Is this legal? - TSB selling debt

tatusmaru

Hi there,

My mother recently received a letter from a debt collection agency. They claimed that the TSB had sold her debt amount to them and that they would accept £3 payments a week they also mentioned it was debt from the year 1999. Now, I knew that if a debt is owed for longer than 6 years and that the organisation had not followed the debt up (which they hadn't), that my mother was under no obligation to pay the debt back, which they reluctantly admitted after 10 minutes on the phone.

What I'm wondering, is if my mother had no obligation to the debt (because it was 12 years old), that if the TSB broke the law by passing on her details to a debt collection agency and selling the debt to them? (wouldn't this be a breach of privacy and/or the data protection act?)

Thanks,

Karl

jonesMUFCforever

The debt is still there just not enforceable in court.
So to answer your question LTSB have done nothing wrong by selling the debt on.

tatusmaru

jonesMUFCforever wrote: »

The debt is still there just not enforceable in court.
So to answer your question LTSB have done nothing wrong by selling the debt on.

Thanks for the speedy reply. It's too bad the law doesn't enforce that banks shouldn't sell debt to a bunch of criminals who prey on the vulnerable. :P

jonesMUFCforever

There are 2 sides to every story - if she had not spent money which she did not have she would not have defaulted.

opinions4u

tatusmaru wrote: »

Thanks for the speedy reply. It's too bad the law doesn't enforce that banks shouldn't sell debt to a bunch of criminals who prey on the vulnerable. :P

It's amazing how the "vulnerable" can "forget" about their debts for a decade.

While I'm no fan of debt collectors, there are some who would describe as taking money, spending it, and not giving it back as criminal.

No offence has been committed by the bank. The T&Cs of the loan allow them to sell the debt on.

tatusmaru

opinions4u wrote: »

It's amazing how the "vulnerable" can "forget" about their debts for a decade.

While I'm no fan of debt collectors, there are some who would describe as taking money, spending it, and not giving it back as criminal.

No offence has been committed by the bank. The T&Cs of the loan allow them to sell the debt on.

jonesMUFCforever wrote:

There are 2 sides to every story - if she had not spent money which she did not have she would not have defaulted.

Well actually, her card had been stolen which she cancelled, but they demanded she pay money which the thief spent, she disputed the claim and they did not contact her again and here we are.

Edit: May I point out that the debt collectors made out that she would have to pay the money.

tatusmaru

Maybe I asked in the wrong forum - I didn't expect to have my mothers honesty questioned. I simply asked a question.

zppp

tatusmaru wrote: »

Maybe I asked in the wrong forum - I didn't expect to have my mothers honesty questioned. I simply asked a question.

I'm afraid the answer you got is correct, however much you don't like it.

PNPSUKNET

debt collectors are next to last resort, normaly after a chain of nice letters and calls. So dont really blame them.

tatusmaru

zppp wrote: »

I'm afraid the answer you got is correct, however much you don't like it.

Hmm - Read much? I could have sworn I had given thanks for the answer to my question and I don't recall ever doubting that the answer was incorrect. Very strange. :T

PNPSUKNET wrote:

debt collectors are next to last resort, normaly after a chain of nice letters and calls. So dont really blame them.

Yeah I don't really blame them either (in that situation) it's a shame we didn't have the privilege of their love letters and soothing phone calls beforehand.

We received one letter (yesterday) over the course of the 12 years and it was from the debt collectors, to which we replied via a phone call straight away and found (after pointing out how long it had been) that we were not obligated to pay them a penny.

Thanks for your replies people.

BognorBoy

tatusmaru wrote: »

Thanks for the speedy reply. It's too bad the law doesn't enforce that banks shouldn't sell debt to a bunch of criminals who prey on the vulnerable. :P

I understand that you did not like other people questioning your mothers honesty but I think this was really in response to you calling debt collection agencies "a bunch of criminals who prey on the vulnerable".

In many ways, the other people making comments about your mother is the same as you making comments about the debt collection agency. Presumeably both unfounded!

Please do not take this unfortunate experience as a negative and do continue to post on the forum!