Old credit card debt... now I've got a court letter?! Please help me...

od0s

Hi all,

I got myself into trouble with credit cards and a gambling addiction when I was just turned 18. I managed to lose £3000 on a Capital One credit card in the space of about a week. Crazy, I know.

I have since gone through counselling to overcome my addiction and am gradually patching up my credit history.

I am 25 now, and I have had this debt with Capital One for this time. It was defaulted in 2006 on my credit file. It has killed my credit rating for all this time and I have not been able to get a mortgage or anything. I have seen the light as February 2012 when the default will be 6 years old and so (I thought) removed from my file.

However, the debt was passed to Robinson Way and they have often sent me letters demanding immediate payment. I have not dealt with them as I thought as it was defaulted I will leave it and not deal with them. I initially spoke to Capital One and explained I could not afford to repay, but I never dealt with Robinson Way, they just bombarded me with letters and calls for the last 4 or 5 years.

I have just received a letter which I have no idea how to deal with.

It is a CLAIM FORM from Northampton County Court.

They are claiming £5164 in costs and interest on top of the original £3000.

It is form N1CPC and is from Hegarty LLP.

I have no idea how to respond?

Please help me as to where I can get advice, or what I should do next. I really have no idea how to handle this. Does this mean I am being taken to court and will be sued for this money they are claiming? I have tried to move on with my life, but I haven't yet told me partner. We really cannot afford this debt, and I cannot sleep with the worry about it.

Thanks in advance for any info you can give me.

chanz4

they will be going for a ccj, this will be placed for an extra 6 years

lika_86

A claim form is the first step in initiating court proceedings, the back of the claim form should give you information on what to do and how to respond. There should also be other forms with it, there are specific time limits for filing an admission, a defence or an acknowledgement of service. If you do not respond within the appropriate time there is a risk that Hegarty will apply to court for what is termed 'default judgment' which essentially rules in favour of the other side (there are ways to set this aside but it's better to comply with the time limits and civil procedure rules). You need some legal advice and quickly. Try local solicitors who offer initial free 30 minute appointments.

od0s

I am really scared about this, I think my girlfriend will have a breakdown if I tell her I am being taken to court for £5000.

I really thought I was close to moving on and now I am in more trouble than ever...

lika_86

Hard as it may be, telling her may be the best option, keeping something like this a secret will be difficult and ultimately probably not worth the stress. Don't go through this alone. Get legal advice and see if there is someone you can speak to for support (family member, close friend, girlfriend). But please don't stick your head in the sand whatever you do. Most things can be solved, in any event, a claim form isn't final, most claims settle for much less than the amount on the claim form but you need to get help.

MrsTinks

Firstly - when the default was placed is not really the important bit - you need to find out when you last made a payment or admitted to the debt in writing - this is when the 6 year rule comes into place (assuming you're not in Scotland)
IF it's not statute barred then you will be best off getting in contact with someone like CCCS as soon as possible - I doubt £5k+ of charges are likely to be quite right, but there will certainly be SOME interest.
If you can scrape it together from family then it might be worth offering a full and final settlement on the debt too - If the debt was £3000 might be worth offering them £1000 as full and final - making clear that this is being lent by a family member and ONLY for the purposes of a full and final settlement on the debt.

od0s

OK, well I never sent anything in writing regarding the debt. I only spoke to them (Capital One) once when I was 18/19 explaining I was a student and could not repay. It was later passed to Robinson Way for collection.

The last payment I made on the original account would have been longer than 6 years ago. Will this help me in any way?

fatbelly

od0s wrote: »

The last payment I made on the original account would have been longer than 6 years ago. Will this help me in any way?

Yes! It will be statute barred and that constitutes a complete defence to the claim.

Factsheet | Liability for debts and the Limitation Act

However, you do need to check your dates as, if RW have had the account for many years, it would make sense that they are taking court action before the six years expire.

Alternatively they may actually believe the lie they often give out that the default notice date starts the six year period.

od0s

Thanks for the help so far.

How can I check for sure what the date is that it would be statute barred?

I have access to my credit report, can I check on there somehow???

I really want to start sorting this out today. Didn't sleep a wink last night...

MrsTinks

No you need to check your accounts for when you last made a payment or if you are sure the debt is statute barred then I would send them the statute barred letter (RECORDED!) - if in doubt call one of the charities in my signature.

od0s

OK, so I called NationalDebtline.

They ran me through all my debts etc but did not give me huge help with this debt particularly.

I have about £6000 other outstanding debt, which I pay and am up to date with.

I have checked through all my online bank statements and cannot find a single payment to Capital One for this original debt. I am pretty sure, because I was a student with no income, I never made a single payment. The account was originally opened on 18/08/2005.

I believe they are 'guessing' that I made a payment for a few months, but I can see from my statements I did not. Does this mean it is statute barred?

National Debtline told me to say I believe it is statute barred and then it is up to them to prove otherwise.

Please can someone advise me the best way to do this? I don't want to get it wrong and mess it up. I called a solicitor but they said I'd have to go down for a consultation, costing £85, which I'd prefer not to do if possible.

Thanks so much to everyone who is helping me with this.