Approaching Pension Maturity - have debts to DCA's - do i have to tell them?

[Ecker]

Hi Guys

 

New to the thread but need advice please.

 

I have several debts which I have been making nominal payments to for years. the debts run into six figures.

The total outstanding is substantial.

All of my debts are in my name.

They are all unsecured debts as they are on credit cards, bank overdraft and a bank loan.

I had to get the money to try and keep my business afloat.

 

All the debts go back to 2003.

Most of them have changed hands whereby companies have bought the debts of other companies. 

As a result of these debts we lost our house and have been in private rented accommodation since then.

 

For years I have just been paying nominal amounts but never missing a payment.

Unfortunately I am now starting to get pressure of a debt collection agency who have recently took over my largest debt which was to a bank.

 

They have asked me to contact them to try and arrange a new payment amount, or alternatively to contact them whereby they may be able to give me a settlement figure.

 

As the debts go back before 2007 can I ask them to supply me with a copy of the original terms and conditions?

 

Any help would be gratefully received.

 

 

 

 

 

[AndyOrch]

Hi and Welcome to CAG...... I have amended your thread title.

 

If you could do a quick list of whats owed to who and amount and date of agreement and last payment date and type of debt...we can take it from there and you  can create a new thread for each debt as it progresses.

 

Regards

 

Andy

[Ecker]

Hi

Thanks for the response.

Here is my list with figures rounded:

Capital One Bank £10500

Barclaycard £10500

M & S Bank £6000

Lombard £2000

Monument £4000

MBNA £22000

Natwest £44000

Natwest Loan £10000

Total £109000

 

A friend used to help me with these, unfortunately we lost contact so am on my own with this.

They are all from 2003. I still make a monthly payment to each one and have done so throughout.

People have advised me in the past to go bankrupt however I did not want to put my family through that

as losing the home was bad enough.

[AndyOrch]

Are they all still with the Original Creditors or have any been assigned to a DCA.....actually sold not just collecting on behalf?

[Ecker]

Most have been sold on to other companies.

 

The Natwest Bank one has been passed to a DCA

[dx100uk]

so the only one that's not covered by the consumer credit act is the NW OD?

whats the M&S bank debt an OD TOO?

 

 

[Ecker]

No MS Bank was the old Marks & Spencer charge card.

 

The Natwest Loan has not been passed to any other party.

[Ecker]

Hi, I have a pension that is about to mature in the next 3 months. I really need to take it as a lump sum as times have been hard for almost 20 years and I am still living in private rented accommodation since.

I have 8 creditors from about 20 years ago and all these were unsecured loans. I have 3 of the loans where I am paying nominal amounts (£3-£5pcm).

I have written to the others with the 21day CCA request and they have not been able to produce the signed contracts, consequently I have stopped payments

to those companies.

If I take out the lumps sum payment (of which 25% is tax free) do I have to declare any of the above companies as creditors?

TIA

[dx100uk]

none of their business!!

and why have you been blindly paying DCA's on debts .

running the statute barred date to infinity for 20yrs??>>>

stop all payments to everyone

and dont you dare use a penny of your pension to pay any debts off!!

a DCA is NOT A BAILIFF!!

thread title updated

 

[Ecker]

Brilliant dx - Thanks for the advice and telling off!! They were only nominal payments, however I shall stop payments immediately.

A donation to the site will follow shortly.

 

[glossyfitz]

haha Ecker you will soon get used to dx telling you off!  I get told off all the time

 

[dx100uk]

you have to remember we also post because of future readers in a similar position...it's not a telling off,

- it saves people money!!

if everyone simply stopped paying DCA 's the whole vile industry would collapse overnight

dx

 

[Ecker]

An update from my post 16/01/24.

 

Moorcroft DR Ltd signed the CCA letter 20/01/24.

Received response  23/01/24 stating they no longer require £1.00 fee and returned PO.

They said the request has been sent to their client (M & S Bank) and once they receive further contact from their client they will be in touch.

M & S responded direct to me with letter 01/02/24 (received 07/02/24). Saying in order to process request to complete attached form and send a CHEQUE for £1.00 payable to M & S Bank.

Also stating if we don't here from you within 14 days they'll assume I no longer require this information.

The form asks for name & address, email address, mobile number, DOB, Customer signature and date.

Also for me to tick relevant box to confirm whether i want their response by Royal Mail signed for delivery or secure email. They also sent a second class SAE.

Does this mean that the time lapsed since the DCA received my CCA letter?

Also, should I just send a CCA letter to M & S Bank and ignore the request form they have sent which looks like a bit of a trap to me?

--------------------------------------------------------

Cabot Financial (Natwest)

- I sent them a CCA request in 2023 which they were able to send the relevant information.

As a consequence I stopped paying them immediately.

They have since sent various letters and the latest states

"We regularly review Credit Reference Agencies information. From the data we have reviewed, we believe your situation may have improved. We may review your account for an agent visit. Whilst our data is an indicator of your ability to make payments, please contact us so we can understand what has changed in your situation and update your account."

Cabot (Barclaycard) - Received letter confirming they were unable to the information as per the CCA request and the timescale has now lapsed.

They followed that letter with a request to change payments directly to themselves.

I assume I should just halt payment here?

Would appreciate any advice on these accounts.

---------------------------------------------------------

PRA Group (MBNA) - have acknowledged my request and advised they will get back as soon as possible, however the 12 working days have now lapsed.

I shall advise once received.

------------------------------------------

Capital One - Have not received anything and the 12 working days have now lapsed.

------------------------------------------------------------

Once again I would appreciate any help/assistance with my situation.

 

 

[dx100uk]

if anyone fails the 12+2 working day time limit, until they comply and WE CHECK the docs are enforceable, you cease payments.

as for M&S

forget the old CCA request, as stated unless a DCA OWNS a debt, it goes to their client, in this case M&S.

so comply with their wishes 

read ALL THE POSTs IN THE CCA REQUEST THREAD FIRST

dx

 

[Ecker]

An update from my post 16/01/24.

 

Moorcroft DR Ltd signed the CCA letter 20/01/24.

Received response  23/01/24 stating they no longer require £1.00 fee and returned PO.

They said the request has been sent to their client (M & S Bank) and once they receive further contact from their client they will be in touch.

M & S responded direct to me with letter 01/02/24 (received 07/02/24) Saying in order to process request to complete attached form and send a CHEQUE for £1.00 payable to M & S Bank. Also stating if we don't here from you within 14 days they'll assume I no longer require this information.

The form asks for name & address, email address, mobile number, DOB, Customer signature and date. Also for me to tick relevant box to confirm whether i want their response by Royal Mail signed for delivery or secure email. They also sent a second class SAE.

Does this mean that the time lapsed since the DCA received my CCA letter?

Also, should I just send a CCA letter to M & S Bank and ignore the request form they have sent which looks like a bit of a trap to me?

--------------------------------------------------------

Cabot Financial (Natwest)

- I sent them a CCA request in 2023 which they were able to send the relevant information.

As a consequence I stopped paying them immediately.

They have since sent various letters and the latest states "We regularly review Credit Reference Agencies information. From the data we have reviewed, we believe your situation may have improved. 

We may review your account for an agent visit. Whilst our data is an indicator of your ability to make payments, please contact us so we can understand what has changed in your situation and update your account."

Cabot (Barclaycard) - Received letter confirming they were unable to the information as per the CCA request and the timescale has now lapsed. They followed that letter with a request to change payments directly to themselves.

I assume I should just halt payment here?

Would appreciate any advice on these accounts.

---------------------------------------------------------

PRA Group (MBNA) - have acknowledged my request and advised they will get back as soon as possible, however the 12 working days have now lapsed.

I shall advise once received.

------------------------------------------

Capital One - Have not received anything and the 12 working days have now lapsed.

------------------------------------------------------------

Once again I would appreciate any help/assistance with my situation.

 

 

[Ecker]

DX Many thanks for that.

However I am reluctant to give them DOB, phone number and signature as I am afraid of them copying signature and bombarding me with phone calls going forward.

 

[dx100uk]

Who M&S?

they should already have all those from when you opened the account unless you've moved and not told them?
then theres even more reason to do so..backdoor CCJ.

OC's dont lift signatures.

dx

 

[Ecker]

Sorry for not getting back as I've had other issues to deal with.

M&S Bank/Moorcroft( and all my other creditors were notified when I changed address, so no backdoor CCJs have been issued.

I've been paying nominal amounts on all my outstanding cards over the last 15+ years.

As M&S have not actually sold on the debt and most likely do have the original credit agreement, should I continue to just pay the nominal amount or should I try and negotiate a settlement once/if they produce the original signed agreement?

Also Cap1 have now sent me a copy of the original signed agreement when I opened up my account with them.

Should I carry on paying a nominal amount per month or look to try and negotiate a settlement?

Once again I appreciate all views on these issues.

[Ecker]

The policy has now been settled. 

As Cap1 have previously sent copies of the original contract, should I try and reached a settlement with them? Also if I try and reach a settlement, should I do this in writing or over the phone?

Presumably I then ignore all other creditors who couldn't produce contracts where Ive stopped paying them anything?

Any advice is appreciated.

[unclebulgaria67]

No CCA produced then you don't need to do anything other than check any communications received to make sure, no pre action protocol letter or Court claim received.   You could follow the same approach for CAP1, but that is your choice.

Do not disclose any financial details to a DCA. It is none of their business.  It is only in the event that a Court requires you to disclose your finances that you would need to do so.

And make sure all creditors always have your up to date postal address.

[Ecker]

Many thanks for that.

[Ecker]

Hi,

I have an old outstanding debt from 1994 due to MBNA for £20,000. The debt has been passed to various DCAs and is currently with PRA Group. 

I sent them a CCA letter in January 2024. They acknowledged this letter and stated they would come back when they had more information, however the information did not arrive within the 12 working day scenario..

I have just received a copy of the agreement which goes back to 1994 from them.

In their response letter they have stated " Please find enclosed documentation received to date: we are waiting further documents in order to complete your request. We have currently deemed this debt as unenforceable which means we are not able to take court or further action against you to recover the outstanding balance".

They then go on to state "we are still legally entitled to: 

1.Contact you to ask and repay what you owe

2.Pass your details onto a third party collection agency

3. Continue to report your account with the credit reference bureaux (as appropriate)".

I'm at a loss as to what I should do next and would appreciate any guidance on this matter. I am currently paying £5.00 pcm.

TIA

 

 

 

[dx100uk]

3 threads merged for complete history of your debts.

i suggest you re read from post 1 again.

what are you doing still blindly paying a DCA on a historic debt?

On 16/01/2024 at 14:07, dx100uk said:

why have you been blindly paying DCA's on debts .

running the statute barred date to infinity for 20yrs??>>>

stop all payments to everyone

and dont you dare use a penny of your pension to pay any debts off!!

a DCA is NOT A BAILIFF!!

thread title updated

 

 

[Ecker]

sorry I have been confused by Statute Barred meaning. I thought with Statute Barred the debt cannot be chased 6 years after you have stopped paying. 

Originally I set up a payment arrangement with all the companies around 2008 when things went horribly wrong. At that time the payment arrangement was with the original creditors. 

I still have one of the original creditors who I pay each month (Cap1).

I thought that if you make a payment arrangement you have to stick to that situation throughout.

Also, MDR (Moorcroft) have been taking a monthly payment on behalf of M & S Bank for about 5 years. When I sent MDR a CCA request I got a copy of the original agreement sent to me directly by M & S Bank about 5 weeks after my CCA request.

Sorry for my ignorance but would you suggest I stop paying all including Cap1 who are the original creditor?

TIA

[dx100uk]

we've not seen any of the supposed 'enforceable' CCA's, who said they were enforceable?

scan them up read upload.

quite honestly id stop everything bar cap1

stop being a nice compliant DCA cash cow.

dx