12 yea old debt... need advice please!

Big_al_10

first of all... hope this is the right section, and hello! and appol's for the typo... 12 year old debt.

out of the blue approx four months ago, i had a letter from a persons finding agency (whatever you would call it), and on contact, i was asked if id lived at a prevoius address, which i confirmed. they then passed me on to a phone number and i was informed that i was responsable for an outstanding dept/s from approx 12 or so years ago by a debt collecting agency.

the outstanding debt had been re-raised nov 2006 i think (recently), or filed by the lender for persuit, as they had obtained my details/name... but took a while to find me i guess, 12 years in total.

not good news in my present situation.

i can remeber being financially stupid as an early twenties care free 'mug'... that i now feel.

the outstanding amount was around 1200 pounds to a major high street bank. now being i had just become a father (literally) a few days before, on speaking to this person (and use the term loosley) i struggled to form any kind of dialect. i informed him i had no recollection of outstanding debts, although i did have a flashback at the time, of telling said high street bank to stuff themselves with the remainder of a loan due to their lack of help when i lost my job, i think (honestly) there has around 500 pounds outstanding.

the person i was speaking to was without a doubt, the most difficult, and condisending person i have ever spoke too, and im pretty easy-going.

the basic jist was, we've found you.. its your debt, we haven't contacted you because we had no forwading address (voted all my life), and if you dont pay, we'll sue you.

his exact words.

basically thought (insert appropriate word) you, and lost my temper,
saying i dont accept any debts without proof via original contract, i was told this was not required to be provided by themselves, and i think i may have swore when he threatend me with litigation again.

at this point, he hung up...or dropped the phone!?

the phone rang around five mins later, and i retuned the gesture.

a few weeks went by of me enjoying my daughters first days, and all was well.
then i received a letter from them, advising their client to proceed with litigation. and the amount was two seperate amounts for approx 1200 pounds this time.

this started to worry me, and finally i relented... not wanting to have to speak to the same person as before, guess who answered.
the conversation was the same, and i explained that i just wanted to resolve the issue, but i did not accept the debts where mine, at which point he said he had called back last time to mention the second debt, but was rudely hung up on and swore at several times during the first conversation,

now i have a good memory, just the once mistakenly.

i was told that they didnt need to provide anything, they didnt care what i did, or didn't accept and they couldn't care less about my personal circumstances when i mentioned that i had just had a child, and this was great timing, half heartedly.

you dont expect a personality, just basic manners would do, even a human being would be nice.

we applied for legal aid, but we are just over the threshhold and for some weird reason, this dosent feel right with the attitude of this debt company.

i then recived a call a few days ago off the same person. he asked me what i wanted to do about the outstanding debt, and i said i would like the matter to go to court. this seemed to surpprise (or annoy) him... saying i had nothing to gain, the debt was mine... i would loose, i said all i wanted was some kind of explination of where the debts where from, and how the amount was configured,

was given a mumbled synopsis, and then spoken over several times trying to speak to him, or ask details, even after firmly prompting...

"can i please fish what i was saying, can i please finish what i was saying"


the amount they have hit me with so far is...

1200 from the loan?
1200 form something?

and then his trump card.

the company has a sister debt collection agency, and i had a further two credit cards outstanding for the sum of 1000 pounds.

all from 12 years ago, not a letter or bill since.

he then repied with the total amount owing on all the debt combined would be 7000 thousand pounds, plus court fees and interest should i persue/disagree the matter in court.

pay the 2400, or go to court and pay 7k+ (his words again)

2400 original debt mentioned, 1000 added for cards from another debt and 4600 in charges and interest.

letters where being sent to me as of the day we last spoke, and i have 7 days to contact them with an offer of payment, or face being sued. (he likes that word)

could really do with some advice, as this is my last ditch attemp at not agreeing with all this.

sorry for the long winded message, and any typo's. been a long day and im knackered and miserable.

why couldn't they contact me sooner, why cant they explain what the debts are for and do i have any legal standing?

i dug my own hole a long time ago i guess, thought it had filled in by now though.

thanks in advance for some clear-cut advice,

whatever it is... big_al.

nottoolate

if the debts were 12 years old they should be statute barred.

there is trustworthy information here

http://www.nationaldebtline.co.uk/england_wales/factsheet.php?page=25_liability_for_debts_and_the_limitation_act

it might be best to call them on 0808 808 4000 to check. they are a charity so dont charge for advice.

Nilrem

Big_al wrote: »

.

basically thought (insert appropriate word) you, and lost my temper,
saying i dont accept any debts without proof via original contract, i was told this was not required to be provided by themselves, and i think i may have swore when he threatend me with litigation again.

As the previous poster has said it's almost certainly outside the statutory limit for debts, assuming you haven't heard anything in the past 12 years.
The bit i've highlighted/quoted is also key, basically they can go whistle for Dixie if they don't have any proof (such as accounts and a signed credit agreement) the debt is yours, as I understand it.
Otherwise Mr Tinman from the Bank of Oz could require you to pay back debts he claims you owe

There are various form letters you can send (I'm sure someone will post them, failing that a quick search) asking for proof of the debt (legally they must provide it), reminding them that outside of X years the debt is statue barred, and informing them you will no longer communicate with them via phone, and all communications must be in writing (they must comply with that request).

Try not to let it get you down, and if they keep ringing after you've told them to only communicate in writing you can report them for harassment (in the mean time i'd be tempted to leave them talking to the TV or something if they ring).

jamesd

You're on exactly the right track by saying that you don't remember the debts, prove that they are yours. They will be statue barred. Go with "I don't recall those debts, provide proof that they are mine via a signed credit agreement and are not statute barred. Then once you have proved that they are mine and not barred, start proceedings in the county court and I'll make an offer based on what I can afford to pay if they are mine. Until you can do this, stop harassing me with the phone calls and use letters. And don't just harass me with letters demanding payment, do what you're required to do to prove that the debt is mine and get this resolved properly, according to the law and fair debt collection requirements."

"Sue me" is exactly what they don't want to hear, because they don't have a case. Hence him becoming upset, because he saw his potential money vanishing.

Don't say anything that admits that the debts are yours or even implies agreeing to pay for them. Focus on them proving that the debt is yours with a signed credit agreement and then proving that it's not statute barred. There's no reason at all for you to discuss anything else with them, just insist on this whenever they try to direct the conversation in any other direction.

Big_al_10

cheers for the positive reply's on a gloomy, and pretty personal subject.

its been a genuine 12 years (was 22ish, now 34!) since i got in this mess, or received word that i was still in one. other than monthly utility bills that are paid pronto, ive never been in debt since my younger days,

the past can still bite you on the rump, now and then though i guess...:o

ill have a good read through the letters in the morning, best to requiest the info on paper, by law, and take it from there.

already going to start with "no verbal communication will now be entered into" as i cant stand talking to this guy...

the most patrinising human ive had the mis-fortune to talk too.

thanks again all, big_al.

itsnever2lateisit?

Have a look at this thread, there are some good letters there to use
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=603083

GeorgeUK

I would suggest having "I do not acknowledge any debt to you or your clients" at the top of the letter. It's fairly well covered in this thread - and even if they didn't need to provide a copy of the CCA, once a debt is statute barred, it can't be unbarred.

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=578486

Just send the Statute barred letter as mentioned above and they should leave you alone. If not, report them to OFT.

sammiboo

I think they are just trying to scare you, if companies could legally ring you up and say you owe them money - without any proof, they all would be doing it.

As a poster mention if they phone again, just ask them to hang on a minute and leave the phone on the side and run up thier bill