Full and final accepted now other DCA chasing balance

Canaan

Hi all.
I have searched and searched but can't find a relevant thread to answer my question. Back in 2006 with a lot of advice from hereI paid off my debs by offering ammounts in full and final settlement. One of the DCS's paid was intrum justitia, i received a letter saying that they accepted my payment in full and final settlement. Now i am receiving letters from a crew called equidebt. I phoned intrum justitia who tell me that it was THEM who accepted the full and final not the original creditor RBS, and tell me RBS can still chase for the rest of the money. It seems RBS have sold the debt to equidebt. Can Equidebt still chase the debt????

Thanks in advance

Canaan

LilacPixie

My understanding was that as IJ had accepted a F & F settlement that no one else could chase.

I'm sure someone will contradict me if i am wrong so here's a bump

KPanton

I have no idea about the legality, but I do have an experience...

I was in bad debt myself, and after a couple of years on a debt management plan with the CCCS (a really useful charity who help people with debt problems), my parents stepped in and made offers to my creditors, who all took full and final settlements.

About 4 years later, my parents get a call asking for me, I actually happened to be there that day, but they didnt hand it over immediately as I have no reason to be getting calls at that address. Luckily they're pretty smart in that department.

Turns out it was a new debt chaser after me for a debt that had had a 'full and final settlement' years before. They asked for a contact and said that they'd call back the company, went and dug out the information from the files, and said'I'm calling on behalf of my son, who does not live here any more, and this debt was cleared in a final settlement for £xxxx on this date, and I have paperwork and statements to fully prove it, so you can close this account now, or I can call my solicitor.'

They sheepishly said they'd look into it, and we never had another call.

I KNOW its hard to do these things yourself, but if you can find someone to firmly, but not rudely speak for you, and state the facts, they may well give it up, I feel its some debt companies just seeing if they can get some easy money from old victims. I actually think they know it has been cleared but are counting on fear and a hope that people won't have kept paperwork to bully them into admitting a debt. My parents essentially rattled off FACT FACT FACT which seemed to throw them. I imagine they decided we weren't easy meat and went after some other poor sod who's gone thru the nightmare of debt.

I would definately call CCCS or some other helpline to get proper advice too, tho, or visit your CAB.

Excuse length, would be longer but I'm trying to hold back a torrent of hate for dodgy creditors who lie.

KPanton

On a side note, I'm never rude to the people calling either, they're just doing a job, it might be all they could get after all. (Although, I think I'd take a job hitting kittens with hammers, it might be less soul destroying than debt collection). Plus a lot of the time , if you treat them right, and (important) dont lie to them, they'll often be reasonable. Also never say you'll pay more than you can afford, you'll just get in trouble later and then you're defaulting on an agreement, far better to do what I did and agree a smaller sum but then pay in extra if you can manage it.

stapeley

My advice has always been , that when dealing with a DCA , you must always request a true signed copy of a CCA AND A NOTICE OF ASSIGNMENT FROM THE ORGINAL OWNER OF THE DEBT . How else do you know a DCA has a legal right to enforce a debt ?

Canaan

I did receive a letter from RBS stating that they were passing on the debt to equidebt

Canaan

Just a little bump:A

GeorgeUK

Did you keep the letter stating the offer of full and final settlement?
Did they reply confirming receipt of payment?

2nd one not really required, but if you don't have the 1st then you could do a subject access request to get all the information intrum justitia hold on you.
http://www.nationaldebtline.co.uk/england_wales/factsheet.php?page=24_full_and_final_settlement_offers

Canaan

Hi GeorgeUK.
I have both these letters. It seems, (reading the letters properly this time) that RBS have sold the debt to Equidebt, so I guess that if I send copies to equidebt neither them nor RBS an continue to chase this???? :mad:

sproggi

Well I am confused!! (not a hard state of mind for me!)

I phoned cccs yesterday and was told that if *** debt collection company had written to me, then it was *** debt collection company that I now owed the debt to and not the original company!!!
I had to go through all of mine and OH's debts and rewrite the names of the debt companies in instead of the original lenders!!

As far as I was aware, if a debt collection company was chasing you, unless it was a subsidurarie of the original company, it meant the the original company had sold the debt on and no longer had any claim on you???!!

GeorgeUK

sproggi - it may be the terminology used. The company chasing you for the debt is the company you would need to pay, but they may be acting on behalf of the original creditor - or the original creditor may have sold the debt to the DCA. At least that's how i understand it.

I would send copies to both RBS and Equidebt. If you look at the template letter on the national debtline site it also asks that your credit score be marked accordingly - i'd add that bit in too.