Westcott chasing late 90's credit card debt already being paid

[hairygrape]

Hi all

 

I've been a fan of the forum for ages and have avidly read the questions and great answers from the very knowledgeable people on CAG.

You are all wonderful. Now I've got need of your help myself!

 

I missed a couple of monthly payments that I was making to Lloyds bank due to being in hospital.

 

Payment had been made monthly using a paying in book at any Lloyds branch.

 

I've had a letter from Westcotts saying that they have had the debt referred to them and are collecting on behalf of Lloyds.

 

The letter wanted me to contact them with my repayment proposals.

 

I ignored this first letter to see what would happen and had a similar letter with "Final Demand" written across the top about a week later.

 

I was still determined to wait to see what happened next and lo and behold,

I had another letter from Wescott stating that following consultation with their client,

they would accept a substantially reduced single payment to clear the debt.

No figure was mentioned and they wanted me to phone them.

I obviously stayed off the phone.

 

I next sent them a request for a copy of the original credit agreement using the identical letter from the library and enclosing a £1.00 PO.

 

Westcott have now replied that they are not the creditor but are acting on behalf of Lloyds.

They have returned the crossed PO saying it needs to made payable to Lloyds

and I then have the choice of sending the PO to Lloyds with the CCA request

( Lloyds forwarding address not supplied!)

or sending it to Westcott for them to forward it on.

 

Westcott have suspended collection activity for 28 day for me to come up with my "repayment proposals" to them.

 

I'm not inclined to take the bait here and contact Lloyds directly because I don't really know if the debt has been sold to Westcott.

 

I won't do their dirty work for them.

 

I'm certainly not going to submit any repayment proposals.

 

For now I'd like to see what they come up with next following the CCA request and I don't want to go down the road of submitting a SAR that would cost me a tenner.

 

However, I now don't seem able to submit the failure to supply a CCA request letter as per the library after the statutory 12+2 days as I've got no one to send it to!

 

Should I sit tight on this?

 

Many thanks.

[dx100uk]

discount equals something is WRONG with the debt.

 

the only way you'll find out is to SAR the OC.

 

however, ofcourse wetcloths are responsible to hold the CCA but as they've just been brought up by arrows

they prob have a sore earhole [well a sore something]

 

whats the debt

 

is it on your cra file

 

dx

[hairygrape]

Credit Card debt.

Balance owed is £500 odd.

I've paid about £1500 since defaulting on the debt via the payment book at an agreed sum per month.

Not checked CRA file but I assume that Lloyds logged the default at the time (late nineties).

[hairygrape]

Incidentally, debt payment communications were from a company called BLS Collections with a PO box in Brighton.

 

I understood this outfit to be an arm of Lloyds TSB. However, payment book states that account is with LloydsTSB Collections Department in Brighton.

[hairygrape]

Oops Sorry, BLS collections live in a PO box in Oxford not Brighton.

[dx100uk]

yes bls are Lloyds

 

however, alarm bells here...

you are paying a CC debt from the 90's urm.......

and the interest has not been frozen?

 

do you get better than annual statements?

 

it would have dropped off you cra file now if defaulted in the 90's.

 

CCA request here is a must!!

 

dx

[hairygrape]

Interest has been frozen.

They've never supplied me with annual statements of balance outstanding.

 

Should I go ahead and get wetcloths to forward a new CCA request to Lloyds.

I'd do it myself if they provided an address.

[dx100uk]

opps something smells here.

 

I've moved you to the Lloyds forum.

 

scroll up the top here

and click the blue Lloyds bank

then look in the red/yellow stickies for the address thread

 

fire off a cca request direct to Lloyds.

 

you should be getting better than an annual statement

 

and better than 6mtly notice of sums in arrears notices.

 

urm.. I smell a cash cow here

 

dx

[hairygrape]

Hi all

There have been further developments.

 

I was admitted to hospital in mid –June and was discharged on 1 September.

 

Throughout this time, I received no further communication from Westcott and there’s still been nothing to date.

I didn’t get a chance to write to Lloyds as per the last advice given here before being admitted to hospital.

 

I’ve received this week a letter on a LloydsTSB letterhead.

 

Closer examination shows it to be a pink-stained bad photocopy – the clear area of the scanner bed is visible around the edges of the photocopy.

 

It claims to be from a Paul Cameron, Senior Manager, Credit Operations at a postcode in Rosyth.

The letter states that as they have not been able to agree a suitable repayment plan with me,

 

they’ve transferred the debt to CapQuest to arrange collection of the outstanding amount.

 

They want me to contact CapQuest Debt Recovery Ltd to arrange to pay back the outstanding balance.

 

I’ve got no intention of contacting CapQuest by any means, but I noticed the return address on the back of the envelope is to a company called CDR of PO Box 550, Manchester M5 0EE.

This company is obviously CapQuest themselves who appear to be busy photocopying a LloydsTSB letterhead.

 

It seems that LloydsTSB have moved the debt from Wescott to Crapquest.

 

However, I’m still not certain if it’s been sold to CrapQuest.

 

Yes, I could send a request for a copy of the original credit agreement to Crapquest,

but I don’t know if they in turn will tell me to write to LloydsTSB just as Westcott did.

 

Could I have some advice on my next move please and some thoughts about if I’m treated like a cashcow here.

 

Should I ignore this letter and see what happens next?

 

Many thanks.

[dx100uk]

if its a notice of assignment

[i'e sold]

 

then that's quite usual for the 'buyer' to use old OC letterheads.

 

what does your cra file say?

 

dx

[dx100uk]

you REALLY need to SAR Lloyds.

 

you need to findout if your payments have been going off the debt

 

this discount could be penalty charges

or

PPI awaiting to be reclaimed

 

something is not right

 

dx

[hairygrape]

Nothing on the letter to indicate it's a Notice of Assignment. Sorry, but what do you mean by "i'e sols"?

I've not had a chance to check the CRA file.

 

Thanks

[dx100uk]

sold sorry.

 

noddle is free go take a look now

 

dx

[hairygrape]

Yes, the outstanding balance was being reduced by the payments I was making every month and no interest was applied. I never paid for PPI on the account and no penalty charges have been ever applied.

[hairygrape]

Can't use Noddle.I don't have a credit or debit card to give them the registration details they require to verify my identity

[dx100uk]

ok well I bet it wont show anyhow too old .

 

prob defaulted years ago and has dropped off.

 

the only way you'll get to the bottom of the discount issue is to SAR Lloyds.

 

dx

[hairygrape]

I may be being a bit stupid here, but why would I need to get to the bottom of the discount issue?

 

Although Westcott seemed to offer it, CapQuest have not (so far anyway!)

 

If it's dropped off the file, should I be paying it anyway?

 

Last payment was made earlier this year via a standard paying-in book at my local LloydsTSB branch.

 

What's really annoyed me about this is that BLS/Lloyds passed it on to Westcott and CrapQuest without writing to me to try to establish why I'd missed payments

- I was in hospital at the time!

[renegadeimp]

The fact a discount has been offered at ANY time means theres something wrong with the debt.

 

The reason crapquest hasnt offered a discount? Greed. Theyre trying for the entire amount and hope you havent checked the validity of the debt.

[dx100uk]

no just because its dropped off , it doesn't mean its not owed sadly.

 

this debt is from the late 1990's so anything

could be going on.

 

you'll never get to the bottom of it without an sar.

 

we can speculate and discuss it till the cows come home

 

but go nowhere without facts

 

dx

[hairygrape]

I've just had a thought I'd like to run past you clever people.

 

Could I not send CrapQuest a copy of the Wescott letter that offered the discount and ask if they could do likewise?

 

If they reply that they are prepared to accept a reduced figure, surely the validity of the CrapQuest demand is once again under question.

 

I'm loathe to spend £10 on a SAR to Lloyds as Lloyds do not appear to doing the chasing here.

 

Thanks

[dx100uk]

the sar is nothing to do with who is or not chasing you

 

its to get the data you need to vilify the claim.

 

cant keep saying this...you need to SAR LLoyds.

 

 

been saying this since june now

 

the data could have been back and p'haps a lot of money would be in your pocket by now.............

 

dx

[hairygrape]

OK. Do you have an address I need to write to? Can I send it to Rosyth?

[dx100uk]

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?236-***LloydsTSB-contact-details***

[dx100uk]

New address for Subject access request.

 

DSAR Unit,

Lloyds TSB BANK PLC,

Customer Service Recovery,

Charlton Place,

Andover,

SP10 1RE

[hairygrape]

I've now received a letter from Crapquest stating that they have been appointed to manage the account,

which may include personal visits by their doorstep collection agency and possible litigation.

 

If I fail to contact them within the next 5 days by phone or in writing,

 

the account will be passed on to their solicitors, HL Legal.

 

No contact on my part will mean "further action"

 

What can I do now?

 

Lloyds are not going to provide me with the information I require within 5 days.

 

Thanks