A debt comprised of bank charges

mroboe

Morning all, a little advice if possible

A bit of background info first:

Around September last year, my partner received a letter from Capquest debt collection co. demanding immediate payment of ~£370 on behalf of Natwest. As she hadn't used her Natwest account for probably over three years, we were a little suprised to say the least. Anyway, to cut a long story (somewhat) short, we eventually discovered the debt comprises nearly completely of repeating bank charges. A direct debit of £10 p/m wasn't transferred to her new account which has resulted in this money being owed.

While this was going on, we sent off a letter to Capquest, stating they need to supply a copy of the agreement between themselves and Natwest which they refer to in their letters. This was around January. Fast forward six months and we've recieved a letter from them today saying Natwest have failed to provide them with the requested paperwork so the debt has been put on "long term hold" while they pursue it further.

Obviously we'd prefer not to pay Capquest this money, particularly as they have been very agressive on the phone and likewise the money is nearly all bank charges. My understanding is, in a recent change of law(?), banks can no longer make these huges charges and indeed people are even having some success claiming them back. Now we never paid them so obviously that isn't applicable for us, but does this mean the debt is now effectively void? Also and I'm sure this is just wishful thinking on my part, is there a limit to how long a debt company can hold a claim like this before it 'expires' I can appreciate from Capquest's point of view, they have purchased a account and now want payment, it isn't their problem (I'm assuming) that the debt is comprised of bank charges.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

kevin_M

welcome to MSE.

did they ever pay out the £10pm DD or did they just keep returning it and billing you £30 or so ?

if they paid the £10PM DD atlest pay whatever they paid of that... But as for the bank charges no way

mroboe

Thanks the reply and welcome

Well that's interesting, when I had flicked through the statements before I had assumed Natwest had paid the DD and then charged me for the priveledge, looking now, like you indeed hinted at, they just bounced the DD and charged me £30.

Cheeky

sportbeth

If the debt is pretty much constituted of charges, it's worth pursuing this with the bank. Even if you owe them nothing, the debt will show as defaulted on your credit record and will affect your ability to get credit for the next couple of years until it shows as settled.

If you have any more contact from the debt collector, write to them stating that you are disputing the debt with the bank and any further attempts on their part to collected will be considered in breach of OFT regulations and reported to the OFT.

Then look at https://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk, find out about a DPA request (They have to supply you with info even on a closed account) and tot up anything they might have charged you going back 6 years and claim it back. At the very least they will have to drop the debt, at best you might even gain a couple of hundred quid!