Strange call today about 9 1/2 year old debt

chrisconvy_99

Hello people.

I decided to join your forum because of some very strange news today.

A collections company called First Credit have contacted me over an unpaid £1965.80 debt when i was 18 years old in 2000. This was unpaid bank charges from Yorkshire Bank on an unarranged overdraft.

I never acknowledged the debt from them. I have just spoken to First Credit and they informed me that they acquired the debt in Oct 2003.

I moved out of the address that they had for me at the end of 2002.

I have never seen a letter from this debt company but remember receiving letters from Yorkshire Bank back in 2000.

Can this company claim a debt from all that time ago? or is it because its coming upto 6 years next month and i can claim the Statute of Limitation Act that they are chasing it now?

Any help would be gratefully appreciated.

Thanks

PNPSUKNET

you can try and dispute it for a few months up until the 6 years, if before they can restart the timer.

fermi

When did you last make either a payment towards this debt, or acknowledge it yourself in writing?

The 6 years runs from then, so it may well already be statute barred.

When 1st Credit acquired the debt means absolutely nothing with regards to this time limit. When the debt was last acknowledged in writing or paid is the important date.

See this link: Factsheet | Liability for Debts and the Limitation Act (England/Wales)

chrisconvy_99

PNPSUKNET wrote: »

you can try and dispute it for a few months up until the 6 years, if before they can restart the timer.

I was kinda hoping to hear that they don't have a leg to stand on.

As it stands they still have a previous address and not my new one, i have only spoken to them today on the phone but am i right in assuming a telephone conversation is NOT acknowledgement of the debt?

McKneff

Doesnt the time go from the original debt of 2000.

First Credit aquired the debt in 2003 so i presume that the debt was from before then.

After 6 years in England and 5 years in Scotland of not acknowledgeing it then the debt is statute barred and cannot be enforced. Didnt want to read and run and other more knowledgeable people will be along with links to letters to send to them.
They are trying it on so i wouldnt worry about it.

chrisconvy_99

I have never ever acknowledged the debt, not even to yorkshire bank

fermi

To 1st Credit then.....

(Send recorded delivery)

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

chrisconvy_99

fermi wrote: »

To 1st Credit then.....

(Send recorded delivery)

Thankyou, I thought as much but didn't want to put my foot in it by sending them a letter before the 6 years from when they acquired the debt.

I was 18 dumb and stupid back in 2000. Not much has changed :rotfl:(apart from i'm older)

Wol2

Hi Chris

Before you send the letter....please give us a moment to read what I post below....

... I strongly suggest you get hold of your free credit reports from both Experian and Equifax. (you need to enter card details and then remember to cancel before the end of the 30 day free trial - there's threads/posts/a page on MSE main website that tell you how to do this is:D)

This will tell you for definite if your outstanding debt is still "active".

With the assistance of another DFW, I have been helping a friend of mine with rather a lot of debt from 2000-2003. When we got his credit reports we found most of it was not registered :j and therefore the Debt Collecting Agencies who were pursuing him were trying to collect on potentially statute barred debts (very common).....unless of course there had been anything in writing from my friend in the interim to acknowledge the debt...but my friend couldn;t remember :cool:

So in order to cover ourselves, we sent the following amalgamated statute-barred/ 12+2 CCA request letter

[FONT=&quot]Dear Sir/Madam

Your Reference Number: insert[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]

You have contacted me regarding the account with the above reference number, which you claim is owed by myself (Your Letter of insert date refers)[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]I do not acknowledge any debt to you or any other company or organisation that you claim to be representing[/FONT][FONT=&quot] and, on checking my credit reports, can find no evidence of this alleged debt.


[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Firstly therefore:[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]With reference to the above, I would be grateful if you would send me a copy of this credit agreement, together with a statement of account and notice of assignment.

I understand that under the Consumer Credit Act 1974 (Sections 77−79), I am entitled to receive a copy of my credit agreement on request. I enclose a payment of £1.00 which represents the fee payable under the Consumer Credit Act.

I understand a copy of my credit agreement should be supplied within 12 working days.

[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]I further understand that, under the Consumer Credit Act, creditors are unable to enforce an agreement if they fail to comply with a request for a copy of the agreement under these sections of the Act.

[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Secondly:[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]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".


[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]I 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".

[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Therefore 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".


[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]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.

[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Unless you are able to satisfy the above requests in full, I await your written confirmation that no further contact will be made concerning the above account and confirmation that this matter is now closed.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]




LOL :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:


Results are still coming in but most of the agencies have scuttled away as fast as they could once they received this letter.....CASES CLOSED :j:T
The only ones that have turned round and fought are the ones who can prove this is not a statute barred debt owing to contact within th last 6 years..(and they state the dates of contact with my friend in their letter)..... my friend will have to negotiate those ones but hey...that's cool. (This was not an exercise in avoidance...merely putting everything on the correct legal footing to find out the extent of my friend's current liabilities.)





So in light of what you have said in your posts..get your credit reports to give you peace of mind the debt is statute barred....send the above letter ..and you should have no problems sending your pursuers packing



Good luck
Wol2

xxx


(Note to Fermi.:hello:..I'm sure you will be pleased to hear that one of the "offenders" was Mackenzie Hall ...couldnt; send their closure letter out fast enough once our letter finally hit their system :rotfl::rotfl:)

fermi

Checking the credit reports would be a good idea, because some debt collectors have a habit of re-registering defaults with a later date when the buy a debt. They are not allowed to do this, so it is normally a good idea to check and challenge them if needed.

Unfortunately, the flip side of that is that the credit reference files are not always a good guide to whether a debt may be statute barred or not.

chrisconvy_99: If you are sure of your dates, then the "statute barred" letter is all you really need to rely on.

Wol2: A CCA is not going to be of any use with a debt (bank charges) on a current account. They have CCA part 74 exemption from needing an executed agreement.

Glad you saw off "Muck Hall" though.

Wol2

fermi wrote: »

Wol2: A CCA is not going to be of any use with a debt (bank charges) on a current account. They have CCA part 74 exemption from needing an executed agreement.

Glad you saw off "Muck Hall" though.

Yep Fermi..... gald someone's on the ball.....thank you for pointing that out :beer:..

sorry Chris..missed the fact it was a current account and not a credit card


xxx

P.S. Personally I blame it on the fact I haven;t still gotten over the shock of the obseqious wording on the MH letter :j :rotfl::rotfl:

Edit: Fermi..would it do Chris any harm to just ask for a "notice of assignment" in relation to the debt and delete all the rest of the first section??.(..we did this for a bank account.....and the DCA it was transferred to is still sending holding letters 30 days later )

xxx