Statute barred debt (Credit card) from 16 years ago...

mark555555

I have a statute barred debt (Credit card) from 16 years ago. After ignoring text messages, phone calls and the occasional letter from Capquest for many years, I recently started receiving calls and letters from ACI, who are working on behalf of Capquest. I then received a letter from Verity, who are working on behalf of ACI threatening a home visit.

I have not made any form of written acknowledgment of the debt's existence or made any payment towards it within the past six years, and a recent credit history search I undertook came back unblemished.

I sent them a ‘prove it’ letter based on a very helpful template from this forum and received a polite letter back from ACI saying “We have reviewed your account and based on the information we have available, we have decided to close it. You will not receive any more contact from us”.

You can imagine my surprise that just a few short weeks later I received a new letter from ACI with a new ACI Customer Reference number, but this time for an increased outstanding balance amount.

ACI have acknowledged my letter in writing and are clearly unable to ‘prove it’ which they have put in writing. But they now appear to have created a new account…

Is my next move to write back to them with the same ‘prove it’ letter wording, corresponding to the new ACI Customer Reference number but also include reference to the previous correspondence for the ‘old’ ACI Customer Reference number and include a ‘warning’ that I will report them to the Financial Ombudsman (FOS) if they persist with their collection activity.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

sourcrates

Are you certain its the same debt?

Either way, prove-it letter is the way forward yes.

fatbelly

Yes you are going to have to treat it like a different debt. Which it may be.

mark555555

Thanks both. Yes, it is definitely the the same debt. ACI appear have just created a new ACI Customer Reference number and bumped up the outstanding amount by another £500. Thanks for the advice.

sourcrates

mark555555 said:

Thanks both. Yes, it is definitely the the same debt. ACI appear have just created a new ACI Customer Reference number and bumped up the outstanding amount by another £500. Thanks for the advice.

They simply cannot do that, where has the other £500 come from?? that is fraud, unless its a totally different debt.

Can you scan the letter, leaving out your personal details?

Back in the day some debt collectors would invent payments to disprove a statute barred claim, but inventing a new balance out of thin air, somethings seriously wrong here.

mark555555

sourcrates said:

mark555555 said:

Thanks both. Yes, it is definitely the the same debt. ACI appear have just created a new ACI Customer Reference number and bumped up the outstanding amount by another £500. Thanks for the advice.

They simply cannot do that, where has the other £500 come from?? that is fraud, unless its a totally different debt.

Can you scan the letter, leaving out your personal details?

Back in the day some debt collectors would invent payments to disprove a statute barred claim, but inventing a new balance out of thin air, somethings seriously wrong here.

Thanks sourcrates, the old and new ACI letters now have different 'Your ACI Customer Reference' numbers, different 'Original Creditor Reference' numbers and now different 'Outstanding Balance' figures (increased by c£500.
But the 'Original Creditor' name is the same (a now defunct credit card company). All very strange as it cannot be for two different debts.

sourcrates

In this instance I would register a formal written complaint, list events from start to finish, inc ref numbers etc, and the fact the debt is statute barred, and that its miraculously re-emerged with a higher balance, a different ref number, but to the same creditor.

They have 8 weeks to issue you a final response, then you can escalate to the financial ombudsman if not satisfied with their answers.

I really would follow this through now to a conclusion, as its the kind of debt to rear its ugly head in the future if you don`t sort it now.