Debt resurfaced, how do I deal with it?

Summer-Caitlin

I have a query relating to a debt and I am at a loss as to what I should be doing now. I took out a loan in 2001 with the Bank of Scotland, it was a Term Loan for £7000.00 I think. I was employed by The Bank of Scotland at the time and left about one year later. I defaulted on my payments when I left and the last correspondence I received from them was in 2002. By the end of 2002 and I contacted the Bank’s telephone helplines and tried to get details of the account as I had lost all correspondence from them. I was looking for the sortcode and account number so I could start dealing with the debt.
However when I called they couldn’t find any trace of this loan and therefore couldn’t give me any details. Fast forward to the end of 2007 and all of a sudden it resurfaced. It is now with a Debt Company that are hassling me for money. As soon as I received the letter at the tail end of 2007 I called the Bank and asked them where this debt had been for the last 5 years, they said they had been sending correspondence to a different address (I have never moved since this loan) I asked them repeatedly for statements which they haven’t provided as I now notice that all this time they have been adding about £50per month interest. I now owe over £8400.
In January I started making £40 per month payment to the company that were chasing me, I made 3 payments only on the basis that I was currently disputing this amount and that all interest was to be frozen. 3 months later and I receive a statement noting that they have been adding £50 per month interest, therefore my payments make no difference to the balance!
I immediately ceased payments and told them I would no longer make payments, they passed it on to another debt collector and the process started again. I made one payment of £22.50 again stating I was disputing this and all interest needed to be frozen, but I have since received a letter and my balance has went up not down!
Surely I have some sort of comeback regarding this. I acknowledge some of the debt, but certainly not this amount. Where do I stand?
I understand that the Limitation Act probably doesn’t apply as I have acknowledged the debt by making some form of payment, albeit I did state it was in dispute. I am really annoyed as I only made the payment so I could get them off my back, they kept threatening me with Court Action!
Please help I’m getting desperate to get this resolved.

nimbo

have you tried asking them for a copy of the signed CCA???

i know the DCA's are generally scum of the earth types, so good luck...

Summer-Caitlin

Thanks for the response, I am waiting for a letter from them or phonecall which I am supposed to get this week. When I do I will inform them I am wanting a copy of the CCA. I have already asked for statements but they said because they are a DCA, they do not have that information. Do I have to ask for this in writing? If so do I have to pay for this?

nimbo

ohhh, go to this thread, the circumstances are slightly different, bur there is a useful lonk on one fo the posts that dtails the exact legalities of things...

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=937937

stapeley

You need the establish if the DCA are acting for the OC or have purchased the account .If they have purchased the account , use the template letter to request a true signed copy of the CCA . If they can provide it , which I doubt , you can then do a SAR to gain all the account statements . I would also only communicate by letter and keep everything .

Summer-Caitlin

Thanks for your responses

Do you have a copy of the template letter and is this valid in Scotland?

If they haven't purchased the account and are only acting for the company what do I do then, direct my enquiry to the originating creditor?

GeorgeUK

A Debt is statute barred in England if there have been no payments or written acknowledgement of the debt for 6 years. In Scotland it is 5 years.

Has there at at any time been a period of 5 years where no payments were made? If so the debt is not enforcable. For Scotland, the relevent Act is The Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973. You will need to be sure of the dates, but if this is the case then the debt is not enforcable.
(For England it would be the Limitations Act 1980)

The Consumer Credit Act 1974 applies to both Scotland and England although there are a few variations but these are minor points. You can request a copy of your agreement in the same way and companies are held to the same timetable.

You will only need to send this if the debt is not statute barred - it doesn't matter that you started the payments again. If there was a period of 5 years from the last payment to when you restarted payments, then the debt is unenforcable and you should notify them of this.

There are a few templates you might be able to use here
(Just be careful that the correct Act is mentioned in the letter)

Summer-Caitlin

Thank you very much for your detailed response. I have found a statement dated May 2007 which shows I have made 5 £40.00 payments to this account. However I noticed that they were adding interest and I immediatley ceased payment. My last payment prior to this was approximately July 2001 (I will have to double check that but I am sure I stopped payments as soon as I left my job) So, yes, there was a period of 5 years where this debt was unpaid and I had no contact with the creditor. Is it still possible to claim this under the Limitations Act?

GeorgeUK

I think this is the relevent part of the act
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/RevisedStatutes/Acts/ukpga/1973/cukpga_19730052_en_2#pt1-pb2-l1g6

(Pity it's in legaleese)

I prefer this version.
http://www.nationaldebtline.co.uk/scotland/factsheet.php?page=23_prescription_and_limitation_act

(Thanks to rog2 for the link - i googled it and found all kinds of junk. :rolleyes: )