt which they were trying to get money for on behalf of Activ Kapital Ltd.

 

In response to the statute barred letter I sent ScotCall, they did the right thing and confirmed that they had closed the account and were returning it to their so-called client at Aktiv.

 

However, despite my insisting that ScotCall advise their client of the contents of my letter,

Aktiv Kapital have now just passed the same statute barred debt on to a DCA called Ruthbridge.

 

I have received a letter from Ruthbridge making the same demands for payment on the same debt

and insisting that I must pay to avoid their recommendation to their client (Aktiv) that further action be taken against me.

 

This makes me furious.

Can they legally do this?

They must know full well that I have written and informed one of their associates of the status of this debt

and that I will not be paying now or in the future.

I thought that was suppose to constitute harrassment?

 

Do I have to write to all of these "so-called" collection agencies in the same way as I did with ScotCall?

Please can anyone give me the correct advice on how to proceed from here.

 

Many thanks in advance.

[sillygirl1]

Send them the bemused letter from the library, and let them know that the debt is statute barred and you will not be making any payment.

 

They can huff and puff all they like but very little they can do.

 

If they pass it on yet again report the lot to the OFT.

[BRIGADIER2JCS]

Hi All

 

I recently wrote to ScotCall regarding an old statute barred debt which they were trying to get money for on behalf of Activ Kapital Ltd.

 

In response to the statute barred letter I sent ScotCall, they did the right thing and confirmed that they had closed the account and were returning it to their so-called client at Aktiv. However, despite my insisting that ScotCall advise their client of the contents of my letter, Aktiv Kapital have now just passed the same statute barred debt on to a DCA called Ruthbridge. I have received a letter from Ruthbridge making the same demands for payment on the same debt and insisting that I must pay to avoid their recommendation to their client (Aktiv) that further action be taken against me.

 

This makes me furious. Can they legally do this? They must know full well that I have written and informed one of their associates of the status of this debt and that I will not be paying now or in the future. I thought that was suppose to constitute harrassment?

 

Do I have to write to all of these "so-called" collection agencies in the same way as I did with ScotCall? Please can anyone give me the correct advice on how to proceed from here.

 

Many thanks in advance.

 

Ok no messing with bemused letters here send this tp The Compliance Manager at Ruthbridge.

 

Ref: as on their letter.

 

Dear Sir or Mdam,

 

I refer to your letter dated xx xx xxxx in which you claim I owe a debt for £xxxx originally owed to xxxxx, please not I do not acknowledge any debt to Ruthbridge or any company you may claim to represent.

 

You should be aware that this alleged debt was in the hands of another incompetant debt collection agency namely Scottcall who were informed and agreed that this alleged debt has become statute barred thus I will not now or in the future make any payment or offer of payment in regard to the alleged debt.

 

I am fully aware of the OFT Guidance on Debt Collection 2003/2011 and the sections regarding the pursuit of statute barred debt and I shall also be reporting on the sale of a debt when the pursuer has been apraised of the status of the debt.

 

You will now cease to process and store any data relating to me and remove it from your records withh immediate effect.

 

Recorded Delivery.

[Bazooka Boo]

And make the token complaints to the OFT&TS.

[sequenci]

If they pass it on yet again report the lot to the OFT.

 

It would be the FOS, rather than the OFT.

[BRIGADIER2JCS]

I am inclined to think that on this matter ie a SB debt being sold on that FOS would have little regard for this, where as the OFT and the ICO have in the past stated that they are ''not in favour of statute barred debt being sold on without the seller informing the purchaser of the status of the debt, a statement that has seen off Ruthbridge on many occasions.

[sequenci]

The OFT don't deal with indivudual complaints, they are likely to refer on to the FOS.

 

Trading Standards would be the other option. They can be a serious postcode lottery though sometimes!

[dx100uk]

what is this debt?

 

is it on your CRA file?

 

dx

[undernie]

Thanks for all of your replies guys and for the letter Brig. Much appreciated. I will send that off later today.

 

To Dx, this is an old Barclaycard Debt from way back in 2001 that would have become statute barred in 2007.

 

It does not show on any of my CRA files at either Callcredit, Equifax or Experian (or Noddle for that matter)and I am a member of all 4 so check my files regularly.

 

From the above comments though, I am still not 100% clear on who I should be reporting them to.

 

Oh, as an aside,

I suppose I should mention that I had several debts back in 2001,

none of which are on my credit files,

none of which have been acknowledged in writing or paid into since 2001.

 

I say this, as I have only so far been chased for the debt that Ruthbridge are now chasing

and it was only a month ago that I wrote and sent my first ever letter to a DCA, which was Scotcall.

 

I now have a fishing letter from 1st Credit which I suspect may be for one of the other debts.

 

But I suppose that doesn't matter as any will be statute barred now as they all stem from this exact same period.

 

I will just have to deal with each individual debt as it no doubt surfaces.

 

The point is though, that as soon as you write to one, that seems to bring all of them out of the woodwork.

Edited October 25, 2012 by undernie

[Bazooka Boo]

If you write informing them that it is SB, they will either close their files and thats the end of it.

 

Or they will come back with a phantom payment made which they claim reset the clock, but when faced with "thank you for your written evidence of attempting to commit fraud, this will be my defence should you continue in bringing legal action" they usually think twice about losing their credit licence.

 

And in any case, when you inform one DCA that the debt is SB and they then continue to pass it amongst themselves to finance their rotten to the core industry a complaint needs to be made to the OFT&TS about the practice of passing on SB debts without disclosing the status of the debt/

[undernie]

Thanks for that Bazooka Boo. The letter Brig supplied me with has gone out today. I will keep this thread updated with any further responses I receive from them regarding this particular debt.

 

Many thanks to all once again.

[BRIGADIER2JCS]

Boo, if Ruthbridge have got their grubby mitts on it any phantom payment would around 2000 or earllier:madgrin:

[Bazooka Boo]

I thought we were up to using 2007 now??

[BRIGADIER2JCS]

I thought we were up to using 2007 now??

 

Naah I understand they have aquired bag loads of do do from Lowell,I sense fun coming.

[undernie]

Hi All

 

Just an update on this thread. Last week I sent the letter that Brig outlined for me to Ruthbridge via special delivery. They received and signed for it on the 26th Oct (Proof obtained and kept). I heard nothing until today.

 

I get a letter from them dated 26 October (only received today so that's five working days to get to me????) completely ignoring the letter that I sent them and basically, to sum up, containing the following:

 

1.They note they have had no response from me regarding my "defaulted" account. (Yes they have)

2.They want to offer 65% discount. (??)

3.They will recommend to their client sending doorstep collectors if not paid up.

4.They will ensure that my credit files are listed as "satisfied" on this debt with the credit reference agencies when I pay up (It is not on my credit files in the first place).

 

Now, I know this might be just some computer generated letter that has gone out on the same day as they received my letter, but why it would take 5 days to get to me I don't really understand and surely I would have received something else from them also as acknowledgement of my letter and its contents in the same time period if that was the case?

 

So in essence this is just stage 2 of their harrassment campaign to try and get me to pay up on a statute barred debt. Are they legally allowed to just ignore my letter to them?

 

Another curious thing about this Ruthbridge company is that I sent my letter to them to the following address which is at the top of their letter:

 

Ruthbridge Ltd

Ruthbridge House

15 London Road

Twickenham

Middlesex TW1 3ST

 

At the bottom of the letter in very small print is another address as a registered office at 13 Princeton Court, 53-55 Felsham Road, Putney,London SW15 1AZ. (???)

 

Then, on the back of the envelope, it states, if undelivered return to

 

PO Box 530

Manchester M5 0DB

 

I mean, WTH???? I mean how are you suppose to know which address the letters are coming from? Clearly it's not in Twickenham or Putney? And is this a deliberate deceit so that they can act like they haven't received my letter from me?

 

Can someone please advise on what I should do next, if anything. Or should I just ignore these people now that I have written and made my position clear?

 

Many thanks as always.

[dx100uk]

discount letter - ignore

 

dx

[undernie]

Thanks for your reply dx. I thought it would be a case of ignore.

[sillygirl1]

Was the letter sent second class, and was it sent using one of the UKMail, TNTMail or similar service as that would add another 3 days to the process.

 

This company must be reported for using different addresses, clearly they are hiding something, either a back room operation which is offshore (again would add to the delay in the letters and lack of reply to your letters). I would reply to the address on the letter.

 

They should not be sending doorstep collectors as you have already told them not to send them.

[BRIGADIER2JCS]

The Reg office address is an accountants office, they will be acting as company secretary, the returned mail address is a bulk mailing centre.

I seriously doubt anyone had read your letter when this one was sent out.

Just ignore.

[undernie]

Thanks for your replies.

 

Yes there was TNT written on the top right hand corner of the envelope.

 

My response went to the main address at the top of their letter and was signed for by them on receipt of it the day after I posted it.

 

Just thought it was odd that there was so many different addresses. Thanks for the input Brig.

[intend]

Don't worry about the date, easily maninpualed by DCAs - besides most have not learnt to tell the time yet. And yes ignore.

[RW Fugitive]

The whole industry is rotten to the core.. when will our MP's do something about it? Getting fed up of them myself

[undernie]

Hi people,

 

Just as an update to this thread, I have today received a letter from Ruthbridge in which they confirm my letter to them and have noted the "issues" I have raised. They have been in contact with Activ Kapital ltd who have "advised" Ruthbridge to return the account to them so that they can deal with it directly.

 

Ruthbridge also confirm that they have closed the account at the their end and that I will not be hearing from them again regarding this matter. However, they state that Aktiv Kapital will soon be in touch with me themselves to discuss the "issues" I have with this debt.

 

So, that has gotten rid of Ruthbridge, but I'm not sure what Aktiv Kapital are up to, as they should be closing the account also, especially considering that they are the ones responsible for passing this around from pillar to post.

 

It will be interesting to see what they are going to say, if anything, and to see whether they are going to continue passing this statute barred debt around any further or are going to try and come up with the "phantom payment" rubbish that I have heard about on hear so often.

 

Time will tell and I will keep this situation updated as it progresses, although when I hear from Aktiv Kapital I will most likely start a new thread relevant to them.

[BRIGADIER2JCS]

Inventing a mysterious payment maybe!!

[undernie]

Hi Brig

 

Do you really think that is likely at this stage in their game? I mean, if that's their plan, why did they not have Scotcall or Ruthbridge do that?