Help - old debt

teabag1970

I have been contacted out of the blue today by a debt collection agency, saying I owe nearly 5k, after looking into it, it appears this is for a very old credit card and goes back 3-4 years. I haven't been contacted during this time, however I sold my house and cleared debts 3 years ago, I believe this debt may be left over from this time.

They have asked for immediate payment or to ring them and ask for a installment or temporary agreement towards paying the amount, and it said i would have to provide proof of outgoings, wages etc.

Obviously I don't have £5k lying around, I have lived debt free since selling my house 3 years ago, I don't have any credit cards or credit agreements. I do have a savings account, but the whole point of my savings was to protect me in emergency situations, I only have £1.5K in it and I really don't want to be forced into using this money, thus leaving me without my hard saved cash and my emergency safety net.

Can anyone give me advice on what I should do, a friend of mine said I could either offer a very small amount payable monthly (but I can't see how this would work if I have to prove my incoming and outgoing money) or offer to pay a lump sum of say £1000 and hope they accept it.

It was a great shock to hear from a debt collection agency after all this time of thinking I was completely debt free and in control of my spending.

poorandindenial

Before you start paying you need to get them to prove that you owe this debt and to prove that they own the debt. You should request the CCA and notice of assignment from them, just a second and I will pop up a link or two.

poorandindenial

Here is a link to some advice:

Click here

Beerworshipper

Hey Teabag,

It may sound a little cynical but I'm sure I've seen advice on here before stating that you shouldn't acknowledge the debt with them until they can provide a copy of the Consumer credit agreement. So you will need to contact them and ask for it to see if they can prove that you owe it. You can do this by sending them a letter. Poorandindenial's link above has another link to a sample letter.

Also I seem to remember someone posting to say don't sign the CCA Request letter and also pay the £1 or so admin fee with a postal order. Again this negates the need to disclose your signature to them....... Not that I'm suggesting that they or any debt collection agency wouldn't play by the rules :rotfl:

Good luck.