Statutory demand advice needed

Randomdave

Hi,
Not sure if im posting in the right part of the forum here so I appologise.

I have just recieved a letter from a debt collection (Capquest) agency stating "Statutory Demand under section 268(1)(a) of The Insolvency Act 1986 debt for liquidated sum payable immediately"

It reads as though they are going to apply to make me bankrupt if i dont pay the outstanding sum £1184.29p

Can they do that? and what should i do about it?

Cheers
Dave

DisgruntledGoat

Do you recognise the debt?

In principle a creditor can bankrupt you provided certain conditions are met, in practice it's almost certainly a bluff (it'll cost them money to do it)

edit: have a read of this, if you haven't already

http://www.insolvencyhelpline.co.uk/legal_issues_explained/statutory_demand.php

that says

Please note that a statutory demand in 90% of instances is 'bluffing technique' used to scare a person into paying up. If a bankruptcy petition does not follow then this will become apparent.

Tixy

Hi

A stat demand is a formal legal document, it is a precursor to a bankruptcy petition but is often (mostly?) used just to frighten people (with not bankruptcy petition actually ever appearing).

But in theory they could make a bankruptcy petition (as the debt is over £750)

You can get the demand set aside for a number of reasons such as if you dispute the debt or the amount of the debt. You have to do this within 18days.

What is the current position with this debt? do you agree its your debt? are you paying anything towards it? have you offered a repayment agreement? Can you afford to repay in full?

RAS

Technically they can make you bankrupt because the debt is over £750. In practice it would cost them around £1500 to do.

Do you have equity in a house?

Tixy

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/dca-legal-successes/165140-received-statutory-demand-capquest.html

This thread (from a different forum) may be of use to you -although do note that it is over a year old so not sure whether it will still be all relevant.

Randomdave

yeah I know what the debt is, its a credit card debt from 2005. I will do some more reading. Ty for all the replys.

Wicca303

If it helps, I got a similar letter from them when they took over my Abbey loan debt (£15,000). I just called them and explained my situation, they were really nice and understanding, and worked out a reasonable payment plan with me there and then.

So much better to deal with than Debt Managers Ltd, who have been rude, abusive and downright nasty on more than one occasion. DML have left me in tears more than once and they harrass me every 2 months to see if I can increase my payments.

gilligansyle

Hi, I had something similar from connaught collections acting for 1st Credit on behalf of a finance company. As others have said, it is more than likely a scare tactic as it would cost them more to proceed than they would get back.

Have you been making payments towards this debt at all. Either fill in the form asking for it to be set aside - the insolvency helpline website has information on this - or just bluff it out. Is the 2005 date when you took the card out, or when you stopped paying them?