Letter from Lewis Group

[alanandmaria]

Hi, hope someone can give me some advice

 

Have had a letter from Lewis Group saying I owe £1755

 

As far as I remember this debt was from approx 1995 ish, I had been paying £15 per month since then. I can not even remember what or who the original debt was for

 

I cancelled the £15 monthly payment a couple of months ago when I swapped banks over. I have just done an Equifax credit report and I can not see anything with regards to this debt. They have threatened me with a door collector but as I am rarely here that does not bother me.

 

I just wondered if I have a way of finding out if I can reclaim any fees or if this debt is still legal. Should I write a CCA letter and would it stop me having to pay if they do not have the agreement

 

 

Alan

[silverfox1961]

Hi and welcome to CAG

 

Bit tricky to reclaim anything if you can't remember the original creditor.

 

I would CCA Lewis and see what they come back with. If they do supply, it will tell you who the creditor is/was

 

The £15 per month. Was that a court ordered payment or voluntary? If the former, you should restart payments.

 

Creditors have a duty to keep all documentation from an account for 5-6 years after the account was closed. They may have sold this debt but the account is still live and as such, they should be able to supply data.

 

Once you know who the OC is, you could send a SAR to see what charges they have levied and if possible (I'm not too sure due to the lenght of time) reclaim. If it is possible, the charge refund would (in all likelihood) wipe out any debt owing

[alanandmaria]

Hi, yes was voluntary but as I do not have the account number I can not re start it. The payment advice slip does not have a proper account number. I think it was a Barclays bank loan or credit card.

 

Would this payment not show on my credit file?

 

Do I need to post them money to ask for the CCA and should I sign? If they can not prove they have it does that mean they can no longer chase me?

[silverfox1961]

Using the reference number that lewis have given you should allow them to find the original account info. If they cannot supply then tough titty on them

 

The CCA request costs a whopping quid The SAR costs a tenner. If you look in the library, there is some template letters you can adapt to your situation

 

It is highly unlikely this debt will be showing on your credit file as it falls off 6 years after the debt defaulted. Check out Noddle. This is a free credit reference service run by Callcredit

[filrobbo]

You have been paying £15 a month from 1995 so you have paid about £3240, can you remember how much the loan was or card .

[silverfox1961]

You have been paying £15 a month from 1995 so you have paid about £3240, can you remember how much the loan was or card .

 

I was going to do the calcs but I couldn't be arsed

[filrobbo]

I bet this debt is loaded with charges you need to check for ppi as well you may find they mite have to pay you.

[alanandmaria]

Thanks for the replies, I have sent the CCA letter recorded yesterday. I presume they can not try sending collectors to the door or try other means to collect while I am disputing?

 

If I send the SAR letter will they have to show me all charges they have applied? What about the original debt which I now think was with Barclays. If they charged me how can I access that information?

 

I had about 5 credit cards that I set up arrangements with all those years ago and all others were paid. Just this one outstanding

 

Alan

[filrobbo]

You should look at all the cards you have paid off for charges and ppi, you can still claim it back.

[silverfox1961]

If you can remember what cards you had, you could write a simple letter asking if PPI was added.

 

IF the debt was with Sharkleys, the CCA request from lewis should show the original account number and who it was with. Once you have that info, the Subject Access Request (SAR) that you would send to Barlays 'should' bring back ALL account info including charges added.

 

If they cannot supply this info, you should raise a complaint and report them to the relevant authorities (more on that if needed)

 

If Lewis cannot supply the CCA or they send the cheque back and refer you to Barclays, that is grounds for placing this account into dispute.

 

With the age of this debt, I suspect they will have great difficulty providing you with a copy of the original agreement and may supply a copy of 'What the Agreement would have looked like'

[alanandmaria]

Hi, I decided to go through all the paperwork on my old credit cards. I found that I had a credit card with Midland Bank and that had PPI. I also had a Barclay card reserve card and even though I tried to tell them that I was now unemployed and could not make payments they carried on charging me interest for 18 months before finally putting in the hands of a debt collecting agency.

 

I dont think anything else had PPI but I did ask Barclays the other day with regards to a loan I had and they could not say if I did or did not have on it.

 

On the other cards I had that were taken over by debt agencies and have been fully paid is it worth seeing if any had reclaimable charges? I am not even sure if these companies still exist. I am thinking one of them must have been taken over by the Lewis group as I have nothing from them years ago

 

Not really to sure were to start now.

 

Alan

[alanandmaria]

Had a letter from CL Finance which must be part of the Lewes group with reference to the CCA letter I sent. They have said they do not currently hold the document on site but are in process of retrieving it.

Also they say just because the debt is not enforceable whilst retrieving the document my debt is not wiped out. (I thought quite bad wording for a professional company) Any debt is still owed and I must keep making payments. If I dont make payment then they will request payment and may pass to debt agents

 

Are they able to pass to debt agent without proof of debt?

 

I also sent them a SAR letter and they have written back asking for proof of Id. I sent copy of passport but crossed out signature

 

Alan

[Seminole]

You needn't have sent them proof of ID. By writing to you and disclosing account details, they have satisfied themselves as to your identity. Typical time wasting power trip.

 

Had a letter from CL Finance which must be part of the Lewes group with reference to the CCA letter I sent. They have said they do not currently hold the document on site but are in process of retrieving it.

Also they say just because the debt is not enforceable whilst retrieving the document my debt is not wiped out. (I thought quite bad wording for a professional company) Any debt is still owed and I must keep making payments. If I dont make payment then they will request payment and may pass to debt agents

 

Are they able to pass to debt agent without proof of debt?

 

I also sent them a SAR letter and they have written back asking for proof of Id. I sent copy of passport but crossed out signature

 

Alan

[alanandmaria]

Thanks I was not sure if should send copy but covered signature. Can they expect me to still make payments while I am asking for proof of debt and charges?

 

Alan

[silverfox1961]

Thanks I was not sure if should send copy but covered signature. Can they expect me to still make payments while I am asking for proof of debt and charges?

 

Alan

 

Of course they can 'expect payment' but of course you can say 'nope'

 

If they cannot provide you the details asked for it is highly likely that they will pass it on but they very rarely say to the new DCA that the account is in dispute. Once the new DCA starts chasing, you send a simple letter telling them that the account is in dispute and they should send the account back to the former DCA. Then ignore!

[alanandmaria]

The more I am going through old paperwork the more I am realising I was charged for all sorts of things. I had a Barclays loan that had PPI but when I was unemployed they never paid out. Think I best send a SAR letter to Barclays. Problem I have in the old days I never had copies of what I sent only received.

 

Alan

[filrobbo]

You need to start one at a time start with a SAR, and keep a record on file on computer, I have in the past just wrote to credits and asked for informationon charges and ppi and got replies but they can also refuse some did so I sentthem a SAR its worth a try save some money.

[filrobbo]

All the letters you need to claim back charges and ppi keep us informed