Advice to give my friend re: Connought Collections

LisaB1970

Hi folks.
Im wondering if someone could give me some advice I can give to my friend.
Last night we got onto the topic of debts (we are TRYING to get a mortgage at the mo) and she told me she'd had trouble in the past etc.
She then told me that a couple of years ago a company called Connought Collections contacted her telling her they were going to make her bankrupt if she did not pay a £3k debt she owed to Nat west i think it was. She panicked and she has been paying them £20 a month for 2 years now but says she doesnt really recall this debt, but it may have been years old.
I logged her into her credit report and there are no defaults, ccjs or anything on there.

She's not very computer savvy so i said i would seek advice on here for her. Its going to take her years to pay off this, but should she have to pay it?
It HAS to be over 6 years old but im not sure if even though it may have been statute barred, by paying it she has started it all up again.
Any advice I could pass on greatly received.

Many thanks in advance

fermi

If it was statute barred before she started paying it back, then it will still be statute barred.

Once a debt becomes statute barred then it stays that way, permanently, whatever you later do. You could take out full page adverts in the national press saying "I acknowledge this debt", or pay whatever you like off against it, but it would STILL be statute barred.

The thing here is to work out whether it was SB before she was scaremongered into paying Connaughts?

That would require there to have been a clear period of 6 years (5 in Scotland) during which the neither made a payment towards the debt or acknowledged the debt in writing.

LisaB1970

Thank you Fermi. So does that mean if it WAS statue barred she can stop paying these people? Or now she has started she will have to continue? How would she go about sorting it out? She is on a low income as she only works part time as it is so even though its only £20 a month its still money she has to budget for.

BigCraigJohn

I think hes saying stop, they shouldnt of been asking for it in the first place. Saying this she really should make sure it was ever her debt in the first place if she is that unsure. Theres a big difference between forgetting about a debt and just not remembering ever having it. Its not unheard of(infact very common) for dca's to get the wrong person and they have no issues taking money from anyone that will pay them.

fermi

BigCraigJohn wrote: »

I think hes saying stop, they shouldnt of been asking for it in the first place. Saying this she really should make sure it was ever her debt in the first place if she is that unsure. Theres a big difference between forgetting about a debt and just not remembering ever having it. Its not unheard of(infact very common) for dca's to get the wrong person and they have no issues taking money from anyone that will pay them.

Both possibly?

Depends on how sure she was that this wasn't really her debt, and/or how sure they might be that the debt was statute barred beforehand?

Both seem more than a bit uncertain from the info posted, so I wouldn't want to suggest to stopping paying based on that.

Culex

If it was literally two years ago, Connaught Collections would have broken the requirements imposed on their parent company, 1st Credit, by the largely ornamental Office of Faffing and Twaddling.

The OFT has the ability to rescind a Consumer Credit Licence, but they rarely - if ever - do that. Consequently, some debt collection agencies seem to think they can almost get away with murder.

LisaB1970

Thanks everyone! im pretty sure if it was her debt - she VAGUELY remembers something, then it would have shown as a default, CCJ or otherwise on her credit report, but it doesnt so im guessing it was statute barred.

What would be the next step now? Should she write to them and dispute this or stop paying it or both?

Culex

Concisely, yes, she should.

fermi

LisaB1970 wrote: »

Thanks everyone! im pretty sure if it was her debt - she VAGUELY remembers something, then it would have shown as a default, CCJ or otherwise on her credit report, but it doesnt so im guessing it was statute barred.

I assume you mean a recent credit report?

No. It only means that it has been more than six years since the default.

The absence of the debt from her credit report now has no bearing on whether the debt was statute barred back then.

As said, if she can remember what it was, then she will need to work out if there was "a clear period of 6 years (5 in Scotland) during which they neither made a payment towards the debt or acknowledged the debt in writing."

That doesn't prevent you challenging and disputing the debt though. :cool:

ladybez

Perhaps SAR request would be in order? That way, Connaught would have to send your friend copies of everything they hold on her, this might help to clear up what and when the accounts were for and whom they were with. Sorry can't post links, but I'm sure some kind person wil be along who can.
Good luck

LisaB1970

Thanks for all your advice folks.
this is where we stand as of 10 mins ago after I got off the phone with CC acting as my friends agent.
They told me they do not have any notes on whether this debt was statute barred but she has been paying them £20 a month since 30th May 2008 and they could offer her a settlement figure
They said it was for a credit card - my friend said the only card she has had was an MBNA one which was joint with her ex husband.
I asked them to send her all the info - they said their "client" had senty her statements from the account in 2009 - something my friend says is not true and she never received. They said they would be able to get a true copy of the terms and conditions but would more than likely unable to provide her with a signed copy - i thought this was the only way to prove the account may be hers? He said a true copy was lawful proof
I also said if they could not prove that the account was hers would she be able to get all the money back she had paid - he said no because it was payments made voluntarily - this was only because the letter they sent her was threatening her with bankruptcy and she panicked!

Any firther advice on which way to go now?