URGENT HELP PLESE ACI DEBT LETTER

DanaD

URGENT HELP!

Hi there, I need some advice please. Please don't judge me, I was very bad at managing finances when I was younger.

Back in Oct 2024, I received a letter from Capquest Opus saying they had taken over an old debt. This was a loan from more than 20 years ago and I hadn't heard anything for years up until then. The debt was 12k and they said i could reduce the balance to 3k. I ignored this letter.

Opos sent another letter in Jan 2025 offering to settle for 3k. Again, I ignored this letter.

In April 2025, I received a letter from ACI saying they are writing on behalf of Lloyds to recover 12k. And if i don't respond within 10 days they will pass to 'Verify' who will come to my house! This is keeping me up at night and I don't want to be in the same position i was in 20 years ago.

Can they legally come after me? I've looked in past discussions and saw advice to write them a letter similar to below. is this the best thing to do? Should I just send by post or email too?

Thanks so much!

[Your Full Name]

[Your Address]

[Postcode]

[Date]

Asset Collections & Investigations (ACI)

[Company Address from their letter]

RE: Alleged debt reference number [Insert Reference Number]

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am writing in response to your recent communication regarding the above alleged debt.

I do not acknowledge any liability for the debt you are referring to. I believe this debt is statute-barred under the Limitation Act 1980, as more than six years have passed since any payment was made or written acknowledgment of the debt was given by me.

Therefore, this debt is no longer enforceable through the courts, and I am under no legal obligation to pay it. If you believe otherwise, please provide evidence of a payment or written acknowledgment from me within the relevant limitation period.

Furthermore, I do not consent to any home visits. If any representative of your company or an agent acting on your behalf attempts to visit my home, they will be asked to leave immediately. Any such visit will be considered harassment, and I will report it to the appropriate authorities.

Please confirm in writing that you will not pursue this matter further and that you will not process my personal data in any way that may affect my credit file, in line with your obligations under the Data Protection Act 2018 and the Financial Conduct Authority’s guidelines.

Yours faithfully,

[Your Full Name]

Brie

That's exactly the sort of letter I think you should send.  And confine all communication (should there be any following you posting this) to snail mail.  Don't ring, don't email. 

And in the highly unlikely case that anyone does show up at yours, don't answer the door if possible and if you do, don't let them into the house even if it's blowing a force 15 hurricane.  

DankVielen

DanaD said:

URGENT HELP!

Hi there, I need some advice please. Please don't judge me, I was very bad at managing finances when I was younger.

Hi Dana

No Judgement here, we have all been where you are. BTW there is nothing urgent about this, take your time.

No they cannot legally come after you

Do not worry I had the same thing for £25k of alleged debt (well rotted and long statute barred) that Instrum Justitia bought mid 23 but only started enforcing (in breach of FCA CONC rules) this year.

Personally, I am going after Instrum Justitia first, I took a look at their website and it seems that they are going through a procedure similar to a Chapter 11 reorganisation plan, I downloaded their docs and it seems that they are already under some sort of administration.

https://www.intrum.com/recapitalisation/intrum-s-recapitalisation-process
This might explain the huge rack of stale and rotting statute barred debt they bought last year, I searched for them when I found this and other sites and there are a plethora of people in the same position.

They have basically started the whole debt enforcement again, first passing it to OPOS, then to ACI who are part of Perch group, as are https://www.verify-connect.co.uk/ and as are https://www.tm-legalservices.co.uk/

Verify have not written direct as the 2nd ACI letter said they would, my video doorbell will catch them if they do and it will all increase their costs.

I am preparing an FCA and FSO complaint against all of them, they all have a duty of care to make sure that their "alleged" debts are enforceable, failing to do so is a breach of the FCA Consumer duty as well as numerous CONC rules (see below). There is enough evidence online to show that this abuse is widespread so I am using that as the reasoning for the FCA complaint as they do not deal with individual complaints.

It is my intention to have the FCA remove any approval or licensing of Instrum Justitia and issue them with a large fine, large enough t deter other players. I will also be reporting their outrageous conduct to the authorities where they are going through this recapitalisation. It seems to me that every potential shareholder needs to me made aware of this conduct and the risk to them if Instrum Justitia is properly sanctioned.

Regarding your letter you have seen the templates in the sticky posts I am sure.

The only thing I might change is where you say DEBT I might use the words FALSELY ALLEGED DEBT.

Not only do you not consent to any home visits, but your letter can remove any implied right of access to your property and the land around it.

I would advise getting a video doorbell to capture any attempt and I would post videos on YouTube later when this is all over.

I would suggest you insist that they inform Instrum Justitia, Capquest and their own Directors that the falsely alleged debt is statute barred and you will be reporting them all in a complaint to the FCA and FOS.

You can send via email with a BCC to another email address you own or control, this will provide the headers showing the mail was sent and did not bounce or get caught in some spam trap.

It is my belief that the only way this abhorrent behaviour stops is if enough people report to the FCA and FOS.

The basis for complaint regarding and their conduct are breach of FCA CONC rules.

First of all under the FCA Consumer Duty which says:

"It requires firms to prioritise customer outcomes and treat them fairly, avoiding causing foreseeable harm and supporting them in achieving their financial objectives."

Well chasing debt causes anxiety which can lead to harm to mental health and serious self harm.

So it is a clear breach of the consumer duty, not only is it not treating them fairly and not supporting them achieving their financial objective (not paying debts unnecessarily) plus of course they are not avoiding causing foreseeable harm.

Clearly Instrum Justitia had full details of the debt including the letter THEY WROTE saying it could not be enforced.

Ombudsman decisions granting awards regularly quote

CONC 13.1.6 which says that

(1) Failure to comply with the provisions means that the agreement becomes unenforceable while the failure to comply persists, and the courts have no discretion to allow enforcement.
(2) In such cases, a firm should in no way, either by act or omission, mislead a customer as to the enforceability of the agreement.

(3) In particular, a firm should not in such cases either threaten court action or other enforcement of the debt or imply that the debt is enforceable when it is not.

(4) The firm should, in any request for payment or communication relating to a payment… in such cases, make clear to the customer that although the debt remains outstanding it is unenforceable.

It is absolutely clear that Instrum Justitia are involved in a mass mailing that misleads consumers, they know better and have a duty to know better.

They are licensed for debt recovery under the Financial Conduct Authority and I would assert that are not fit and proper organisations and should have their respective licenses revoked permanently .

AGAIN, THE MORE PEOPLE THAT BRING A COMPLAINT ABOUT THIS UNDERHAND CONDUCT THE MORE CHANCE THERE IS OF Instrum Justitia and their agents being sanctioned.

I think the debt charities should also be complaining, they are supposed to help consumers and speak for them to Government.

Furthermore there are additional CONC rules that may apply when the debt has been statute barred

CONC 7.15.8 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.

I hope that his helps you get more sleep, no matter how bullish we may seem the anxiety over this is very real.

RAS

DanaD

Please relax, next door's cat has more power than a Verify agent.

Just tell said person that this debt is statute barred and if you hear anything more, you'll put in a formal complaint about Verify and ACI.

And to remove themselves from the neighbourhood.

Rob5342

They are just chancers trying their luck with people that might not know any better, send the letter and don't worry about it. They mention people visiting your house to try and scare you into paying, anyone that turns up will have the same power as a double glazing salesman and they can be given exactly the same response. 

sourcrates

Yes, send the letter, its an older version but still the same message, the debt is statute barred under sec 5, limitation act, 1980.

Creditors have 6 years to chase bad debts from the date it first defaulted, if this debt is from 20 years ago, then it became statute barred a very long time ago, unfortunately certain companies specialise in chasing old and otherwise unenforceable debt, Capquest being one of said companies.

ACI are just acting on behalf of Capquest, so have no statutory powers to do anything except ask you to pay, I would send a copy to both Capquest and ACI to shut them both up.

DanaD

Brie said:

That's exactly the sort of letter I think you should send.  And confine all communication (should there be any following you posting this) to snail mail.  Don't ring, don't email. 

And in the highly unlikely case that anyone does show up at yours, don't answer the door if possible and if you do, don't let them into the house even if it's blowing a force 15 hurricane.  

Thank you so much 🙏🏾

DanaD

sourcrates said:

Yes, send the letter, its an older version but still the same message, the debt is statute barred under sec 5, limitation act, 1980.

Creditors have 6 years to chase bad debts from the date it first defaulted, if this debt is from 20 years ago, then it became statute barred a very long time ago, unfortunately certain companies specialise in chasing old and otherwise unenforceable debt, Capquest being one of said companies.

ACI are just acting on behalf of Capquest, so have no statutory powers to do anything except ask you to pay, I would send a copy to both Capquest and ACI to shut them both up.

Thank you so much 🙏🏾

DanaD

sourcrates said:

Yes, send the letter, its an older version but still the same message, the debt is statute barred under sec 5, limitation act, 1980.

Creditors have 6 years to chase bad debts from the date it first defaulted, if this debt is from 20 years ago, then it became statute barred a very long time ago, unfortunately certain companies specialise in chasing old and otherwise unenforceable debt, Capquest being one of said companies.

ACI are just acting on behalf of Capquest, so have no statutory powers to do anything except ask you to pay, I would send a copy to both Capquest and ACI to shut them both up.

Thank you so much 🙏🏾

DanaD

sourcrates said:

Yes, send the letter, its an older version but still the same message, the debt is statute barred under sec 5, limitation act, 1980.

Creditors have 6 years to chase bad debts from the date it first defaulted, if this debt is from 20 years ago, then it became statute barred a very long time ago, unfortunately certain companies specialise in chasing old and otherwise unenforceable debt, Capquest being one of said companies.

ACI are just acting on behalf of Capquest, so have no statutory powers to do anything except ask you to pay, I would send a copy to both Capquest and ACI to shut them both up.

Thank you so much 🙏🏾

DanaD

DankVielen said:

DanaD said:

URGENT HELP!

Hi there, I need some advice please. Please don't judge me, I was very bad at managing finances when I was younger.

Hi Dana

No Judgement here, we have all been where you are. BTW there is nothing urgent about this, take your time.

No they cannot legally come after you

Do not worry I had the same thing for £25k of alleged debt (well rotted and long statute barred) that Instrum Justitia bought mid 23 but only started enforcing (in breach of FCA CONC rules) this year.

Personally, I am going after Instrum Justitia first, I took a look at their website and it seems that they are going through a procedure similar to a Chapter 11 reorganisation plan, I downloaded their docs and it seems that they are already under some sort of administration.

https://www.intrum.com/recapitalisation/intrum-s-recapitalisation-process
This might explain the huge rack of stale and rotting statute barred debt they bought last year, I searched for them when I found this and other sites and there are a plethora of people in the same position.

They have basically started the whole debt enforcement again, first passing it to OPOS, then to ACI who are part of Perch group, as are https://www.verify-connect.co.uk/ and as are https://www.tm-legalservices.co.uk/

Verify have not written direct as the 2nd ACI letter said they would, my video doorbell will catch them if they do and it will all increase their costs.

I am preparing an FCA and FSO complaint against all of them, they all have a duty of care to make sure that their "alleged" debts are enforceable, failing to do so is a breach of the FCA Consumer duty as well as numerous CONC rules (see below). There is enough evidence online to show that this abuse is widespread so I am using that as the reasoning for the FCA complaint as they do not deal with individual complaints.

It is my intention to have the FCA remove any approval or licensing of Instrum Justitia and issue them with a large fine, large enough t deter other players. I will also be reporting their outrageous conduct to the authorities where they are going through this recapitalisation. It seems to me that every potential shareholder needs to me made aware of this conduct and the risk to them if Instrum Justitia is properly sanctioned.

Regarding your letter you have seen the templates in the sticky posts I am sure.

The only thing I might change is where you say DEBT I might use the words FALSELY ALLEGED DEBT.

Not only do you not consent to any home visits, but your letter can remove any implied right of access to your property and the land around it.

I would advise getting a video doorbell to capture any attempt and I would post videos on YouTube later when this is all over.

I would suggest you insist that they inform Instrum Justitia, Capquest and their own Directors that the falsely alleged debt is statute barred and you will be reporting them all in a complaint to the FCA and FOS.

You can send via email with a BCC to another email address you own or control, this will provide the headers showing the mail was sent and did not bounce or get caught in some spam trap.

It is my belief that the only way this abhorrent behaviour stops is if enough people report to the FCA and FOS.

The basis for complaint regarding and their conduct are breach of FCA CONC rules.

First of all under the FCA Consumer Duty which says:

"It requires firms to prioritise customer outcomes and treat them fairly, avoiding causing foreseeable harm and supporting them in achieving their financial objectives."

Well chasing debt causes anxiety which can lead to harm to mental health and serious self harm.

So it is a clear breach of the consumer duty, not only is it not treating them fairly and not supporting them achieving their financial objective (not paying debts unnecessarily) plus of course they are not avoiding causing foreseeable harm.

Clearly Instrum Justitia had full details of the debt including the letter THEY WROTE saying it could not be enforced.

Ombudsman decisions granting awards regularly quote

CONC 13.1.6 which says that

(1) Failure to comply with the provisions means that the agreement becomes unenforceable while the failure to comply persists, and the courts have no discretion to allow enforcement.
(2) In such cases, a firm should in no way, either by act or omission, mislead a customer as to the enforceability of the agreement.

(3) In particular, a firm should not in such cases either threaten court action or other enforcement of the debt or imply that the debt is enforceable when it is not.

(4) The firm should, in any request for payment or communication relating to a payment… in such cases, make clear to the customer that although the debt remains outstanding it is unenforceable.

It is absolutely clear that Instrum Justitia are involved in a mass mailing that misleads consumers, they know better and have a duty to know better.

They are licensed for debt recovery under the Financial Conduct Authority and I would assert that are not fit and proper organisations and should have their respective licenses revoked permanently .

AGAIN, THE MORE PEOPLE THAT BRING A COMPLAINT ABOUT THIS UNDERHAND CONDUCT THE MORE CHANCE THERE IS OF Instrum Justitia and their agents being sanctioned.

I think the debt charities should also be complaining, they are supposed to help consumers and speak for them to Government.

Furthermore there are additional CONC rules that may apply when the debt has been statute barred

CONC 7.15.8 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.

I hope that his helps you get more sleep, no matter how bullish we may seem the anxiety over this is very real.

Thanks so much 🙏🏾