ownership of debts

1mongoose

After running into debt whilst seriously ill around 1997, I agreed to pay a few pounds a week to my creditors, and did so for years. Then the debts got sold off to other companies multiple times. I then had another series of medical crises, and a relative took over my financial affairs, continuing to pay the agreed amounts from my bank account. Unfortunately he got into a muddle. When I recovered enough to investigate, I found several discrepancies in the demands for payment including being charged twice for the same account and for one that was not mine. By this time the debts had been bought by one particular firm.
To clarify the situation I have asked for copies of the original agreements on the debts, to ascertain their ownership. The Company has said that they cannot provide these owing to the age of the debts. Do I still have to pay them if they cannot provide this information?
I would be grateful for any advice.

Brie

If they can't prove you owe them they can't enforce the debt.  Stop paying and see what they say.  

RAS

Please just stop paying them. They need the correct documentary proof of your debts. Many will be covered by CCAs, some may not. 

If they sell on the debt, it's possible that the new creditor will ask for payment, so send the Prove it letter. 

fatbelly

I agree. Stop paying and report back here if anyone kicks off about it.

sheenas

In many cases when debt is sold on , they don’t have the paperwork. The agreement or a copy is required and if they don’t have it then they can’t enforce payment. It’s been a very long time and it’s seams likely they are incorrectly charging you, so ask them for a copy of the original loan agreements before paying any more money. 

sourcrates

Yes, agree with all of the above, in situations such as this, were the lines seem particularly blurred, the best course of action is to stop paying.

The debts current owners will them write to you, so you can then ascertain your position with each account.

If a certain creditor has not produced evidence of your liability, that renders the debt unenforceable in court, and you can just stop paying them.