1st CREDIT - Help needed

alison15

Hi everyone,

I hope someone can point me in the right direction? I received a letter about 1 week ago stating i need to contact 1st credit regarding a debit. I immediately phoned the number and spoke to a gentleman who said that i need to pay £450 there and then over the phone. I asked for more details regarding the debt and was told it was from a particular company who to be honest i had never heard of. I was then told i had rented a washing machine and owed £100 or so then the rest for the cost of the machine. I asked when this was and was told 1998 when i used to live in Leeds. He then said he could organise for me to pay in installments if i pay xxx amount today. I told him i would that i was not giving details for a debit i did not recall or have sufficient information about at which point he hung up say he would record that i had refused to pay!
Yesterday i received another letter from them giving me the options of paying in installments.

Help what do i do now? THe debt i do not remember at all and it was 10 years ago. I stayed in Leeds for a further 3 years and i have never received any letters requiring any payment for this debt.

Any advice would be much appreciated?

never-in-doubt

Hiya

Go back to this thread - answered you there! Unenforceability & Template Letters II

You send this letter to them and do not speak to them on the phone again!

Dear Sirs,

Account No: XXXXXXXX

You have contacted me regarding the account with the above reference number, which you claim is owed. I would like to point out that we have no knowledge of any such debt being owed to you.

The ‘Office of Fair Trading Debt Collection Guidance’ states that it is unfair to send demands for payment to an individual when it is uncertain that they are the debtor in question. They also state 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.

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

In light of the above, I formally request that no further contact be made concerning the above accounts unless you can provide evidence as to my liability for the debt in question.

I await your written confirmation that this matter is now closed, within the next 14 days.

Yours faithfully




Sign digitally

alison15

Hi NID,

Thanks for the advice i will send the letter that you stated. I will send it recorded delivery to them. Also the last time i checked my credit rating about 1 year ago there was nothing on my file?

never-in-doubt

alison15 wrote: »

Hi NID,

Thanks for the advice i will send the letter that you stated. I will send it recorded delivery to them. Also the last time i checked my credit rating about 1 year ago there was nothing on my file?

Ok, good luck....

There should be nothing on your file either! When you send the letter whatever you do don't use your own handwriting anywhere and do not sign it either - just use a fancy font from word.!

fermi

Also bear in mind that on the off chance this does turn out to be your debt, then it would almost certainly "statute barred" and so legally unenforceable.

See here: Statute barred debts/letter.

Defaults for a debt can only stay on your credit file for six years, so by this time there wouldn't be anything anyway (if there ever could have been). And they can't put anything new on for this either.

Send NiD's letter, and keep the ones in my link in reserve just in case.

PNPSUKNET

sounds like first credit all over, were they not on watchdog for their underhand tricks?

fermi

PNPSUKNET wrote: »

sounds like first credit all over, were they not on watchdog for their underhand tricks?

Not sure about Watchdog, but the did feature on the Channel 4 dispatches programme on debt collectors a while back.

never-in-doubt

fermi wrote: »

Not sure about Watchdog, but the did feature on the Channel 4 dispatches programme on debt collectors a while back.

See this last week - lol, shockingly amusing if it wasn't real? http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00p2cnx

fermi

never-in-doubt wrote: »

See this last week - lol, shockingly amusing if it wasn't real? http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00p2cnx

Yep. I saw it.

Handy to know it is available online now. It didn't seem as if it would be for some reason.

There is a thread on it somewhere.

never-in-doubt

fermi wrote: »

Yep. I saw it.

Handy to know it is available online now. It didn't seem as if it would be for some reason.

There is a thread on it somewhere.

It failed last week on iPlayer but I got it direct from panorama site on BBC - I usually do watch things like Tonight/Watchdog etc from the actual website as opposed to the player website....

confused76

never-in-doubt wrote: »

See this last week - lol, shockingly amusing if it wasn't real? http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00p2cnx

i missed this when it was on, watching it now, thanks 4 the link

i'm only 5 minutes in and i feel sick