Allied International.

braydee89

Hi everyone,
I ran up a £350 credit card bill with Natwest which I struggled to pay off and has now been handed over to AI. The first I've heard from them is a phonecall this morning saying they're requesting the full £240 which I owe at the moment.
I'm a student, so I don't have much money and I certainly don't have £240 to pay off in one go. The debt is 3 years old, maybe 4 at tops- the card was cancelled 2 years ago, but I've had the account for 4 years.

Can anyone help me out? I made a token payment of £15 out of panic, and I have 7 days to write to them and prove I have hardly any money.

Thanks in advance.
Braydee89

saltnvinegar

braydee89 wrote: »

Hi everyone,
I ran up a £350 credit card bill with Natwest which I struggled to pay off and has now been handed over to AI. The first I've heard from them is a phonecall this morning saying they're requesting the full £240 which I owe at the moment.
I'm a student, so I don't have much money and I certainly don't have £240 to pay off in one go. The debt is 3 years old, maybe 4 at tops- the card was cancelled 2 years ago, but I've had the account for 4 years.

Can anyone help me out? I made a token payment of £15 out of panic, and I have 7 days to write to them and prove I have hardly any money.

Thanks in advance.
Braydee89

Hi Braydee

First of all do not panic this is standard AI intimidation and threatening tactics.

Second, do not ever talk to them on the phone again. Ask them to put everything in writing. This way you cannot be coerced into paying any more 'token' payments.

Third - The 7 days thing is just a load of rocking horse doo. Exactly what are they going to do after 7 days? They may take things further, they may consider taking you to court etc etc.

Lots of mays and maybes.

Next - write to them informing them of what you can afford (£5 a month, whatever) and ask them for their bank details so you can set up a standing order.

The ball is then in their court as they then have to either accept or refuse your reasonable offer.

If they refuse, then just keep repeating this is the maximum amount you can afford. If they demand more then this is in breach of OFT guidelines and they will know it.

You will also then be making them look unreasonable in rejecting your reasonable proposal.

Don't let them frighten you, this is exactly what they want.

Keep everything in writing and don't offer more than you can afford.

Best

SnV

PARIS_5000

braydee89 wrote: »

Hi everyone,
I ran up a £350 credit card bill with Natwest which I struggled to pay off and has now been handed over to AI. The first I've heard from them is a phonecall this morning saying they're requesting the full £240 which I owe at the moment.
I'm a student, so I don't have much money and I certainly don't have £240 to pay off in one go. The debt is 3 years old, maybe 4 at tops- the card was cancelled 2 years ago, but I've had the account for 4 years.

Can anyone help me out? I made a token payment of £15 out of panic, and I have 7 days to write to them and prove I have hardly any money.

please see http://forums.all-about-debt.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=50&t=10
Thanks in advance.
Braydee89

It sounds like the debt was taken out before April 2007 which means that you should request your consumer credit agreement to see if the debt is legally unenforceable.

please see http://forums.all-about-debt.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=50&t=10

saltnvinegar

PARIS_5000 wrote: »

It sounds like the debt was taken out before April 2007 which means that you should request your consumer credit agreement to see if the debt is legally unenforceable.

please see http://forums.all-about-debt.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=50&t=10

I'm normally happy to recommend UE (unenforceability) as a route to get leverage over a creditor.

However be aware of the risks:

With UE you should be aware that your creditor is likely to trash your credit file by placing a default on it for the next 6 years.

If they have already done this (check the credit reference agencies) then it makes no difference and you could look at this route.

However if they have not then I would question potentially damaging your credit file for the sake of £240.

Best

SnV

broxiebear1

i recieved a letter from them today , to cut a long story short they said that they knew a lot about me
1. that i own my home ( no i dont i live in a council house)
2. they check my file every month and they said i am able to pay them ( well if they checked my file they would see i have at least 2 defaults and i owe aprox £25000 in total .
3. they said that if i dont contact them within 7 days that they MAY take me to court ( GO AHEAD IM WAITING TO GO B.R prob save me fees .
i am buying a lottery ticket tomorrow i MAY win the jackpot.(dont think so but i can always dream)
broxie:beer:

FTW

I think the CCA request route is the best road to go down for now, but do NOT sign the request (provide AI with no signatures of any kind - at any point!) and send such requests via recorded delivery, otherwise they will deny receiving it.