statute barred, but now saying i made a payment

singledaddy

I have had recent letters (and phone calls) from Link financial recovery about a debt with abbey national (santander).
the debt is statute barred (well over 7 years).
i wrote to them to point this out.
they wrote back saying i made a small one-off payment in 2007. there is no way i (or anyone) made this payment as I was overseas during that time. in fact i was overseas from april of 2005.
the only answer is that link are 'trying it on' by saying i made this payment.
any idea as to what reply i should make? (i prefer to reply by letter)
thanks for any help/advice

iolanthe07

I would write a polite letter asking them to prove that you made a small payment.

singledaddy

ok, i will do that. but there really is no chance i made this payment in 2007 as I was overseas with the army from april 2005 until september 2009.
and there is no one who would have made such a small one off payment in my behalf.

vax2002

They know you did not make a payment, they are a stale debt shark, this is how they work by giving you something to fight over.
IGNORE THEM
You can not reason or argue, they are looking for a hooked fish to harass.
They can buy old credit files for as little as 50 pence ! They can legally ask (harass you) you to pay

Let them put up or shut up in court.

singledaddy

so you think i should ignore them, or write them a letter.
i am a bit surprised at their tactics as I can prove that I was serving overseas in that period during i made no payments of any kind (infact i had no ties to the uk for several years).
any help with this is much appreciated

vax2002

I think you should IGNORE them.
A lot of people on here confuse these stale debt sharks with legitimate companies, they are not, a stale debt shark is a back bedroom chancer with a mailbox address who purchases old credit files from companies that advertise in places such as exchange and mart.
They can be sold off for as little as 50p

They then set about harassing the debtor in to paying the debt they have purchased.
They can not take you to court as statued barred is an absolute defence under law.
However they can legally ask you to pay in any way they require.

In order to do this they need to suck you in to a dialogue with them and will often invent payments later claiming them to be a mistake if you ever get to the root which is very rare as they will just ignore you if you turn the heat on them.
Confusion and mistake of theses firms with genuine companies often leads to some very poor advice on these boards that has let a lot of people in to serious harassment with these crooks.
If you IGNORE them, they only have two choices left, shut up or put up and they wont put up .

vax2002

Some more information, the company is actually called Link Financial Outsourcing Ltd address Unit 1-5
Trecenydd Industrial Estate.

If you search unit 1-5 Trecenydd industrial estate on google you will see it returns hundreds of companies as it is one of these mailbox drop fake company front addresses.

singledaddy

cheers folks.
ive decided to send them a letter saying that i never made such a payment and that their claims are false etc.
i also said that I will not reply to any more of their letter.
I decided to reply so at least i have it on record that I denied their payment claim.
however, from now on they will get no response out of me.
thanks for the advice and thanks for the info on the company, very much appreciated

vax2002

singledaddy wrote: »

ive decided to send them a letter

Another "hooked fish", get ready for a very long "extended period" of harassment, phone calls, letters, door step visits, letters to relatives, work, people who know you.

singledaddy

well they wont get anywhere cos as ive said that was my last letter to them. anymore will be ignored.
as for letters to relatives, work and people i know, well i wish them luck with that. my personal circumstances make that a dead-end road for them.
thanks for your help anyway

Catherine_Johnson_2

vax2002 wrote: »

Another "hooked fish", get ready for a very long "extended period" of harassment, phone calls, letters, door step visits, letters to relatives, work, people who know you.

And, logically, there is nothing stopping them doing just that even if the OP makes no reply.

It's never a good idea to stick your head in the sand and pretend things will go away.