old debt reappeared..help needed-updated 27/4/07

nondave

Hi i am hoping that someone can give me some advise.
I had a credit agreement in 1999/2000 for a particular item and due to a marriage breakdown i left home, the item was left with my ex partner and after many months of wrangling it was given back to me..broken, but that isnt the point.

i cant recall all the details of this 100% but roughly as i remember....
at the beginning of the year 2000, this company took money out of my bank(that wasnt available to me, hence i was charged for this) and so i quickly (and probably did the wrong thing) cancelled the direct debit, because since my marriage ended, circumstances had changed and i didnt earn enough money to cover the repayment, if i remember they said they would contact me again when they had spoken to their superiors.

I then did not hear anything more until roughly the end of 2004 when a man turned up on my door telling me that he worked for the debt collection agency regarding my non payment, i agreed that i would pay him £30 per month and he would come around to collect it, he just gave me a peice of card and everytime he took £30 from me, he signed it and gave it me back, i often wondered if he gave it back to the agency, because there was no records of this and i never signed any agreements or anything.( i would rather have had a direct debit/standing order set up, because this was a little embarrasing), anyway, this man came round for approximately six months, i was then moving house to a cheaper flat, i gave him the forwarding addres when he visited and he gave me the date of his next visit... he never came and that is the last i had heard of this until last wednesday, when i received a letter from a solicitors/agency telling me to pay £2007.02 within 14 days( guess this was including some cahrges because im sure the original item was approx £899), if i couldnt afford it to contact the number on the back.

I quickly telephoned the number of the agency and said that i couldnt possibly afford to pay the full amount but was willing to pay by monthly direct debit payments, the man on the other end of the phone said...
"you are telling me you cannot afford to give me £2008 by the end og f this month?" i said " no, my outgoings are high i couldnt possibly".
He said " well can you pay us half of it then no over the phone?"
i gave him the same answer, so he said to me...
" well, there is nothing we can do then, you will just have to wait and see what happens, probably go to court"

I really do not know what to do now because the big problem is that i have moved house again because i could afford to run a flat on my own, so i moved in with a person who i know from work, but she has always said that she does not want anyone getting her blacklisted in her home and im scared i am now going to lose this roof over my head when she finds out what these people are threatening me with.
i am so scared and do not know where to turn, im just waiting for someone to knock at her door and them thats it :-(
if anyone has any ideas of ways to help please let me know, many thanks.
ps... hope this makes sense, i am writing this with my head full of stress so it might not make sense to anyone, hope it does!

lynsayjane

hi nondave, best advice I can give is to contact citizens advice, also look out the copies of the credit agreement if you still have, if not request a copy form the original company.

sure someone will be along in the morn to offer better advice

BAILIFFCHASER

Send this letter to the solicitors and see what they come up with. I am 100% sure that a credit agreement does not exist if so they can go and jump as the letter will explain its self !!!!!


Your reference : 33204498


Dear sir/madam

With reference to the above account, I am writing to confirm I am not acknowledging this debt.would you please send me a true copy of this credit agreement. I understand that under the Consumer Credit Act 1974 (Sections 77−79), I am entitled to receive a copy of my credit agreement on request and this should be supplied within 12 working days. I enclose a payment of £1.00 which represents the fee payable under the Consumer Credit Act.

Non-compliance with my request is a criminal offence under the above Act and will result in a report being submitted to the relevant statutory authorities.

As you are aware, a credit agreement that is not properly documented and signed by the customer is totally unenforceable under the CCA and therefore is a complete defence to any court claim that is issued.
Please note that under Section 189 you are obliged to supply these documents whether you are the original creditor or not. I await your reply.

yours faithfully

Enc cheque number

adjust to your own needs. If no reply is received within12 days agreement is not enforceable if no reply is recieved in 30 days the report it to your local magistrates court for a criminal summons to be issued !!!! Also update this thread with what is going on on a regular basis.

nondave

Thank you for the help so far, BAILIFFCHASER i have edited the letter with the correct details and am posting it today, fingers crossed.

nondave

Hi, I have just had a reply to the letter sent to them, it says..........

Dear Sir/Madam

I write with regard to your recent communication concerning the above account.

I can confirm that i have arranged for a copy of the invoice to be sent to you directly by our clients. This will be with you as soon as possible.

Please do not hesitate to contact us on **** *** **** should you require any further assistance. You can also e-mail on *****

Yours Sincerely,

Administration Department.



What is my next move, just wait for the contract to arrive?

Hate all this waiting, worry yourself to death.

Conor_3

Yeah..just got to wait.