Advice on letter from equidebt please

redstar777

Hi,

I am after some advice please regarding a letter i received today from equidebt asking for repayment of a debt(just over £2k) which i am fairly certain is from an overdraft i had with Natwest back in 2003-4. I assume it must be that as that's the only debt i have ever walked away from without repaying.

This is the first correspondence i have about this since that time(8-9 years later).

My question is do I send them the 'prove it' letter(which ive pasted below) or do I send the statute barred letter which ive seen as the debt is longer than 6 years old?

Any help/advice is much appreciated.

Thanks
redstar

Prove it letter(Is this the correct wording etc) -

Dear Sir/Madam

Ref: xxxxxxxxxxx

You have contacted me regarding the account with the above reference number, which you claim is owed by myself.

I would point out that we have no knowledge of any such debt being owed to The Loan Company.

I am familiar with the ‘Office of Fair Trading Debt Collection Guidance’ which states that it is unfair to send demands for payment to an individual when it is uncertain that they are the debtor in question.

I would also point out that the OFT say under the Guidance that it is unfair to pursue third parties for payment when they are not liable. In not ceasing collection activity whilst investigating a reasonably queried or disputed debt you are using deceptive/and or unfair methods.

Furthermore, ignoring and/or disregarding claims that debts have been settled or are disputed and continuing to make unjustified demands for payment amounts to physical/psychological harassment.

I would ask that no further contact be made concerning the above accounts unless you can provide evidence as to my liability for the debt in question.

I await your written confirmation that this matter is now closed. Otherwise I will have no option but to make a complaint to the trading standards department and consider informing the OFT of your actions.

I look forward to your reply.

sunshineangel

statuate barred letter as no contact withing last 6yrs is the one id send hope this helps x

redstar777

sunshineangel wrote: »

statuate barred letter as no contact withing last 6yrs is the one id send hope this helps x

Thanks for the quick response sunshineangel . Just to be clear is this the letter to send? -

1 High Street,
Newtown,
Kent
R21 4RH
Date

The Loan Company
Company House,
Church Street,
Newtown,
Kent,
R1 7HG

I do not acknowledge any debt to you or any other company or organisation that you claim to be representing.

Dear Sir/Madam

Account No:

You have contacted me/us regarding the account with the above reference number, which you claim is owed by myself/ourselves.

I/we would point out that under the Limitation Act 1980 Section 5:

"an action founded on simple contract shall not be brought after the expiration of six years from the date on which the cause of action accrued".

I/we would point out that in their Debt Collection Guidance, the OFT regard the following unfair or improper business practice for a creditor to:

• pursue the debt under circumstances in which the debtor has heard nothing from a creditor during the relevant limitation period.
• continue to press a debtor for payment after he has stated that he will not be paying a debt because it is statute barred.

The last acknowledgement or payment of this debt was made over six years ago and no further acknowledgement or payment has been made since that time.

Unless you can provide evidence of payment or written contact from me/us in the relevant period under Section 5 of the Limitation Act, I/we suggest that you are no longer able to take any court action against me/us to recover the alleged amount claimed.

I/we await your written confirmation that no further contact will be made concerning the above account and confirmation that this matter is now closed.

I/we look forward to your reply.

Yours faithfully

Hofmeister

Hi Redstarr, i would ask for clarification first on what the debt is actually for, as if you do the "not heard from you in 6 years" i would take it that you are acknowledging that there was a debt.

Ask for clarification first, then follow up with the 2nd letter.......

redstar777

Hofmeister wrote: »

Hi Redstarr, i would ask for clarification first on what the debt is actually for, as if you do the "not heard from you in 6 years" i would take it that you are acknowledging that there was a debt.

Ask for clarification first, then follow up with the 2nd letter.......

Thanks Hof, ill send them the letter in my original post then and then i can follow up with the second letter if need be.

Cheers for the advice guys, much appreciated. I'll keep this thread updated on my progress/responses from equidebt.

redstar777

Update!

I sent the 'prove it' letter to equidebt by recorded delivery on 26/06/12 and then received some kind of automatic response from them about a week later saying they had received my correspondence and would respond within 5 days.

Since then i havent receiving anything until today(13/07/12) i get a letter from them(dated 11/07) not addressing anything from my prove it letter, its says the following -

"Despite repeated efforts for payment, the above account remains unpaid. We are unaware of any legitimate reason for non payment. However our client is willing to accept a reduced settlement figure" They are now asking for £700 the original debt was £2400. It then says I have until 21/07 to pay this otherwise they "may" instruct a doorstep agent to come to my house etc etc

As i know this debt was from 2003-04 and is well over the six years, do i now just send them the statute barred letter?

vax2002

You just Ignore them, if the Debt is statute barred, they will already know and dont need you to prove it to them, it will have been stamped in red at 45 degrees across the file
Statute Barred, Litigant expired .
Hence why they are known as stale debt sharks, they buy these files, often for single figures and amount a campaign of harassment.
They know all there is to know about the debt already and work on obtaining a correspondence and commencing harassment in the hope you will pay them to go away.
The harassment will continue as long as you continue to take them seriously.

redstar777

vax2002 wrote: »

You just Ignore them, if the Debt is statute barred, they will already know and dont need you to prove it to them, it will have been stamped in red at 45 degrees across the file
Statute Barred, Litigant expired .
Hence why they are known as stale debt sharks, they buy these files, often for single figures and amount a campaign of harassment.
They know all there is to know about the debt already and work on obtaining a correspondence and commencing harassment in the hope you will pay them to go away.
The harassment will continue as long as you continue to take them seriously.

Thanks for the info.

Do you know if they can put this debt on my credit file against my current property? Thats my main concern. Or are they not allowed to do that if its statute barred?

nottoolate

vax2002 wrote: »

it will have been stamped in red at 45 degrees across the file
Statute Barred, Litigant expired .

really? :rotfl::rotfl:

you just made that up to fit your daft stale debt shark standard nonsense.

nottoolate

i would post the letter here at least so they know you know the debt is statute barred https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/34906257#Comment_34906257 ignoring is not always the best thing.

they shouldnt put a default on your file but some collectors do anyway. if they know that you know the debt is statute barred then they are much less likely to try that.

redstar777

nottoolate wrote: »

i would post the letter here at least so they know you know the debt is statute barred ignoring is not always the best thing.

they shouldnt put a default on your file but some collectors do anyway. if they know that you know the debt is statute barred then they are much less likely to try that.

Cheers. If they were to put a default on my credit file(which is 100% perfect right now) for this statute barred debt, can i legally get it removed? I will very soon be in the process of taking out my first mortgage and dont want anything like this ruining my perfect credit history over the last 8 years.