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Am I statute barred? what to do next?
Krojan
Posts: 97 Forumite
Hi guys, looking for some advice please, back on 16/11/2016 I was contacted by Mortimer Clarke Solicitors, whom were instructed to claim a sum of just over £600 for an old debt and threatening court action etc.. which I didn't recognize, I responded with the standard CCA request form not acknowledging the debt and sent the £1 fee on 21/11/2016, they acknowledged receipt of the request on 24/11/2016 and put the account on hold...
Then Nothing was heard until today, (over a year later!). They've sent through the original agreement (dated 11/4/2007) and a statement of account, and a copy of the "reconstituted notice of assignment" instead of the deed of assignment requested (is this the same thing?)
However the statements of account they've sent only date between 15/5/2007 and 14/02/2009, which are well beyond the limitations for the debt to be statue barred, I'm 100% sure no acknowledgement or payment has been made towards the debt in at least the last 6 years HOWEVER it would appear that the £1 fee for the CCA request has been credited against the debt (as the debt amount between the original letter and this one has dropped by exactly £1), despite it clearly stating that it wasn't to be used for this and only as payment for CCA request.
The interesting thing is the tone of their letter has changed from threatening court action etc in the original last year to 'their client requires the debt to be addressed' which makes me suspect they know its statue barred and are just fishing.
How should I now proceed, should I now send the default statue barred letter and see how they respond?
Many thanks for your help
Then Nothing was heard until today, (over a year later!). They've sent through the original agreement (dated 11/4/2007) and a statement of account, and a copy of the "reconstituted notice of assignment" instead of the deed of assignment requested (is this the same thing?)
However the statements of account they've sent only date between 15/5/2007 and 14/02/2009, which are well beyond the limitations for the debt to be statue barred, I'm 100% sure no acknowledgement or payment has been made towards the debt in at least the last 6 years HOWEVER it would appear that the £1 fee for the CCA request has been credited against the debt (as the debt amount between the original letter and this one has dropped by exactly £1), despite it clearly stating that it wasn't to be used for this and only as payment for CCA request.
The interesting thing is the tone of their letter has changed from threatening court action etc in the original last year to 'their client requires the debt to be addressed' which makes me suspect they know its statue barred and are just fishing.
How should I now proceed, should I now send the default statue barred letter and see how they respond?
Many thanks for your help
0
Comments
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When did you last make a payment to this account ?
As that would be the cause of action date.
When you do not recognise a debt, you send a provit letter, not a CCA request, by sending the latter, you admit liability for the account, as you cannot CCA something that is not yours.
However it’s possible it was already barred, so go ahead and send the SB letter to them.
A deed of assignment is a document put before a court that contains details of assigned debts, of which yours is only one, you do not have an automatic right to see this document as it contains other people’s details as well as your own.I’m a Forum Ambassador and I support the Forum Team on the Debt free wannabe, Credit file and ratings, and Bankruptcy and living with it boards. If you need any help on these boards, do let me know. Please note that Ambassadors are not moderators. Any posts you spot in breach of the Forum Rules should be reported via the report button, or by emailing forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com. All views are my own and not the official line of MoneySavingExpert.For free non-judgemental debt advice, contact either Stepchange, National Debtline, or CitizensAdviceBureaux.Link to SOA Calculator- https://www.stoozing.com/soa.php The "provit letter" is here-https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2607247/letter-when-you-know-nothing-about-about-the-debt-aka-prove-it-letter0 -
Thanks for the reply Sourcrates,
I have no records or bank statements etc going back that far as a lot of it was lost when we moved house mid 2011 after being repossessed. There's no mention of this debt on my credit file either although I know that this does not really mean much.
The only statements of account they've sent go up to 2009 so shouldn't this mean that the last payment towards the debt was up to 2009? If payments were made since then shouldn't they have been included in the sent CCA request to show a full and true statement of the account?
If payments were made later, they were made certainly no later than early 2011, but my concern is that if this was the case, could their mis-use of the CCA request payment have reset the 6 year clock on statute-barring the debt? And if it has, should I then contest it directly with them if it proves to be the only payment made or should I then let it go to court and contest it based on the mishandling of the fee payment and their solicitors acknowledged this request and they took an excessive length of time (over 12 months) to supply the documents, and the statement range only goes to 2009?
The letter sent with the fee was as follows;
"Dear Sir/Madam
I do not acknowledge any debt to your company or its client(s).
With reference to the above agreement, I require you to supply the following documentation before I will correspond with you further on this matter.
1. You must supply me with a true copy of the alleged agreement you refer to. This is my right under your obligation to supply a copy of the agreement, under the legislation contained within s.78 (1) Consumer Credit Act 1974.
2. A full statement of account.
3. A signed true copy of the deed of assignment of the above referenced agreement that you allege exists.
4. A copy of any other documents referred to in the agreement.
I understand that under the Consumer Credit Act 1974 (Sections 77-79), I are entitled to receive a copy of our credit agreement on request. I enclose a payment of £1.00 which represents the fee payable under the Consumer Credit Act. Please note that under no circumstances should this payment be set aside any alleged debt. If you are unable to supply the documentation requested, this fee should be returned.
I understand a copy of our credit agreement must be supplied within 12 working days of receipt of this letter.
I understand that under the Consumer Credit Act creditors are unable to enforce an agreement if they fail to comply with a request for a copy of the agreement under these sections of the Act.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Yours faithfully"
I'm guessing the best course of action is to send the statute barred letter and gauge their response, but how long do they have to respond to it, as it took them over a year to get the CCA documents to me?
Again, many thanks0 -
There are no set guidelines on this, so send the letter, as a complaint, just mark the letter "COMPLAINT".
That gives them an 8 week timeline to issue a final response to you, if they fail to do this after that time, you can take the matter to the FOS and get it put to bed once and for all.I’m a Forum Ambassador and I support the Forum Team on the Debt free wannabe, Credit file and ratings, and Bankruptcy and living with it boards. If you need any help on these boards, do let me know. Please note that Ambassadors are not moderators. Any posts you spot in breach of the Forum Rules should be reported via the report button, or by emailing forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com. All views are my own and not the official line of MoneySavingExpert.For free non-judgemental debt advice, contact either Stepchange, National Debtline, or CitizensAdviceBureaux.Link to SOA Calculator- https://www.stoozing.com/soa.php The "provit letter" is here-https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2607247/letter-when-you-know-nothing-about-about-the-debt-aka-prove-it-letter0
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