MMF/Lantern - Court Action threat?

Flexos · 25 April 2018 at 3:08PM

Hello guys. I need some help.

I received this email below from lantern. I have received emails from them over the years about this same debt but I do not know which payday loan debt this is in relation to as it doesn't even say. I'm thinking maybe pounds to pocket.
I'm pretty sure this is in relation to paydays loans I took out in 2012.

I need some advice because my credit rating is shot and I need to try and get it back into the green.

My question is;

1) Should I finally make contact with them and ask them what this debt is in relation to? What should I say?

2) Would this debt be statute barred?Is something statute barred from your last payment to the company or from when they put a default on your file + 6 years today date?

I've checked my credit report and there doesn't seem to be any defaults which match this sum. I took out a few payday loans between march 2012 and july 2012. There might be an odd one in 2013.

3) Are lantern serious about taking me to court? My last known address was 10yrs ago and my current address isn't listed on my credit report so if they did take me to court the court papers would go to my old address and I would never get them.

Having a CCJ against me would cause me alot of problems in my career, so I really don't want that.

4) Should I just carry on ignoring them?

5) I probably shouldn't have gotten this payday loan and I know they can be written off with some companies.

I could probably make some monthly payment towards it every month if need be as I got myself into this mess but am looking at all my options.

Should I contact them about it being written off?

Any other advice on what action I should take?

Al help appreciated, thank you.

CURRENT OUTSTANDING BALANCE: £1400.11

Dear xxxxx

Our efforts to contact you are becoming exhausted as we have made several attempts to offer you a repayment solution and even a discount. In light of this we are preparing your account for one of the following possible actions:

Legal Assessment – your account may be sent to our Legal partners who will assess your account to determine if legal action is suitable. If they consider this to be the most appropriate action we will inform you of the next steps. You should be aware that there may be additional costs in the event that legal action is taken.
Assignment of your account to our field agents, Resolvecall who will visit you at home to arrive at a solution
Assignment of your account to one of our external debt recovery partners, BPO Collections Ltd or Tenron Credit Management Ltd.

We consider the above to be a last resort, and hope they will not prove necessary, but without speaking to you we are running out of options. You still have time to set a plan with us if you contact us within the next 7 days.

Please click for a payment mandate should you choose to pay b debit or standing order for your completion.
Just to remind you, you can now manage your account online by visiting If you prefer you can email us at or call us on: 0113 887 6876 to speak to one of our agents. The details needed to set your plan are:

Date of 1st instalment
Amount of instalment
Frequency of payments
Preferred method of payment

Please ensure that your priority bills are up to date for example rent utility bills, council tax to make sure your payment is affordable. Information pertaining to this account may be registered with credit referencing agencies, this information may then be used by future lenders, landlords and employers and may affect your ability to secure credit in the future.

Yours sincerely

Lantern

sourcrates · 25 April 2018 at 3:36PM

Just a threat letter at present.

Send them the provit letter asking for evidence of liability, by email of course.
Its in the sticky at the top of the forum.

National_Debtline · 25 April 2018 at 3:41PM

Hi Flexos and welcome to MSE,

In a situation like this, it doesn't seem wise to keep ignoring them, because you are right about the risk of not receiving the court papers. County court claim forms are only sent to the last known UK address. If you don't receive them, you cannot respond which would result in a default judgement. To challenge a CCJ after it has been made can be done through a set aside application, but can cost up to £255 to apply.

You could argue limitations or you could send the 'proveit' letter. The 'proveit' letters states you don't recognise the debt and would like more information. It shouldn't be considered a written acknowledgement so shouldn't affect a potential argument of limitations later. Under the Limitations Act the 6 year clock starts from when the first payment was due and missed or from when the last payment was made or from when the last written acknowledgement was made - whichever is the later - the default has no bearing.

County court is something they have the right to do, and if you get court papers then contact one of the free debt charities for more help. Don't worry about Lantern or Resolvecall - they are all debt collectors, and have no right of entry or repossession. It is rare that you would get a knock on your door from a debt collector, but if you do, remember they are not bailiffs. I hope that answers most of your queries, good luck,

Laura
@natdebtline

Flexos · 25 April 2018 at 5:19PM

Thanks for the advice.

It does concern me that I have read in other posts that this company have taken CCJ action against others for way less than what they are claiming I owe and the last thing I need right now is a CCJ appearing on my credit file without even knowing.

I'm pretty sure this payday loan isn't on my credit file anymore. Either there was never a default made or that the default has now gone from my file cause it's been over 6years. If lantern get back to me and say that I owe x and here's the agreement it's gonna be hard for me to find out when last payment was made to that company as I closed my bank account in 2012/2013 and opened a new one somewhere else.

I'll email them now with a proveit letter and get back to this thread when I get a reply.

National_Debtline · 25 April 2018 at 6:10PM

Hello again,

Don't worry too much about proving when you last paid anything or wrote to them. Under the Limitations Act the onus of proof is on the creditor to prove something is not statute barred, rather than for you to prove that it is.

However, I think in this case, if you are going to send the proveit letter first, then do that, and wait and see what they come back with,

Laura
@natdebtline

ste220 · 28 April 2018 at 11:18PM

ive just had the same with mmf/lantern, and a proveit letter just returned basically a balance owed. i then sent the cca letter and have now recieved an account closed letter from them. this was all after a county court claim was issued. shows it is never too late to challenge them.

sourcrates · 28 April 2018 at 11:21PM

ste220 wrote: »

ive just had the same with mmf/lantern, this was all after a county court claim was issued. shows it is never too late to challenge them.

But before judgement was handed down, important to add.

Flexos · 30 April 2018 at 12:39PM

sourcrates wrote: »

Just a threat letter at present.

Send them the provit letter asking for evidence of liability, by email of course.
Its in the sticky at the top of the forum.

National_Debtline wrote: »

Hello again,

Don't worry too much about proving when you last paid anything or wrote to them. Under the Limitations Act the onus of proof is on the creditor to prove something is not statute barred, rather than for you to prove that it is.

However, I think in this case, if you are going to send the proveit letter first, then do that, and wait and see what they come back with,

Laura
@natdebtline

Hi. So I just got a reply from lantern. They've sent me 2 CCA's. One from WDA which the original credit limit seems to be for £90 and was taken in jan 2012. And another for pounds2 which the original credit was for £900 with first payment being in march 2012. A total of £1400 now apparently. Guess that all includes late fees etc.

Lantern are sayng I have 14 days to get back to them with a payment plan or the money.

I've emailed both those companies to find out when my last payment was made towards the debt. I don't remember paying anything towards either of these to be honest.

What should I do now?

Thanks for the any advice.

sourcrates · 30 April 2018 at 4:26PM

I would say they are unlikely to be statute barred as the cause of action date will of been a few months from now, hence why they are contacting you, hoping to get a claim in before then.

Flexos · 30 April 2018 at 5:11PM

sourcrates wrote: »

I would say they are unlikely to be statute barred as the cause of action date will of been a few months from now, hence why they are contacting you, hoping to get a claim in before then.

Well I think they've been trying for along time to get a reply out of me. It's just now that they got my attention, and plus the fact that I am trying to sort out my credit rating and don't want anything denting it anymore.

If I didn't make any payment to any of these, or did up until todays date it would be statute barred right? As it would be 6yrs from todays date to last payment? This all depends on if those 2 payday companies even provide me with that information.

Would lantern not be required to provide me with this information? I would have presumed the onus would be on them to show that this debt is mine and still within legal time limits to be claimed?

National_Debtline · 30 April 2018 at 5:28PM

Hello again,

If you took out a loan in January 2012 but never made a payment, that debt could well be statute barred (as the first payment would've been around February 2012, but missed, which is the start of the limitations clock). The 6 year clock starts from when the last payment or written acknowledgement were made, or from when the last payment was due to be paid - but missed - whichever is the later. However, the other loan may not be as clear cut if it was taken out March 2012. If you made just one or two payments to this, it may not yet be statute barred.

However, as you want to limit the risk of court action because of your credit file, you could respond with the limitations letter asking them to prove a valid written acknowledgment, payment or judgement since the debt fell due. The onus is on them to prove something is not statute barred, and because you don't recall any payments, it is possible the limitations act applies.

Laura
@natdebtline

MMF/Lantern - Court Action threat?

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