BW Legal / JC International

Snakery

Hello, noob looking for advice.

I have received a letter from BW Legal acting on behalf of JC International Acquisition LLC for an alleged debt to a Post Office Telecom account. Apparently the debt was assigned to JC Int. on 25th May 2016 and they are now trying to claim money.

First, I have no idea what debt they may be asking for, I simply cannot remember any details regarding a PO Telecom account from any time prior to the dates they give. How do I go about finding out what this alleged debt is for and when it arose. I have checked my credit refs etc with Experian and nothing is showing.

Second, thay have made me a juicy offer of a 30% reduction, should it turn out that for some reason I do have a debt then I'd like to not lose that discount, I assume I can contact them 'without prejudice' or whatever the term is and ask for more detail? Is there a standard letter template or something for this.
Thanks

sourcrates

Hi,

Everything you need is in the sticky thread at the top of this forum, entitled -

"Updated Debt-Free Wannabe Sticky - links to important topics, help and template letters, are here".

Send them the provit letter, they must put the account on hold and provide you with evidence of liability when asked.

Template letter, for your conveniance, can be found here -

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2607247/letter-when-you-know-nothing-about-about-the-debt-aka-prove-it-letter

Snakery

Brilliant, thanks very much.

Snakery

I would like to clarify one thing if possible, the timescales involved, how long do I wait for a reply from them before I do anything?

sourcrates

Give them 14 days.

If they ignore, and still chase for payment, send reminder.

Snakery

Hello there, following on from the above post: I sent off the letter as per your link (thank you very much) and received a response on 2nd September stating that the 'Account' was on hold pending a query for a copy of the 'Final Invoice' from the alledged Debt. It listed dates which appear to coincide with my residence at another address and states that the debt defaulted on 24th December 2015. I wonder what is the next appropriate step to take as I still have no idea what this debt is for! The final paragraph of the letter is as follows "Please provide us with evidence to support your dispute of this matter in order for us to investigate this further for you"; obviously I am unable to provide any such proof nd have not done so....
Baffled muchly am I

sourcrates

You don`t have to prove anything, the onus is on them to do so.

Write back and tell them that (although they are already well aware).

State that your dispute is that you do not have any knowledge of this debt.

The rules for disputed consumer credit debts are in section 7.14 of the FCA’s CONC handbook. These include:

"Where there is a dispute as to the identity of the borrower or hirer or as to the amount of the debt, it is for the firm (and not the customer) to establish, as the case may be, that the customer is the correct person in relation to the debt".

Give them another 14 days to provide evidence of your liability or you will concider the matter closed.

More info on debt camel -

https://debtcamel.co.uk/debt-collector-cant-prove-debt/