Debt out of the blue

[JonnyAppleSeed]

A quick background

In 2001 my wife came out of a relationship and the guy decided to max out her freemans catalog account. She woke up one morning with a bill for 4k (ouch). When i met her she had sorted out a loan payed the catalog company and closed the account.

Today 10 years later she recived a bill from a debt company for £1000 for money spent with the catalog company back in 2001.

Im kinda oldfashond and only use that thing some of you remeber called cash. I know nothing on credit rating debt collection ect. As its the weekend we cant contact the collectors as they dont open till monday but i was looking for any advice so i can go in with a bit of ammo. Or any sites where i can find some info

The only thing i can think of is the catalog account would not have been closed if any money was still owed.
Is there any limit on how long a company can wait before it drops a bill on you?
 I was looking to see if we could follow any paper trail but her bank at the time only has data for 7 years.
We have no proof it was paid... tho they cant tell us what was bought  :g:

[Jamin]

First off, don't fret, debt collection agencies try all sorts to scare you into paying up when you don't owe anything to anyone.

The onus is on them to prove you owe, they can't just ask you for a grand but won't tell you what it's for, phone them on Monday and ask for a full explanation, if nothing rings a bell then tell them to "go away"

Keep a diary of events and how it's making you both feel, if they continue to harass you, go see a solicitor for advice.

Good luck and don't be intimidated :thumb: we used to get a lot of letters and a few bailiffs due to the people who lived her before, my missus take great delight in telling them to "go away"

[BrotherTobious]

http://www.experian.com/

Great checker and have used before and 30mb days free well worth it mate save me some troubles

[Snokio]

I could be wrong in saying this, but by the sounds of it, a company has purchased all the company debts (usually when a company has gone bust) and they 'try' to get money from people even though they aren't legally able to enforce it. I also believe that considering the huge time frame means that any debts that did exsist becomes voided (over 6 years IIRC - have you purchased from them since?)

I think this is a company hoping that people will be scared and pay up, I have heard that this is very common place, but again, it's something that needs to be looked into before any sort of response.

[Snokio]

First off, don't fret, debt collection agencies try all sorts to scare you into paying up when you don't owe anything to anyone.

The onus is on them to prove you owe, they can't just ask you for a grand but won't tell you what it's for, phone them on Monday and ask for a full explanation, if nothing rings a bell then tell them to "go away"

Keep a diary of events and how it's making you both feel, if they continue to harass you, go see a solicitor for advice.

Good luck and don't be intimidated :thumb: we used to get a lot of letters and a few bailiffs due to the people who lived her before, my missus take great delight in telling them to "go away"

Or what he said! (I need faster fingers damnit!)

[Tutonic]

It does sound like a classic case of a debt-collection company simply trying to intimidate you into coughing up money.

I wouldn't give them a penny until you get a full breakdown (in writing) of what they think you owe them, exactly what items they want payment for and the exact date they were purchased.

I'm sure Mr TeaLeaf and co will be along shortly with much better advice than mine

[TheDvEight]

Could citizens advice breau also give advice?

[Sithvid]

If you were declared Bankrupt a few years back all preferential creditors would be paid off and all debts would have been cancelled.
Tell them she was declared Bankrupt.



Assuming all else fails offer to PAY £5 a month or advise threaten to declare yourself (Mrs Jas) Bankrupt.
or Citizens Advise.

[Benny]

Been through this with a debt collector, funnily enough from March. He offered  to 'drive down and collect from my house' to which I said I'd make him a cup of tea to make up for his trouble as he wouldn't get anything.

Ask for proof of the account and all of the payment details they have been passed. In writing. Then, at each stage, ask for each level of proof. If you owe it then fair enough, otherwise it's fairly straightforward intimidation. In all seriousness I'm happy to tell you about mine, which I did owe but not to the level they said. Shout if you want it.

All you need is historical proof of the account. TL may correct me here, but financial records are only legally collected for 7? years? If so, tell them to get the funk out. No proof, no pay.

[Sithvid]

HMRC used to go back 6 years, generally only 4 now for debt but private companies do not abide by  that.

[smilodon]

Unless you've paid money on the debt, communicated and acknowledged the debt or a court has issued a CCJ, six years is the timescale for  the debt as laid down in the Limitations Act 1980 but check with a expert.

 http://www.debtwatchdog.com/statute-barred-debt-england-and-wales-Article-215.html

[Benny]

I should add, from my experience with Mr Big Bad Debt Collector, they are sold a debt, so the company chases it based on what they can recoup. They will not be interested in going to court so will go for quick wins. Just ask for the written proof and you'll be fine.

[T-Bag]

Don't respond at all. The debt will have been bought by a company as others have said. After 7 years of them not taking action on a debt (I think) it is written off unless you acknowledged it later. That means making contact with them is risky as you have chance of accidentally admitting a debt and it being active again. These debts get bought up by companies for pennies on the pound as a last ditch effort to get some money. The people who reply just spark their interest, in general they don't expect to hear back.

[smilodon]

DearSir/Madam
Account No:
Your company hascontacted me/us in respect of the above account which you claim is owed by myself/ourselves.

It is myunderstanding that under the Limitation Act 1980 Section 5

"an actionfounded on simple contract shall not be brought after the expirationof six years from the date on which the cause of action accrued".

I/we would alsopoint out that the OFT say under their Debt Collection Guidanceon statute barred debt that

"it isunfair to pursue the debt if the debtor has heard nothing from thecreditor during the relevant limitation period".

The last correspondence/payment/acknowledgement or payment of this debt was made over six years ago and no further acknowledgement or paymenthas been made since that time. Unless you can provide evidence of payment or written contact from me/us in the relevant period under Section 5 of the Limitation Act, I/we suggest that you are no longer able to take any court action against me/us to recover the alleged amount claimed.
The OFT DebtCollection Guidance states further that
"continuingto press for payment after a debtor has stated that they will not bepaying a debt because it is statute barred could amount to harassmentcontrary to section 40 (1) of the Administration of JusticeAct 1970".
I/we await your written confirmation that no further contact will be made concerning the above account and confirmation that this matter is now closed.
I/we look forward toyour reply.
Yours faithfully

But check with someone who is knowledgeable about this i.e. Citizens Advice, NEVER sign any letters you write (as your signature might be forged by dodgy companies) and never refer specifically to the actual debt itself, see above. And as always I know nothing about which I speak so confirm anything suggested for yourself.

[Penfold]

'

Don't respond at all.

I disagree. That will only bring you stress and worry, however subconscious. Also, on the vaguely remote chance that it is legitimate, you don't want a CCJ (county court judgement) or anything issued. I know your case sounds spurious at best but it's not worth the angst that a potential CCJ could cause which would decimate her credit score.

There's been some great advice here and I can't really contribute anything to it.

Experian - well worth it. Give them a call and certainly get the 30 day free trial. If nothing else it's fascinating (and a little scary) to see the information they hold. They *may* have records of it but it's a loooong time ago.

I don't suppose she has *any* paperwork at all relating to her loan agreement to pay off the debt and ideally any acknowledgement that the debt was settled ? Either way I would talk to the debt company. The chances are that they've either 'bought' the debt or been appointed to retrieve the debt for a fee / proportion of the debt.

Find out exactly what they're claiming for and make sure you get everything in writing. As others have said if you find out it is a spurious claim then tell them so and ask them to either sue you for it or stop harassing you.

If they get all angsty then tell them that if they don't stop harassing you without taking the case  to court you will report them for breaching the Freedom from Harassment  Act 1997 and if necessary will get an injunction preventing them from  any further harassment.     (For your Telegraph 'Motoring section readers, that's straight out of Honest John :flirty:).

TL is really your man as this is right up his street. I'm sure he'll add any useful info.

GL matey !