Advice please - debt collectors

Kookai_2

Hi
I'm hoping somebody here will be able to give me some advice please.

6 years ago I took out a loan with Northern Rock, I made a couple of the payments but then defaulted and then moved house and have stayed under the radar and not heard anything from them.

I moved again at the start of this year and registered on the electoral roll (for the first time in all those years) Yesterday I got a letter from 1st Credit saying they now have the debt etc etc and asking me to contact them.

From this forum I have read about statute barred debt and I think that if you don't acknowledge the debt or make any payments for 6 years then they can't chase you any more. From looking back I think my DD to them bounced in October 2004 so the debt should be statute barred at the end of this year.

I'm now just v v worried because they've got in touch and I'm not sure what I should do? I'm due to move house in 2 months time (already planned) but am worried what might happen between now and then?

I'm also a bit confused because I recently bought a tv and was accepted for a 0% finance deal - will this now affect my credit rating?

Thanks very much

DVardysShadow

Was it a secured loan or an unsecured loan?

Kookai_2

Hi
It was unsecured.

DVardysShadow

The October is the drop dead date for recovery.

DarkConvict

October is the final date unless of course they have taken out a CCJ at one of your previous addresses to secure it against you indefinitely in your absence.

By the way buying TV, Gadgets on credit deals is really expensive.
Your current deals will not be affected as you have already been accepted for them.

Kookai_2

Thank you for your replies.

So can I just ignore these letters? Would removing myself from the electoral roll make any difference?

I only bought the TV because they offered me 0% interest for 9 months so didn't have to pay for it outright

Thanks again

GeorgeUK

You could try ignoring the letters, but if they start threatening legal action, you could send them the 'prove it' letter. You are moving in about 2 months time and in 3 months the debt will become statute barred.

I think you will be able to stall long enough for this to happen. Right now i would do nothing - if they start making threats, then i would send the prove it letter. After this i would send a CCA request if time was still to pass.

I'm sure you wouldn't have thought of it, but don't phone them. It wouldn't affect the statute barred clock if you did, but you don't want them to get a hold of your number. If you do need to write to them, make sure you put at the top of the letter “I do not acknowledge any debt to you or any company you represent.”

I wouldn't bother about the electoral roll.

Kookai_2

Thanks - from what I've read on here these agencies can be very sneaky on the phone so I have no intention of ringing them.

Once I have moved though what will they do? Keep sending letters to my current address? I'm guessing there's no way for them to know whether I'm there or not?

So if they start threatening legal action then first of all send them the 'prove it' letter? If I've already moved by the time they start threatening it then what will they do?

woody01

Depends on whether they have a CCJ against you.
To be honest, from what you have said, you purposely took the money then avoided them like the plague for all this time.

KingElvis

Best thing would be to check your credit report to see if they already have a CCJ against you for the debt. If you got credit recently I would've thought that unlikely.

I'm sure you can play them along until it becomes barred.

Good luck.

Adi770

Call me old fashioned, but if you borrowed £6,000, shouldn't you pay it back?