Debt and DCA Help Please

[daddywb]

Hi All,

 

I really would like some advice on the following situation.

 

I ran up some credit card debt back in 2007. I moved abroad and returned to the UK in 2011.

 

I have just been contacted via letter by a well known DCA saying that I need to pay this debt (around 10k). This is the first time that I have been contacted by anyone regarding this debt. Not sure how they found me but am guessing electoral roll DVLA etc. (Not that it really matters)

 

From what I can tell, the debt will become statute barred in June 2013 according to my credit file.

 

My questions are:

 

1. I will be moving home again in the next few weeks. Do I just ignore these letters and hope they do not find me?

2. I noticed an entry on my credit report for the DCA but the amount is not the same as the amounts that are reported on my credit report for the original debt. That is also listed but the amounts are slightly different. Are they trying to add a fictitious debt to extend the statute barred time? Should an entry from the DCA also appear along with the original debt?

3. What would happen if they continued to send letters but I had moved. Would they pursue it further?

4. If I ignored them, could they issue a CCJ and if so, what If I had moved home and not received any further letters from them or from the court?

 

I have never spoken to them on the phone or acknowledged the debt in any shape or form.

 

I am new to all this so any advice you can share would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks

[ims21]

The credit file entry may not be an accurate indicator of SB.

 

When was the last payment you made to the account?

[daddywb]

Hi,

 

Thanks for your reply.

 

Well I do not know the exact date but the default date is July 2007. My file is saying that it is to be reported until July 2013 which I presume is the 6 year statute barred date/month?

[ims21]

The default could have been lodged some months after the last payment and the SB clock starts from the date of your last payment (or written acknowledgement of the debt).

 

It could be that this is already SB if your last payment was in, say, January 2007.

 

Have you got any records going back that far that you might be able to check from your end?

[daddywb]

I do not have access to the bank account that I originally used or know of any documentation to verify any exact dates.

 

What I do have is a copy of a letter I wrote to the credit card company in November 2006 saying that I could no longer keep up payments and asking if they would accept a reduced amount to clear the debt.

 

I did not hear anything back from this letter, although I did receive a dodgy phone call by someone who was pretending to be a prospective customer and asking my name and where I was living. They were obviously from a DCA. I was then living in Spain so I guess they thought there would be not point in chasing the debt.

 

So November 2006 was the last time I wrote to the credit card company NOT DCA at this point. Unfortunately at this moment in time I do not have any exact dates to provide.

 

I have checked my credit file again and it says the 1st default was in June 2007.

[ims21]

So it could well be that no further payment has been made on this account since that date in 2006 when you wrote to the card company. Would that sound right to you?

 

If that is the case then this is SB already.

 

If the DCAs name appears on your credit file then it is highly likely that they have bought the debt from the original creditor. Some DCAs specialise in trying to collect SB accounts.

 

Which DCA is it and who was the original creditor?

[daddywb]

Thanks again.

 

Like I say, my file says that the last payment I made was May 2007 and that on June 2007 I missed a payment. July is marked as the first Default.

 

The original creditor was Egg and the DCA is Lowells.

 

The first letter I received from Lowells said that they had brought the debt off of another company in December 2012, if that helps.

[daddywb]

Can you tell me that If I send a CCA request whether or not this is seen as acknowledging the debt?

 

The debt will become SB in around 4 months time So I obviously want to avoid any form of acknowledgement.

 

Also, what happens if Lowells send a Statutory Demand. Would I need to send the CCA immediately and then get the Statutory Demand set aside? Would this mean that the debt was in dispute?

 

From what I understand, Lowelives are not very good at producing CCA's?

 

If they do produce the CCA and it is bona fide, what would be the next best course of action for me?

 

Thanks for any help you can provide.

[ims21]

my file says that the last payment I made was May 2007

 

If that is the case then you are SB in May this year (unless you are in Scotland).

 

A CCA request is not an acknowledgement of the debt but at the moment I see no reason to pull Lowell's chain.

 

If you want chapter and verse on on the account then a SAR to Egg would be the way to go. It may well be that it is littered with charges which could be reclaimed and consequently alter the amount outstanding.

 

If Lowell issued a Statutory Demand then you can apply for it to be set aside. That is why I would SAR Egg to see what the charges situation might be. Also if an SD is issued then you can always do a CCA request then.

[daddywb]

Thanks Ims21. Much appreciated!

 

Can you just elaborate on "It may well be that it is littered with charges which could be reclaimed and consequently alter the amount outstanding."?

[ims21]

If you had charges for being late with a payment etc. then they can be reclaimed together with any interest that was charged as a result.

 

If that is the case then the balance owed will be less than is being claimed.

[daddywb]

Ah ok, understand.

 

Many thanks for your help Ims21.

[daddywb]

Hi Ims21,

 

Sorry, one more question.

 

I have a new entry on my credit file for Lowell.

 

As I have not acknowledged them in any way at this time, is that not illegal? Should they not inform you before they place an entry on your file? Plus it says I am in default to them from this month!!

 

Also, why is there a separate one for them and also for the original creditor?

[ims21]

There should not be a new default entered...you should only have one default per debt.

 

Are you sure it is a new default and not an update of the original one?

[daddywb]

Yes, it's a new entry for Lowell and a default for Jan 2013. The amount is slightly different to the original debt which shows on my file for the original creditor.

 

So to clarify, there is the existing entry which shows the defaults etc for each month and a new one recently added for Lowell with the big "D" for default. Can that be right??

 

It is for the same debt though as the account numbers are the same. Are they just trying it on and trying to extend the SB date?

[ims21]

Ok...that is not right.

 

There are many threads on here where Lowell seem to think they can get away with stuff like this.

 

I have plucked this thread from a quick search of the site and you can use the letter in post #4 as a template to write to them to get them to behave.

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?377198-2-Defaults-for-the-same-debt&p=4118488&highlight=two+defaults#post4118488

[daddywb]

Ok, many thanks ims21!