Dispute debt (credit card stolen years ago) debt collector wont take no for answer

dekaspace

I am not sure how long the original dispute was from but id say at very latest Summer 2012 but more like 2011.

At the time I lived in a proprety which though it had a private letterbox as we lived above a bar the front door to the block of flats was locked though our regular postman did have a key.

I had a credit card I stopped using that I owned for about 5 years, as the person stealing letters had access to bank statements, birthday cards from relatives etc he knew my personal details.

I found out only when I got a phone call one day from credit card company saying I was £300 over my limit (due to charges) I reported the card stolen, and the unauthorised transactions but they demanded I pay off the £300 which I couldnt then the whole card a week later which was £1000 and at the time I was on jobseekers and could barely afford rent (£40 of my £70 per week went on rent and council tax)

They passed it on because they claimed I refused to pay, and due to other issues like having a giro stolen at same time I was under such stress I just forgot about it.

But the past few months I get random letters saying I have to pay the debt, I don't know what to do as I have dealt with the company before over a cancelled mobile phone bill from 2001 in 2012 and they said I was still liable and they could take me to court so shows how useless they are and the company is well known for its treatment of people(Lowell)

The most recent letter is amusing though, they claim to have "investigated" me and believe I am a homeowner, working and with multiple lines of credit.

I am on disablity benefits, rent a cheap and nasty flat and only credit I have is a credit card I only use for food shopping that I pay in full every month.

So what can I do, especially considering it seems they are trying scare tactics?

Marcio45

Well, tricky one... Let me see if i got it.
If you were victim of fraud and someone used your card, you could not have forgotten about it and should have sorted it there and then. File a police report and go from there... Obviously so many years after you wont be able to prove that it was fraud and so you might be liable for the debt.
Like many people here advised so many times, you can only pay what you have. If your income comes from benefits you wont have much available income so whoever is chasing the debt will have to accept a token payment. I guess your credit history is trashed anyway because of this and you wont be arrested because of debt.

meer53

If the transactions were genuinely fraudulent, you shouldn't have had to repay anything. What did the card issuer say at the time you reported it to them ?

dekaspace

The card issuer (Capital One) just told me that I had to pay money off to put it back within its limit again which I couldn't afford as at the time was badly off.

They just told me they will investigate but I would still need to pay it off.

Fast Forward a week or two later I got a letter stating my account is now closed due to non payment and I must pay the amount in full, and the card issuer said as the account is closed they can't investigate further.

And yes I could forget about it, I was going through a rough patch, my neighbour was a drug dealer, my flat was crumbling and landlord was nasty(he knew neighbour was drug dealer but never complained about him as knew he got rent on time every month) I mean it was so bad in my flat the pipes froze around same time as this so I couldn't even go to toilet.

I remember contacting police and getting a crime reference number, I remember contacting action fraud and getting a reference from them too and CO saying it doesnt matter it still has to be paid.

But if it was 2011 the debt was alleged then as I am in Scotland it will be off my file soon anyway, but I don't like having an alleged debt even if it is dropped off.

Thrugelmir

dekaspace wrote: »

I just forgot about it.

Walking away is never advisable. You should have resolved the issue at the time not now. We all have bad patches in our lives you aren't any different to other people.

dekaspace

Well I tried phoning multiple times, giving crime reference number, action fraud details etc and kept getting told I just had to pay.

Then it really did just slip my mind, when you went through what I did at the time its easy to forget things, I can forget what I did yesterday but remember what I did 10 years ago I have a worse short term memory than most.

It wasn't walking away it was actual forgetting.

Marcio45

I understand you had a rough patch. But resolving this after so many years will be near impossible. Better wait for it to come off your file and fingers crossed Capital One wont go after you or take you to court.

Comedy

I agree with everyone else in this thread that you should have definitely dealt with this in some way at the time.. But I'm not posting to nag.

I had a debt a long time ago from a Credit Card (a Barclaycard) that I was sure I didn't rack up. The debt was created at a time while I lived out of the country, 5 years later when I came back I had a fairly good alibi but they were also not happy with this. I did the following and all of this went away. This debt was brought to me by Lowell too so I think these things should help you.

You now need to be proactive in coming to a solution, you need to be the one pushing the issue with them rather than them pushing it with you. Here is what I did:

1. Write to the original lender and tell them you dispute these charges. Include as many of your details as you can. Make sure to inform them of the time you reported the activity as fraudulent before (if you did it formally).

2. Write to Lowell, include a copy of the letter to the lender and tell Lowell that you believe you are not liable as this card was stolen. Request that Lowell provide you the statements for the account from the last time payment was made (or when it went over limit). You can also ask them for a copy of the credit agreement if you are looking for any way to avoid it.

Lowell will provide you these details and it could take them about a month, they will write to you first and put the account on hold. This is exactly what they did with me.

Once you have the details then be honest with them: These charges are mine, these are not. I will offer a settlement for those which are mine but I do not expect to pay late fees, etc for the fraudulent charges that took the account over limit. They will likely accept this and will likely accept a moderate payment plan.

dekaspace

Comedy wrote: »

I agree with everyone else in this thread that you should have definitely dealt with this in some way at the time.. But I'm not posting to nag.

I had a debt a long time ago from a Credit Card (a Barclaycard) that I was sure I didn't rack up. The debt was created at a time while I lived out of the country, 5 years later when I came back I had a fairly good alibi but they were also not happy with this. I did the following and all of this went away. This debt was brought to me by Lowell too so I think these things should help you.

You now need to be proactive in coming to a solution, you need to be the one pushing the issue with them rather than them pushing it with you. Here is what I did:

1. Write to the original lender and tell them you dispute these charges. Include as many of your details as you can. Make sure to inform them of the time you reported the activity as fraudulent before (if you did it formally).

2. Write to Lowell, include a copy of the letter to the lender and tell Lowell that you believe you are not liable as this card was stolen. Request that Lowell provide you the statements for the account from the last time payment was made (or when it went over limit). You can also ask them for a copy of the credit agreement if you are looking for any way to avoid it.

Lowell will provide you these details and it could take them about a month, they will write to you first and put the account on hold. This is exactly what they did with me.

Once you have the details then be honest with them: These charges are mine, these are not. I will offer a settlement for those which are mine but I do not expect to pay late fees, etc for the fraudulent charges that took the account over limit. They will likely accept this and will likely accept a moderate payment plan.

Well from memory none were mine as I hadnt used the card in over a year if not 2 years (which is why a new card was sent as it ran out)

What they told me was transcations to online companies like food places none for shops etc.

The other thing is the debt will be barred by September or so as that would be the 5 year mark so was thinking of waiting rather than chase it up to be told by doing so I was admitting it so had to pay thats what I am worried about but at same time I want to prove my innocence as well as in the future should I want credit from them I will be able to.