J2 Solutions 19 Yr old debt

goodeys

Hi Guys,

I am new to this forum and would like some advice on the following dilemma.
We received a letter yesterday addressed 'to the occupier', we opened it and it was from a company called J2 Solutions asking whether we knew the whereabouts of my husband (although they had spelt his 1st and 2nd name wrong). My husband called up and they have said that my husband has an outstanding loan from 1989 with HFC bank for £7000. My husband has never taken out a loan with HFC and knows nothing of the debt. The address that they have listed is my husband's parents' old address and he has never actually lived there himself. J2 Solutions are now going to send something to us in writing but they are saying that we need to go to the police and say that the debt is not his. This seems ridiculous to me surely the police will have better things to do then listen to a debt problem that is almost 20 years old. And why has this loan never showed on my husband's credit report and why has no one ever contacted us before. Is it true that even if this were our debt that it would've been written off long ago.

Please help, our we expected to pay this debt back when it is so old and when my husband knows nothing of the debt.

We do have a lot of debt but we are in contact with all of our creditors and are paying them back. We have never run away from our debt but now I am worried that because we have a history of debt that they will not believe us and we will be forced to pay back another £7k on top of the £24k (excluding the mortgage) that we already owe.

Please help
Many thanks
Goodeys

Ames

If there's no ccj (unlikely without you knowing about it) then the debt is probably statute barred. Someone will be along later with a letter for you to send, telling them to get lost. If the name's spelled wrong then it sounds like a phishing letter to try and get you to admit to a debt that's not yours.

RAS

Hi

have a read of this while I get the letter

Link: Factsheet | Liability for Debts and the Limitation Act (England/Wales)


If there was a CCJ, and no action was taken to enforce it for more than 6 years, the chances of the courts allowing it to be enforced now would be nil.

bargainbetty

I think this might be the text :

By law every company has to supply you with one on request within 12+2 working days or the debt is unenforcable until they do. Copy and paste this letter, DON'T sign it (there have been horror stories of faked agreements). Just print your name and send them all recorded delivery with the £1 postal order.

Ref xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Dear Sir,

I do not acknowledge any debt to your company. With reference to the account above I would be grateful if you could send me a copy of the signed credit agreement.

I understand that under the Consumer Credit Act 1974 (sections 77-79); I am entitled to receive a copy of the credit agreement on request. I enclose a payment of £1.00 which represents the fee payable under the Consumer Credit Act.

I understand that a copy of the credit agreement should be received within 12 working days.

I understand that under the Consumer Credit Act creditors are unable to enforce an agreement if they fail to comply with a request for a copy of the agreement under these sections of the Act.

All communications regarding this matter must be made in writing, and we will not accept any telephone communication regarding this.


I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours faithfully,

If they cannot produce a copy of a signed agreement, they have no legal right to continue contacting you. The bit about having everything in writing means if they try to harrass you by phone, you can have them warned off under the Harrassment Act.

Good luck, they're probably just fishing anyway.

RAS

Hi goodeys.

You could use the CCA letter above, but this does not deal with the fact that this debt is almost certainly statute barred. I have posted at least one other response to an OP today, where the CCa exists for a statute barred debt.

if you send the one below, they can no longer chase you for the debt. In practice they will probably have at least one more try.


However, it is always best to word it somewhat like this:


Quote:

1 High Street,
Newtown,
Kent
R21 4RH
Date

The Loan Company
Company House,
Church Street,
Newtown,
Kent,
R1 7HG

I do not acknowledge any debt to you or any other company or organisation that you claim to be representing.

Dear Sir/Madam

Account No:

You have contacted me/us regarding the account with the above reference number, which you claim is owed by myself/ourselves.

I/we would point out that under the Limitation Act 1980 Section 5 "an action founded on simple contract shall not be brought after the expiration of six years from the date on which the cause of action accrued".

I/we would also point out that the OFT say under their Debt Collection Guidance on statute barred debt that "it is unfair to pursue the debt if the debtor has heard nothing from the creditor during the relevant limitation period".

The last correspondence/payment/acknowledgement or payment of this debt was made over six years ago and no further acknowledgement or payment has been made since that time. Unless you can provide evidence of payment or written contact from me/us in the relevant period under Section 5 of the Limitation Act, I/we suggest that you are no longer able to take any court action against me/us to recover the alleged amount claimed.

The OFT Debt Collection Guidance states further that "continuing to press for payment after a debtor has stated that they will not be paying a debt because it is statute barred could amount to harassment contrary to section 40 (1) of the Administration of Justice Act 1970".

I/we await your written confirmation that no further contact will be made concerning the above account and confirmation that this matter is now closed.

I/we look forward to your reply.

Yours faithfully




Mrs A N Other

bargainbetty

I think you could use either, the debt is non-existent, but even if it was real, it would be statute-barred.

Two lines of attack then.

goodeys

Oh my God. My husband has just called me to say that he has been to see his mum to see is she could enlighten us on this HFC debt as it was here addresses so in theory they would've been writing to her address. She has just told my husband that it was his Dad that took out the loan but in my husband's name, he did this without her or ayone else knowing. She only found out when he died in 2000.

What the hell do we do now. Who is going to believe that it was his deceased fathers fraudulent loan!!???

fermi

goodeys wrote: »

What the hell do we do now. Who is going to believe that it was his deceased fathers fraudulent loan!!???

It appears that whoever took out the loan under whatever name, it is probably statute barred and therefore legally unenforceable.

You could go to a great deal of hassle to prove that the debt is not his (including requiring a copy of the agreement), but it will probably be easier to send the letter provided by RAS.

RAS

I would second fermi on this.

At this stage it is irrelevant what happened, just get the letter out as the debt is statute barred.

Am really sorry though that your husband had to learn this about his dad. And by the time his mother found out it was statute barred anyway, so there would have been no point telling him.

Unfortunately a number of banks sold vast rafts of very old debt at the back of last year/early this year and quite a lot is coming to light. If people do not know the rules, then the companies who bought it make a killing.