Old Debt Assistance

Cube9

New to here, but something about CCAs peaked my interest.

Back in 2016/2017, I racked up a lot of old CC debt and as a result, ended up in a bad situation so they all defaulted. They have obviously dropped off my credit card file now and as such, I got a mortgage earlier this year with no issues.

Since they defaulted, I have been making small payments to these creditors (£5-£10 per month) and slowly reducing the balances, clearing over £10k in this time. However, as this debt is now old and off my file, I'd like to stop paying them all together.

What are my options here?

1. Should I really ask for the CCAs? I don't want people chasing me now I have been paying them without any contact for years.
2. If I was to offer settlements, what do they accept % wise?

To make it more foccused on who I am dealing with, I have the following accounts;

PRA Group

Wescot

Cabot

Lowell

ACI

Thank you
John

Cube9

And Moorcroft, sorry.

Grumpelstiltskin

From 2017 they would have been statute barred by now if you hadn't paid them, problem is you have been paying them.
Stop now and send CCA requests and wait and see what comes back.

Cube9

That's the thing, at the time - I was scared (and younger) so carried on paying them so I didn't get CCJs etc.

Should I really just stop paying and ask for CCAs? I don't want anything just to 'reappear' on my file now I'm back in the green with a house etc.

Grumpelstiltskin

Yes you should, if they can't come up with valid CCAs they can't do anything. So don't worry

Cube9

Will start sending CCA requests then and hopefully can get rid of some of them.

ManyWays

I don't want anything just to 'reappear' on my file now I'm back in the green with a house etc.
the debts will not reappear; the only thing that might is a CCJ, so if the CCA is produced, then set up a payment arrangement again. 

Cube9

So let's say some debt collectors cannot produce the CCA, I stop paying and they continue to chase, but at what point will they stop?

RAS

You need to separate enforceable debt with collectable debt. Even more so when you are dealing with statute barred debt in the UK.

In the absence of a CCA, the creditor cannot successfully take you to court for consumer debt. If the debt is statue barred in the UK the only defence you need against enforcement of statute barred debt is that fact. Sadly in England and Wales neither prevents creditors trying it on and they could get a CCJ if you don't defend the case.

In Scotland, the debt is extinguished after 5 years non-payment or written acknowledgement, in England and Wales it still exists and can be collected but also defended successfully. 

As an aside, there was a famous case in which the mortgage provider got a repossession order on a house, which they failed to action. Twice more they took it to court, the second time over 12 years after the possession order. This was secured debt and the courts told the mortgage provider to take a jump. So having failed for 18 years to pay the mortgage, the occupier effectively got a mortgage free house.

On the ground, there's been a lot of reorganisation of debt collectors recently, often selling vast tranches of debts with little understanding of the status of the specific debts.  So the new debt collectors just try to find the right person, and try to collect, even if they've got the wrong person and the debt is unenforceable. There's a lot of weasel words and suggestions of action they'd be unwise to take, even when the age of the debt suggests there's almost no chance of success.  

If you get a letter saying you're not the debtor, the CCA is unobtainable or the debt is statute barred, keep it for ever. Because until the law is changed there is always the possibility that yet another debt owner will give it a whirl.