Never ending collection agencies

Rooster_Norwich

I had a few debts with the bank after a failed business and bad advice from the bank. The bank (HSBC) took no responsibility and to cut a long story short they sold the debt to a collection agency.

This has been going on for many years now, the debt being passed on from one collection agency to another, it's collectively for around £14k

I'm on a low income and was advised by the CCCS to pay a nominal £1.00 per month on each debt to show "willingness to pay", I simply cannot afford to pay large sums out.

I get the occasional letter offering a Full & Final but there's no way I can pay those sums. The collection agency is also asking me to provide a breakdown of my monthly income and outgoings as part of a "review".

I take it that because I'm paying the £1.00 a month I'm not eligible for the debt to drop off? My credit rating with Experian is showing as Excellent and in the green.

I've seen websites ( that I cannot name ) that offer to get you Debt Free within 30 days by sending the Collection Agencies a template letter, are these of any use at all or should they be avoided?

Hoping someone can advise, thank you.

fatbelly

We're aware of the 'magic letters' - don't waste your money on them.

The debts would have been defaulted before being sold - the records disappear from your credit file six years after the default date.

I wonder how long ago you got your 'advice' to pay £1 per month? CCCS became stepchange in 2012. If you asked post-2009 I would have expected them to consider a DRO. Do you own a property?

sourcrates

Possibly concider doing a CCA request first, if it's an old debt, could be they no longer have any paperwork, if that bears no fruit, and you have no assets, I would look into a DRO as Fatbelly has suggested.

I'm surprised they have not gone down the legal route for a 14k debt.

fatbelly

I took it that there were a few debts but maybe to the same creditor, at least originally.

Maybe there was no way of effectively enforcing a ccj, so they didn't bother. As the op was acknowledging the debt every month there was no need to rush anyway.

CCA requests are always an option for cards, loans. not for overdrafts.

Rooster_Norwich

I did get my initial advice from the CCCS and also further advice from Step Change.

I was advised that as long as I show " Willingness to pay", no matter how many nasty worded letters they sent to me, they would be unlikely to take court action as I was not actively refusing to pay the debt, just that I could only pay what I could afford.

I'd say the debts are 7-10 years old easily.

"Possibly concider doing a CCA request first, if it's an old debt, could be they no longer have any paperwork"

Is there a template letter to ask for this or should I go via Step Change?

I cant do a DRO as I'm a homeowner.

sourcrates

Rooster_Norwich wrote: »

I'd say the debts are 7-10 years old easily.

"Possibly concider doing a CCA request first, if it's an old debt, could be they no longer have any paperwork"

Is there a template letter to ask for this or should I go via Step Change?

I cant do a DRO as I'm a homeowner.

This is something you should do yourself.

You can send this to any loan, creditcard, or catalogue account, but does not apply to bank accounts or overdraught debts.




Quote:

(Your home address)
Date:

To:

Dear Sir/Madam

Account/Ref No:

With reference to the above agreement, I/we would be grateful if you would send me/us a copy of this credit agreement and a full breakdown of the account including any interest or charges applied.

I/we understand that under the Consumer Credit Act 1974 [sections 77-79], I am/we are entitled to receive a copy of any credit agreement and a statement of account on request.

I/we enclose a payment of £1 which represents the fee payable under the Consumer Credit Act 1974.

I/we understand a copy of any credit agreement along with a statement of account should be supplied within 12 working days.

I/we understand that under the Consumer Credit Act 1974 creditors are unable to enforce an agreement if they fail to comply with the request for a copy of the agreement and statement of account under these sections of the Act.

I/we look forward to hearing from you.

Yours faithfully



Your name.
Print you name rather than use your normal signature, since some DCA's have been known to scan it so they can mock up a fake CCA.

For the same reason, the statutory fee of £1 should be a postal order.

Rooster_Norwich

Ahh.. my debts are bank accounts that have been sold on...and on....and on.....

fatbelly

I understand better now.

I've never been convinced by the 'pay them £1 per month and they won't take court action' argument but it does seem to have worked in your case.

I guess there's not a lot you can do until you get a lump sum to allow you to take advantage of a full & final settlement offer.

Rooster_Norwich

sourcrates wrote: »

This is something you should do yourself.

You can send this to any loan, creditcard, or catalogue account, but does not apply to bank accounts or overdraught debts.




Quote:

(Your home address)
Date:

To:

Dear Sir/Madam

Account/Ref No:

With reference to the above agreement, I/we would be grateful if you would send me/us a copy of this credit agreement and a full breakdown of the account including any interest or charges applied.

I/we understand that under the Consumer Credit Act 1974 [sections 77-79], I am/we are entitled to receive a copy of any credit agreement and a statement of account on request.

I/we enclose a payment of £1 which represents the fee payable under the Consumer Credit Act 1974.

I/we understand a copy of any credit agreement along with a statement of account should be supplied within 12 working days.

I/we understand that under the Consumer Credit Act 1974 creditors are unable to enforce an agreement if they fail to comply with the request for a copy of the agreement and statement of account under these sections of the Act.

I/we look forward to hearing from you.

Yours faithfully



Your name.
Print you name rather than use your normal signature, since some DCA's have been known to scan it so they can mock up a fake CCA.

For the same reason, the statutory fee of £1 should be a postal order.

I sent off three letters one for each debt they are trying to collect and got this response. Doesn't this fall out of the 12 days if they are going to take 8 weeks or was it just to respond within 12 days?

My issue is with NCO Resolve so why are they now asking for info from a different company?


Dear Mr. ****

Further to your recent CCA request, We have submitted your query to Arrow Global who will look to provide this information for you as soon as possible. The turnaround time for this type of request is up to 8 weeks.

As soon as we receive a further update we will inform you of this.
Should you have any questions or queries please do not hesitate to contact ourselves on 0********* or simply reply to ***********

Please find our opening hours and contact number below.

Monday to Thursday – 08:00 to 20:00
Friday – 08:00 to 19:00
Saturday – 08:30 to 13:00

Telephone number: *********


Kind regards,
On behalf of & for
NCO Europe Ltd

sourcrates

Hi,
The 12 day thing, is just a guide, didn't you say these debts were old bank accounts ?
If so CCA requests would not apply, arrow global, most likley, are the owners of your debt, NCO resolve will just be collecting on there behalf.

Rooster_Norwich

Well I got 3x Identical responses. I'm sure that all the debts were not Overdrafts but not a lot I think I can do now...