letter from creditor 6 years after bankruptcy

impulse

a letter arrived from tesco bank stating 'you're behind with your credit card payments'

this is 6 years after being declared bankrupt

it is still showing the full pre-bankruptcy balance as being due in apl and may of 2012,stating,what you need to do is contact us straight away to discuss how you plan to pay etc

any idea what this is about? surely this debt was written off long ago? is that not correct?

this has been the first correspondence received from them since bankruptcy

IF

Hi impulse, have you cleaned up your credit files?

impulse

No,nothing has been cleaned up,I just assumed it looked ok now as I was able to get a mobile phone contract a while back and I've been building a new credit rating on a new card over the last few years and paying off the balance in full each month,

do you think it's because of not cleaning up the files that this letter has been sent? but surely they shouldn't be asking for payment?

IF

It is odd isn't, especially as it is an original creditor and not a DCA?? Do send them a reply with your BO (BR Order you got from the court) and ask them to mark this account settled. Also get your credit files too. You will find companies report to one of the CRAs rather than all three, that's why it's suggested that you get your credit files from all three of the CRAs to see what's held on there. Also bear in mind some companies ignore the credit files and use their own credit scoring system

Your accounts remain marked as defaulted. But you'll need to get all three credit files and make sure that:

- The default date is on or before your BR date.
- The current balance is marked as settled/satisfied in some way.

Click on blue links below:-

Experian - Click here

Equifax - Click here

Callcredit - Click here
NB: You can't order it online, they would rather you pay £12 don’t do that just print off the application form, P.O. for £2 and post this recorded delivery.

They are £2 each for paper copies. Some people have used the online ones and have said the information wasn't as good compared to the paper copies.

Essential reading thread by Fermi :-

Credit Reference File Clean Up Post Bankruptcy Sticky - Click here

Best wishes
If...x

impulse

Hi,yes,the letter came directly from tesco bank credit card collections,just saying that I had missed 2 payments in apl and may,which makes me wonder if they were under the impression I still owed them,that they haven't been trying to bill me at all over the last 6 years until now,it's very puzzling,

thanks for your advice and the links,I will do that and hopefully get it cleared up

davescot691

i had a similar issue with Tesco and called them yesterday. the number is 08453004278. they should tell you to send your bankruptcy order and notice of discharge to:
CREDIT CARD RECOVERIES,
PO BOX 27031,
BROADWAY 1,
199 RENFIELD ST,
GLASGOW, G2 9FX

when they recieve it they should update your file

alastairq

davescot691 wrote: »

i had a similar issue with Tesco and called them yesterday. the number is 08453004278. they should tell you to send your bankruptcy order and notice of discharge to:
CREDIT CARD RECOVERIES,
PO BOX 27031,
BROADWAY 1,
199 RENFIELD ST,
GLASGOW, G2 9FX

when they recieve it they should update your file

There is no obligation to send them any of the above paperwork...they will already have been informed by the OR at the time of the bankruptcy.

This appears to be nothing more than a huge glitch on the part of Tesco's [RBS, as it happens] computer system....and can be ignored.

To demand that individuals forward what could be quite costly-to-acquire legal documents, smacks of administrative arrogance on Tesco's part.

They are [whether intended or not is irrelevant] attempting to acquire payment for debts that have been included within a bankruptcy.

Tesco's need making aware of the murky waters these letters are heading them into.

What I would do, if the case arose, is to forward those letters demanding payment, to the Official Receiver's office that dealt with the bankruptcy...let them admonish Tesco's.

davescot691

There is no obligation to send them any of the above paperwork...they will already have been informed by the OR at the time of the bankruptcy.

This appears to be nothing more than a huge glitch on the part of Tesco's [RBS, as it happens] computer system....and can be ignored.

To demand that individuals forward what could be quite costly-to-acquire legal documents, smacks of administrative arrogance on Tesco's part.

They are [whether intended or not is irrelevant] attempting to acquire payment for debts that have been included within a bankruptcy.

Tesco's need making aware of the murky waters these letters are heading them into.

What I would do, if the case arose, is to forward those letters demanding payment, to the Official Receiver's office that dealt with the bankruptcy...let them admonish Tesco's.

i agree Alistair, Tesco should be reasonably up to date, however it seems they arent. it only took me a few minutes on the phone and the price of a recorded delivery to sort out my issue with them. As for the cost of the documents, everyone gets a bankruptcy order free of charge when they declare BR and a copy of your entry on the insolvency register showing date of AD printed off should suffice. in my case i asked the OR for a letter confirming discharge which they kindly provided for free. To me it seemed a lot easier for me to instigate the repair process as it gives me peace of mind that things are now happening instead of waiting for large institutions to get their acts together, which in Tesco's case they have proven that ex-bankrupts are WAY down their list of priorities. i have a total of 17 entries in my credit file, most of which i had to do some digging to get the details of who i needed to contact which need addressing and it took me a whole day to get the process moving. the easiest way was to call the companies customer services and ask to be put through to "recoveries". From their it was a relatively easy process. some accepted my paperwork as attachments to email as proof, some accepted proof by way of a fax and only 5 needed the documents sent by post.For me it was a day well spent.

PippaGirl_2

On another thread someone said that they approached the CRA themsleves with proof of discharge of BR and the CRA removed the 'default' when the company had failed to themselves. It was suggested that the CRA's are under obligation to make sure the information they provide on you is accurate and correct.

That aside, that's interesting about your 02 debt showing on your file. I had two accounts owing in my BR with 02 and they were the bain of my life threatening baillifs and court action like you wouldn't believe constantly, almost daily, all for a pittance whereas my bank loan I hardly heard from and yet the 02 debt doesn't show on my CRA at all. Thankfully, as I found them a complete nightmare pre-BR and they were a big reason for me choosing to go BR rather than slog out paying off the debt for a couple of decades.

Experian_company_representative

What we will do is raise a dispute with them for you, asking if we can change the status to satisfied and marking the debt as disputed while we investigate. If we updated the record without consulting the lender, the chances are it would be overwritten by their regular update the next month.

On the original question, if the bankruptcy was six years ago and the default pre-dates it - as it should - then it should be dropping off the credit report very soon as we hold defaults for six years from the default date.

James Jones

totally_frustrated_3

i suddenly, out of the blue, received a demand from tesco bank for immediate payment - the amount demanded pre-dates my bankruptcy order and they were part of the relevant creditors, also i sent them the info of my bankruptcy direct at the time out of courtesy, although presumably they would have received all that from the official receiver's office.
since receiving the demand i have written to tesco 3 times, with no response whatsoever, not even an acknowledgement. so i used the phone number others have given on this site - (0845.3004278 - it's a general number but you can select 0 to get to someone to speak to; you don't get that option to start with but just keep listening to their message a couple of times and you'll get that option eventually - be prepared to listen to soothing music for a while! allow half an hour for all of this)
a very helpful lady took info and put me thru to correct person, who was rather frosty.
i gave her all bankruptcy info (as i had in all 3 of my letters) but apparently it's not their policy to check these details themselves and i now have to contact the official receiver's office to ask them to write to tesco to confirm details - i offered to send a copy of my bankruptcy order but was told that isn't acceptable - they have to receive something in writing direct from the OR! i've asked that they write to me to confirm matter on hold (i'm not holding my breath!) and meanwhile that they pass my complaint on to their relevant dept - not just about their lack of response but also about their ridiculous procedure.
i asked what she thought tesco would be able to do if i didn't contact the OR as, after all, tesco would just end up looking ridiculous if they took legal proceedings, but she seemed stumped by this. i'll do as asked as i'm struggling with all this pressure. it was hard enough having to go for bankruptcy but all this is too much - as i told her i'm seriously ill but she was totally unsympathetic and very curt.
incidentally, lloyds bank was another of my creditors (there were 4 and i haven't had any demands from the other 2) and lloyds contacted me regarding the amount i had owed them; their letter gave proper contact details (unlike tesco!) complete with a contact phone number - when i rang i gave my bankruptcy ref and he was able to look up a list; he asked me to confirm it in writing (e-mail fine) but said that was the end of the matter and he APOLOGISED that this demand had been sent out given the bankruptcy; he said that it should never have been sent out - he was very warm and helpful - what a difference!