being chased for old debt- some advice needed

cherylelizabeth1

Hi, hoping someone could give me a bit of advice here, sorry if this is not in the right place.
A few weeks ago I got a letter from link asking me to call them as there had recently been someone trying to obtain credit in my name at a previous address of mine, turns out this was not true as when I spoke to them they were trying to chase me for a previous debt.
In the past (mostly between 2003-2005) i had quite a few debts that I ignored and didnt really know how to deal with, I moved a few times so some got lost along the way and then reappeared over time when I was in a better position and those were either paid off in full or set up as payment plans- as far as i am aware the final 2 will be finished paying off next month and thats it.
The debt they were talking about was a store card which i had in about 2001, which I thought I paid off in full when I recieved a back payment from tax credits some years back, however due to all the moving and the number of different debts I have no record and am not completely sure. I told Link that I had paid this off and they said this couldnt be true as I had been making payments to them until the beginning of 2007 (this could be true i guess, i was very messy with my debt management however i really think i paid this one off at somepoint)
I asked them to send me a copy of the original agreements which they said they did not have but they said they would send me what they do have and in the meantime I should check my credit report as they placed a default on there in 2007.
I checked my credit file and there is no mention of this debt on there whatsoever. They sent me the following documents:
A letter from Link introducing themselves as the current owner of this debt stating that they have bought the debt as of april 2006.
A list of all transactions on account showing monthly payments of £20 between jan and oct 2007.
A statement of account for this year, showing a balance of £900.

I am so confused. I dont have a clue where to start looking to find out if i have in fact paid this off, i have been with 3 bank accounts over the last few years so this doesnt help matters! I don't understand why this would not be on my credit file if I still owe this money?
What should I do about this? Obviously if I havent paid this and I owe it then I shall set up monthly payments and pay it back however I was so sure that the 2 that end next month were the last 2 and that I had nothing else outstanding, I have such a feeling that I had paid this off but now I am doubting myself.
So sorry for the essay, I am really stressing myself out over this so if someone could advise on the next step for me then I would really appreciate it,
Many thanks.

FireWyrm

Right. They're trying it on. Many of these companies buy debts after the statute barred cut off or just before hoping to frighten people into paying.

You have a number of options

1) Ignore completely is it is almost certainly statute barred.
2) Run them around a bit with proof of the debt and then tell them it's statute barred.

I favor option 1 and so should you. Cease all communications with them, dont answer them, dont acknowledge the debt and ignore. Eventually, they'll go away.

If you had made a payment in 2007, this sounds like it is ALMOST SB, but if they're lying (possible) and you've had nothing to do with it since 2001, it is absolutely SB anyway. Either way, its not legally enforceable and they can jog on.

RAS

In England and Wales a debt becomes statute barred after 6 years.

If a debt collector has bought the debt then the default was registered some time prior to that.

The original creditor has to notify you in writing and issue the default before selling the debt. So the default is end 2005/beginning 2006 at the very latest, which is why it no longer shows on your credit record.

I would avoid any further communication at present.

You probably need to work out which bank you were with and use a subject access request to get your bank statements from 2007.

Lensman_2

Hi Luvlujubbly.

I have asked a mod to start a new thread for you as your problem is a bit different to the OP's and would get better answers in a dedicated thread.