Mackenzie Hall worry

rammy118

hi from the beginning of november ive been getting fishing letters from the above people saying i need to contact them i just ignored them looked on the internet it said dont call them so i did not checked my credit file and its ok today i got a letter saying thety going to send people round to collect i owe hfc bank 800 pounds from 1996 i did have some bad debts then put im sure ive paid em off i did not have anything with hfc bank the letter came today my wife paniced and rang em big mistake they said they will talk to me only just want to know what my next step should be as im a bit worried now im sure ive no debt with this company any advice would be great im a compleate noob at this so dony know where to start im worried there going to start ringing me know my wife has rang em

RAS

rammy

if you have not paid anything towards this debt or acknowledged it in writing for the last 6 years, it is statute barred.

The law, the courts and the OFT consider it unfair to pursue you for a debt of this age and you do not have to pay it.

MH bought this debt for pennies and are hoping you do not know the law and cough up.

RAS

Statute Barred debts.

A debt will be "Statute Barred" if there has been no acknowledgement of the debt by you making a payment or in writing within the relevant limitation period.

If you are in England/Wales then the limitation period is 6 years and you should read:

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

If you are in Scotland then the limitation period is 5 years and you should read:

Link: Factsheet | Liability for debts & the Prescription & Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973

If you feel the debt is "Statute Barred", then there is a letter to write at the end of each factsheet.

England/Wales.

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
Scotland.

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

Ref: xxxxxxxxxxx

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 Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973 Part 1 Prescription Section 6:

"If after an appropriate date, an obligation (an appropriate debt) has subsided for a continuous period of five years:

(a) without any relevant claim having been made in relation to the obligation, and
(b) without the subsistence of the obligation having been relevantly acknowledged;

then as from the expiration of that period the obligation shall be extinguished..."

I/we would also point out that the Office of Fair Trading (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 written acknowledgement/payment of this debt was made over five 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 Part 1 Section 6of the above Act, I/we suggest that you are no longer able to take anycourt 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".

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



Ta to fermi for this.

rammy118

hi thanx for the reply i did not tell my wife about all this did not want to worry her today she opened a letter addressed to me she is not very happy with me and she paniced and rang em i just want to know what do i do now do i have to send them a letter telling em im not paying it as i said i really dont have a clue what to do as just ignoring the letters don't seem to work im worried there going to turn up at my door now

rammy118

sorry i [posted before id seen the letter thanx do i just fill in mc hall details in at the top and dont sign the letter

RAS

Just use the right one depending whether the debt was taken out in Scotland or E&W.

if they did turn up at the door, they have no legal rights and if they do not leave immediately, you can call the police.

rammy118

thank you very much for takin the time to give me some much needed advice

MrMuttley

I had some dealing with this DCA back a while on a debt that was definately statute barred. If they come back and say Oh No It Isn't as they did with me then write them another letter asking them to prove that the debt is not statute barred and ask them to supply you with an address for a Data Subject Access Request ( thats the bit where you pay 10 quid and get a copy of all your records. )

In my case they wrote back and said they were unable to locate my records and are therefore dropping the action.

It's bordering on breaking the guidlines on statute barred debts but this is what McKenzie Hall do for a living.

RAS

I would strongly suggest that in both cases, you consider a complaint to the OFT if this happens.

They appears to have grown teeth recently.

rammy118

i will send the letter off tomorrow and keep you posted then if they send me a letter back saying i do owe then i will do as advised above is there a template letter for that to or do i just say i want a copy of my records and give em a po for 10 puonds

RAS

let's see what they come up with first. Some of them have the wit to give up as soon as they know you are not paying.