Credit Services LTD

copywrite33

HI Everyone,

I received a letter today from a company called Credit Services LTD Asking me to contact them to discuss a debt i have with Lloyds TSB. I havent heard anything from any other company in 3 years and wonder where i stand? I am now a student and cannot afford the £2111 they are asking me for!

Please help

GeorgeUK

What was the debt for? Overdraft, creditcard, loan?
When was the last time you made a payment to the debt or acknowledged the debt in writing?

copywrite33

The debt was for an unofficial over draft. Cheque guarantee card that i used extensively and then fell ill from work. I have never acknowleged the debt in writing?

GeorgeUK

Right, so you can't request a copy of the credit agreement as it is an overdraft. Do you know when the last payment you made towards it was?

A debt is statute barred if you have made no payment towards the debt for 6 years (5 in Scotland) and not acknowledged the debt in writing.

copywrite33

The last payment into the account would have been in July 2005. So i am well within the statute barred idea, but thanks, what else can i do? i am not disputing i owe the money i guess but i need something to say to these people.

GeorgeUK

You could write (not phone) and try to make repayment arrangements. You should also request a notice of assignment so that you know this debt is actually yours and that they have permission to collect it, and statement of account so you know how much is owed.

Then i would also start reclaiming the charges back.

copywrite33

Hey thanks for that...how do i actually go about doing that?

GeorgeUK

To reclaim the bank charges, you would need to send a subject access request (SAR) to the bank to get a list of all your transactions, then put a claim in after you worked out how much you could reclaim. There is currently a test case going through the courts (the banks lost the first case and appealed) so it may be put on hold, but it is better to get your claim in now as you can only claim back 6 years (in England). Credit card charges if you intend to reclaim are not part of the test case so you can go ahead with that. There is a board here that should have all the required info.
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.html?f=102

When you request a SAR, they will provide not only the statements, or transaction details, but all corespondence connected with your account. In that there should be a letter explaining the condition of the overdraft - APR limit etc. If that is not provided, then they cannot prove you agreed to the terms and interest so you should check that this is provided.

If this is with a DCA, you may also be able to offer a settlement amount. If doing so make sure you don't send any payment until you receive written confirmation that it is a "full and final" settlement rather than a partial settlement. You may be able to settle for about £600 if you're lucky.

If you want to send a letter to make repayment agreements, you can send a letter like this - you will probably be required to show your income, expenditure and other debt so they can see you are repaying as much as possible. In the letter i would ask that they supply a copy of the notice of assignment and a statement of the account.
http://www.nationaldebtline.co.uk/england_wales/temp/7726_77741.pdf

copywrite33

Hey everyone,

Have been away for much of the ast month so everything has fallen behind.

I have received the letter from Lloyds with regards to getting my letters, statements etc but Credit Services LTD have not responded to my notice of assignment letter that was sent on 06/10. Should i chase them up or are they now officially not allowed to chase me? This has happened with another couple of agencies (not responding to letters) however the information is still on my Credit file as a default, anyway of getting this removed.

Thanks

Oli

GeorgeUK

I'd wait for them to contact you personally. With any luck it will take them another 3 years and the debt will be statute barred.

copywrite33

Thanks george...what do i do about my default on credit file?