Responding to Kearns Letter - Link Financial

Moose321

Happy New Year to you all. If anyone can advise, that would be very much appreciated. I received a Kearns letter while I was away for the fesitve period and just returned and have 7 days to return before their 30 day stipulated period expires (assuming this is not 30 working days which would give me another 2 weeks). I dont think the credit card debt is statute barred just yet.  Page 1 asks for full name, address, email & tel number. Do I complete this or leave it, and just tick Box I 'I need more information' . Do I also tick Box D 'I dispute the debt' and state 'The CCA has not been produced' which it hasnt although I cannot recall ever requesting it. I can request from Link directly (prove it letter) at the same time as I retrun the Kearns letter.
Finally, should I print my name and sign the Kearns letter on the last page in the spaces provided. Thank you all !

ManyWays

This sounds like a Letter Before Action.

You must reply to it using the Reply Form. Sending a Prove It letter to Link is not good enough.

What sort of debt was this originally? How long ago did you default? Have you made any payments since then?

Moose321

Thank you -  What sort of debt was this originally?  - The debt was originally credit card debt.

How long ago did you default? - The original default is no longer on my credit report so don’t know when it happened exactly but it is obviously more than 6 years ago, plus I now have an 'Excellent' credit score with experian and equifax.. 

Have you made any payments since then? - Last payment was to the credit card company in May 2021 by bank transfer (I just checked my bank account). 

Other info: Never had any direct contact with Link.  At top of letter it says Letter of Claim and gives me 30 days to respond. And there is a threat further down the letter that failure to respond will result in court proceedings.

It gives the date that the debt was legally assigned to Link (12yrs ago) as well as the date the original agreement with the credit card company was incepted (over 30yrs ago). Have you seen the form that Kearns send out? I am just deciding/wondering what box to tick to get more info (CCA?) and try to find out if the debt is enforceable or not. Many thanks.

RAS

As you've made a payment within the last 6 years, this debt is not statute barred. 

Kearns specialise in debt recovery and often get involved towards the end of a period of non payment close to the 6 year limit.

ManyWays

Can I just double check some of the dates? 

Last payment was to the credit card company in May 2021 by bank transfer (I just checked my bank account). It gives the date that the debt was legally assigned to Link (12yrs ago) 

If the account was opened 30 years ago, there is very decent chance Link will not be able to produce the CCA agreement.

I suggest you ask for a copy of the CCA agreement, a copy of the Default Notice, a copy of the notice of assignment for the debt, and a full statement of the account.

Moose321

Yes the dates are correct, mid 1990's inception, thank you for the advice.

Moose321

Thank you ManyWays, a couple more q's: (boxes to tick)

1)      Should I tick ‘Box C – I don’t know whether I owe the debt’ OR ‘Box D – I dispute the debt because….’  reason needed here – and says I can use a separate piece of paper to provide details or any docs I might have.

2)      And then tick ‘Box I - I need more documents’ where I will include the documents you mentioned. Or I could just tick ‘Box I’ only and leave other boxes blank.  Am I overthinking this?

Thanks again.

ManyWays

Unless you have very clear reasons to dispute the debt (not just hoping the creditor wont be able to produce the CCA), I suggest ticking Box C and seeing what info they send you back from your Box I requests. 

Moose321

OK, thanks before I do this one more thing

Only 'Box D – I dispute the debt because'….’ tells you to go to ‘Box I - I need more documents’ to list the documents you require. 
However, Box C – I don’t know whether I owe the debt’  does not tell you to go to Box I, it just says tick if you're not sure whether you owe the debt.

Could I also state in 'Box D – I dispute the debt because'… I have no documentation??  At the moment I have ticked box C and filled in Box I with the documents I am requesting.

If you have not seen a copy of the Kearns letter they send out, I can forward a copy for your future reference if there is a private way of doing this. I would remove my details of course.

ManyWays

The Reply Form attached to that letter is a standard form in the format set out here https://www.justice.gov.uk/documents/debt-pap.pdf

 Section 1 at the top says you can only select one of B, C, or D, so you cant tick both C & D. You have no grounds at the moment to dispute the debt, so it's best to tick Box C.

Then in Box I list the information you want. 

Moose321

UPDATE: As advised, I returned the questionnaire to Kearns and requested 1) CCA agreement 2) default notice 3) notice of assigment and 4) full statement of account.

A week later, I had a letter back from Kearns that they acknowledged my correspondence and the account was on a temporary hold.

Three weeks after that a 2nd letter from Kearns stating the account had been returned to Link Financial.

This week,(3 weeks later), a letter has arrived from Link, not with the above requested information, but stating that their representative from Resolvecall will visit my home to 'reconnnect' with me. Should I tell Resovecall representatives that I am still waiting for requested information from Link, or just not discuss wih them? Thank you all !