Mackenzie Hall- old debt will they trace me?

debtfree4-09

well, most of my debts are cleared up now and so I was most upset to be passed ona letter froma company called Mackenzie Hall.
Now, we moved abroad some time ago and this letter was sent to my address in the UK where a friend currently lives and she passes stuff on to me.
The debt was a MINT credit card from about 2002 or 2003 - around the time i moved abroad- but I continued to make payments on this credit card for several months after we moved away and only when I started to get charges and it all went wrong did i i think 'sod it' and thought it might go away. There were several attempts to contact me initially and I even spoke on the phone- at my old address etc when I was in the UK visiting family & friends- and made payment agreements and then never managed to stick to them then a number of years later I just stopped trying and didn;t hear anything for a while. I dont know how many years since my last communication with them- definatly NOT 6 or more years, more like 4 or 5 years. It was with nationwide but was sold to Equidebt limited.
It is almost double the size of the original amount stands at £3222!!! It was a £1500 limit on the card!
Do you think, if i just get it returned to sender (via my friend, not posted from Lanzarote) they will 'go away' or do they have the ability to locate me?
I am scared to contact them as i have read from many people they are very agressive in their manner and demand full payments and wont allow reasonable repayments to be made!
I know its my debt and everything else- I was only 21 or 22 when I ran up the card, I am now 29! I was just stupid enough to try to make repayments inbetween- though I never actually did make a payment!

RAS

Hi

if you spoke to them on the phone, then those calls do not amount to ackowledgement of the debt. if you wrote to them or paid any money it does.

And that is before we get into the isse of whether the original Consumer Credit agreement was enforeceable.

is there a CCJ against this debt?

phunkeymonkey

I'd pay it if I was you. It may save you a lot of trouble and stress in the long term. I have to admit I don't know a great deal about "old debts", but I'm sure if you spoke to them and explained the situation, they would be open to offers to settle this outstanding balance quickly. I've read somewhere about full and final settlement offers (I think there is even a guide on here) that maybe a good idea in your situation. It sounds like you've done well clearing your debts, and the quicker this matter is resolved the sooner you will reach your DFD.
As for sending the letter back RTS - I'm assuming you opened the letter? If so they may smell a rat and be less reasonable to negotiate with in the future.

debtfree4-09

there is no ccj against this debt- many letters would have been returned to sender unopened.
i do not have the ability to repay it in any worthy amount, we just dont have money to spare. A mere £20 per month is pushing it and i hear they wont negotiate- as I live in another country i wondered if i could ignore them and they wouldnt be able to find me, its probably almost 6yrs since i paid anything or wrote...

RAS

I would sit tight then. MH specilise in buying very old debts that are unenforceable orr nearly unenfoceable for peanuts and trying to retieve the book value.

it will drop off you credit record after 6 years anyway.

But please note that you could have a CCj if you just sent all post back.

debtfree4-09

i dont know if it best to return the letter to sender or to just ignore... i havent viewed my credit report for years so dont care much about it and i dont think i CAN view my UK credit file because I no longer live at that address and I dont want to give my news details and have any kind of associated address if you know what i mean?
i would have thought they wouldnt be able to do much about me as i live in another country now, but nothing would suprise me from debt collectors!

rog2

I certainly would not pay what MH are asking. They probably 'bought' the debt for a few pence in the pound, anyway, and a 'Full and Final Settlement' of around 20 or 30 per cent would be more than they deserve:

www.nationaldebtline.co.uk/england_wales/factsheet.php?page=24_full_and_final_settlement_offers

With reference to whether or not they will 'trace you' it really does not matter one iota as Uk consumer debts are not enforceable outside of the UK.

Yes, they could 'ask' you to make a payment, but they would have no legal powers to enforce that 'debt' in the country where you now reside.

Even if they obtained a UK County Court Judgement, in your absence, this can not be enforced outside of the UK.

smiffffffffy

i too recieved a letter from Mackenzie Hall and thankgod i was able to google this company and to be directed to here........


Thank you everyone that has given such good advice it seems my debt is statued barred and that when i checked my credit profile it was and is completely clean...

I now know my rights concerning bailiffs etc and my rights to other matters...
It is also a comforting feeling that i am not alone when i am being contacted by Macky Hall

ghostmadlittlemiss

Judging by the amount, they've obviously been adding a lot of charges to the card. If I were you, I'd get in touch with cccs or another debt charity and see if they can negotiate some kind of payment plan so you're paying a small amount each month towards the card. The article on debt charities is here: http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/loans/debt-help-plan#help

Then I'd see about getting those charges reclaimed. That would knock your debt down by a huge amount and possibly bring it down to a manageable level. The article for reclaiming credit card charges is here: http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/reclaim/credit-card-charges

Also, if you want to free up some extra money each month, post a SOA here on the forum and people can advise you on ways to cut back. The link for a SOA calculator is here: http://www.makesenseofcards.com/soacalc.html

That's just what I would do though. They probably can't enforce the debt while you're abroad, this is just ideas as to how to pay it back if you thought that would be possible.
Kayleigh