Being chased for old debt

Jeekah

Hi, I received a letter this morning asking me if I used to reside at a given address (which I did, years ago) and they have asked me to contact them immediately (Lowell). They also stated that if they did not hear from me they would automatically assume the information correct.

The letter is obviously from a collection agency and I have spent all morning racking my brains as to what it could be for as had managed to claw myself out of debt years ago. Is there a way I can find out for sure without calling them?

I have gone all through my personal stuff and came across an old cheque book stub from 2002 where I notice I had been paying off a credit card, (which I had always assumed I had paid in full) so that is the one and only thing it could possibly be. The last payment I had made on that was 07/07/2002 so if that is what they are after, it was 5 years and 8 months away, so not long enough for Statute Barred is it?

Is there anything else I can do or do you think there is anyway I can drag this out by not acknowledging the debt (if I owe it) until July when it will be 6 years since I last acknowledged it by making a payment?

Thanks in advance for any advice on this matter

J

fermi

Sounds like Lowells are only fishing at the moment. That's their standard letter.

It may not even be your debt. Lowells have a habit of sending out letters like that to many people who they think might be the person they are looking for, hoping for that letter to scare the correct one into biting.

The bit about "if they did not hear from me they would automatically assume the information correct." is absolute twaddle.

Personally, I would sit tight and see if anything concrete ever appears from them.

If you need it details of when/how a debt is statute barred is here:

Link: Factsheet | Liability for Debts and the Limitation Act (England/Wales)

If you do get anything more solid from them and it isn't statute barred, then you can use the info in this link.

Link: CCA request | Getting a copy of your credit agreement and account details

It's quite possible that if it is a card debt of that age, then Lowells won't be able to get hold of an enforceable copy of the original agreement.

daisykinn1

You could check your credit report

http://www.experian.co.uk/creditreport/ - has a free trial.

shinyhead

Did they say what it was about-what account and how much etc? if not I would suggest you ignore it as they seem to be fishing. Whatever you do DO NOT PHONE THEM.

fermi

Checking you credit report at the moment may result in your previous and current credit records being linked (if they aren't already), making it easier for Lowell to link you to the debt.

But yes, I wouldn't be tempted to phone them.

itsnever2lateisit?

I agree with Fermi, sit tight on this one. If Lowell were certain that you have a debt, they would quote the debt account number, and the outstanding amount. July is not far away

rog2

Jeekah wrote: »

They also stated that if they did not hear from me they would automatically assume the information correct.

They have no right to 'automatically' assume anything. Any onus on 'proof' is down to them, not you.

I agree with the advice above - ignore this letter. IF they follow through with another letter, quoting any actual debt and original creditor, then we can point you in the right direction.

Jeekah

Hi, thank you all for your replies. And Fermi, thank you very much for the links.

I am assuming that as the last time I made a payment was 5 years and 8 months ago, it is not Statute Barred at this point in time. I shall do as you all suggest and sit tight and try and ride it out until July!
If they do follow it up and the debt turns out to be mine, does it mean that because they have contacted me before the 6 year limitation period is up, that I will not be able to claim Statute Barred?

I read the fact sheet, but to be honest I do find it all a little bit over my head. If I the debt is mine, then the card goes way back to the mid 1990's as the debt I was paying off in 2002 was actually to aDCA after I had defaulted on the original credit card payments (I was an 18 year single mother, I should never have been allowed credit). I have no idea if it went to court when I originally defaulted or whether the credit card company just passed it onto the DCA when I ceased to make the repayments. It was all so long ago.

The letter does not say anything about account numbers or who the debt was with or how much is outstanding. I am not sure how long they tend to leave these 'fishing for info' letters before they send out something more specific, does any one have any idea?

I have no trouble getting credit now, so I am sure my credit report is fine, I have never checked it though as I did not want my old address to ever be linked to my new one as I knew I had a bad history at that old address, however I honestly believed I had paid everything I had owed since then and I learned a valuable lesson from it.

Once again, thank you all so very much for taking the time to reply to me.

J

RAS

Jeekah wrote: »

If they do follow it up and the debt turns out to be mine, does it mean that because they have contacted me before the 6 year limitation period is up, that I will not be able to claim Statute Barred?

Jeekah

The acknowledgement of debt has to be you writing to the creditor saying "I owe you this money". Their letter to you is irrelevant.

This is why whenever someone write a CCA or statute barred letter, it is recommended that they start with "I do not acknowledge any debt to your Company".