It's that Buchanan, Clark & Wells lot again.

tylerandjack

Hi guys.

This is my first time on here, arrived after googling the infamous Buchanan, Clark & Wells. My situation is slightly different from the others I've seen so I'm going to ask afresh, at the risk of boring you all with repeated information.

First of all, I should explain that my wife and I decided a couple of years ago to get a second mortgage and get debt-free before marrying last January. It was a great feeling and I vowed never to make those mistakes again.

About a month ago I received the standard fishing letter from B, C & W. My address, as marked on the letter, is slightly incorrect but the postman knows me so it got here okay. There were no details so I didn't reply. God knows I've received enough junk mail and calls since becoming nice and solvent and the original address used to "trace me" belonged to my mum, I've not stayed there for at least 4 years.
Then, about a week or two later, I received a reply stating that the debt was £600 previously held by Provident Personal Credit. There as also a notice of assignment of debt included, again my address is slightly incorrect on all letter headers.
Today I received their demand for payment, claiming that they will not hesitate to instigate legal proceedings.

Fine. IF this is something I need to pay immediately we do have a savings account with more than enough in it at the moment BUT have they done anything wrong so far, where does it go to next and what are my options?

I have considered sending the latest letter back with a "not known at this address" marking.

Although I can't remember the amount, I do think that this IS a debt I may have accrued years ago during my "wilderness years". However, it has to be at least four and a half years old. I have now been with my wife just over three years and was away from the area in which I built up all of my debt for about a year and a half before then. I live in Scotland so thought the deadline was five years, which means they are at the very least cutting it close, but perhaps as it was a debt accrued in England it may be six years?

Please don't think that I am doing anything possible to simply avoid a debt. I WOULD like to, obviously, not have to pay it but if everything is legit and I HAVE to deal with the lowlife at B, C & W then I will simply pay everything off in a lump sum and demand receipt of final payment. What I don't want, of course, is for a number of old, OLD debts to come and bite me in the !!!. I thought they were all dealt with and I have been back on the grid, so to speak, for a number of years now.

Any and all help appreciated. Please forgive me if more information is required, I'll be happy to give it, but this was just an overview of the situation.

Cheers,

Kev.

Tixy

BUT have they done anything wrong so far, where does it go to next and what are my options?

They don't appear to have done anything wrong so far. They have contacted you regarding an alleged debt.

If you lived in England when the debt was incurred then the debt falls under English law.

Even if the debt was statute barred then creditor/debt collector has a right to contact you to ask you to pay the debt. The debt still exists once statute barred, they just cannot take court action against you (or if they tried you could defend against it).

But it sounds like you would not be sure whether this was statute barred anyway.

The usual advice would be to start by sending the prove it letter, and to check your credit files to see if this debt (or any other unpaid debts) appear on your credit file. Letter when you know nothing about about the debt - AKA "Prove it" letter

If they prove it and if it is your debt and not statute barred then they will likely accept a reduced full & final settlement on the debt.

tylerandjack

They don't appear to have done anything wrong so far. They have contacted you regarding an alleged debt.

If you lived in England when the debt was incurred then the debt falls under English law.

Even if the debt was statute barred then creditor/debt collector has a right to contact you to ask you to pay the debt. The debt still exists once statute barred, they just cannot take court action against you (or if they tried you could defend against it).

But it sounds like you would not be sure whether this was statute barred anyway.

The usual advice would be to start by sending the prove it letter, and to check your credit files to see if this debt (or any other unpaid debts) appear on your credit file. Letter when you know nothing about about the debt - AKA "Prove it" letter.

If they prove it and if it is your debt and not statute barred then they will likely accept a reduced full & final settlement on the debt.

Thanks Tixy,

I just realised that while the second letter included verification of the debt being passed on it didn't include details/proof of the actual debt incurred so I will definitely be asking for that first of all.

By the look of that template letter, I assume it is okay for emailing?

As I said, if I have to pay then I have to pay but reading up on B, C & W doesn't really inspire confidence in everything being nicely resolved at the end of the day.

:beer:

The_Boss

tylerandjack wrote: »

I have considered sending the latest letter back with a "not known at this address" marking.

......

Please don't think that I am doing anything possible to simply avoid a debt. I WOULD like to, obviously, not have to pay it but if everything is legit and I HAVE to deal with the lowlife at B, C & W then I will simply pay everything off in a lump sum and demand receipt of final payment. What I don't want, of course, is for a number of old, OLD debts to come and bite me in the !!!. I thought they were all dealt with and I have been back on the grid, so to speak, for a number of years now.

.

That first bit kind of contradicts what you subsequently wrote. They could trace you from credit files if you claim not to live there, which in itself would be fraudulantly avoiding the payment. Making you as much a lowlife as you believe them to be.

Acknowledge the response but advise that you are investigating whether it is still valid.

tylerandjack

The_Boss wrote: »

That first bit kind of contradicts what you subsequently wrote. They could trace you from credit files if you claim not to live there, which in itself would be fraudulantly avoiding the payment. Making you as much a lowlife as you believe them to be.

Acknowledge the response but advise that you are investigating whether it is still valid.

As it's the wrong address on the letters they have sent, I would technically be correct. I would be happy for them to trace me from credit files and get my correct address, I have no idea how they have the wrong one on file as they obviously got close SOMEHOW yet I've never used a false address in all of my communications from here in the past three years.

So, basically, that adds to my unease and the returned letter would force them to trace me more legitimately, was how I intended it anyway. Sorry that it came across differently with me just being brief above, I hope that clarifies it slightly but I imagine that you and Tixy have guided me on a better path with the immediate request for proof of debt anyway.

:beer:

tylerandjack

Oh, that should have said "I would technically be correct (no?)" as I wasn't sure.