Writing letter to debt collection agency

tenchy

I'm assisting a close relative who's in debt to the tune of about £10k and is now being chased by one of the well-known debt collection agencies. I'm writing a letter to the agency setting out how the debt will be paid off, in terms of how much the monthly payment will be and how long it will be before the debt is cleared - four years.

We're not going to engage with them via phone calls and the subsequent income and outgoings assessment. In other words, we're telling them what we're going to do, and they can take it or leave it. What will be their likely response? Thanks.

Rob5342

That's relatively quick in terms of repayment plans, they'll probably be quite pleased to get your offer. They might ask you if you can afford it or ask you to fill in some income and expenditure forms, but you can ignore that.

What were the original debts? Have they debts defaulted and have you asked for the CCA?

tenchy

Rob5342 said:

That's relatively quick in terms of repayment plans, they'll probably be quite pleased to get your offer. They might ask you if you can afford it or ask you to fill in some income and expenditure forms, but you can ignore that.

What were the original debts? Have they debts defaulted and have you asked for the CCA?

The original debts were credit card debt and a bank loan. I think the bank has consolidated the debt and sold it on. The debt isn't contested and is largely as a result of a marital separation coupled with job loss due to the Covid madness. No CCA has been requested. The debts have defaulted, in that many payments have been missed. For credit rating purposes the intention is to get the debt cleared as soon as reasonably possible, but on 'our' terms, and there definitely won't be any form filling concerning income and expenditure.

Rob5342

How do thry show on the credit report? As defaults with a default date or as arrangements to pay?

Sly72

tenchy said:

Rob5342 said:

That's relatively quick in terms of repayment plans, they'll probably be quite pleased to get your offer. They might ask you if you can afford it or ask you to fill in some income and expenditure forms, but you can ignore that.

What were the original debts? Have they debts defaulted and have you asked for the CCA?

The original debts were credit card debt and a bank loan. I think the bank has consolidated the debt and sold it on. The debt isn't contested and is largely as a result of a marital separation coupled with job loss due to the Covid madness. No CCA has been requested. The debts have defaulted, in that many payments have been missed. For credit rating purposes the intention is to get the debt cleared as soon as reasonably possible, but on 'our' terms, and there definitely won't be any form filling concerning income and expenditure.

just a heads up I have made an offer of payment, creditor not happy want to do CCJ and CO, so have sent in an income and expenditure form. If not happy will just use that info if they decide to take it further.

Rob5342

Sly72 said:

tenchy said:

Rob5342 said:

That's relatively quick in terms of repayment plans, they'll probably be quite pleased to get your offer. They might ask you if you can afford it or ask you to fill in some income and expenditure forms, but you can ignore that.

What were the original debts? Have they debts defaulted and have you asked for the CCA?

The original debts were credit card debt and a bank loan. I think the bank has consolidated the debt and sold it on. The debt isn't contested and is largely as a result of a marital separation coupled with job loss due to the Covid madness. No CCA has been requested. The debts have defaulted, in that many payments have been missed. For credit rating purposes the intention is to get the debt cleared as soon as reasonably possible, but on 'our' terms, and there definitely won't be any form filling concerning income and expenditure.

just a heads up I have made an offer of payment, creditor not happy want to do CCJ and CO, so have sent in an income and expenditure form. If not happy will just use that info if they decide to take it further.

I'd be interested to see the exact wording they used.

sourcrates

tenchy said:

Rob5342 said:

That's relatively quick in terms of repayment plans, they'll probably be quite pleased to get your offer. They might ask you if you can afford it or ask you to fill in some income and expenditure forms, but you can ignore that.

What were the original debts? Have they debts defaulted and have you asked for the CCA?

The original debts were credit card debt and a bank loan. I think the bank has consolidated the debt and sold it on. The debt isn't contested and is largely as a result of a marital separation coupled with job loss due to the Covid madness. No CCA has been requested. The debts have defaulted, in that many payments have been missed. For credit rating purposes the intention is to get the debt cleared as soon as reasonably possible, but on 'our' terms, and there definitely won't be any form filling concerning income and expenditure.

The debt "should" be contested.

Consolidated debts are unenforceable, as no agreement exists for the consolidated account, it`s something of the banks making, which you were never a party too.

Ask for the CCA, they won`t have it as there isn`t one, no agreement, means legally no debt.

tenchy

Thanks for the replies so far. I don't know how this appears on the credit report. I doubt very much that my 'client' has obtained one, so I'll get him onto it. Interesting point about the consolidated debt. I'll get the precise details as to how the bank did it. A question at this point: if a payment is made, does that by default acknowledge the debt and therefore mean that it can't then be contested? Thanks.

sourcrates

This thing about acknowledgment is totally meaningless, the only thing that can be altered by making a payment to a debt is the limitation period, you can challenge anything, payment made or no payment made.

What normally happens is say a debtor has two accounts with the same lender, they consolidate the two together, to make a third debt, one that did not exist originally, one that the debtor did not sign any agreement for, so there is no evidence for that account, so they cannot take legal action to force you to pay.

Banks do this occasionally as its easier for them, but renders the debt unenforceable as there is no paperwork to confirm it, they hope you are unaware of this small legal hiccup.

tenchy

sourcrates said:

This thing about acknowledgment is totally meaningless, the only thing that can be altered by making a payment to a debt is the limitation period, you can challenge anything, payment made or no payment made.

What normally happens is say a debtor has two accounts with the same lender, they consolidate the two together, to make a third debt, one that did not exist originally, one that the debtor did not sign any agreement for, so there is no evidence for that account, so they cannot take legal action to force you to pay.

Banks do this occasionally as its easier for them, but renders the debt unenforceable as there is no paperwork to confirm it, they hope you are unaware of this small legal hiccup.

Apologies. I'm now informed that the debt isn't a consolidation. It's wholly from a Halifax credit card, so presumably it won't be contestable on the consolidation basis. However, thank-you for the useful explanation; I wasn't aware of this point. Concerning the debt, as mentioned earlier, we're telling them what we're going to do and that the debt is expected to be paid off in 48 months, but this is not guaranteed. We've also stated that the arrangement is conditional on them making no further contact other than in writing, and only if necessary, annual statements excepted.

Rob5342

Get them to check their credit report and see:

1, The start date of the debt.

2, The current debt owner (Halifax or had it been sold)

3, If it has defaulted or is on a payment arrangement.

4, If it has defaulted then what the default date is

If it has defaulted and been sold, then rather than planning to pay the whole lot they might consider offering a reduced amount, putting the difference aside and using that to make a reduced settlement offer at some point.