Mackenzie Hall- trying it on??

[OrangePrimate]

Hello all,

 

In desperate need of a soothed brow and re-assuring pat!

 

Totally out of the blue got a letter yesterday morning from Mackenzie Hall with big red bits all over it and 'Final Notice', 'will not hesitate to take further action', 'payment deadline NOON 23rd August 2007 (yes, the date i recieved it!)

it was a demand for payment for £343 for Lowell Portfolio 1 Ltd and i didnt have a clue what it is about as i do not genuinly owe anything to anyone and havent done for many many years.

 

So i (everybody groan) phoned them. I was bloody angry about something like that coming through my door for no reason!

After being spoken to like a piece of dirt on the phone by some obnoxious chap, finally found out that they claim the debt is for default on a Barclaycard account.

 

Now this is when it gets REALLY unbelievable, i said that i havent owed anything to anybody for eons, and exactly when to they claim i owe this money from, it seems the default occured in September 1999.

I pointed out that this was 8 years ago and how on earth did they expect me to have any memory or records for that matter, going back that far!!

They said prove you dont owe the money, i said prove that i do and take me to court. They admitted that they were no longer able to take me to court but then said 'there are other means in ensuring outstanding debts are collected' - he refused to clarify exactly what he meant by that!

 

So, no i dont intend to ring them again, just need re-assuring that they are well outside any limits for court ect, what can i expect next from them and any suggestions please?!

Thanks in advance.

[N.P]

Hi there OP,

 

Try this page for a suitable reply - Creditors and DCAs - Letter Templates & Budget Planner

 

If the alleged debt is 8 years old as you say and no contact in writing or any payments have been made in that time then the alleged debt will be Statute Barred, meaning they can`t do anything about it, it seems they know that in saying `they were no longer able to take you to court`, the rest is just bully scare tactics to try and get you to play ball.

 

You need Letter `M` from this page and you need to copy/paste it and edit it to your needs.

 

NEVER speak to these imbeciles on the phone, if you answer by mistake, hang up and communicate ONLY by letter, keep all copies of letters received and sent.

 

Keep us updated on the CAG site and there will always be someone around to help you on your way.

 

Regards

 

 

N.P.

[oneofakind]

As you already know, you must have no further phone communication with this bunch.

Get everything in writing.

YOU know and THEY know that they have no chance of recovering this 'debt': you can probably look forward to more red-tinted letters, but all they amount to is hot air.

 

No worries.

 

[detectall]

Hi OP,

 

My better half has received the same date 17/08/07, arrived yesterday 23/08/07.

 

CCA request etc sent this morning.

 

You are not alone,they must be bulk mailing again!!!

[djdave]

"Trying it on"?

 

More like fraud, I'd say.

[Thongy]

They certainly are.

[OrangePrimate]

Thanks so much for the responses, feel ALOT better now!

 

N.P Thank you for the very prompt response, and very helpful info. will be doing the letter tomorow

(and yes, it is 8 years, i made him repeat the date 3 times, 1st response = what date did you say? 2nd response = youre having a giraffe!, 3rd response = you really cannot be serious!

 

As you say oneofakind, I have no intention of phoning these people again, they do themselves even more harm by their attitude on the phone.

 

Dates on my letter exactly same as your OH's letter detectall,

 

makes me wonder if they suddenly realised it will be christmas soon and they dont have enough in petty cash to buy the office tin of sweeties, so this is their version of a whipround!

 

How are these people still in business?

OP

[itsamomentintime]

does anyone else think that it might be worth going to the police over this one?

[babybear39]

makes me wonder if they suddenly realised it will be christmas soon and they dont have enough in petty cash to buy the office tin of sweeties, so this is their version of a whipround!

 

How are these people still in business?

OP

 

Possibly

 

By the way, East Ayshire TS are VERY interested in this buch as are OFT

 

Good luck and best wishes,

 

BB

[NailPost]

As N.P. suggests (not me in another guise by the way!) send the statute barred letter. Send it Recodrded Delivery and keep the slips and get the signed for date from the Royal Mail website.

 

Then if Paul Mac's muppets sends more letters you can claim it to be harrassment and then reports and complaints can ben submitted.

 

It is true to say that East Aysrshire TS are interested in this company but so far have done little about them. They referred me to OFT and OFT referred me to East Ayrshire. So the best person (possibly) to contact would be the Financial Ombudsman. But in order to make an effective complaint against MH, and all other debt collectors who fall foul of the law, is to exhaust their internal complaints procedure. MH's appears to be an e-mail address which is never answered.

 

When that process is complete, and you have the proof the problem has not been solved, you can go to the FOS. That will cost Paul about £400 straight away. less money for the Christmas bonus all round then!

[babybear39]

Tried the FOS route, they're very busy and still waiting reply

[OrangePrimate]

Thanks Nailpost and babybear, i am certainly going to send that statute barred letter, and wait and see what happens. will definately contact TS and FOS if i hear one more peep from them!

 

feeling alot happier now having read your posts and others in this forum, was really stressing out!

had some major, major debt problems up to 10 years ago, nearly got house repossesed, had to fend of ccj's, and the dreaded First National Bank (got a £15,500 alleged secured loan wiped out due to their unfair interest terms, they decided to charge 49.5% apr would you believe, final balance was from an original loan of only £3000 that had already had £9000 paid off. they had a forged signature on the paperwork securing the loan on the house, their escuse was they lost the original, so had to produce another! and expected to be taken seriously that an original loan of only 3 grand had a repayment due of £24,500 in 3 years!!!!)

 

Nearly had a nervous breakdown because of it all and took the past 10 years to get over it all and get straight. so this started me panicking again. Just wish the CAG had been around 10 years ago!

[pelham9]

Definitely not 'definately'. This seems to be a common error on these boards.

[rory32]

It's definately due to my Scottish accent

[sillygirl1]

Chasing statute barred debts seems to be MH's speciality, I had one recently and sent it back asking for copy of last bill sent and cca request - letter received saying debt returned to clients requesting no further action. Wonder who will pick up that debt next.

 

Similar situation, lots of old debts, which DID get paid off eventually but still being chased for the odd one - 9 years later in the last case!

[broke dave]

Wow, glad I found this thread. I have had exactly the same letter (same date and delivery).

My thread is here and I have just sent letter N (SAR).

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/general-debt/112104-broke-dave-barclaycard-possibly.html

 

Will follow up with other letter as suggested here.

 

Good luck everyone.