Red/Lowell - help please

abisparkle

Hi,

I've had a couple of letters from Red out of the blue the last couple of weeks for an Abbey National (old current account) debt of £300. They are addressed to my maiden name. From memory, I had a CCJ for this debt around 9 years ago. The CCJ is not showing on my credit record anymore, I have not made a payment or acknowledged anything for at least 9 years.

The letter received today is offering me a 50% reduction or a monthly fee of £20 per month. If I don't pay within 10 days they are going to pass to a field collection agent who will call at my home.

I have some questions:

1) I was planning to ignore all correspondence but really don't want someone calling at my home. What should I do/say if they do?

2) Can I deny being the person they are looking for as they are using my former name, not my married name.

3) Should I send off the letter stating the debt is statute barred and if so, which name should I use? Don't really want to give them my married name.

There is nothing showing on my credit record that Red have even searched the file let alone anything relating to this debt.

Help much appreciated as I just don't want anyone calling at the house.

king100

abisparkle wrote: »

Hi,

I've had a couple of letters from Red out of the blue the last couple of weeks for an Abbey National (old current account) debt of £300. They are addressed to my maiden name. From memory, I had a CCJ for this debt around 9 years ago. The CCJ is not showing on my credit record anymore, I have not made a payment or acknowledged anything for at least 9 years.

The letter received today is offering me a 50% reduction or a monthly fee of £20 per month. If I don't pay within 10 days they are going to pass to a field collection agent who will call at my home.

I have some questions:

1) I was planning to ignore all correspondence but really don't want someone calling at my home. What should I do/say if they do?

Tell them go to get off your property as they are trespassing

2) Can I deny being the person they are looking for as they are using my former name, not my married name.

Not really

3) Should I send off the letter stating the debt is statute barred and if so, which name should I use? Don't really want to give them my married name.

You will be printing your name so use name that is used on the debt in question

There is nothing showing on my credit record that Red have even searched the file let alone anything relating to this debt.

Help much appreciated as I just don't want anyone calling at the house.

Field collection agency might come, but they have no power.

If you had a CCJ 9 years ago they would need to go back to court, and the judge would have a field day as why didnt they arrange a payment plan then.

They could still contact you later at any time to repay the CCJ - but once 6years have passed they have to go back to court to get permission again to enforce the debt (again this is for a CCJ but I would think that HCJ might be the same). Taken from https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2977502

king100

All in writing this is. All in maiden name as the account is.


1st of all ask them to prove the debt is owed? Then wait and see.

2ndly Send SB letter

3rdly Might need letter to stop door collections

4th Might need harrassement by tel letter.

king100

To clarify the above;

1. The statue of limitations does not directly apply to CCJ, once an order is made by the court a CCJ will be lawfully valid indefinitely.

2. if after 6 years you have not satisfied the CCJ and the claimant then seeks a Charging order they would have to demonstrate reasonable grounds to the court as to why they had not previously applied within a “reasonable time frame” for the CCJ to be enforced via a charging order, this however does not effect the validity of the CCJ its self

3. a CCJ can be re-registered with the CRA’s after the initial 6 years, and this may continue for as long as it remains unsatisfied, although in practice I have not seen this done.

Hope this helps

Taken from https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/253420

abisparkle

Thanks guys. I've done a bit more research and I had two Abbey accounts. The one with the CCJ I think I paid which was collected by Wescot. The other one (the one they're trying to collect now) I think was just ignored and has been chased occasionally over the years by various DCA's. I can't be sure though and my memory is rubbish. All I know is that I'm certain I have not acknowledged or corresponded about this for over 6 years.

Is there any way I can do a search of CCJ to see if there was one that related to this account? The more I think about it, the more I think it related to the one which was paid.

king100

http://www.trustonline.org.uk/

Cost £8 but not sure how far back it will go, plus I think you need to know what address you were living at at time of possible CCJ

abisparkle

Thanks, just done a search and there is nothing showing, although records only seem to go back six years.

Should I just ignore it now?

king100

Think about it, if they could get a CCJ and take you to court or enfore a previous CCJ why would they offer you 50%.

If you owed mr £500 and I could take you to court I wouldent settle for £250 out of court.

Wait and see what others say, but personally if you are 100% sure that it is gone over 6 years I would sent SB letter.

Not sure if it applied to bank accounts though.

FTW

If they're offering 50%, they know they have no chance.

fermi

I would send the statute barred letter in this link.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2606811

That then puts the onus on them to prove it isn't or can't be SB.

Culex

fermi wrote: »

I would send the statute barred letter in this link.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2606811

That then puts the onus on them to prove it isn't or can't be SB.

That letter relies on section 5 of the Limitation Act 1980; in the case of a bank loan of indeterminate duration such as an overdraft, section 6 (3) applies section 5 from the date of the written demand for repayment.

As regards CCJs and/or HCJs, section 24 would seem to apply:

Time limit for actions to enforce judgments.

(1)An action shall not be brought upon any judgment after the expiration of six years from the date on which the judgment became enforceable.

(2)No arrears of interest in respect of any judgment debt shall be recovered after the expiration of six years from the date on which the interest became due.

The opinion on here seems to be that judgements remain valid for ever, yet the above section seems to say that they cannot be enforced after six years.

Registry Trust Ltd keeps CCJs and HCJs for a maximum of six years, unless they are reversed, set aside or satisfied within one month of the judgement.

If the judgements remained valid for ever, why doesn't the Registry Trust Ltd keep them for more than six years?