Need advice urgently on a possible Statute Barred debt.

phil0sophy

Hi everyone,


I have recently received correspondence for a debt that I had forgotten existed, the last time I heard about this debt was in 2007 and there is no record of it on my credit file whatsoever, it is for the amount of £2.223.54


They made contact with me 2 weeks ago via a phonecall and I managed to get them to agree a payment over the phone as a "Short settlement of £1000" which I have still not paid.


However, after that phone call it got me thinking...they have provided me with no proof of this debt, it's not on my credit file and I have had no contact since 2007 whatsoever from them or any other company on behalf of this debt.


By my reckoning that would make the debt officially statute barred, so, following the templates on this website I sent the hybrid letter in post #5 from the following thread on these forums....

"Statute barred debts and the Limitation Acts"

Today I have had a response to the letter in which the company "Rockwell Debt Collection Agency" claim that the last payment made in respect to this account was for the amount of £10.00 on the 19th December 2008 by credit card, they then state that the account therefore is NOT statute barred.


They then go on to state that I have agreed a payment of £1000.00 in short settlement and "We therefore trust that you do recognise this and await your payment, we will hold your account for a further 30 days awaiting your response"


Ok so my question is, what is the next best step? Should I send the letter template in post #8 of the Statute barred debts and the Limitation Acts thread next? Should I wait a certain amount of days before I send it? Will them holding my account for 30 days mean they will not pursue or take any further action on the debt in that time period?


Sorry for all the questions, I am just stuck as to what to do next.


All the best

[Deleted User]

The debt is statute barred; only if you admitted the debt in writing or made a payment would it no longer be the case. The DCA won't be happy of course and will probably say you admitted it over the phone; tell them do do one, admission has to be in writing be you or an authorised agent.

phil0sophy

Deleted User wrote: »

The debt is statute barred; only if you admitted the debt in writing or made a payment would it no longer be the case. The DCA won't be happy of course and will probably say you admitted it over the phone; tell them do do one, admission has to be in writing be you or an authorised agent.

They are claiming I made a payment on 19th December 2008, which I haven't and my credit report shows no record of this either.


They said I have 30 days to respond so should I wait until like the 25th day and then send a letter asking for proof of payment?

[Deleted User]

you could do that, or you could stall them until 19th December, and then even by their trickery, it will be statute barred. Just return letters unopened and marked 'addressee not recognised'. You've only got to stall them for another 3 months, easy to do.

phil0sophy

Deleted User wrote: »

you could do that, or you could stall them until 19th December, and then even by their trickery, it will be statute barred. Just return letters unopened and marked 'addressee not recognised'. You've only got to stall them for another 3 months, easy to do.

Isn't that risky though? Couldn't they put a CCJ out on it in that time period and that would void the statute barred state? Especially now knowing that I have already queried the fact that it might be statue barred?

[Deleted User]

It's possible, but in my experience unlikely since they haven't applied for a ccj in the years preceeding. It's up to you, but my method has worked well for me over the last few years.

sourcrates

phil0sophy wrote: »

Isn't that risky though? Couldn't they put a CCJ out on it in that time period and that would void the statute barred state? Especially now knowing that I have already queried the fact that it might be statue barred?

Wait out the month, then ask for proof of the payment they "allege" you made.
Do it all in writing, start your letters with the following sentence :


"I do not acknowledge any debt to your company"


or,


"without prejudice".


Remind them they are obligated to provide this proof, and until they do, you consider the account to be "in dispute".
That will keep them busy a while longer, then see what they come back to you with.
There is a process they have to follow to take legal action called the Civil Procedure Rules - Pre-Action Protocols :


http://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/procedure-rules/civil/protocol


so you will get plenty of warning.

phil0sophy

Hi guys/girls.


So I waited the 30 days and sent my response to them, asking for details of the payments and also proof that I even owe the money to the original lender in the first place.


They have responded by sending me a letter stating yet again I made a payment on the 19th December 2008 therefore it is not Statute Barred. (didn't even acknowledge my question about proving that I owe the debt to the original lender might I add)


They then follow that by saying they want me to provide them with "repayment proposals for the above account and details of your income and expenditure, assets and liabilities within the next 30 days, we enclose a blank financial statement form for your convenience"


They also end the letter stating that they are willing to offer me a "Short settlement" (they must have forgot they already did that, or maybe they have taken their original offer away from me now lol)


They also state they hope they have been able to clarify matters and that this constitutes as their final response, however if I remain dissatisfied I should contact the FOS or the credit services association.


Also their "Proof of payments" form they enclosed is beyond a joke, looks like something someone has whipped up in 5 mins with excel and there is a huge gap from the 6th of june 2008 and 19 of December 2008 with no payments whatsoever.


Pretty convenient that a payment comes out of nowhere from a credit card for £10 6 months after the last payment and it makes the account not eligible for being statute barred due to the date...


Also on the proof of payments form there are no card numbers, no nothing, I could claim they owe me money with this kind of "proof"


Also I didn't own a credit card back in December 2008, so if they accepted any payment for the account, it wasn't from me and I didn't give permission for a payment to be made so why are they claiming one was made?


Anyway take a look and tell me what you all think, what should my next step be? The below image is "Proof of payments"







*edit* Won't let me post an image of the proof of payments because I am a new user, anyway how can I post it up to show you all?

rizla_king

Write back pointing pointing out that.

You didn't own a credit card then, so their claim that you made a payment is fabricated and a fraudulent act on their part. .
The document they provide does not constitute any form of proof as it is deficient in x y z etc.
You will be reporting their attempted fraud and misleading claims to the FCA and trading standards.
You will bring their attempted fraud and misleading statements to the attention of the court if needs be.
Tell them they have one final chance to come clean before you report the matter to the police.

phil0sophy

rizla_king wrote: »

Write back pointing pointing out that.

You didn't own a credit card then, so their claim that you made a payment is fabricated and a fraudulent act on their part. .
The document they provide does not constitute any form of proof as it is deficient in x y z etc.
You will be reporting their attempted fraud and misleading claims to the FCA and trading standards.
You will bring their attempted fraud and misleading statements to the attention of the court if needs be.
Tell them they have one final chance to come clean before you report the matter to the police.

So wait the thirty days and then send them another letter stating this? Will the fact that they consider this their "final response" mean that they could put a CCJ out on this debt (after the 30 day response time) before the date of 19th dec 2014 (when they claim it will be statute barred) to prevent me saying it is statute barred?

rizla_king

Why wait 30 days? They need to know as soon as possible that you are not buying their bullsh-t.