urgent advice needed please

sitcom123

I think this may be posted in the wrong place so apologies if it is and please feel free to move it. My daughter has just rung me up really upset, she has had a debt collector on the phone who was very agressive to her and very rude demanding payment for a debt from over 10 years ago, she hasnt paid anything on the debt since 2002 and has had no contact from them until January this year when they had passed to debt collector who demanded full payment £2000 we were advised that this was unlawful and that we should sen a £1 postal order to the debt collector asking them for the original credit agreement, we did this and have not heard from them since. Today she got this phone call from a different debt collector who stated that she had paid a £1 in January so the debt is up and running again, but I know the postal order was made out for the credit agreement. She doesnt know what to do now and this guy is ringing her back later. Can anyone advise on this please even if just to tell us she has to pay it

Naomim

Hi I'm pretty sure that as the debt is now over 6 years old without payment or acknowledgment she doesn't have to pay. Do you have a copy of the letter and proof of postage ie was it sent recorded back in January?

have a look on the national debtline website to see if there is anything on there about old debts. In the meantime I'm sure others on here who are far more knowledgeable than I will be able to answer.

Naomi x

dancingfairy

I agree with Naomim. Fairly sure they can't do this although they are obviously trying it on. Not sure what you need to tell them to go away though. Would agree with contacting NDL or CCCS or CAB or someone though. Hope one of the experts will have a letter telling them they should get lost for you.
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MoonRose77

Hi - have found you a letter that you need to send to the company to tell them it is statute barred - I am assuming of course that there has been no acknowledgement of the debt until now going back to 6 years ago. If this is the case copy this letter - change the necessary bits and send it off to the company involved. http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=963087

Please tell her not to speak to the debt collector over the phone again and when they do call to tell them that she will only correspond via letter.

There are a few more knowledgable in this than me - so I just wanted to add a little in the hopes that it helps you both.

Just noticed - you say she made the last payment in 2002 - do you know when as this could affect when it becomes barred and when the letter was sent regarding the credit agreement did she put on it that she acknowledged no debt to them. One final thought - did she ever recieve a copy of the agreement if not there is a letter you can send about that as well.

GeorgeUK

When they call back, she should inform them that she intends to contact Trading Standards and the Office of Fair Trading as they have ignored an official request for a copy of the customer credit agreement and have applied the fee for that as a payment towards the alleged debt. Alleged as she was seeking proof that the debt was hers by requesting a copy of the CCA.

stapeley

This is why we hate these people so much . When they ring back do not confirm anything . Ask the caller for the correct time and date ,ask for their name , the companies name and address . Make sure they realize you are taking a note of them . When they ask why , say you are taking details ready for a complaint to OFT.

RAS

sitcom123 wrote: »

a debt from over 10 years ago she hasnt paid anything on the debt since 2002 and has had no contact from them until January this year

In which case this debt is staute barred unless there is a CCJ against it. If there is a CCJ and it has not been enforced for over 6 yerars, then a court would throw any attempt to enforce it out.

sitcom123 wrote: »

we were advised that this was unlawful

No, the debt still exists but once you tell them she is not paying, it is considered unfair to pursue her further.

sitcom123 wrote: »

that we should send a £1 postal order to the debt collector asking them for the original credit agreement, we did this and have not heard from them since.

You requested a CCA, which the original DCA failed to produce. If you did not send them a letter after 12+2+30 days demanding that they remove her details from their systems, then you left it open for them to sell the debt on. Which is what has happened.

sitcom123 wrote: »

Today she got this phone call from a different debt collector who stated that she had paid a £1 in January so the debt is up and running again, but I know the postal order was made out for the credit agreement.

This is cracking (although your daughter may not see it that way). What they are actually refering to is the Statute of Limitations, which you have not invoked although it is what you should have done in the first instance.

And they are misleading your daugther as to the legal situation, which is against OFT Guidelines.

Once a debt is statute barred, it remains statute barred for EVER, EVEN if you pay money towards it.

sitcom123 wrote: »

She doesnt know what to do now and this guy is ringing her back later. Can anyone advise on this please even if just to tell us she has to pay it

For preference she does not speak to them again. I suggest she refuses to answer the security questions and demands he write to her.

What she does is tell him if she speaks to him or responds in writing is that the debt is staute barred and she is going to report him to the OFT, CCA and Trading Standards for telling porkies.

sitcom123

Hi everyone and thank you so much for your advice, he has phoned back twice and she has refused to answer any questions he then started to call her a liar and that she was an immature child (she is 27 and 8.5months pregnant) just to recap on a couple of things

We sent off the letter asking for original credit agreement along with the £1 postal order, not to this company but to a previous company.back in January 08 We told them they had however many days to answer the letter, they answered the letter on day 11 to say that they had closed the file and sent it back to citi financial (who her debt was originally with)

this company is called mackenzie who we have never heard of before and have never had dealings with.

We are trying to track back through bank statements but we are pretty certain it was around mid 2002 that the last payment was made to them. He seems to be very arrogant and has got her home phone number and mobile number even though she is married now and has a different name and address and the house she shares with her husband is not in her name, so no idea how they have found this info out. I am furious at the way he has behaved and she is now feeling very intimidated

mo1_2

hi,dont let them scare you,tell them you will not speak to them on the phone dont answer there security questions,then put the phone down,dont listen to there rubbish,there only trying to scare and bully you.

RAS

Hi

Mackenzie Hall are notorious for buying unenforceable debts and being extremely rude.

I would just send them the statute barred letter - the onus is on them to prove that you have either made any payments, or acknowledged the debt, in writing, over the last six years:

Get your daughter to read the following and send the leter at the end.

http://www.nationaldebtline.co.uk/en...limitation_act

Unfortunately with the previous even when they said there was not CCA, it would have been worth sending the 12+2+30 day letter to them and citi to stop them selling the debt on again.

sitcom123

Please could someone give me some more advice on this, is the letter below a statute barred letter, and can i send it to this mackenzie hall company even though i have never asked them for an original credit agreement, i sent the postal order off to a different debt collector. or do i have to start the process over again with this company, asking them for an original credit agreement. thanks everyone for your help so far
FORMAL NOTICE - ACCOUNT IN DISPUTE.

Ref: ****************

Dear Sir/Madam,

Thank you for your letter of xx/xx/xx, the contents of which have been noted.

You have failed to respond to my legal request to supply me a true copy of the original Consumer Credit Agreement for the above account.

On the **DATE** I wrote to you requesting a copy of the credit agreement and other information under the Consumer Credit Act 1974 (Sections 77-79).

On **DATE** a member of your staff signed for delivery of my written request and I have an electronic proof of delivery showing their signature and the date.

To date you have failed to comply with these requests in any way.

These documents I requested should be readily available as proof of your legal right to collect this account under the Consumer Credit Act 1974.

In my letter of the **DATE** I made a formal request for a copy of the signed, executed credit agreement for the above account under Sections 77-79 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974. In addition a full statement of this account should have been sent to me detailing all debits and credits to the account.

Furthermore, you are aware that the Consumer Credit Act allows 12 working days for a request for a true copy of a credit agreement to be carried out before you enter into a default situation.

These limits have expired.

As you are no doubt aware section the Consumer Credit Act states:

If the creditor fails to comply with Subsection (1)

(a) He is not entitled , while the default continues, to enforce the agreement.

And

(b) If the default continues for one month he commits an offence.

Therefore this account has become unenforceable at law.

Consequentially any legal action you pursue will be averred as both UNLAWFUL and VEXATIOUS.

Furthermore I shall counter-claim that any such action constitutes unlawful harassment.

Please note you may also consider this letter as a statutory notice under section 10 of the Data Protection Act to cease processing any data in relation to this account with immediate effect.

This means you must remove all information regarding this account from your own internal records and from my records with any credit reference agencies.

Should you refuse to comply, you must within 21 days provide me with a detailed breakdown of your reasoning behind continuing to process my data.

It is not sufficient to simply state that you have a ‘legal right’. You must outline your reasoning in this matter and state upon which legislation this reasoning depends.

Should you not respond within 14 days I expect that this means you agree to remove all such data.

Furthermore you should be aware that a creditor is not permitted to take ANY
Action against an account whilst it remains in dispute.

The lack of a credit agreement is a very clear dispute and as such the following applies.

* You may not demand any payment on the account, nor am I obliged to offer any payment to you.
* You may not add further interest or any charges to the account.
* You may not pass the account to a third party.
* You may not register any information in respect of the account with any credit reference agency.
* You may not issue a default notice related to the account.

I reserve the right to report your actions to any such regulatory authorities as I see fit.

You have 14 days from receiving this letter to contact me with your intentions to resolve this matter which is now a formal complaint.

Pleas supply me with a copy of your complaints procedure in writing.

I would appreciate your due diligence in this matter.

I look forward to hearing from you in writing.

Yours faithfully