Pensioner needs help with Lowell and PRA group

System

This discussion was created from comments split from: DMP mutual support thread part 13 !!.

Serendipitious

Hi,

Back in winter 2017 I had to write to 4 credit card companies explaining I could not afford to pay. Since then the 4 accounts have been bought and sold and now they are with PRA (2) and Lowells (2)

During that time I have focused on getting my day to day finances in order and with strict budgeting and a no-frills lifestyle I have saved a small emergency fund and met all my other expenses without any further borrowing. I dont even use my overdraft.

Checked my credit ratings this week and Experian say Excellent, Credit Karma Good and Clearscore Stable. All 4 credit card accounts have now vanished from the files. Which is nice.

My question is what do I do now?

I regularly get offers from PRA of 60% reduction, also Lowells offered 70%.

However I still cant afford to pay the reduced balances, and I am now 70 on State Pension and in a private rental with no assets.

Just wondering what if anything I should aim to do next or how best to approach things.

Health is not the best and I also wonder what happens in the event of my demise? 

sourcrates

@Serendipitious

You posted on the DMP support group board, no one will see your post there, so I have moved it to the general DFW forum.

Serendipitious

Thank you sourcrates

sourcrates

Serendipitious said:

Hi,

Back in winter 2017 I had to write to 4 credit card companies explaining I could not afford to pay. Since then the 4 accounts have been bought and sold and now they are with PRA (2) and Lowells (2)

Checked my credit ratings this week and Experian say Excellent, Credit Karma Good and Clearscore Stable. All 4 credit card accounts have now vanished from the files. Which is nice.

My question is what do I do now?

I regularly get offers from PRA of 60% reduction, also Lowells offered 70%.

However I still cant afford to pay the reduced balances, and I am now 70 on State Pension and in a private rental with no assets.

Just wondering what if anything I should aim to do next or how best to approach things.

Health is not the best and I also wonder what happens in the event of my demise? 

The reason you are receiving such generous offers from them is because all your accounts appear on the face of it to be statute barred.

Creditors have 6 years in which to chase bad debts, if they all defaulted in 2018, and have all dropped off your credit file, they will all be statute barred now, so Lowell and PRA are just out of luck.

Send the statute barred letter (see below) to both Lowell and PRA, edit it to your circumstances, defaults date, account numbers etc, and that should be the end of it.

1 High Street,
Newtown,
Kent
R21 4RH
Date

The Loan Company
Company House,
Church Street,
Newtown,
Kent,
R1 7HG

I do not acknowledge any debt to you or any other company or organisation that you claim to be representing.

Dear Sir/Madam


Account No: xxxxxxxxxxx

You have contacted me regarding the account with the above reference number, which you claim is owed by myself.

I would point out that under the Limitation Act 1980 Section 5:

“An action founded on simple contract shall not be brought after the expiration of six years from the date on which the cause of action accrued.”

I would point out that in their Consumer Credit sourcebook, the Financial Conduct Authority states the following rules:

"...a firm must not attempt to recover a statute barred debt in England, Wales or Northern Ireland if the lender or owner has not been in contact with the customer during the limitation period." 7.15.4

"A firm must not continue to demand payment from a customer after the customer has stated that he will not be paying the debt because it is statute barred." 7.15.8

Limitation commences from the date specified in the default notice for payment of the arrears, this was on (insert default date) which is over six years ago.

Unless you can provide evidence to the contrary, or of payment or written acknowledgement from me in the relevant period under Section 5 of the Limitation Act, I suggest that you are no longer able to take any court action against me to recover the alleged amount claimed.

I await your written confirmation that no further contact will be made concerning the above account and confirmation that this matter is now closed.


I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours faithfully



Mrs A N Other

Serendipitious

Thank you so much sourcrates, I really appreciate this and will get on to this asap.

fatbelly

The question is when did you last make a payment or acknowledge the debt in writing? Your winter 2017 letters would have counted.

If six years passed since the default date* and you did neither of the above, then they are out of time to enforce the debt and, although they can write and ask for payment, they must stop if you ask them to.

That seems a nice answer to your question. Let us know if they push back.

*they would have fallen off your credit report at that time too.

Serendipitious

Thanks fatbelly

Apart from the initial winter 2017 letters, I don't think I have ever written again to any of them.

IIRC in summer 2018 I started sending a £1 postal order every month to one of the collection companies, it was Fredrickson, the one acting for Tesco, and they had made it easy by sending very clear instructions but I had only done this for a few months when it got sold on to somebody else so I stopped.

I spoke on the phone to PRA in 2022 when they phoned me, but at the time I was expecting to be admitted to hospital for surgery so they agreed to leave it for another time.

They've all now fallen off the credit file.

sourcrates

It`ll likely be a case of getting the dates right here, don`t know what fatbelly thinks on this, send the SB letters or wait a while longer??

Serendipitious

Just to add, PRA have 2 accounts - Barclaycard and MBNA

Lowells have 2 accounts - Tesco and NatWest
In June 24, I had a letter from Overdales collections about the Tesco account only. I didn't respond as there was nothing I could offer. 
In Sept 24 Lowells sent the 70% offer and their letter shows they still hold both Tesco and NatWest accounts, so whatever it was that prompted the Overdales thing, I do not know.

FWIW and just to be extra transparent, the total balance is just shy of 25k shared between the 4 credit cards. None of it was spent on high living, it just accrued over many years on NMW and being on zero hours contracts. Not spent on champagne and holidays - havent been on hol since 2004 for example.

fatbelly

You need a clear six years of no payment before you send the SB letter.

So the question is when did you stop those £1 payments

Phone conversations don't count as acknowledgement.