the three letter process

joesab

Hello
talking to someone at work today who had a car on finance but due to sudden change in circumstances had to send it back to the finance company. It sold at auction for next to nothing and they still owe about 3k on it. Not able to pay it thyve looked into something called he three letter process. It seems like if a debt has been sold from the original loan provider to a debt collector, you write to them asking for proof that you actually now owe ti to them then if they dont , you send them a different letter then after that, a final onesaying you wont be paying.

This cant be right can it? Surely if it was that easy to tell debt collectors you arent paying them, they would have come up with something to make sure you do.

sourcrates

No it is utter rubbish.

It all rests on weather the creditor can prove liability in the form of a property executed credit agreement or not.

If not, then action through the courts is denied to them.

You do not need 3 letters, just one.

joesab

so if the debt collector cant prove she owes THEM the money they cant take her to court?

CKhalvashi

joesab wrote: »

so if the debt collector cant prove she owes THEM the money they cant take her to court?

If the original agreement was correctly executed, she can be taken to court.

There is unlikely to be a way of getting out of this, the money will be owed.

John-K_3

The three letter process is a piece of magical thinking popular with people referring to themselves as freemen on the land. They believe that by using exactly the right words you can simply walk away from any debt.

I say magical as they genuinely think they have found a spell that just makes debt disappear.

They are wrong, it does not work.

sourcrates

joesab wrote: »

so if the debt collector cant prove she owes THEM the money they cant take her to court?

Proof is 9/10th`s of the law.

It also depends on the debt owed, if its a consumer credit act debt, a loan, credit-card, then as i said, proof would be a credit agreement, or copy there of.

Mobile phone debt, copies of airtime bills would constitute proof, and so on and so on.

A debt collector, creditor, in fact anyone telling you, you owe them money, must provide evidence of the debt when asked to do so, just the same as a court would demand.

sourcrates

CKhalvashi wrote: »

If the original agreement was correctly executed, she can be taken to court.
.

And how would you know if it was correctly executed, unless you have a copy ???

Westhill92

I've used this process with lowell and today i received a letter telling me my account has been closed and the balance has been cleared. When they buy an account there are certain procedures they have to follow and if they don't they can't legally chase you for the money, in effect lowell have paid my bill for me doesn't matter if they send you your statements or any signed agreement with your original creditors that's not the issue, point being you have not signed any agreement with the dept collection company to pay them anything. So today I'm £6000 better off.

Carrot007

Westhill92 wrote: »

I've used this process with lowell and today i received a letter telling me my account has been closed and the balance has been cleared. When they buy an account there are certain procedures they have to follow and if they don't they can't legally chase you for the money, in effect lowell have paid my bill for me doesn't matter if they send you your statements or any signed agreement with your original creditors that's not the issue, point being you have not signed any agreement with the dept collection company to pay them anything. So today I'm £6000 better off.

Yes I am sure you have, thank you for your evidence.

wilson1972

Westhill92 wrote: »

I've used this process with lowell and today i received a letter telling me my account has been closed and the balance has been cleared. When they buy an account there are certain procedures they have to follow and if they don't they can't legally chase you for the money, in effect lowell have paid my bill for me doesn't matter if they send you your statements or any signed agreement with your original creditors that's not the issue, point being you have not signed any agreement with the dept collection company to pay them anything. So today I'm £6000 better off.

As i understood it, debt collection agencies can buy debts on the cheap and if they can prove the debt is yours then you are liable?

The only exception i am aware of is that if there has been no CCJ, or acknowledgment or payment of the debt for 6 years it is statute barred?

antrobus

Interesting.

Here is the three letter process. Or at least one version.
https://www.clearyourdebts.co.uk/debt-collectors/3-letter-process/

Letter 1 includes the following paragraph;

I hereby give you ten (10) days to reply to this notice from the above date. Your failure to provide the aforementioned documentation within ten (10) days, from the above date, to validate the debt, will constitute your agreement to the following terms - that the debt did not exist in the first instance and/or it has already been paid in full; and that you will be held liable for any and all damages to me incurred by your actions. Further that any negative remarks made to a credit reference agency be removed forthwith, and you will no longer pursue this matter.

Which is, of course, a pile of steaming nonsense.

Usual FMOTL pseudo-legalese carp.