Debt letters and deadlines

Hay_2

DH has been collared for an old debt from years back that we know we have to pay,afterall we spent the cash....
Anyway he got a letter giving him 7 days from letter date to respond or they'll start court action,the letter was dated 7th december and we received it TODAY!:rolleyes:
So we're waaaay out of the 7 days...now what?Do we ring them and explain?Bet people try that one all the time
Also it has a budget planner to fill in in his name.Does he just note down HIS income?We are married but as I'm a SAHM the only income I have is child benefit etc.There is a space on the planner for tax credits which is in both of our names...confused:o

THE_LONE_RANGER_4

tax credits are for use on your children dont give them to a dca just tell them how much you can afford if you wish to pay

MCBIRNIE25

Hello Hay,
a couple of things.
How old is the debt exactly? If it is older than 6 years old, the debt is statute barred and cannot be reclaimed if there has been no contact in that time.
Second, send for a copy of the signed credit agreement for the account, you need to send £1 and a cca letter, pm me if you need this. By sending this letter, the account is then in dispute and no action can be taken until the necessary agreement is provided. That is not to say you don't own the debt still. If after the timescales they can't provide the necessary document, they cannot pursue the debt.
Third, if the debt is not statute barred and ownership can be proved, has the debt been made up of any illegal charges in your opinion? Just like with banks, these can be reclaimed, however, that's for another day. Go ahead with the above first.

Hay_2

Thankyou...so are you saying don't fill out the financial statement bit and just send an offer letter?Just because it asks for a breakdown of ALL income
Or as we're out of the 7 days will they just take us to court anyway:rolleyes:

Hay_2

MCBIRNIE25~Thanks.
I posted a while ago about this.Totally out of the blue DH got a yellow card from Allied International Credit demanding payment of over £2k on a very old debt.I got a lot of advice from here about the 6 yr rule.So DH rang and was told that didn't apply as he had made a payment in 2002.The debt collector guy was horrific.Insisted we had 48 hrs to pay up or they'd take action.I got on the phone and he was incredibly rude,told me he didn't care if I had to beg,borrow,sell or steal to get the cash but he wanted it.So we offered a payment plan which he refused so I said we couldn't pay,I asked for a copy of the credit agreement which he said he's send...then he put the phone down on us:mad:
Nothing arrived,this was in september.
Until the beginning of december when DH got a call from a "nice" lady at the debt agency.She said she was willing to accept a payment plan on the debt.DH stupidly agreed,asked for a copy of the credit agreement and that was that.
We got a letter dated 7th december today,with no CA in,just a letter saying this is your LAST chance before action is taken printed about a thousand times:rolleyes: and a financial statement to fill out which includes all our benefits as income.
So that's twice they haven't sent the CA as asked and they're getting more persistant

sgx.saint

Hey.

Right, why not do the following:-

1) Send a letter asking them to prove that debt belongs to your DH. Your DH obviously will need to send this himself. This is a request under the Consumer Credit Act. I will past the template letter below:-

--

Account Number XXXXXXXXXXX
Dear Sir/Madam,

Application under the Consumer Credit Act 1974.

Please supply me with a true copy of the alleged agreement you refer to in your letter dated xx/xx/xxxx. under s.78 (1) Consumer Credit Act 1974 (s.77 (1) for fixed sum credit) - your obligation also extends to providing a statement of account.

I enclose a £1 postal order in payment of the statutory fee, PO Serial Number xxxxx.

In particular I require you to provide the following:-

1. A signed true copy of the deed of assignment of the above referenced agreement that you allege exists.


You are notified that you are obliged to supply these documents, whether you are the original creditor or not under S189 of the CCA 1974.

Non-compliance with my request is a criminal offence under the above Act and will result in a report being submitted to the relevant statutory authorities.
As you are aware, a credit agreement that is not properly documented and signed by the customer is totally unenforceable under the CCA and therefore is a complete defence to any court claim that is issued.
You are reminded that you have 12 working days from reciept of this letter to supply this information.

Yours Faithfully

XXXX

--

What this letter does is ask the DCA to provide a copy of the original signed CCA agreement or/and the deed of assignment. The deed of assignment is the bit of paper that proves the original creditor sold the DCA the debt.

If you send them this firstly, it will mean the account is in dispute until they can provide you with the documents. Whilst an account is in dispute they can take no legal action whatsoever against you. Chances are they probably wont be able to supply the information anyway, giving you permenant immunity against Court Action. Unless of course they do find it someday.

Anyway, this will buy you sometime. Oh, by the way, the 7 days thing in 99% of the case is just a scare tactic to get you to pay the full amount immediately. Do not worry about it.

Right .....

2) If you happy with using the DCA's I&E sheet then complete it. But I would recommend completing your own as they sometimes ask questions on I&E sheets that are not relevant and you don't have to provide them with the information. Hop over to the National Debtline website here and download this I&E sheet. It's a very good.

http://www.nationaldebtline.co.uk/england_wales/budget_sheet.php?country=england_wales

3) If the debt is solely his, then you only need provide his income details as you are not responsible for repaying the debt. In relation to public money i.e. tax credits, I am not 100% sure but I don't think they have to be taken into consideration in relation to income. I don't think a County Court would take them into consideration anyway. But I am sure some of our legal eagles can either deny or confirm that.

If you have any more questions just let us know!

MCBIRNIE25

Saint is right.
That letter will buy you time whilst you evaluate your options.
Send it today via recorded delivery only.