Help!!! old credit card/statute barred?????

dandpbutler

My husband received a letter from Cabot this morning saying he owes £1,000 to Monument credit card. The debt is from several years ago but he cant exactly remember when. he can only vaguely remember having a credit card. he definately hasnt had any contact from them in the last 2 years and before then moved around frequently. because we are not sure exactly when it is from we are not sure if it can be classed as statute barred. how can we find out when he defaulted? obviously i know we can ask for details under data protection act, however by doing this, is he then confirming responsibilty of the debt?

we checked his credit report today and cabot had searched for him a fortnight ago. he also has all his previous addresses on it for last 5 years so why are they only contacting him now???

has anyone had any ideas. also has anyone had any dealings with cabot? will they apply for a ccj and how long after defaulting do they do it?

Tixy

Does he credit report show a default? If not then it seems likely that he defaulted over 6years ago. If that is the case he would need to think whether he made any payments after he defaulted.

First response to them should be the prove it letter http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.html?p=11570893&postcount=2 then wait and see what they come back with. This letter is not an acknowledgement as it specifically denies that you owe the debt.

dandpbutler

his credit report doesn't show a default for this credit card. it doesnt show either an unpaid overdraft (which has been sold on) or an unsettled ccj both defaulting/issued less than six years ago. so atm i'm a bit confused as to whats going on.

dandpbutler

We've finally had a response from Cabot after sending the 'prove it' letter from the link in the OP.
Im wondering what to do next. In the letter they sent, they've said that.....

'monument is to supply us with a copy of the original application form for this account, but in order for our enquiries to progress further we require your date of birth and need to see your signature. Please forward us a signed letter along with a copy of your driving licience or passport and proof of residency for the 9th July 2004. on receipt these details will be compared to those on the application form'.

can anyone help with what to do next or point us to the right board. im sure i read something about this on another board at the time of writing the first post but cant seem to find it now

thanks

ps at the time of the first posting the debt was not showing on his credit report. it now is tho!!!

Marisco

Hi Dan, don't send them anything - especially a signature!!:eek: Its up to them to prove you owe it, not for you to prove you don't!

dandpbutler

yeah, i defo wasnt going to fall in to that trap of giving them everything they need to falsify their docs lol.

Do i need to send them some response to the their letter tho or send them a cca request? in the letter they said it would be the app form they would provide which wouldnt be the cca.

Tixy

Hi

I expect the reason more things have recently appeared on his report is probably because his address and old addresses was updated and this allowed older creditors to locate him/link the account to his current address.

This quite often can happen if you request a credit report and have had bad debts in the past that don't knw your current address.

Under no circumstances should he send a copy of that info. They are absolutely not allowed to demand access to any of these items.
If he sends a signature it is quite possible they will scan is and use it to forge a signed credit agreement.

There is a letter here about not supplying your signature Demand of your Signature (which may be what you had seen before). However in your instance it might not be quite right. Instead I would write saying you will not send them any personal information until proof of the debt has been provided to you.
If he does give them a signature (or sign the letter) then make sure it would not be possible to scan it in without it being obvious. One option is to put gridlines or a wavy line on the page before the signature.

dandpbutler

thanks for your replies, but im still not sure of the best course of action. obviously with the reply that i received they've thrown the ball in to my court so to speak, so i do need to respond somehow even if it is to say that im not going to send the info they ask for.

even if i had wanted to send the info, my hubby doesnt even have any paperwork for his old address, his passport is out of date and his dob wouldnt even prove anything - we know that there are at least 3 people with exactly the same name and dob due to a recent crb check for his new job lol!!! ive also read somewhere that dca are not supposed to asked for ID????

would the best course of action to be combining the demand of signature letter with a soa request???

your thoughts will be greatly appreciated. thanks

Tixy

The problem with that is that asking for a CCA could be construed as him admitting it is his debt (as he wouldn't be entitled to see the document if it is not his - under the DPA).

I would simply reply to say that you are still waiting for proof that the debt exists and belongs to him from them, as per your previous letter, and that you will not be supplying any data to them until this is received.

dandpbutler

thanks tixy. ikwym about not wanting to admit liability. will use that link you told me about but reword it slightly to make it more appropiate.

just a thought though. they said they would send the application form once providing the info. even if they did send it without me providing what they want, what next cos that woulnt actually prove liability??? would it then be the cca and soa request??

what if they still say they wont send anything out without any id docs??? can they still keep pestering him???
sorry for all the questions. im just trying to think ahead and cover all bases lol thanks

magpiecottage

I would write back pointing out that, under paragraph 2.8 j of its Debt Collection Guidance, the OFT said that it is unfair to require "an individual to supply information to prove they are not the debtor in question, for example, driving licences, passports, full name, date of birth, signatures" and, therefore, you will not supply it.