Baliffs letter arrived - help

headache5678

Bailff’s Letter arrived - help

My friends (yes, honestly) have just got a letter from Moorcrofts demanding repayment, within 7 days, of the whole of an unsecured personal loan of £36k from one of the main UK high street banks.

The bank stopped taking personal loan repayments from the overdraft account, probably because that was in excess of the limit. No loan account statements have been received for 12 months. No letters of demand or even a letter requesting repayment have been received. The loan appears to have just drifted for a year.

It is a long-winded case but basically our complaint to the FOS was not upheld and a second, claiming PPI fees & irresponsible lending / churning to get more bank commission / insufficient affordability checks is being prepared for submission.

My friends accept that most of the principal needs to be repaid but they hope for a reduction of a few thousand £Ks if they can get fees / PPI refunds. Their monthly income is £1,600. They have a very small house in a run down part of London, left to them when mum died. They are financially unsophisticated people but are now extremely worried and are in urgent need of help. So may I ask?

1. Is there anything we can do to get Moorcroft off their backs whilst they get some to give the advice / negotiate on the best way forward.


2. Is there anyone they can turn to urgently without getting ripped off? I am out of my depth now. I know the CAB have a great reputation but last time we enquired, they could not see or talk to us for weeks in advance. Moorcroft, unrealistically give a 7 day deadline. Is this typical bailiff scare mongering?


3. Is there another website that specialises in this subject?

Any guidance would be gratefully received.

immoral_angeluk

Moorcroft aren't bailiffs, they're a debt collection agency, what exactly does the letter say?

headache5678

Moorcroft Debt Recovery Limited
,-, Pie-Court Division

p,o, Box No, 17.2 Spring Gardens. Stockport. SK1 4A.J,
Telephone 0161 475 2816. Fax 0161 - 477 3864.





Dear xxx.,


Date: 26/07/10

Moorcroft Reference


Client Reference,






~~DIRECT
\..!..IDebit

We have been instructed by ….Bank plc,
To collect your overdue debt of £33690.45

It is a legal requirement to send a notice of intended litigation before legal proceedings in the
County Court are issued, We believe that this letter fulfils this requirement even if it is not actually
read by you.

To prevent our recommending to our client that solicitors commence legal proceedings, it is
essential that you settle this debt without delay. Payment should be submitted in full within 7
days or contact made with this office immediately, by telephone on 0161475 2816 or by letter,
with your payment offer. Both our client and we do not wish to take this action but if
agreement cannot be reached by 03/08/10, a claim may be issued by our client's solicitors
without further notice.

We would draw to your attention that if Judgment and an order for repayment in full is obtained
and remains unpaid, the following enforcement options are available and may be considered.
1. Warrant of execution by bailiffs against goods owned.
2. Application for attachment of earnings order with your present or future employer.
3 Application for a charging order on any property you may own or are purchasing under a
. mortgage (where the balance outstanding is of a sufficient level),

We would emphasise that should Judgment be entered against you this may affect any future
credit application you may make elsewhere. We would also draw to your attention that all legal
costs incurred are usually payable by the debtor.

All payments must be made payable to "r·~oorcroft Debt Recovery Lld" and forwarded with this
letter to the above address.

Yours sincerely,

immoral_angeluk

Right that's just a standard debt collection agency letter, not bailiffs. If anyone comes to your door it will be a debt collector not a bailiff, and they have no powers whatsoever and are just representatives of the company. If you only have a complaint for PPI in and the FOS have no upheld the complaint then you will ned to come to some arrangement to repay the debt. Are you able to make an offer of payment?

headache5678

They could only repay by refinancing or by selling the house.

Repaymnet might be achievable either by a 5-10 year refinancing of the unsceured personal loan or take out (say) a mortgage. The house is worth say £200k with a £25k mortgage on it. However their credit record is now terrible as a result of this problem and they may find it difficult to get anyone to lend to them. The exisisting bank may rip them off with refinabcing fees if they see the £175k spare equity.

1. Who do we offer repayment to - the bank or to Moorcroft ?
2. Can we get a breathing space while we negotiate ?
3. Should we try and use an external negotiator - would they carry more weight than me (ex-senior bank manager belive it or not).?

Thank you

the_insider

The best thing is for your friend to call them and discuss a repayment plan. As the letter says "Payment should be submitted in full within 7
days or contact made with this office immediately, by telephone on 0161475 2816 or by letter, with your payment offer." so why not contact the office with a payment offer!! Good luck with it.

PNPSUKNET

dont let him near a night club, if he gets drunk maybe trying to do the club for not serving responsibly.

ILW

How many payments have they missed, and why?

AnxiousMum

ILW wrote: »

How many payments have they missed, and why?

From the original post, it appears that they stopped taking payments about a year ago, from the overdraft facility - as the overdraft was over it's limit - ie, no money to take payments from. So technically, it's not the bank that stopped taking payments, the payor stopped paying it about a year ago, and have ignored it till receiving this letter? Sounds like the OP's friend seems to think the bank just forgot about the loan and the payments due!

frenchmaiden

also i would urge them to see a legal representative or citizens advice - if baillifs are instructed further down the line - they cannot force entry nor do they have to be allowed in with a police person present. make sure all windows and doors are locked otherwise they can let themselves in and then return and break in.

tescomilk

I would go to the CAB office asap and also check out the Consumer Action Group Forums. While that forum is not what it used to be, it does have a huge amount of experience.

Regarding Moorcrofts don't worry about those cowboys. Firstly the debt is UNSECURED which means they are not forced to sell anything at this point. Also they are just a debt collecter and not a Court Baliff so there is nothing they can do. Your friends should write to Moorcrofts to say that they are NOT welcome to visit at any point, nor call you and that the only communication should be in writing. If they ignore this then you have claims for harrasment.

Don't bury your head in the sand, take action and get as much free legal help as you can first before making any further payments to Moorcrofts. If you start an agreement with them before legal advice then your friends would have much limited options.

Good Luck!