No correspondance for 3 years & then collection agency comes down HARD!

zappafan_2

Hi guys,

Bit of a strange one this. I received a very stern letter from a collection agency today saying I owe them 3 grand for a loan I had apparantely from Santander. I have never had a loan from Santander - I did have a loan from Cahoot years ago, which fell into payment problems & I was discussing a final settlement with them when all of the sudden, they stopped writing to me, they stopped emailing, calling, everything. Its now been over 3 years since I've heard ANYTHING from Cahoot at all - so I can only assume that this letter about a santander loan is probably my old cahoot loan thats just been sold on?

They've added a massive pile of charges & interest etc on a loan that was just over a grand from what I remember, bringing it to 3000 pounds. How do I play this one guys? I had totally forgotten about it to be honest - I was awaiting their response to my settlement offer, it never came & neither did anything else - not a statement, not an email, not a phonecall, nothing, for over 3 years! Now it looks like the loan has changed hands twice since then & some totally new company is asking for nearly double the amount!

Where do I stand on this guys? What are my options & whats the best way for me to play it?

Many, many thanks again Money Savers!

Z

Malky

You want someone to tell you to pay it or forget about it? Which to you want to hear?
Personally, I'd set up a new payment plan to pay it off or you could gamble that you won't hear anything again for another 3 years then it becomes statute barred but with a trashed credit file thrown in for good measure.
In a nutshell, you either acknowledge the loan or you don't.

ILW

You must be pretty well off if you can just forget about a grand or two.

Tixy

Does the paperwork say anything that means you are certain its you cahoot loan? Does it mention cahoot or have a reference number that matches your cahoot one?

If not then I would start by sending them the prove it letter. That will probably trigger them to send you the info that shows its your cahoot loan. If it is them you could either set up a repayment plan or, if you can afford to, you could consider trying to get them to agree to a reduced full & final settlement for the debt.

If its not your cahoot loan, or any loan of yours then obviously at that point you would need to dispute it.

Prove it letter here - http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.php?p=11570893&postcount=2

Creditors (or DCAs) have 6years to chase you for a loan or take you to court, to hear from them after only 3years is not unusual.

chalkie99

Cahoot, Abbey, Santander, all the same really.

I see from your previous posts that next Tuesday will mark exactly 2 years since you were advised that this had probably sold on to a debt agency so it seems they have finally caught up with you at your present address.

david39

I would certainly send them a "prove it" letter.
Some of these firms buying old debts will write to several people with the same name (or similar name) in the hope that they just pay up rather than dispute it - they can get payment two or three times over if they strike lucky with several people who ran up debts years ago and who don't delve too far into the legitimacy of the claim. They just go down the electoral registers looking for people with the same name and mail a demand off to them all. It happened to my daughter, who received a similar type of demand and, when the "proof" arrived, it was clearly someone else with the same name and twice her age in another part of the country

You should really establish beyond doubt that this is your loan and not, by coincidence, someone else with the same name who also has a debt with Santander - otherwise, you might pay it and then, six months later, get a follow up on your own debt. It's a long shot but worth a try.

KiKi

Cahoot was set up by the Abbey as their internet-only arm of the business. And then Santander bought Abbey, including Cahoot. So there's no reason to assume this isn't your debt as others have suggested, nor that someone at Santander has the same name. Cahoot is owned by Santander, and they're using an agency to recover their money.

You said you were trying to settle the debt but just didn't hear anything back - but I can't believe you just assumed it went away?! Respond to them, ask for the breakdown of charges and capital. You may be able to challenge some of the charges if you feel they're unfair, but there's just no way you'll be able to string this out for another three years until it's statute barred. And you'll end up with a terrible credit rating.

Try for a final settlement now, as you were doing before, that's the best advice I can give you.

KiKi

zappafan_2

Hi all,

Thanks so much for all the replies. Do you think I'm in with a shot if I offer them a full & final settlement on the remaining loan - NOT on the current balance which includes all sorts of admin charges on top etc accrued during the 3 years its been sitting there unattended to (by them, aswell as me). If so, any ideas on a realistic figure? The loan should be around the grand & a half mark & I'm pretty low on funds - but what do you think I could offer them?

Thanks again everyone, really appreciate it!

Z

KiKi

zappafan wrote: »

Hi all,

Thanks so much for all the replies. Do you think I'm in with a shot if I offer them a full & final settlement on the remaining loan - NOT on the current balance which includes all sorts of admin charges on top etc accrued during the 3 years its been sitting there unattended to (by them, aswell as me). If so, any ideas on a realistic figure? The loan should be around the grand & a half mark & I'm pretty low on funds - but what do you think I could offer them?

Thanks again everyone, really appreciate it!

Z

Always worth a shot - go in low and be prepared to negotiate up. I have no idea on the sorts of offers they might accept so I won't suggest a figure, but be prepared to negotiate.

KiKi

zappafan_2

Great, thanks Kiki!! Will do!

fatbelly

KiKi wrote: »

Cahoot was set up by the Abbey as their internet-only arm of the business. And then Santander bought Abbey, including Cahoot. So there's no reason to assume this isn't your debt as others have suggested, nor that someone at Santander has the same name.

You shouldn't have to assume anything.

Unless and until they can demonstrate that they have the right to collect against an account that was yours (account reference would help), don't pay anything.

Send Tixy's prove-it letter and see what comes back.