Rosendale Collect advice needed

SuperSeagull

I have received a letter from Arrow Global to say a debt I have been paying,I think, has been transferred to Rosendale Collect due to non payment. Rosendale are firm of notorious bailiffs who have featured on TV many times for the exorbitant fees they charge. As far as I know the debt relates to an old credit card of either my wife or myself but I am not sure. I usually pay a regular nominal amount out of our pension each week and cant believe that this has been missed. I have written to Rosendale asking for more details of the original debt etc so that I can check the payment record but I am worried that they may send their bailiffs in. They have said they will take action if the £1800 is not paid within 7 days, I do not have the money to pay a large amount and can only pay a small amount each week so I would be grateful of any advice as to what I can do next,.

Tixy

Bailiffs can only be sent if the creditor (or debt collector) have previously taken you to court and obtained a county court judgement against you.

If that hasn't happened then rossendales are only acting as debt collectors in this case, not as bailiffs.

Assuming there is not a CCJ and assuming the do provide suitable proof of the debt then I would just write to say your circumstnaces have not changed and that you can still only afford £x per week.

You say you don't know if it was yours or your wifes - presumably the letter is addressed to one of you? that is whose debt it will be.

planteria

not my field, but seems that Tixy knows the score here.

you have to address the matter directly. i would be inclined to try to speak to the original lender, if you can, but perhaps it is too late for that. either way, you need to get on top of it & agree a payment plan that you can stick to. if you can't pay it back in 7 days, you can't, end of story. they have to be reasonable.

as it happens, i had them on to me when a supplier made a complete mess of an invoice i was sent. they sent a couple of blokes round. i made them a cup of tea and they left shaking our hands & promising not to come back without an appointment:T

SuperSeagull

Thanks for the advice. I have checked the letter, it is addressed to me so it is obviously mine. Can they refuse to accept my payments saying that they are not enough and it would take too long to pay off the debt, that is assuming I live long enough.

Tixy

They could refuse to accept your repayments. Then the only course of action for them would be to take court action against you.

They'd have to weigh up whether taking you to court will actually get them any more money a month. If they obtained a CCJ then the judge should only order you to pay at a rate you can afford, which may well be exactly what you are paying now.

As an aside, and particularly if they do start court action, then you may want to check whether they have the proper documentation for the debt, and whether the documentation is correct (depending on the age of the agreement, if it contains the correct prescribed terms that were legally required).

SuperSeagull

From where could I find the information as to what documents are required. When I know that I can obviously ask them for copies to ensure hat they have them. I would assume that they will have them, as they are a company of debt collectors and bailiffs so would be au fait with the legal requirements.

Tixy

Do you know when the credit card was originally taken out?

They should be able to supply you with a copy of the original credit agreement, or a reconstituted copy of the agreement as it would have been at that time.

There was a period of time (before April 2007) where quite a lot of credit agreements for cards, store cards, catalogues etc did not contain all the prescribed terms required by the consumer credit act. So if the card was before that date it may fall within this - if after April 2007 its unlikely to be an issue - as it will almost certainly have the correct terms, though they still need to be able to produce a copy of the agreement and evidence of the debt.

If they cannot provide a reconstituted copy of the agreement or if it doesn't contain all those required terms then the debt may be legally unenforceable. This can be very useful to know if they try to take court action.

A search for "unenforceable credit agreements" should point you in the right direction. Unenforceable doesn't mean its not owed, but that they cannot use the courts to enforce the debts.

To get a copy of the credit agreement (if they don't supply it to start to you from your last letter) there is a template letter here you can use - http://www.nationaldebtline.co.uk/england_wales/debt_advice.php#6
select the letter 'you want a copy of your credit agreement.....'

PS you would be surprised how many debt collection agencies buy debts without any paperwork to enforce them.

planteria

good work Tixy:T

SuperSeagull

Thanks for that Tixy