mckenzie hall debt recovery! advice please!!

mc67

We received a letter from Mckenzie Hall debt recovery agent claiming a firm named cabot Financial have instructed them to recover over £3000 within 7 days. We have never dealt with either company and have not had any missed loans or missed credit in the last 7 years. My husband had a bit of trouble 7 years ago with his mortgage but I have an excellent credit rating. Any advice would be appreciated as they have asked us to contact them immediately.

RAS

Hiya and welcome

if your husband has not had any dealing with this debt it is almost certainly statute barred. This means that it still exists, but that the creditor cannot enforce it in law. If he tells them he is not paying them then they have to stop contacting him and you should hear no more.

Unfortunately a number of big mortgage providers sold hundreds of millons of pounds of statute barred debt last year and companies like MH specialise in paying very little for debt and then trying to get people to pay before they realise that it is statute barred. They only need a very low hit rate to make a profit.

The uncertainty is

a) if he had a joint account and the other person has paid anything in the last 7 years.
2. If there is a CCJ against this debt. If a CCJ exists, then the creditor would have to go to court to get permissions to enforce the CCJ and if they had not attempted to do this for more than six years, the chances of this being granted are virtually nil.

GeorgeUK

If they are trying to claim money from you they should be able to prove that the debt is yours. I suggest sending the following letter (but don't sign it - just print your name)

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.html?p=11570893&postcount=3

RAS

There are links to the factsheets to read and letters to write if the debt is 'statute barred' in this link.

Link/click here.

Nicked from fermi

mc67

thanks for your replies. this is the first correspondance about any debt in over 7 years. there has never been any contact from any company during that time. we don't know what it is !!!!!!!!! if we ignore this company can they send balliffs to our door? can my credit rating be affected? we do not have any joint accounts everything, including the mortgage is soley in my name.

RAS

Not sure if someone has been trying to frighten you or if are just worried? if there is any suggestion of bailiffs on the letter you received, consider making a formal complain to the OFT and the trading Standards nearest MH office. They will both know them all too well.

Your credit rating is yours, based on your history and has nothing to do with your marriage, so it does not matter.

Even if you had a joint account, this debt is over 7 years old and it will not be listed on OH credit record because stuff falls off after 6 years, so there is no problem.

MH cannot record a default against a debt that is not listed on the credit record, so there is nothing they can do to affect his credit record.

mc67

Thanks RAS and Georgeuk, your advice and links have been great, feel much better about dealing with this company (or not as the case should be) . a case of watch this space!!!!!!!!!!