Old debt not ours

jacqszoo

Hello there. I am new here although I have been reading for some time.
I need a bit of advice and figured you guys were the best to ask.
My hubby has in the past had debt problems but we now have it all under control.
Last week, out of the blue a letter arrived from a debt collection agency saying he owed over £2000 to their client. He telephoned and they told him it related to a credit card (he's never had one) with the Royale Bank of Scotland (never dealt with them) at an address that he lived at well over 7 years ago. Now he is adamant that this has got nothing to do with him.
I checked his experian report and other than the debts we are already dealing with there was nothing on his report.
Anyway I told him to tell them it was nothing to do with him, which he did. They requested that he sent them his signature at which point I asked them to send us copies of the original agreement so we could see for ourselves. They declined, saying that they had no documentation at all. So we told them again, it was nothing to do with him and we would not be sending them anything.
Today we have received another letter, this time saying that their client is prepared to settle at half the original debt. Cue another phone call and pretty much the same conversation.
Where do we go from here?
OH is adamant that it is not his. I remember seeing something on watchdog about agencies buying debts for pennies and just firing letters off willy nilly to anyone whose name matched.
Thank you in advance.

rog2

Don't even bother to reply. If the debt IS your husband's then the DCA must provide proof of that debt. Even if they DID provide proof, the chances are that, given the date, the debt is statute barred and your husband would simply need to refuse to pay.

RAS

Hi

Follow Rog's advice. Unfortunately it is not uncommon for DCAs to pursue debts even when they do not belong to the person they are chasing AND, even if they did, they are statute barred.

Ignore any further letters. Do not ring them up again.

If they ring you advise them that any further phone calls will constitute haressment and you will report them to Trading Standards.

Finally, do come back here for support if you need it. Some folk here have been sent all sorts of threats in the hope that they will cough up for debts they do not owe, so you would be in good company.

climbgirl

If they do keep chasing you, I'd send them this letter:

Dear Sir / Madam,

I do not acknowledge ANY debt to your company. I require you to supply the following documentation before I will correspond further on this matter.

1. You must supply me with a true copy of the alleged agreement you refer to. This is my right under your obligation to supply a copy of the agreement under the legislation within s.78 (1) Consumer Credit Act 1974 (s.77 (1) for fixed sum credit). Your obligation also extends to providing a statement of account. I enclose a £1 postal order / cheque in payment of the statutory fee.

2. A signed true copy of the deed of assignment of the above referenced agreement that you allege exists.


3. You are notified that you are obliged to supply these documents, whether you are the original creditor or not under s.189 of the CCA 1974.

Non-compliance with my request is a criminal offence under the above Act and will result in a report being submitted to the relevant statutory authorities.

As you are aware, a credit agreement that is not properly documented and signed by the customer is totally unenforceable under the CCA and therefore is a complete defence to any court claim that is issued.

Take noted at this stage, that any legal action you may contemplate will be both vigorously defended and contested.

Yours,

fistfullofdollars

No documentation on a statute barred debt.... hmmmmm. They havent got a leg to stand on. They are bullys by the sounds of it. Dont reply. If they hassle you more report them!