DCA letter for Debt thats 6 years old

going.straight

Yesterday I received a letter from Lowell DCA asking me to contact them regarding an outstanding debt of £1300 Orginal creditor Lloyds

I can only assume (as I have not called them) that this is for an old joint account i held with my ex that would have been closed 2007 the latest.
I know the amount was higher at one point but a few years ago they took some savings from my ex's account (as he still banked there) to clear some of the balance..

This was once on my credit file as an overdue/defaulted account and is no longer so this leads me to believe its been more than 6 years?

Should I respond at all or just ignore them?

stclair

If your confident you have not been in contact regarding the debt in the last 6 years.

Send them the statue barred template letter:

1 High Street,
Newtown,
Kent
R21 4RH
Date

The Loan Company
Company House,
Church Street,
Newtown,
Kent,
R1 7HG

I do not acknowledge any debt to you or any other company or organisation that you claim to be representing.

Dear Sir/Madam

Account No:

You have contacted me/us regarding the account with the above reference number, which you claim is owed by myself/ourselves.

I/we would point out that under the Limitation Act 1980 Section 5 "an action founded on simple contract shall not be brought after the expiration of six years from the date on which the cause of action accrued".

I/we would also point out that the OFT say under their Debt Collection Guidance on statute barred debt that "it is unfair to pursue the debt if the debtor has heard nothing from the creditor during the relevant limitation period".

The last correspondence/payment/acknowledgement or 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/us in the relevant period under Section 5 of the Limitation Act, I/we suggest that you are no longer able to take any court action against me/us to recover the alleged amount claimed.

The OFT Debt Collection Guidance states further that "continuing to press for payment after a debtor has stated that they will not be paying a debt because it is statute barred could amount to harassment contrary to section 40 (1) of the Administration of Justice Act 1970".

I/we await your written confirmation that no further contact will be made concerning the above account and confirmation that this matter is now closed.

I/we look forward to your reply.

Yours faithfully


Mrs A N Other

spacey2012

These bottom feeder debt collectors letters usually mean the debt has become statute bared and falls to the pile known as flog old debts.
However they can ask you to pay until the cows come home, you would just have an absolute defence if they attempted to obtain a CCJ, if you file a SB defence.

If this is not on your file and you are sure it is SB, then my advice is do nothing unless you receive a genuine LBC signed by a solicitor threatening county court.
Others may advise you to start communicating and telling them what they already know about it been bared, but my experience is once they get a bite they will pull you in and begin targeting you and pestering you.
These old files can be bought for as little as £1 and they can buy hundreds at a go, so it does not need a genius to know where the office time will be spent.
On those who ignore them, or those who start taking the bait and communicating with them.
If you Ignore them, you tend to get 4 or 5 template letters with increasing threats and on they move.

going.straight

Thank you, when you say no contact is that either way, if they wrote to me 2 years ago does that count?

Also with payments would the money they took from ex partners account be included as making a payment?

poppasmurf_bewdley

If they've taken money out of your ex's account in the meantime, then it could be less than six years since a payment was made, so statute barring may not come into it.

You don't have to respond to the letter. I'd leave it until you see if you get another one or two. If you do, then come back on here and seek advice.

In all probability, the letter is just a fishing expedition to see if they get a reaction.

going.straight

spacey2012 wrote: »

These bottom feeder debt collectors letters usually mean the debt has become statute bared and falls to the pile known as flog old debts.
However they can ask you to pay until the cows come home, you would just have an absolute defence if they attempted to obtain a CCJ, if you file a SB defence.

If this is not on your file and you are sure it is SB, then my advice is do nothing unless you receive a genuine LBC signed by a solicitor threatening county court.
Others may advise you to start communicating and telling them what they already know about it been bared, but my experience is once they get a bite they will pull you in and begin targeting you and pestering you.
These old files can be bought for as little as £1 and they can buy hundreds at a go, so it does not need a genius to know where the office time will be spent.
On those who ignore them, or those who start taking the bait and communicating with them.
If you Ignore them, you tend to get 4 or 5 template letters with increasing threats and on they move.

Thank you, so until i receive some sort of actual court documentation ignore? The letters are def very standard and come in my maiden name so easy to spot, they dont have a contact number for me so it doesnt bother me to just receive letters just dont want anything new appearing on my credit file

spacey2012

Well, the "partner may be paying" probably changes that, if he has been making token payments, the debt won't be be bared so you really need to find out.
Come back when you know

going.straight

I think ive had more than one letter.. just only recently ive started taking my head out of the sand to deal with stuff!
the latest letter received from Lowell states

We can still help you get your account in order
we have written to you several times etc etc

the next part says
what you could face if we dont hear from you
we are willing to do all we can to help you clear your balance, but if we do not pay or put a plan in place after this letter we will pass your account on to Red Debt Collection Services, RDC are part of Lowell financial limited and specialize in assessing customers financial circs. They do this by obtaining a copy of your credit report from a credit ref agency and then using the info to determine what options are available to us to recover what you owe, an example would be to use litigation. If legal action is taken against you, you could end up in court having to pay not only what you owe but legal costs and interest as well.

It then goes on to say but we really want to help call us straight away!

Ive never seen a DCA letter like it and Ive seen loads lol. (Ive abbreviated some of the text btw)

happy_bunny_2

I've had similar from Capquest for an unenforceable account. Look at report to assess your accounts and look for property valuations etc.

Fairly standard letter when they feel ignored.

happy_bunny_2

Would you have enough to pay in full if it went to court? If so I'd probably ignore them and risk it.

a7x4369

going.straight wrote: »

I think ive had more than one letter.. just only recently ive started taking my head out of the sand to deal with stuff!
the latest letter received from Lowell states

We can still help you get your account in order
we have written to you several times etc etc

the next part says
what you could face if we dont hear from you
we are willing to do all we can to help you clear your balance, but if we do not pay or put a plan in place after this letter we will pass your account on to Red Debt Collection Services, RDC are part of Lowell financial limited and specialize in assessing customers financial circs. They do this by obtaining a copy of your credit report from a credit ref agency and then using the info to determine what options are available to us to recover what you owe, an example would be to use litigation. If legal action is taken against you, you could end up in court having to pay not only what you owe but legal costs and interest as well.

It then goes on to say but we really want to help call us straight away!

Ive never seen a DCA letter like it and Ive seen loads lol. (Ive abbreviated some of the text btw)

red debt collection are the same people..they 'pass' it back and forth..wait for the red letter to come...wait again and they will become lowell letters!