Confused re: old debt

counterfeit

9 years ago I made an agreement to pay off a debt at a rate of £50 per month. Never missed a payment and debt has long since disappeared from my credit file. Out of the blue the company are writing and calling regularly demanding I increase payment. I have filled in some forms showing I don't have much spare money but they keep coming back asking more questions. 

Is this a) normal b) acceptable?
Also, I'm beginning to feel under pressure so is there anything I can to get rid of them? 

fatbelly

Block their calls, ignore their letters, carry on paying.

How much longer before you clear the debt at £50 per month?

Is this your only debt?

counterfeit

It's not our only debt. It's a typical long story that I won't bore you with but everyone has got their money every month. These are the only ones who have become a nuisance. 

fatbelly

Then you need to look at the situation as a whole. Fill out a statement of affairs and bore us.

https://www.lemonfool.co.uk/financecalculators/soa.php

sourcrates

Must be a large debt then, a few more details would be good, how much was it/is it still owed, who owns the debt, what type of debt was it, card/loan/catalogue etc, the more detail, the better, boring or not.

John_

I don't think it's unacceptable for someone you owe money to to pay it back more quickly. If you can’t, you can’t, but there’s nothing wrong with them asking. Many people would be on a lot better place so long down the line, and a bit or prompting may get them to up the amount without putting them under undue stress.

poppasmurf_bewdley

If the debt is an old one, say 10 years or more, it may be an idea to request a CCA. 
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/709639/cca-letter-template

If they can't provide the required documentation, you can safely ignore the debt.  

counterfeit

John_ said:

I don't think it's unacceptable for someone you owe money to to pay it back more quickly. If you can’t, you can’t, but there’s nothing wrong with them asking. Many people would be on a lot better place so long down the line, and a bit or prompting may get them to up the amount without putting them under undue stress.

That's the thing. We filled in their form giving a break down of our finances and it shows that we have £69 per month spare without taking into account money we may need for emergencies. They get £50 per month which is double the amount anybody gets and they have been very aggressive on the phone asking us to double it. Also, this is a sold on debt and they aren't the original creditor. Yesterday they threatened us with attachments of earnings.
To add to the situation we are likely to be furloughed in next few weeks so were preparing to ask our creditors for a short payment holiday and certainly don't want to increase payments. 

tlc678910

This suggests an attachment of earning order comes from the court: 
https://www.gov.uk/debt-deductions-from-employee-pay/getting-an-order
Will they get a court order for a 9 year old debt, that you have been paying regularly, at a time of national crisis. No they won't.

Other posters will be much more expert than me and I'm sure will advise but I believe you could ask them for a copy of your signed credit agreement and have no obligation to pay anything until they provide it.  If they ever took it to court I believe they would need the signed credit agreement and then the court won't ask you to pay more than you can afford.

sourcrates

Ok, time to stop these fools from messing about with your head.

You have commited the cardinal sin of engaging with this collector on the phone, and allowed them to get inside your head with threats of court action etc, to maintain your sanity, and to observe good buisness practice, you should only ever deal with your creditors in writing, that way this kind of thing cannot happen, basic schoolboy error on your part.

The poster above has indicated your next move, take back a little control, send off a CCA request, see if that bears any fruit.

You should not be prioritising one creditor over another, unless its in your best interests to do so.

The threat of legal action is a well worn path to getting what they want, and is used by collectors on a regular basis as a tool of persuasion, the truth is, they don`t want to go to court, as a court would set payment at an affordable level, according to your budget, probebley less than what they are getting now, with your circumstances about to change, your priorities have to as well, you should immediatly drop to token payments only, do not ask, just tell them you are doing it, write and explain why, this particular awkward collector, should be sent a CCA request straight away, and no further payments should be made to them, except the token £1 a month, the same as all your creditors.

The benefit of the CCA request is two fold ;

(1) the account, and collection activity, is immediatly put on hold, this will last until the correct paperwork is either produced, or they say they can`t find it.

(2) If they can`t produce the correct legal paperwork, the debt becomes unenforcable in court, and stays that way, until it is procuced, however long that may be.

CCA template letter can be found here ;

https://www.nationaldebtline.org/EW/sampleletters/Pages/Information-about-your-agreement-under-the-Consumer-Credit-Act-(sole-name).aspx

Don`t forget the statutory £1 fee, payable by cheque or postal order only.

John_

counterfeit said:

John_ said:

I don't think it's unacceptable for someone you owe money to to pay it back more quickly. If you can’t, you can’t, but there’s nothing wrong with them asking. Many people would be on a lot better place so long down the line, and a bit or prompting may get them to up the amount without putting them under undue stress.

That's the thing. We filled in their form giving a break down of our finances and it shows that we have £69 per month spare without taking into account money we may need for emergencies. They get £50 per month which is double the amount anybody gets and they have been very aggressive on the phone asking us to double it. Also, this is a sold on debt and they aren't the original creditor. Yesterday they threatened us with attachments of earnings.
To add to the situation we are likely to be furloughed in next few weeks so were preparing to ask our creditors for a short payment holiday and certainly don't want to increase payments. 

That must be stressful, and not helping you. You could ask them to only communicate with you in writing, and write to them explaining the situation and pointing out that no matter how many time they ask, you don’t have any more to give them.