Bit of advice regarding debt owed to CapQuest

adz3785

Hi,
Got a bit of a problem with a debt recovery company....CapQuest!

Approx 2/3 years ago I had a Abbey bank account which had a overdraft limit of £100, due to financial difficulties of buying a house etc.. I was unable to pay the overdraft off! I had spoken to Abbey explaining my situation and that i could pay very little to pay the overdraft off, however they would not accept this and demanded I paid it off in full!

Unable to pay the £100 off at once, the only thing i could do was leave it until i could get some money together to pay it off. However this wasnt quick enough for Abbey and I got charge £30 for failing to pay off the overdraft, then a couple of months later they charged me £50.

So I was even more unlikey to be able to pay off the balance of £180!!

A few more months went by and Abbey kept sending me letters, a few more months went by and I admittingly forgot about it! We then moved into rented accommodation and never heard anything of it until a month ago.

I applied for my first credit card with Halifax, I wasnt approved for some reason, so I subscribed to Experian to see if there was anything on my credit file. Thats when i noticed a default payment or something from Abbey for the sum of £180.87.

I then received a letter from Abbey on the 18th August saying my debt had been sold to a debt recovery company.

The same day I received a letter from CapQuest informing me my debt had been sold to them and requesting I contacted them.

Then on the 21st August I got another letter from CapQuest asking me to make a payment of £180.87 by the end of August.

All letters were in the same envelopes marked with UKMail and on the reverse they all have the same PO Box address! Plus the letter from "Abbey" looks strangley similar to the letters from CapQuest! Pritty much the same format! Same setup, same font, same font size etc... even file reference codes in the same location!

Just after a bit of advice on what to do? I dont want to ignore it any longer, but I dont want to pay the full amount if I dont have to.

Is there information I can ask CapQuest to provide me with to show me how the £180.87 is made up of? I havent contacted them yet, but feel i should do soon otherwise i'll only get another letter!

Any help/advice greatly appreciated.

Adam

Jesthar

Ahh, CapQuest - well known around these parts, are they!

Not sure about what you have to send them to get a breakdown of charges, etc. but the Golden Rule for dealing with Debt Collection Agencies (DCAs) is to do EVERYTHING in writing, never phone them or accept phone calls from them (as they are notorious bullies, especially on the phone - don't even give them your number), and never sign your name on any letter you send them, or give them any form of sample signature, photo-ID, or ID in general. Some DCAs have been known to forge 'original' documents when given such things.

Can you now afford to pay this off in full? If so, you could try offering them a reduced amount as a 'Full and Final' (F&F) settlement; start low and see how you go. If not, then although they may demand you pay them in full, they cannot force you to do so, and you will need to negotiate a payment plan with them.

Whichever route you take, MAKE SURE you get confirmation in writing of the agreed amount/payment plan which clearly states that the debt will be fully discharged by this amount/plan, or they may try and make you pay more later. Oh, and NEVER give them Direct Debit details, as that lets them take what they want when they want from your account, make all payments by standing order or direct payment from your bank account (not a cheque, that has your signature on it).

Hopefully someone else can help with a letter requesting a breakdown of the debt.

~Jes

adz3785

Thanks for that Jes, Yes im now in a position where i can pay the whole thing off, but like you say it might be beneficial to ask for a discounted settlement figure if the debt is paid in full.

Ive did some searching and found some info, but it all varies slightly.

GeorgeUK

What i would do is take the amount i know is owed and knock a % off that. State in the letter that you making a full and final settlement offer which takes into account unlawful charges and are willing to make payment of (say £70) on the understanding that you will be absolved from any further liability (use the bit in the nationaldebtline letter for this) and that the balance on your credit file will be marked as nil.

adz3785

Ok guys slight spanner in the works! This debt is now a big problem for me!

At the weekend me and my girlfriend went to Halifax bank to arrange to open a joint bank account for when we move into the new house we are getting built.

Thing is it was declined due to me having a "Default" on my credit file, i explained to Halifax that the matter was currently in dispute, however to allow us to take out the joint bank account with overdraft facilities they require the debt to be "Satisfied"......which got me slightly worried as we are currently applying for a mortgage and i have no doubt that this will cause some problems for us.

Question is what do i do? i dont want it to affect us being able to get a mortgage!

My initial thought was to ring CapQuest and ask for a settlement fiqure to get the debt paid off so it wont show as still owed on my credit file.

I have sent a letter to Abbey requesting a break down of charges etc.. to the account and have also sent a letter to CapQuest informing them the debt is in dispute and to put it on hold. But Abbey have upto 40 days to reply, by then it may be too late and our mortgage application will have been submitted.

Any advice?

GeorgeUK

If you make a reduced F&F settlement, it may still be marked on your credit file as partially settled.

Did you receive a default notice before the default was put on your credit file? If not, it might be worth trying to get it removed.

Not too sure what to suggest as there are unlawful charges on the account. I suppose you could pay it all off and try to reclaim it back, but with the way the banks are dragging this out, that could take years - even then they may get let off by our 'leaders'.

adz3785

George, I did receive a default notice.

Think ill ring CapQuest and ask for a full and final settlement figure. Anything that i shouldnt say when ringing? as ive never had to deal with a debt recovery company before.

GeorgeUK

Ringing a DCA isn't usually a good idea - they'll say one thing but unless you get it in writing it's worthless.

You may be able to make a F&F offer, but do so in writing.

If you haven't already done so i would suggest contacting the credit reference agency to get a note put against the debt stating that the amount of this debt is being disputed. That way at least any automated searches will not just see the default and count that against you. It would require someone to look at the data on your credit report.

adz3785

Thanks George, i decided against ringing them anyways.

Is there a template letter for making a F&F offer?

Will the credit reference ageny be experian who i registered for to get my credit file? Whats to stop it from showing up with other credit checking companies?

adz3785

Just a bit of an update.

Received a letter from CapQuest informing me that the account was on hold and no further action would be taken until Abbey provide me with the information that i requested.

Shall i ring Experian and see if i can get them to change the status of the debt to "In Dispute"? is that who i have to actually ring?

GeorgeUK

Yes, i would phone experian (the credit reference agency that you checked your credit file with) and request that they place a note against the debt.

Here's a decent full and final settlement letter - just amend to suit
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1200137
Or have a look at the letter on the nationaldebtline website.
http://www.nationaldebtline.co.uk/england_wales/debt_advice.php#6