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Dizzydi

I've just entered a DMP with Stepchange and my first payment is due out on the 1st June. Everything seems to have gone quiet so I am a bit nervous. Can anyone help me - i wrote to Wonga on the 7th May to two addresses to make sure they were received telling them I was entering the DMP i've also emailed them but tonight in the post comes a letter requesting payment from me dated 22nd May and added interest even though Stepchange have contacted them as well as them receiving letters and e-mails. What can I do - why are they ignoring my letters and Stepchanges communication and adding to the debt?

fthetaxman

Been contacted recently by 1st Credit about a credit card debt I had with Natwest.

The default date given by Equifax is 29/06/2007 and this is the first time I have been contacted about this debt. No court orders or anything.

At the time Natwest suddenly decided to take the card away from me even though I never missed a payment. This left me owing a little over £4,000 which I couldn't possibly pay off in one go and they never chased me up about it.

I moved from the address where I incurred the debt in September 2010 due to separating from my wife and we recently got divorced.

It's not as if I stopped paying my monthly credit card payments deliberately or moved house to avoid the debt.

Foolishly, this week, I did send a written statement of income to 1st Credit - but without any offer of payment or acknowledgement that I actually owed the debt. They are now putting it on hold for 30 days whilst I seek further advice, which is why I am writing this.

What I would like to know if this debt would be statute barred as it will be 6 years next month from the given default date.

I appreciate any advice you can give me.

StepChange_James

Dizzydi wrote: »

I've just entered a DMP with Stepchange and my first payment is due out on the 1st June. Everything seems to have gone quiet so I am a bit nervous. Can anyone help me - i wrote to Wonga on the 7th May to two addresses to make sure they were received telling them I was entering the DMP i've also emailed them but tonight in the post comes a letter requesting payment from me dated 22nd May and added interest even though Stepchange have contacted them as well as them receiving letters and e-mails. What can I do - why are they ignoring my letters and Stepchanges communication and adding to the debt?

Hi Di,

Thanks for getting in touch. The first month or two of a DMP can often involve a bit of a bedding in period. Some creditors are great and stop interest, charges and phone calls as soon as they know you're doing a DMP but others take a while to settle down.

While companies don't have to accept our payments it's probably too early to say about Wonga. You could call them up and ask if they've made a decision on your payment proposal but you don't have to do this.

If any of your creditors don't accept our payment offers there isn't a great deal that can be done (presuming you're already offering them as much as you can afford - which your budget will prove). We'd usually recommend just sticking to your payments and ignoring any requests for extra money.

It's too early to say if you're creditors are going to reject the payments but if they do then it's usually just a phase. After a few months they'll tend to pass the debts on to debt collectors and we'll then send the paperwork to them. While it's not true in every situation, usually debt collectors are more willing to accept payments on a DMP.

I hope this helps.

James

StepChange_James

fthetaxman wrote: »

Been contacted recently by 1st Credit about a credit card debt I had with Natwest.

The default date given by Equifax is 29/06/2007 and this is the first time I have been contacted about this debt. No court orders or anything.

At the time Natwest suddenly decided to take the card away from me even though I never missed a payment. This left me owing a little over £4,000 which I couldn't possibly pay off in one go and they never chased me up about it.

I moved from the address where I incurred the debt in September 2010 due to separating from my wife and we recently got divorced.

It's not as if I stopped paying my monthly credit card payments deliberately or moved house to avoid the debt.

Foolishly, this week, I did send a written statement of income to 1st Credit - but without any offer of payment or acknowledgement that I actually owed the debt. They are now putting it on hold for 30 days whilst I seek further advice, which is why I am writing this.

What I would like to know if this debt would be statute barred as it will be 6 years next month from the given default date.

I appreciate any advice you can give me.

Hello,

Debts become statute barred if there has been no payments or written acknowledgement of the debt for six years. From what you've said it sounds like you're getting quite close to this time, unless your recent letter acknowledged the debt in some way.

Debts don't actually get written off when they are statute barred though. You read more in this article on our blog: http://moneyaware.co.uk/2011/08/your-debts-written-off-is-it-too-good-to-be-true/.

Kind regards

James

p.s. the above assumes you are based in England, the laws can be different in other parts of the UK.

fthetaxman

Thanks for your reply. I am in England so how do I proceed if I want to go the statute barred route? I haven't acknowledged the debt in writing BTW, so that might help.

StepChange_James wrote: »

Hello,

Debts become statute barred if there has been no payments or written acknowledgement of the debt for six years. From what you've said it sounds like you're getting quite close to this time, unless your recent letter acknowledged the debt in some way.

Debts don't actually get written off when they are statute barred though. You read more in this article on our blog:

Kind regards

James

p.s. the above assumes you are based in England, the laws can be different in other parts of the UK.

StepChange_James

fthetaxman wrote: »

Thanks for your reply. I am in England so how do I proceed if I want to go the statute barred route? I haven't acknowledged the debt in writing BTW, so that might help.

Hi,

Here's a sample letter which might be useful:

From:
Name:
Address:
Postcode:
Date:
To:
Creditor‘s Name:
Account/Agreement No:

Without Prejudice

Dear Sir / Madam

You have contacted me regarding the above account.

The last 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 in the relevant period under Section 5 of the Limitation Act 1980, then you will no longer be able to take any court action against me to recover the alleged amount claimed.

Any court claim will be defended on this basis.

In addition section 2.14 of The Office of Fair Trading Collection Guidance states that it is unfair to pursue such claims where, as here, the creditor has made no contact during the relevant limitation period.

If you have evidence that your claim is not statute barred then please supply it to me within 21 days. If you are unable to provide such evidence please confirm that no further action will be taken against me.

Yours faithfully
(Print Name)

fthetaxman

Thank you for all your help. I hope to report back in a few weeks with a happy result.

babszz

hope someone can help
had around 4k debt around 7 years ago left the country and was under ithe impression would clear after 6 years.
I am looking to apply for a mortgage so did a credit check on equifax and not out of the blue i have received a debt letter from equifax
it is threatening, legals and baliffs what should i do there is nothing on my credit report at all re bad debt
are they just chancers or can they pursue me for this?

VampBee

I'm not THAT much in debt but am in a vicious circle of credit card debt. I have the following debt:

1500 Overdraft
2500 Personal Loan
2 high interest credit cards

The cards alone are costing me £110 per month in minimum payments. One is £850 maxed and the other is £250 maxed. I am making the repayments but it is denting my monthly allowance. In an ideal world I want to top up my bank loan to clear the cards and overdraft so it is one manageable monthly fee, however my credit score isn't very attractive and I've moved my accounts so much I'm still in a 'we need to see your account for a few months' sort of situation.

What do I do?

stickman

Hi All,
Could anyone give me an average ball park figure for F+F on £30k.
Moorcroft

---

10545
Idem

---

12307
Capquest

---

7079
If old man plays ball could possibly have 8-10k to offer.

Thanks