Mackenzie Hall / CCJ

ironwolf_2

OK....so....having googled the name and hit the forum dedicated to them and read the comments I have to say I am distinctly uneasy and would appreciate some info.

The situation is this...I had a halifax acct up to about 2003 which due to one thing and another and a load of charges I managed to rack up and o/d of £490.00. A company called Tessera Portfolio Management did call me up in mid 2003 and I advised them that I was unable to pay it off as I was only working 16 hrs p/w at that time. That was the last I heard of this (and to be honest I had forgotten about it ) until a letter from MH dropped though my door on 22/11 stating they were acting on their behalf to recover this overdue amount and required payment in full by 26/11! So...being the kind of person I now am I spo0ke to one of their debt managers and asked a) what was this debt for b)what took them so long to come find me and c) how did they expect me to front up £500 in four days when it is six weeks before xmas.

Having had this guy explain it to me I admitted that yes I had had an acct that was O/D but not the subsequent follow up action but advised I might be able to pay this in monthly installments of 50.00. He then stated that they would not accept monthly payments but he could offer a "settlement figure" of £400. I therefore stated that yes...I could get this money together for the deadline and so we have left it like that.

Now please dont get me wrong...I am perfectly willling to clear any legitimate debt I owe but find it suspicious that they are quite happy to write off a fifth of the debt and wonder should I push for more (bearing in mind the amount of bank charges this would also have contained)?

In all honesty I have the £400 sat in the bank waiting to go but would really appreciate some guidance before I merrily hand over almost half a grand.

Thanks Guys and Gals

Wolf

inmypocketnottheirs

you have admitted the debt and agreed a payment.

ironwolf_2

Thanks for that 'pocket....I take it that is your longwinded rambling way of telling me to just pay I assume?...lol

inmypocketnottheirs

ironwolf wrote: »

Thanks for that 'pocket....I take it that is your longwinded rambling way of telling me to just pay I assume?...lol

Lol. But as you have admitted the debt and made an agreement, it is a little late now. But at least you will know for next time.

Kaminari_2

Have you admitted the debt in writing? Have you given them any bank details or signed a direct debit form?

Personally i would ask for proof that they now owned the debt before i paid them anything. If they weren't chancing it they would have all this information easily to hand. I would also ask that the offer of a £400 settlement be put in writing with something like "We accept a £400 as a full and final settlement for (**full details of the debt including dates and original company**) with no further payments due"

minieri

Hi
I have recently been getting letters from MH demanding money - however they have all been addressed to people with my surname but not first name. I have called them on all occasions telling them that they have the wrong address. This got me nowhere.

The last one arrived Friday. It just so happens that someone in my family did have the same first name although had never lived at my address.

So I telephone and said there was no-one here of that name. Do you know where ******* is now. Yes, said I, and gave the address of the local cemetry. The "lady" on the other end was furious, said I was sick. Then I pointed out that I was sick, sick and tired of them writing to my address everytime they tried to trace someone with my surname and that if it did not stop I would sue for harrassment. They agreed to take my name and address off their system.

If I may suggest to anyone who gets a letter from them to first of all ask how they can prove they have the correct person. OK the name might be the same (or not in my case) but since they seem to just pick on any address with the same surname they must get hits on matching full names and the poor sap getting the letter then feels obliged to defend themselves. It's time we took a stand and told them where to go - literally (try the local cemetry address - it seems to have worked for me).

ironwolf_2

Okey doke.....thanks for the advice guys....and I think that you may have a good idea there Kaminari as the only thing that I have agreed is that I had an overdrawn account....I didnt say that I would get the money together just that I could in principle....another thing that is bothering me is that I have looked back to some old statements that I have (being a bit of a nerd who scans this stuff just in case..lol) andf Im not entirely satisfied that the debt is actually under 6 years old. Needless to say....I will be asking the bank some questions to see if these DC's are actually able to get this debt recovered or not. Anyway...once again, thanks for the advice and Ill let you all know how this turns out....

ironwolf_2

Hi all....just a quick question and am looking for as quick an answer as you can please. As per my previous problem above....The acct itself was finally closed down on 21/11/02 but I suspect thatt the actual o/d was outstanding for a long time before this. So the question is: Does the statute of limitation of six years apply to when the debt was initially noted and repayment requested by the bank or is it from the date of formal recovery action.

I really appreciate any advice you can offer thanks

inmypocketnottheirs

ironwolf wrote: »

Hi all....just a quick question and am looking for as quick an answer as you can please. As per my previous problem above....The acct itself was finally closed down on 21/11/02 but I suspect thatt the actual o/d was outstanding for a long time before this. So the question is: Does the statute of limitation of six years apply to when the debt was initially noted and repayment requested by the bank or is it from the date of formal recovery action.

I really appreciate any advice you can offer thanks

It is six years from the last correspondence.

I would also think about going along the lines of asking them to prove the debt, provide of copy of a signed consumer credit agreement etc. It is likely that they can not do this and will not therefire be able to take further action. I had a letter a couple of weeks ago from Rockwell Debt Collecting Agency re Tessera (they are a part of Nat West/RBS) regarding a very old debt from 2002. I asked them to prove it, they could not, and wrote back saying that the case was closed.

It's worth a try. I would rather you did not pay MH anything!

Good luck!

ironwolf_2

Following the sterling advice provided here and also checking my credit report to see if this debt had a ccj I have found the following out. MH credit checked me on 14/11/07 and so sent a letter 5 days later demanding P.I.F by 26/11/07. So....they ARE just fishing! There is NO ccj in place for this debt so they would need to drag me to the courts to enforce this.

As I have not admitted this in writing then as per previous advice by both ROG and 'Pocket I will not be calling them back to provide bank details as I believe them to be the chancers that everyone states they are!

Pending receipt of information from my bank which may show that this is applicable for statute barring I will retain the funds against this debt for the moment and let MH make the next move. If they do contact me again then I will ask them to prove ownership etc and generally be as obstructive as possible until they can prove beyond doubt that this should be paid as my bank dont particularly care!! I will of course update this blog with any further info as necessary.

Once again a very BIG thank you to all who have contributed info to this most valuable forum!

Wolf