Mackenzie Hall. Wondering how hard to push them

MrMuttley

Mackenzie Hall. I'm sure some of the regulars of this board will be familar with the DCA Mackenzie Hall. They have a Statue Barred Debt from around 8 years ago. I wrote to them in October 2008 and politely told them to prove it's not a statute barred debt or !!!!!! off.

They duly did but now they are back for the same debt. I came up with the crazy idea of invoicing them £20 "administration costs" for every letter they send me demanding payment without proving the debt is not statute barred.

Has anyone ever tried to do this sort of thing before. Is there any reason why it would or wouldnt work.

After a few years of having debt problems the DCAs no longer intimidate me and I fancy having a little fun at their expense.

RAS

try something anlong these lines but add the contents of you first letter to them and attach copies of their letters to you.

Mackenzie Hall Debt Purchase Ltd
Unit 1A
58 Portland Street
Kilmarnock
Ayrshire KA1 1JG
Dear Sir/Madam

Account / Reference no:

I do not acknowledge any debt to your Company, or to any organisation that you claim to represent.

I would like to make a complaint against your company.

You have ignored my letter (copy enclosed) dated (date) 2009 stating;

“I 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".
The last 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 in the relevant period under Section 5 of the Limitation Act, I suggest that you are no longer able to take any court action against me 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 await your written confirmation that no further contact will be made concerning the above account and confirmation that this matter is now closed.”

(Replace with your first letter)

Which you have failed to comply to by sending your letter (ENCLOSED) dated the (date) 2009. Stating
(Title of the most recent letter you received)

I have also spoken with the OFT and the National Debtline regarding this issue.

I understand that you must send a written acknowledgement of my complaint within 5 business days of its receipt. If you are unable to resolve my complaint within 4 weeks you must send a holding response, explaining the reasons why and indicating when you will make further contact.

If you fail to resolve my complaint within 8 weeks, or if matters are not settled to my satisfaction, I will have no alternative but to escalate my complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service. This could result in you being ordered to pay compensation if my complaint is upheld.

I look forward to your reply.

[Yours faithfully

MrMuttley

Already been through that stage with them and they have effectively conceded the debt is Statute Barred. :cool:

As they are still chasing the debt (possibly through an administration error but that's their lookout not mine) I was wondering if it's possible to turn it to my advantage by charging them for my admin costs rather than refering to the OFT.

Purely mercenary motives you understand.:D

RAS

You can try.

I would now report them to the FSo, OFt and trading Standards.

You could try a formal complaint demanding payment for compensation as well.

fermi

This has done the trick in the past.

I do not acknowledge any debt to you or any other company or organisation that you claim to be representing.

Acc/Ref No: *******************

FORMAL COMPLAINT under the complaint procedures set out by the Financial Ombudsman.

Thank you for your letter dated xx/xx/2008, the contents of which are noted.

On xx/xx/2008 I wrote to Mackenzie Hall regarding a debt that was alleged to be owed by myself. That letter was received and signed for on xx/xx/2008 as confirmed by Royal Mail tracking.

In this letter I pointed out the following items:

1) 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".

2) 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".

3) 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 in the relevant period under Section 5 of the Limitation Act, I suggest that you are no longer able to take any court action against me to recover the alleged amount claimed.

4) 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".

Therefore it is clear that your original contact regarding this debt was in breach of the Office of Fair Trading Guideline referred to in item (2).

Furthermore, your subsequent letters are in direct breach of Office of Fair Trading Guideline referred to in item (4) and constitute harassment.

As you are no doubt aware, breaches of the OFT's Guidance on Debt Collection are treated seriously by the OFT when considering your fitness to hold a Consumer Credit License.

In particular the OFT has stated that:

The Consumer Credit Act 1974 (the Act) requires debt collectors, businesses that offer goods or services on credit and/or are involved in activities relating to credit or hire to be licensed by the OFT. Following implementation of the OFT's new powers under the Consumer Credit Act 2006 on 6 April 2008, the companies could also have specific 'requirements' imposed on them by the OFT. If such a requirement was not complied with, the business concerned could be subject to a financial penalty of up to £50,000. The OFT can also refuse or revoke a licence if it decides that a trader is not fit to hold one. The OFT can take into account any circumstances which appear to be relevant when considering the fitness of an applicant or licensee, including evidence that the company has contravened the Data Protection Act 1988.

Therefore I wish to formally notify you that unless I received confirmation that this matter is now closed, then I will not hesitate to make a formal complaint to the 'Office of Fair Trading' and also to 'Trading Standards'.

Furthermore, any attempted contact (other than to confirm that this matter is now closed) by any:

• "trading style" of the Mackenzie Hall group
• constituent member of the Mackenzie Hall group
• a third party acting on your behalf
• a third party that claims to have been legally assigned this debt

will result in an immediate complaint to the aforementioned regulatory bodies.

Also please note that any legal action you may consider will be FULLY and VIGOROUSLY defended, and you will be put to a strict proof of the alleged debt and any payment or acknowledgement that you claim within the relevant limitation period.

Furthermore, you may consider this letter a FORMAL COMPLAINT under the complaint procedures set out by the Financial Ombudsman. If you wish to correspond with myself with any other purpose than to confirm that this matter is now closed, then I require you to supply me with a written copy of your complaints procedure and a "final response" that I may forward to the Financial Ombudsman with my complaint.This COMPLAINT is not going to go away and ignoring this problem could potentially make your situation worse. I therefore strongly recommend that you send written confirmation that no further contact will be made concerning the above account and confirmation that this matter is now closed.

I would appreciate your due diligence in this matter.

sutton111

I had a Statute Barred debt with this mob, I wrote to them at the beginning of February telling them it's Statute Barred and I haven't heard anything since.

sutton111

fermi wrote: »

This has done the trick in the past.

I sent that exact same letter to Aktiv Kapital and it did the trick.

What a great letter.

gettingbetter

hi

does anyone remember that thread by
NUF!!!!TER she billed a DCA for her time
they took her to court she never did
come back to let us know what happened

I do have it saved to favourites
but dont know how to paste the link

hope it works out for you

kas xx

gettingbetter

sorry NUF!!!!ter

did the last name all in caps
kas xx

The_Plush_Doormat

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1010705&highlight=N

Gettingbetter - did you mean this one? You did the hard work - I just copied and pasted the link to the thread.

gettingbetter

thanks

thats the one

but why wouldnt it let me post her name

kas xx