Struggling with debt? Ask a debt advisor a question

kkarank

I am on a DMP with Payplan and have been making regular payments into the account for about 18 months now. Till now I was living abroad but have now returned back to work in the UK. My current salary is obviously much more than what I was getting till now (I was working in Mauritius) and I will obviously increase the payment to Payplan. However, both my elderly parents and a younger sister who live back home are dependent upon me for care and I would like to know if I can send them regular payments for medical care while on a DMP?

The payment will be to the tune of about 1500 pounds per month and if required copies of medical prescriptions and expenses can be presented but I wonder if documents issued in Mauritius will have any legal value in the UK?

StepChange_Pavan

sidesix wrote: »

Hi there,

I need some help because I'm not sure what my next step should be.

Around 2 months ago my Mother got a letter addressed to me at her home from a debt collection agency stating that I had a previous debt with Barclaycard. I didn't recognise the debt and wrote a letter asking for details about the debt.

I was forwarded the statements which go from 2004 to the begining of 2005. This is the first time that I've ever heard from this agency regarding this debt.

I still don't recognise the debt and I wrote to the agent to ask for further information. I also wrote with my address so they contact me at my home rather than my parents.

I pointed out that I've checked my credit report and there is no record of this particular debt with Barclaycard on my account.

They didn't respond, and forwarded letters to my mother stating they will be putting a record on my credit file and soon will be taking court action.

I responded again with a copy of the previous letter which hadn't been replied to.

Today I recieved a letter which doesn't answer any of the questions which I've asked, it just states that my failure to respond to all previous attempts resulted in requiring payment for the debt IMMEDIATELY.

It is just a bog standard electronic letter?

Please help, I'm not sure what to do next? They're not responding to my queries and I still don't recognise the debt. I've noticed different letter templates regarding the 6-year statute barred, but I dont know if that relates to when the credit account opened (2004) or when the last statement occoured (2005)... in any case I can't seem to find any letter templates or advice regarding debts which I don't know about.

They're continuing to harrass me and not reply to any of my questions? What can I write to them about? Are there any laws or quotes I can use to stop them writing these sort of intimidating letters?



Thank you

Hello Sidesix and thank you for your email.

Firstly, Barclaycard should not be forwarding letters on to your mum, when they have been made aware of your new address. This is against the Debt collection guidelines prepared by the Office of Fair Trading. I would recommend that you write a letter of complaint to Barclaycard and inform them that you will also inform the Office of Fair Trading about this.

With regards to the enforcement of the debt, creditors are unable to legally pursue you for the debt if, after six years;

• The creditor has not already obtained a county court judgment (CCJ)

• You or any one else owing the money (on a debt in joint names) has not made a payment

• You have not written to the creditor admitting you owe the debt

This is known as statute barred and refers to the Limitation Act.
If you believe that the creditor is timed out to collect the debt, you may wish to use the template letter below.



Kind regards,
Pavan

Example letter – limitations act

From:
Name:
Address:
Postcode:
Date:
CCCS Client No:
To:
Creditor’s Name:
Account/Agreement No:

Without Prejudice

Dear Sirs
Ref
I do not admit any liability for your claim and will not be making any payment towards it, as it is now more than six-years since any cause of action may have accrued. Any claim would, therefore, appear to be statute barred under section 5 of The Limitations Act 1980 and any court claim will be defended on that basis.
In addition section 2.14 of The Office of Fair Trading Collection guidance states that it is unfair to pursue such claims where, as here, the creditor has made no contact during the relevant limitation period.
If, however, you have substantive evidence that your claim is not statute barred then please supply it to me within 21 days. If you are unable to provide such evidence please confirm that no further action will be taken against me.
Yours faithfully
(Signature)
(Print name)

StepChange_Pavan

kkarank wrote: »

I am on a DMP with Payplan and have been making regular payments into the account for about 18 months now. Till now I was living abroad but have now returned back to work in the UK. My current salary is obviously much more than what I was getting till now (I was working in Mauritius) and I will obviously increase the payment to Payplan. However, both my elderly parents and a younger sister who live back home are dependent upon me for care and I would like to know if I can send them regular payments for medical care while on a DMP?

The payment will be to the tune of about 1500 pounds per month and if required copies of medical prescriptions and expenses can be presented but I wonder if documents issued in Mauritius will have any legal value in the UK?

Hi Kkarank and thank you for your post.

It’s difficult to say whether Payplan will accept this or not as I’m not aware of any policies they may have regarding this.

However, if you were on a CCCS DMP, we would assess this in relation to the level of debt you have and how long it will take you to repay. £1500 per month is a lot of money, but if you would still be able to clear your debts within a reasonable time, your creditors may be accepting of this.

I would recommend that you call Payplan and discuss this with them.

Kind regards,
Pavan

rbw0471

Hi

My wife and i started a DMP through CCCS in Oct 2008. We have been making regular monthly payments, which we increased in 2009 and are about to increase again next month.

I have just checked my credit report through Experian and noted that three of my creditors, RBS / Natwest and Mint are showing my accounts with them in default from 10/10/2010. If as it seems they are going to default the accounts every year we are on the DMP then obviously our credit rating will be ruined for six years after we have paid all the debt back.

I realise that we are in this situation through our own actions, but this seems unnecessarily punitive, particularly as none of the other creditors have followed suit. Is it worth writing to these companies and asking them to remove these defaults? I had a quick look on the Information Commissioners Guidance earlier and this seems to my untrained eye to go against the spirit of the DMP.

Please advise.....?

Many Thanks

Alan

Suzuki_Boy

I have 60k card debts and have contacted a company called Immediate Financial who have offered to take this on as a debt management plan. I think you will know the set up. I pay an agreed amount and all my creditors are taken care. They sound very helpful and genuine but I have reached the end in terms of being able to pay the amounts back to the cards and see this as my only option. They advised me to cancel all my DD's and payments but I am really nervous as I have no real information regarding how things will work out in the future.

hostie

I have a lot of credit card debt and was thinking of asking the companies to reduce their rates or freeze them until I can get things under control. I just wondered how this would affect my credit rating and whether I am likely to be refused for future products.

Thank you for your help.

martinjohn

just wanted to say i phoned cccs on friday spoke to some gentlemen and he was really very rude and coincending. didnt bother answering the question i phoned for just kept repeating himself like he was a parrot. Word of warning dont expect these people to be paricularly nice.:mad: i was already feeling ill that day and the call did nothing to improve my state of health. apparently they are funded by the banks so probably are only interested in getting you to pay as quickly as possible 2 (as they get paid on the basis of those paying via DMP?)
Im guessing there is probably no way of complaining to these monkies either.

i was expecting better from this organisation, at least a little bit of coutesey.:(
i wont be phoning them again thenless its a few choice words

JnH_2

studantnurse wrote: »

I guess my questions are: Should my credit card accounts show as defaulting every month?

Hi there,

Just been suggested to find the website and have now got a question of my own.

I've read through what studantnurse was saying and have got the same question! I joined Experian also after finally getting off my backside and started to begin the long trek to sorting out my finances.

I have racked up a fair amount of debt and pretty much stuck my head in the sand when it came to paying it back. I've had letters and phone calls from these collection agents, and have finally sorted a very basic payment plan with them. After looking through Experian I also noticed that even though I have been paying these back, I have been defaulting on my credit report.

Please can you advise if this is correct and if so, how can I stop it!

Thanks!

simon31leeds

CCCS_Pavan wrote: »

Hi Simon and thank you for your post.

Are they charging you the contractual interest that you signed for when you took the credit agreement out? If you have signed an agreement to allow them to charge this interest, unfortunately there is nothing you can do to stop them.

This article may give you some useful information on other ways to improve your credit rating: http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/loans/credit-rating-credit-score

Kind regards,
Pavan

Hi Pavan,

Thanks for the reply. Sorry - don't think you've got the context of my message fully.

I was trying to clarify if there is any way that I can put any pressure on them to remove my arrangement and start paying them usually. I have been on an arrangement with them for some 3 years or more and never missed a payment and pay more than the minimum payment amount (if I weren't on an arrangement) I simply want to go to a normal payment method with them, as the fact the arrangement is on my account is affecting my ability to lower interest on any of my debts, although all are serviceable. My credit limit with them is £3,000 more than my current balance outstanding and I don't necessarily want a card back from them, I just want to be released from the arrangement.

StepChange_Pavan

martinjohn wrote: »

just wanted to say i phoned cccs on friday spoke to some gentlemen and he was really very rude and coincending. didnt bother answering the question i phoned for just kept repeating himself like he was a parrot. Word of warning dont expect these people to be paricularly nice.:mad: i was already feeling ill that day and the call did nothing to improve my state of health. apparently they are funded by the banks so probably are only interested in getting you to pay as quickly as possible 2 (as they get paid on the basis of those paying via DMP?)
Im guessing there is probably no way of complaining to these monkies either.

i was expecting better from this organisation, at least a little bit of coutesey.:(
i wont be phoning them again thenless its a few choice words

Hi Martinjohn and thank you for your post.

I’m concerned about your comments relating to the way you were spoken to on Friday. I can arrange for a full investigation to be carried out on your behalf to resolve this matter.

We have a dedicated team available who are able to help and I have forwarded your comments directly to them. However, they'll need your client reference number so we can locate the details of your call.

I have sent you a Private message, so if you would like us to look into this for you, just respond with your details and I’ll pass the information to the relevant department.

Hope this helps and if you have any questions please let me know.

Kind regards,
Pavan