had a letter from a debt agency - i need some advice please

john_p_b

Hi all.

in need of some advice as i'm really unsure what to do. a letter has come through to my parents house yesterday (where i've not lived for almost 3 years) stating i owe a company money that is long over due.

the letter is utterly vague, no details of what was bought, no details of time/date of purchase. it states i owed £56 plus the debt agency fees now of £35!


i really would appreciate any help you can give as it's shook me up a little recieving such a letter.

best ragards

john

david39

If you look at this thread :

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=2800434&highlight=

it covers a similar point, and the advice on it will almost certainly apply to your case.

john_p_b

so i should just ignore it? i was fully intending to send them a letter stating i have no knowledge of a debt with them and put the ball in their court to prove it?

Gordon_Hose

You could send them this reply:

Dear Sirs,

Account No: XXXXXXXX

You have contacted me regarding the account with the above reference number, which you claim is owed by myself. I would point out that I have no knowledge of any such debt being owed to (insert company name). I am familiar with the CPUTR 2008 and the Office of Fair Trading's Guidance on debt collection, which states that it is unfair to send demands for payment to an individual when it is uncertain that they are the debtor in question.

I would also point out that the OFT say under the Guidance that it is unfair to pursue third parties for payment when they are not liable and in not ceasing collection activity whilst investigating a reasonably queried or disputed debt you are using deceptive and unfair methods. Furthermore ignoring and disregarding claims that debts have been settled or are disputed and continuing to make unjustified demands for payment amounts to physical & psychological harassment.

I would ask that no further contact be made concerning the above account unless you can provide evidence as to my liability for the debt in question and await your written confirmation that this matter is now closed. Otherwise I will have no option but to make a complaint to Trading Standards and also inform the Office Of Fair Trading of your actions.

I look forward to your reply.

Yours faithfully




Sign digitally

john_p_b

Gordon, that pretty much does it all for me! many many thanks for your speedy reply.

Gordon_Hose

No problems! Hope you get it sorted

john_p_b

evening all.

Well after 8 months and twice sending the prove it letter they have responded with "proof".

they have sent a copy of the "agreement" which is a badly written out sheet of paper which has my name, half of my old address (my parents house), my old mobile phone number. now i have a few points here that i still feel utterly peeved about.

1. they are still basically persuing my dad as we both have the same name, the debt has nothing at all to do with him.

2. the debt dates back to october 22nd 2004!

3. the "agreement" shows my place of employment, the same place i've now worked for 9 years. surely the guy who has put this in the hands of the debt agency has some resposibility to have tried contact me before passing it on the the debt collectors?

so where do i go now? at no point have i actually made contact with them admitting liability, simply sent the prove it letter with the reference number on it.

my dad is quite willing to get in contact with them and put it to them that he has no idea where i am as there was a family fall out many years ago but what powers do they have to take it any further? i don't want any of this coming back on my parents in the way of a bad credit rating but i don't see why i should have to pay up and over the odds for broken tools due to the incompitence of the dealer not coming in to collect his money and/or carry out the service he promised to do.

as always i'm very grateful for any advice given.

many thanks
john

mo786uk

If the debt is over 6 years old then it may be statute barred - google the term.

Assuming you havent admitted liability

Whilst i do not generally condone evading debts, if it is as you say and they couldnt be bothered to chase you at the time then you are within your right snot to pay

ultimatley they will have to prove you owe the money and take you to court - probably unliekly if they dont have much of a case and its a small amount.

john_p_b

thanks for the speedy reply! i've looked into statute barred and it does look very promising, the only thing i have a slight concern over is it says it can take place providing no judgements have been started against me. would it be possible that they have started this process? bearing in mind the only details they originally contacted me with were my name and the first line of my parents address meaning the letter had been around most of leicestershire before it got to us!

the last payment on this account was on the 29/10/2004, i have made no payments or admitted any liability to the account sinse that date, the first letter recieved from the DCA was recieved on the 21/10/2010 so it was 8 days within the 6 year limit BUT to this day no liability has been admited for the debt.

the debt is pretty tiny really, the actual debt was originially £51 which has now turned into £96 due to fees placed on it by the DCA's.

i'd like to just add that i have no problem in paying debts that i owe, i've had tens of thousands in credit over the years as well as my mortgage and i've never failed to pay on time everytime! i've just got particular issue with this one due to the circumstances surrounding it and the back handed ways it's been dealt with.

fermi

If there was a judgement on the debt or they had issued proceeding to get one, then they would surely have mentioned this in the letters?

Anyway, they would be quite mad to take court action for a debt that small.

Info and letters for statute barred debts in this link:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=2606811

john_p_b

that was my opinion too, surely they can't start action without me/my parents recieving any sort of notification?

thanks for the link.