Clueless, help welcome

sophieschoice

A friend today told me the following but I'm completely at a loss as to how to advise her.
Basically, in 1992 she took out a £500 loan and paid regularly. She moved house and let the loan company know. During this period the loan company went bust. She moved house again and was contacted by TBI Financial Services a couple of years ago who were chasing the debt. She agreed to pay them a small regular amount each month
which is all she can afford.
Recently her husband has been dreadfully ill and on sick leave from work although happily made a full recovery and will be returning in a fortnight. She phoned TBI up to say she needed to reduce her payments as her husband is on a reduced wage. This they agreed to. She also asked for the name of the loan company where she originally took the loan out which they refused to give her. When she asked why she now owed well over £7000 they said it was because she took out a credit card at her former address. She has never held a credit or debit card in her life so asked them to check further. They then decided it was a mix up but still refused to tell her the name of the original loan company or the amount she originally borrowed.
They are threatening her with court action even though she has more than paid off the original debt and ring her up being rude and aggressive up to 11pm at night.

The only advice I have given her so far is to pay for an Experian credit check.
Would anyone be able to tell me what I should advise her to do next?
Thank you

PNPSUKNET

if the refuse in writting let them take her to court, a judge will laugh at them and throw it out

sophieschoice

That would be what I'd do and did suggest it but she is terrified they will take her to Court. she is of a nervous disposition and not financially savvy at all. Is there any kind of standard letter she can write to them asking who the original loan was from (she can't remember), the amount, the rate of interest etc.?

costapkt

Ask them for a CCA (Customer Credit Agreement) This costs one pound. Pay it by postal order and send by recorded delivery. There should be a letter template on this site. A CCA is the agreement signed upon taking out the loan. When they receive the request for one they have 14 days to supply it. If you do not receive one in this time scale you can stop any payments on the alleged debt. If they manage to produce one at any time after this they can request that you start repayments. But and it is a big but after all this time they might not be able to provide one. This means that you can offer a Full & Final offer on the account say 10% or just ignore any demands for repayment. No CCA no pay.The debt does not go away it just means that without a CCA it will not be enforcable in Court.
Even if they supply a CCA it then has to be enforcable. This means checking it over to see if all the T&Cs etc are in place. . Just type into search is my CCA enforcable for more details.

Ames

Was there ever a period of six years where no payments were made? If so it'll be statute barred and she doesn't have to pay anything.

sophieschoice

costapkt wrote: »

Ask them for a CCA (Customer Credit Agreement) This costs one pound. Pay it by postal order and send by recorded delivery. There should be a letter template on this site. A CCA is the agreement signed upon taking out the loan. When they receive the request for one they have 14 days to supply it. If you do not receive one in this time scale you can stop any payments on the alleged debt. If they manage to produce one at any time after this they can request that you start repayments. But and it is a big but after all this time they might not be able to provide one. This means that you can offer a Full & Final offer on the account say 10% or just ignore any demands for repayment. No CCA no pay.The debt does not go away it just means that without a CCA it will not be enforcable in Court.
Even if they supply a CCA it then has to be enforcable. This means checking it over to see if all the T&Cs etc are in place. . Just type into search is my CCA enforcable for more details.

Cheers. A little update: she has had a letter back saying they will endeavour to provide the details within 12 days and it refers to a credit card debt at her last address. She hasn't EVER had a credit card! Now I'm going to advise her to get her credit report from experian but as she has been in her current address longer than 6 years is there any way they can do an historic search on her previous address?
worst case scenario is that someone applied for a cc in her name when she left the address. Because she thought the original debt (the company provided no details whatsoever) was for the £500 loan she has been paying what she can afford monthly. The loan was taken out around 1992 and the amount is now over £7k.

Ames

I'd give National debt line a call (make sure you get the one that's a free charity) about it, sounds like she needs to be making formal complaints, maybe informing the police.

costapkt

National Debt Line No. 08088084000
You might have a long wait but keep at it you will get through eventually !!!!!

costapkt

If your friend asked for a CCA for the original loan and they cannot provide it. Then the account is in dispute and any payments can be stopped until one is provided.

If they send a CCA for the alleged Credit Card check the signature on it.
But until they provide a CCA for the original loan stop any payments.