urgent advice needed please

fermi

If you think the debt is "statute barred", then the correct letter is the one below.

If you are unsure then it would be a good idea to talk free to National Debtline to work out which is you best approach.

Tel free on: 0808 808 4000

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

sitcom123

Thanks for the advice, I have just got my daughters letter from Mackenzie Hall and it gives a reference number, then it says pursuers: 1st Credit Ltd
Original Creditor Citifinancial Europe Plc., Client Ref: ....... so do i send my statute barred letter to mackenzie hall???

GeorgeUK

Send the statute barred letter to whoever is actively chasing her for the debt. If Mackenzie Hall are acting on behalf of someone else, still send it to MH as they are the ones pursuing the debt.

Buccaneer

Debt Collectors are usually very aggressive and can be very rude - that's the nature of their job! Debt collection companies buy debts and so they only get paid for results. Being aggressive means that it frightens you so that you pay them to get them off your back.

Was the debt originally a credit agreement? Because if it wasn't the £1.00 would be accepted as payment. If the debt had been sold on from a bank or credit card company then your request for a copy of the credit agreement would be lost and so the £1 would be taken as a payment. What that payment has now done has restarted the limitation period so it comes back into play again. Talking to the debt collectors also had the same effect. If there has been no contact from a company for 6 years and you have not been in contact, including making a payment, then you can claim that it has expired its limitation period and so no court action can be taken.

This means that your daughter still owes the debt and has to pay it. Try to come to some sort of agreement over payment. The debt collection company will push to get payment in one amount but it would be worth trying to make an arrangement. Which company was it?

fermi

Buccaneer wrote: »

Was the debt originally a credit agreement? Because if it wasn't the £1.00 would be accepted as payment. If the debt had been sold on from a bank or credit card company then your request for a copy of the credit agreement would be lost and so the £1 would be taken as a payment.

No. The £1 fee is the statutory payment for a request under sections 77-79 of the CCA1974.

Under no circumstances is the creditor entitled to take that as a payment on the debt, even if the debt is not for a regulated agreement.

If they do so, then they are acting unlawfully. That payment would not count as acknowledgement.

A request for a CCA does not in general acknowledge the debt anyway. There is legal precedent for that, although the exact case escapes me at the moment.

However it is always advisable to head a CCA request letter with "I do not acknowledge any debt to you or any other company or organisation that you claim to be representing.".

Buccaneer wrote: »

Talking to the debt collectors also had the same effect.

It absolutely DOES NOT.

It is ONLY a payment or acknowledgement in writing that counts as acknowledgement under the Limitations Act 1980.

That is legally very very clear. A phone conversation, even if it is recorded, DOES NOT legally count as acknowledgement.

sitcom123

I actually remember them sending the postal order for the £1 back to me saying they had closed the file and sent it back to orignal creditor (citi financial) because I was going to take it back to the post office and try and get my £1 back!! But i never got round to it. The debt was for a loan my daughter took out with them when she was 18.

gilligansyle

sitcom123 wrote: »

I actually remember them sending the postal order for the £1 back to me saying they had closed the file and sent it back to orignal creditor (citi financial) because I was going to take it back to the post office and try and get my £1 back!! But i never got round to it. The debt was for a loan my daughter took out with them when she was 18.

Exactly the same thing happened when I sent £1 to Connaught who were collecting on behalf of Citi financial. I have just carried on sending the letters asking for the CCA, and each time they tell me the debt has been passed back.

You can only deal with the people who are pursuing you, and if the debt is statute barred, there is nothing they can do. The £1 is what you send for the CCA and is not to be taken of the debt and if you sent the right letter, it does not acknowledge debt.

sitcom123

HI everyone, just an update and more advice needed from you all please. My daughter sent off the statute barred letter on 3rd September 08 recorded delivery. We have the proof of postage and we have checked on the track and trace, letter delivered 4th September. She put her postal address as mine as she was living at home at the time of debt and that is where the correspondence has been delivered to. She phoned my yesterday to say they have sent a letter to her new address (how have they got this she is married now so different surname and her name is not on the mortgage) to say she has not been in touch over the debt and they will send someone to her house within the next seven days!!!! Help needed please, she got really upset yesterday she has a new baby only 5 days old and doesnt need more of their aggressive phone calls

Ames

Firstly, lots of DCA's threaten to send someone round, but it's usually just a scare tactic and they don't usually follow through.

Secondly, even if they do send someone they have absolutely no rights at all. Your daughter doesn't even have to answer the door to them, and if she does and they come in they're trespassing and she can call the police to have them removed.

sitcom123

can they send her another threatening letter though to a new address even though she has sent off her letter claiming her debt to be statue barred??