Anywhere good to go to for advice?

toby_puppy

My partner who is just about getting straight with money after many years of being in difficulty had a couple of letters the other day for outstanding debts.

The first one was from Capquest for £1000, which he vaguely seems to remember. He asked for the original documents relating to the agreement but because this debt apparently went to a court judgement, then they are not required to provide this.

Not so bad until - he received a letter from Citibank saying he owes them £6063 going back to November 2003. They have sent the agreement for this showing a £4500 loan, a £1500 to consolidate an old loan and a £1000 accidental death benefit, thus a loan of £7000.

Apparently some repayments were made but I am wondering if he is within his rights to deduce the accidental death benefit of £1000 off the balance.

Also, I was thinking, what are these companies like if we made them an offer, ie. I have £2500 savings I could lend him - are they likely to accept an offer like that, rather than paying it back at £50 per month as they've agreed - as that will take ten years!

Also, the debt is going back to 2003, so how far back can they legally enforce things?

michael1983l

For the Citibank debt, if it has not been aknowledged in 6 years then it is statute barred. Say you have no knowledge of it and highlight that it is now statute barred.

toby_puppy

Thanks Michael. He panicked when he got the letter and I'm sure he agreed to pay £50 per month to them by direct debit after ringing them up.

I don't suppose there is anyway of backing out of this, or changing the repayment to a lower amount of say £10 per month???

Also, these two debts did not show on his Equifax credit file, so if he starts paying to them, will they then show up?

michael1983l

Well if he has agreed to pay 50 a month recently then he can no longer have it statute barred because he has just aknowledged the debt.

toby_puppy

What do you do if a creditor contacts you after 6 years or over?

Once a debt has become statute barred there aren't any actions the creditor can take to unbar it.

Once six years without contact or acknowledgement have passed legal action to enforce the debt is still barred even if you (the debtor) were to make a payment or acknowledge the debt.^^

The creditor can still contact you, even if a debt is statute barred - they just can't use any legal proceedings to force you to pay.

If a creditor, who you haven't had any communication with for 6 years, contacts you about a debt, write to them quoting the Limitation Act 1980, without acknowledging the debt.

I found the above information on another website. So does that mean once 6 years had passed without contact or acknowledgement, then he wouldn't have to pay?

So, would he be able to cancel the direct debit now, as it's not due to go out until April.

He hasn't written to them, he just rang them up when he received the letter and they set up a direct debit over the phone. He has now received a letter from them confirming his bank details.

To summarise, the loan was taken out in 2003 and he has received the letter about the debt in 2012.

He has moved houses several times since 2003 so I don't know if they ever wrote to the original address, but he moved out of there in 2004.

soontobemrsg

michael1983l wrote: »

Well if he has agreed to pay 50 a month recently then he can no longer have it statute barred because he has just aknowledged the debt.

The fact that he has recently acknowledged the debt does not mean that it is no longer statute barred. If it was statute barred it will remain that way. Write them the letter saying that you believe the debt to be statute barred and see what they come back with (There's a template letter in the stickys at the top of the board)

toby_puppy

michael1983l wrote: »

Well if he has agreed to pay 50 a month recently then he can no longer have it statute barred because he has just aknowledged the debt.

Michael, could you check the paragraph on my other post which says they can't enforce the debt after six years, even if you've made a payment or acknowledged it - do you think that applies or am I misreading it. Thank you.

toby_puppy

soontobemrsg - thank you, that's how I was reading it - I will have a look for the link you mentioned.
It's all a bit of a minefield as he can't even remember how much he paid off it as it is so long ago now.

soontobemrsg

Here you go; https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2606811 See post 6

toby_puppy

thank you soontobemrsg - will write these letters out tonight.

RAS

toby_puppy wrote: »

Also, these two debts did not show on his Equifax credit file, so if he starts paying to them, will they then show up?

This suggests that it is more than 6 years since this debt was defaulted.

Also you do realise that even if there is a CCJ for the other debt, after 6 years they need court permission to collect?