13 year old debt still being harassed from vodafone debt companies.

Countrywalks

In 2005 i lost my job my wife and my home, i was on the edge of just giving up but i moved in with some friends and then to cut a long story short i moved in with my brother. i left my old life behind and started from new, i owed vodafone £130 in 2005 and thought nothing more about it but in 2011 i had a letter saying the dept had been sold to a companie and they want £203 i ignored the letters and have since moved 3 times but today 28th oct 2013 i got another letter saying its been sold on to yet another dept company and they want £230 from me.

Ive not contacted vodafone since 2005 and have never contacted the debt companies.

How can they keep harassing me after all this time and is there anything i can do to stop it. ive been told debts like this only last on record for 5 years so if that is the case why after 13 years am i still getting this harassment?

I hope someone can help me to stop this because i cant afford £230.

~Beanie~

Debts become statute barred after 6 years in England if you don't pay towards it or acknowledge that you owe it, which means that they can't take you to court to enforce the debt. It doesn't stop them chasing you for it though.

Have a look at this link: http://www.nationaldebtline.co.uk/england_wales/factsheet.php?page=25_liability_for_debts_and_the_limitation_act There is a letter at the bottom that you can send them.

Tixy

The debt will stay on your credit file for 6 years from the date of default entered by the creditor.

From what you have said then assuming they haven't taken court action against you the debt would now be statute barred.

A debt is statute barred if there is a period of 6years where you make no payments and do not acknowledge in writing that you owe the money and only if they don't take court action against you. (5 years if you are in Scotland).

If they haven't taken court action and if it is statute barred you can send them a template letter to say you don't intend to pay and they should then stop chasing you for this debt.

If they have taken court action then the debt doesn't become statute barred.

Infor on this link - https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2606811

Countrywalks

Thanks for replying.

I'm in England so its 6years then "statute barred" that's nice to know.

I have know idea if they have taken court action or not due to moving so often 5 times since 2005, I've not had any letters to suggest it has been taken to court.

I,m worried that if i do communicate with them that i might open a tin of worms and i would rather just send the letters back with

"THIS PERSON DOES NOT LIVE HERE"

Tixy

Sending back letters to state you don't live there is not a good idea, it would be fairly easy for them to prove otherwise, and they will likely keep chasing you.

If you send back a letter to state that you believe it to be statute barred then they have to stop chasing you at that point or prove that it is not statute barred.

Countrywalks

Tixy wrote: »

Sending back letters to state you don't live there is not a good idea, it would be fairly easy for them to prove otherwise, and they will likely keep chasing you.

If you send back a letter to state that you believe it to be statute barred then they have to stop chasing you at that point or prove that it is not statute barred.

wow interesting, ok and what if they did take court action back in 2005 without me knowing? what would my situation be now.

Tixy

If they took court action against you in 2005 then as that is more than 6 years ago they cannot use enforcement action against you currently (that would be things like bailiffs, an attachement of earnings etc).
To be able to enforce a CCJ after more than 6years the creditors has to go back to court to gain permission to be able to enforce after so long, and to effectively give a good reason why they didn't enforce in the last 6years.

If they obtained a CCJ in say 2008 then it would still be on your credit file and they would still be able to enforce the debt. If that was the case then the best option is often to arrange repayments at a rate that is affordable.

Countrywalks

Not so clean cut as i thought. I think i will just ignor the letters for another 13 years because i have no idea whats been happening behind my back. its only a vodafone 2 months payment that i owed in 2005 but the way they chase you is crazy, i know they sold the debt to a company and then that company sold it on to another debt company in 2008.

Anyway thanks to you guys ive learned a few things and have kept a copy of that letter and might use it in the future.

sharpy2010

You don't seem to have left your old life behind at all, and you keep suggesting that you will just ignore the debts. This is bad because it will keep hounding you, and it will keep making you miserable.

Now is the time to take back control of your life, empower yourself with the knowledge that people on here can give you, and can help you with, and move on in a positive way.

What you now need to do is obtain a copy of your credit reference from each of the three agencies, Callcredit, Experian, and Equifax. You can do this by sending them £2 by way of Cheque or Postal Order obtainable from the post office. A simple Google search will tell you everything you need to know to request your credit reference from each of these three companies, and you are fully entitled to see the information that they hold on you.

Once you have obtained your credit report, you will be able to see if the debt is 6 years old or more - you check the "default date" to find this out.

If the default date is more than 6 years ago then great - what you then do is send the letter that Tixy kindly linked to, and you should hear no more from the company chasing (Vodafone).

Quite why someone would do anything other than the above, when the debt being chased is making them miserable, is beyond me.

Let us know how you get on.

Tixy

Agree with sharpy - dealing with it will be the best way to get them to stop hassling you. It sounds unlikely there is a CCJ as you would probably have already had a visit from a bailiff at some point. But checking your credit files will tell you for sure (making sure that your files contain all your addresses since you had the debt).

A potential problem with doing nothing is that they decide to take court action against you now and send the letters to your old address.

Whilst technically the debt is statute barred if you don't file a defence to state that it is then the CCJ would be granted automatically by the court and you could end up with a CCJ without even knowing about it. You could in time get the CCJ set aside and removed because it was statute barred, but it costs a fee to do that and is a pain that you don't need to go through.

It seems a lot easier to deal with it that to spend more years being chased with debt collection letters.

PS 2005 is only 8years ago not 13.

Countrywalks

Yes that does sound like good advice i will get a credit reference from the three agencies, Because your right it is not nice to keep getting these letters and to be honest it ruins my day every time i receive one.

Next time im in town i will get the three postal orders and send each a request.

Tixy yes it is only 8 years, I'm not sure what made me think 13.

I'll keep you posted to what happens, Thanks again to all that have helped me better understand how this all works.