1st Credit, mackenzie hall, need help.

cazza65

Sorry for the long post but had a letter in October 2006 from mackenzie hall saying they where asking for money from Citifinancial Avco Trust, we then had another letter November 2006 with reduced credit but saying the persuers where 1st credit. Then December 2006 another reduced amount but the persuer was now Citifinancial again. My husband then started making payment as he didn't know what else to do but when we could no longer afford this and looked on this site he stopped paying so they sent us another letter December 2007 saying we have defaulted. We sent them a letter asking for aggreement and sent £1, They then sent us a letter saying they have asked for a copy and the account is now on hold and if we havent had the aggreement in 28 days they will close it and send it back to their clients to decide what next step to take. We had nothing so forgot all about it. Now we have had a letter 25/8/09 saying 1st credit are trying to contact my husband and give a previous address which is 4 addresses behind our current one and asking us to contact them if we know my husband or where he is and if we dont they will asume it is him after 10 days.

My husband can't think what he owes money for and the only thing he can think about goes back 12 years plus. As we asked for a copy from mackenzie in 2007 and this was never given and the account is on hold what should we do? Also as he paid some money in 2006/7 even though he dodn't know what for can they put that against him?

Any advice would be good.

Thanks.

NYGiants

Mackenzie Hall specialise in statute barred debt so make sure you get a copy of the original credit agreement and see if it was over 6 years since you last paid on the debt or at least acknowledged it.

Even if you made payments after it was statute barred (normally 6 years, unless it's mortgage debt) then it will not make a difference.

As soon as its statute barred that's it, you won't have to pay another penny.

cazza65

Hi he made payments 3 years ago but as far as he can rememeber if he did take anything out it would had been in 1997 so 12 years ago. So was 9 years after the so called debt he made a payment. The latest letter is from 1st Credit. We asked Mackenzie Hall for the agreement and we didn't get it. They said the account was on hold as we had asked for this and they would pass this back to the company.

Does this mean they can't ask him for money and he shouldn't had paid anything last time because it was over 9 years? What should we do about this recent letter from 1st Credit?

Thanks

Bertram_2

I suppose wait out the 10 days till they come back again with a request for money . Then get them to prove it is your debt , if they can do that , then onwards onto the statute barred letter . But for now , if /when they call back :

---

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 I/we have no knowledge of any such debt being owed to (insert company name).

I am/we are familiar with the Office of Fair Trading Debt Collection Guidance which states that it unfair to send demands for payment to an individual when it is uncertain that they are the debtor in question.

I/we would also point out that the OFT say under the Guidance that it is unfair to pursue third parties for payment when they are not liable. In not ceasing collection activity whilst investigating a reasonably queried or disputed debt you are using deceptive/and or unfair methods.

Furthermore ignoring and/or disregarding claims that debts have been settled or are disputed and continuing to make unjustified demands for payment amounts to physical/psychological harassment.

I/we would ask that no further contact be made concerning the above account unless you can provide evidence as to my/our liability for the debt in question.

I/we await your written confirmation that this matter is now closed. Otherwise I will have no option but to make a complaint to the trading standards department and consider informing the OFT of your actions.

I/we look forward to your reply.

Yours faithfully



(Your Name) Print do not sign.

cazza65

Thanks for this we will wait for the next letter. We asked Mackenzie Hall for the agreement and they said they where asking 1st Credit for this but this was 2 years ago. Surly if they had it it would had been sent within the time limit?

Thanks again.

Bertram_2

He shouldn't have paid anything 3 years ago, but you will have trouble getting it back as it'll be looked upon as 'gifted' . It won't restart the statute barred clock however , so they can't use that payment to claim it is no longer statute barred . If that payment fell outside of an existing 6 year period of non payment or acknowledgement .

(7) Subject to subsection (6) above, a current period of limitation may be repeatedly extended under this section by further acknowledgments or payments, but a right of action, once barred by this Act, shall not be revived by any subsequent acknowledgment or payment.

fermi

If there was a clear period of 6 years where no payment or acknowledgement in writing by him, then the debt would be statute barred and legally unenforceable.

That applies even if you then make payments after the 6 years are up. See the quote from The Limitations Act 1980 in the post above.

Have a careful read through the link below.

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

There is a letter to send at the end of the link. You may need to adjust it slightly to reflect the fact that the 6 year period was a while back, but the principle is the same.

Bertram_2

If it's statute barred, you don't really need the cca , it's a waste of £1 and the postage stamp.

fermi

Bertram wrote: »

If it's statute barred, you don't really need the cca , it's a waste of £1 and the postage stamp.

And confuses the issue.

If it is "statute barred" it is barred. End of............

cazza65

Thanks the first thing he knew about any debt was a letter sent in 2006. If he did take any credit out the latest date would had been 1997 so there was 9 years before any contact was made from them. He made payments in 2006/7 then he asked for the credit aggreement after coming on this site.

Which letter are we better to send the one in the link or the one on the post?

Thank you for all the replys whish we had know about the statute barred when when came on years ago as would never had paid anything.

Thanks again.

Bertram_2

If you do submit a statute barred letter to them , in your correspondence you may like to remind them of this :

http://www.oft.gov.uk/news/press/2009/44-09

The OFT has used its powers under consumer credit legislation to impose 'requirements' on Mackenzie Hall after an investigation found that some of its business processes failed to meet satisfactory standards. As a result of these requirements, Mackenzie Hall must not:

pursue a debt where it has been notified in writing that there is reasonable cause to believe that the debt is in dispute, and
pursue a debt where it has been notified in writing that the debt is statute barred.
Failure to comply with a requirement could lead to a fine of up to £50,000 and/or possible revocation of Mackenzie Hall's consumer credit licence.