Debt Agency Want Money From Old Bank Account.

mrsbutton

Sorry this letter https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2607247

Robo-787

Any debt's over 6 years old are Statute Barred and don't have to be paid back. They are just chancing their arm hoping you pay. DON'T

mrsbutton

Thanks again for everyone's replies!

I have since sent a letter of complaint to the debt agency as they had requested payment for the debt even though they had yet to prove the debt was mine.

The bank which the debt apparently came from have now been in touch with the debt agency, and have now confirmed where the debt came from. They confirm there was no dispute to the debt (because I had no idea about it) and there for confirm the account remains outstanding.

The debt is from 18/06/2009 when I went £1.03 in to an unauthorised overdraft, they have then since added £146.04 in charges. I lived at the address this account was in until March 2010 and heard nothing from them.

As for it being Statute Barred, do you think it still counts as I have been in touch with the debt agency since this first post?

I have not been in contact with the bank or heard anything about any debt from them, this was an old account that I used for my second job, when that ended I cancelled everything i.e direct debits as I knew no money would be going in to that account.

Any ideas what I can do next? It's beyond annoying that this debt is from fee's.

Thanks!

sourcrates

mrsbutton wrote: »

Thanks again for everyone's replies!

I have since sent a letter of complaint to the debt agency as they had requested payment for the debt even though they had yet to prove the debt was mine.

The bank which the debt apparently came from have now been in touch with the debt agency, and have now confirmed where the debt came from. They confirm there was no dispute to the debt (because I had no idea about it) and there for confirm the account remains outstanding.

The debt is from 18/06/2009 when I went £1.03 in to an unauthorised overdraft, they have then since added £146.04 in charges. I lived at the address this account was in until March 2010 and heard nothing from them.

As for it being Statute Barred, do you think it still counts as I have been in touch with the debt agency since this first post?

I have not been in contact with the bank or heard anything about any debt from them, this was an old account that I used for my second job, when that ended I cancelled everything i.e direct debits as I knew no money would be going in to that account.

Any ideas what I can do next? It's beyond annoying that this debt is from fee's.

Thanks!

It has to be a payment or written acknowledgement, so I think you will be ok, but it depends on the 'cause of action date' not the date the account defaulted, that's the point in time a creditor could of taken legal action against you, more difficult to assertain with a bank account, as you are not required to make regular payments.

I would wait a few weeks, and send them a letter stating the account is statute barred, see what response that brings.

mrsbutton

sourcrates wrote: »

It has to be a payment or written acknowledgement, so I think you will be ok, but it depends on the 'cause of action date' not the date the account defaulted, that's the point in time a creditor could of taken legal action against you, more difficult to assertain with a bank account, as you are not required to make regular payments.

I would wait a few weeks, and send them a letter stating the account is statute barred, see what response that brings.

Thank you for your reply!
They have given me 4 weeks to arrange a repayment plan so was going to wait until they contact me.

I'm still not happy that my complaint has been closed as they have asked for payment in the time the account was on hold while they provided proof I owed them money. I have proof they did and even sent it to them.

Considering it's bank charges should I contact the bank and claim back the charged which would then clear the debt?

sourcrates

mrsbutton wrote: »

Considering it's bank charges should I contact the bank and claim back the charged which would then clear the debt?

Ok,
You have two ways to play this.

(1) you pursue a written complaint with the bank, to get the charges removed, you have to site financial hardship to do this.
This option is 50/50 weather it will work or not.

(2) you pursue the statute barred angle.
This option looks to be 90/10 in your favour.

The choice is yours in the end.

If you go the complaint route, that will count as acknowledgement, and re-start the SB clock, so think very carefully before making a decision.

mrsbutton

sourcrates wrote: »

Ok,
You have two ways to play this.

(1) you pursue a written complaint with the bank, to get the charges removed, you have to site financial hardship to do this.
This option is 50/50 weather it will work or not.

(2) you pursue the statute barred angle.
This option looks to be 90/10 in your favour.

The choice is yours in the end.

If you go the complaint route, that will count as acknowledgement, and re-start the SB clock, so think very carefully before making a decision.

Thank you so much for your advice!
Hugely helpful as I would have been at a loss.
I shall take your advice and send them the statute barred letter in a couple of weeks, hopefully this will stop any further action.

Thank you again

mrsbutton

I have had a letter today from the debt collection agency asking for me to confirm my previous address, when I moved in and out of the property and my date of birth.

Really? They don't even know if it was my debt?

They sent my details of a bank account the other day!

DevCoder

There is a complication with this one because the general consensus is with current accounts the SB clock starts when the bank

1. Calls in the overdraft (if your balance was an authorised overdraft), if the account remained open and the bank never recalled the authorised overdraft then it could be considered the SB clock hasn't started

2. The account remains open and the account is in an unauthorised overdraft, the SB clock again wouldn't start until the bank issued you a default notice of the account. This is even more grey as there isn't really a time frame of when a current account goes overdrawn (unauthorised) to when it is considered in default (unlike a loan contract which has a payment date). The account could just keep going further into the unauthorised overdraft facility offered by the bank.

3. Closes the account, this is the easiest of the 3. If the bank has closed the account then all facilities are considered to have stopped, therefore the SB clock would start from that point as there would be no facility available as a repayment vehicle.

Basically on accounts which have no contracted repayment date/amount (i.e. current accounts) then there is no default as the bank is allowing the use of a facility (whether that is authorised or unauthorised, the only difference is the rate/monthly amount at which you are charged for the facility).

Again, this is a topic of discussion with lots of arguments either way, buts its still a grey area (that should really be cleared up).

If you are definitely sure the account was closed and you have this in writing then this is your strongest defence.

mrsbutton

krisdorey wrote: »

There is a complication with this one because the general consensus is with current accounts the SB clock starts when the bank

1. Calls in the overdraft (if your balance was an authorised overdraft), if the account remained open and the bank never recalled the authorised overdraft then it could be considered the SB clock hasn't started

2. The account remains open and the account is in an unauthorised overdraft, the SB clock again wouldn't start until the bank issued you a default notice of the account. This is even more grey as there isn't really a time frame of when a current account goes overdrawn (unauthorised) to when it is considered in default (unlike a loan contract which has a payment date). The account could just keep going further into the unauthorised overdraft facility offered by the bank.

3. Closes the account, this is the easiest of the 3. If the bank has closed the account then all facilities are considered to have stopped, therefore the SB clock would start from that point as there would be no facility available as a repayment vehicle.

Basically on accounts which have no contracted repayment date/amount (i.e. current accounts) then there is no default as the bank is allowing the use of a facility (whether that is authorised or unauthorised, the only difference is the rate/monthly amount at which you are charged for the facility).

Again, this is a topic of discussion with lots of arguments either way, buts its still a grey area (that should really be cleared up).

If you are definitely sure the account was closed and you have this in writing then this is your strongest defence.

Thanks for your reply!

A worldwide of unknown with this account, I didn't even know there was a debt.

I don't know if the account has now or was closed with the bank, the last charge on the account on the statement the debt collection agency sent me, says it was 25/06/2010 which was a Interest and Charges.
I didn't leave at the address this account was registered to but did pick up my post for a while after I moved and never received any letters from them.

Do I contact the bank or debt collection agency to see if the account is still open?

Really at a loss on where to go from here.....