Debt Collectors chasing debt since 2008

[Ratilio]

"J" is my son's partner, the mother of his child (my grandson)
She was 18 or so at the time and very naive with regard to money management.

The story so far...

April 2008
Due to being kicked out of home, with no job "J" used overdraft to survive.

May 2008 letter from Lloyds TSB that her overdraft was £529.96 overdrawn.

Letter on 14th June 2008 - Balance £685.98
Administration of this account has been passed to our Collections Centre

6 July 2009
Letter from Debt Collectors 1 - chasing Debt outstanding £1066.18

27 July2009
Letter from Solicitors - Notice of pending legal action

27 April 2010
Letter from Debt Collectors 2 - Formal Demand for Payment

Then 3 more letters from them 6/5/10, 18/5/10, 13/10/10

Most of the above letters were sent to "J" at the address where she no longer lived, and were not answered.

"J" met my son and after living in a flat for a couple of years, moved into rented accommodation.

01/06/2012
Letter from Wescot Credit Services Ltd
Chasing debt.
Since then there has been numrous letters from both Wescot and their Solicitors threatening court action.
I offered to pay £250 off of this and "J" could pay £5 per month.

She is on low income, with child trying to make ends meet and could only just afford £5 per month.

I have increased my offer to £300 and asked that the debt be marked as cleared but they wouldn't, so in effect they could start the same court action again in 2 weeks time.

They said that they wouldn't chase the debt or sell it to anyone else, however it does mean that it would still show on her Credit Report, for 6 years.

I have requested proof from Wescot that they are acting on behalf of Lloyds TSB and asked "J" to ring Lloyds TSB to see if they would accept the £300 and mark the debt as cleared.

Last letter from Wescot is that they "have instructions to issue proceedings against her and on 28th January 2013 we will instruct Solicitors to issue a claim in the County Court."

We do not have any correspondence from Lloyds TSB informing her that any Debt Collectors have been given the debt to chase, only in one letter from Lloyds TSB does it say that this account has been passed to their Collections Centre.

Any help and/or guidance would be appreciated, what is best course of action?

P.S. They did say 10/12/12 that their client would accept as a partial settlement £533.09, to be paid in a lump sum by 29/12/12, but don't know if this offer is still available.

[Kafka]

Re: Debt Collectors chasing debt since 2008

If Wescot are clear that they are agents acting for LTSB then they cannot take legal action because they don't own the debt. Most DCAs threaten legal action to frighten you even they don't own the account.

Why has the account balance jumped so much? Is that because they have added charges on?

In my view you should remove all charges added on to the account to give you a realistic oustanding balance and you can negotiate a settlement as a % of that. Offers from DCAs will still be there as they are only interested in making easy money.

If you deal with any of these people on the phone (personally I don't) then always confirm in writing. If you do agree a settlement you must get it in writing that the agreed amount will be paid in full and final settlement of the account, otherwise they can come back later and demand more.

Please say what they are claiming and what the true balance owing is.

[Ratilio]

Re: Debt Collectors chasing debt since 2008

J phoned LloydsTSB this afternoon and the person she spoke to checked on all her details, past addresses etc and there was no record of the debt. She advised J that it probably meant that the debt had been sold.

But to who? The first DCA? who then sold it onto the second and then onto Westcot?

In which case, shouldn't J have been informed that the debt had been sold on?

And can they still refer to their Client as Lloyds TSB Plc?

Unfortunately J didn't ask the person she spoke to to send details in writing.

I am today going to write to Westcot, replying to their letter where they threaten court action, asking for a break down in the debt and any information with regard to when the debt was re-assigned/sold to them.

Unless someone replies to this advising me different :-)

[wales01man]

Re: Debt Collectors chasing debt since 2008

Wait for the advice before you take any action

[ploddertom]

Re: Debt Collectors chasing debt since 2008

Get her to check her file at one of the CRA's, Noddle is completely free, for Experian & Equifax you have to file card details & they are free for 30 days but you must remember to cancel or you will be charged at approx £20pm.

[labman]

Re: Debt Collectors chasing debt since 2008

Last letter from Wescot is that they "have instructions to issue proceedings against her and on 28th January 2013 we will instruct Solicitors to issue a claim in the County Court."

Could you check it actually says we WILL and not we MAY instruct ......... please?

[Kafka]

Re: Debt Collectors chasing debt since 2008

You can get a copy of your credit file for a statutory payment of only £2. This can be done online with Experian if you complete security questions and pay £2 by card. Link from the homepage here:
http://www.experian.co.uk/

I strongly advise you not to take any action until you have the facts to make decisions on what action to take. It sounds as if you also need to send off £10 for a Subject Access Request to LTSB that will obtain all the data they hold on you, but that can take up to 40 days. Right now we need the immediate data we have requested so you can make the first moves.

[Ratilio]

Re: Debt Collectors chasing debt since 2008

Will

End says.. We hope further action will be unnecessary and recommend you either contact us or make a full repayment of the outstanding balance by the 27th January 2013.

[Ratilio]

Re: Debt Collectors chasing debt since 2008

You can get a copy of your credit file for a statutory payment of only £2. This can be done online with Experian if you complete security questions and pay £2 by card. Link from the homepage here:
http://www.experian.co.uk/

I strongly advise you not to take any action until you have the facts to make decisions on what action to take. It sounds as if you also need to send off £10 for a Subject Access Request to LTSB that will obtain all the data they hold on you, but that can take up to 40 days. Right now we need the immediate data we have requested so you can make the first moves.

OK, think I can get credit file tonight, where would I send SAR to and who would I make cheque payable to?
Their Collections Department in Brighton?

[Kafka]

Re: Debt Collectors chasing debt since 2008

Will

End says.. We hope further action will be unnecessary and recommend you either contact us or make a full repayment of the outstanding balance by the 27th January 2013.

These are standard statements by DCAs designed to frighten you into ringing them and paying up quickly and they run through series of automated letters. We don't even know yet if they have any right to even be contacting you. These are cowboy outfits trying to make a fast buck by intimidation and deceit and they prey on the fact that people don't know how to deal with them. I have one DCA still threatening me with legal action for an electricity account that they don't own, even though I settled it with them a year ago! Despite settling it I've had that firm and 2 others chasing me for it - we're talking serious muppetry here. :der:

[Kafka]

Re: Debt Collectors chasing debt since 2008

OK, think I can get credit file tonight, where would I send SAR to and who would I make cheque payable to?
Their Collections Department in Brighton?

The SAR needs to go to the Data Controller in the organisation. Sorry I can't link to the info here as I'm not a regular visitor, but someone will be able to help.

SAR is always £10 well spent with creditors and will reveal much of the data you need to decide how to deal with them. They have 40 days to respond and unfortunately it does take some time.

[dogtired]

Re: Debt Collectors chasing debt since 2008

I was told by another member not to send a cheque but send a postal order, and send by registered post.
The one I did took about thirty days.

[labman]

Re: Debt Collectors chasing debt since 2008

I'm afraid I disagree with much of the above advice. The fact that the debt has been passed to a DCA usually means if you supply them (voluntarily) with a reasonable I&E form, you will be able to negotiate a sensible monthly repayment. You will also be in a position to get a much lower F&F settlement from them.

At the very start, did J keep in frequent communication with the bank re her circumstances. If so, there should be a strong argument for having the charges either removed, or at least reduced.

Once regular payments start being made against the debt, they will be far more amenable to any suggestions you make. If you look at it from their point of view, they have a client who has not made payments since 2008, has run up a not unsubstantial debt, and is now asking for it to be written off for a fraction of the level of debt without even having made a payment for 4 years. If they see regular payments being made, the whole outlook on the account is likely to be different.

I would forget about the SAR etc... for now and just get a repayment plan going. If you need a good self help tool for that, you will find one here:

http://mymoney.nedcab.org.uk/moneyadvice/

Put the £10 for the SAR towards an initial payment.

[Ratilio]

Re: Debt Collectors chasing debt since 2008

I'm afraid I disagree with much of the above advice. The fact that the debt has been passed to a DCA usually means if you supply them (voluntarily) with a reasonable I&E form, you will be able to negotiate a sensible monthly repayment. You will also be in a position to get a much lower F&F settlement from them.

At the very start, did J keep in frequent communication with the bank re her circumstances. If so, there should be a strong argument for having the charges either removed, or at least reduced.

Once regular payments start being made against the debt, they will be far more amenable to any suggestions you make. If you look at it from their point of view, they have a client who has not made payments since 2008, has run up a not unsubstantial debt, and is now asking for it to be written off for a fraction of the level of debt without even having made a payment for 4 years. If they see regular payments being made, the whole outlook on the account is likely to be different.

I would forget about the SAR etc... for now and just get a repayment plan going. If you need a good self help tool for that, you will find one here:

http://mymoney.nedcab.org.uk/moneyadvice/

Put the £10 for the SAR towards an initial payment.

Point taken, no, as she was not living at home at the time all this happened, and being a naive 18 year old, she chose to ignore the letters.
It's only since becoming involved with my son that I want to try to sort this out to give them some chance of a mortgage and/or renting.

Unfortunately, my son isn't on a high income and everyone must know about how difficult it is in these times to bring up a child on a low wage. She does work a couple of days a week and fortunately we can help with her child care. If she has to pay for that then you can imagine it's sometimes not worth going to work. She is hard working and trys to meet all the bills, realises the error of her ways, but the past has come back to haunt her.

She would like to offer more but honestly she doesn't have a penny spare at the end of the month. This is why I was prepared to pay £250 off the debt in an effort to get it removed from her CR. I could just say, hard luck and let the CA take her to court and they'd then send the baliffs round, but at the end of the day she doesn't own anything of value as it is now all in my son's name, i.e. the car etc.

So, I've offered £300 and she's offered £5 per month, but this has been refused, they want more.

[labman]

Re: Debt Collectors chasing debt since 2008

Point taken, no, as she was not living at home at the time all this happened, and being a naive 18 year old, she chose to ignore the letters.
It's only since becoming involved with my son that I want to try to sort this out to give them some chance of a mortgage and/or renting.

Unfortunately, my son isn't on a high income and everyone must know about how difficult it is in these times to bring up a child on a low wage. She does work a couple of days a week and fortunately we can help with her child care. If she has to pay for that then you can imagine it's sometimes not worth going to work. She is hard working and trys to meet all the bills, realises the error of her ways, but the past has come back to haunt her.

She would like to offer more but honestly she doesn't have a penny spare at the end of the month. This is why I was prepared to pay £250 off the debt in an effort to get it removed from her CR. I could just say, hard luck and let the CA take her to court and they'd then send the baliffs round, but at the end of the day she doesn't own anything of value as it is now all in my son's name, i.e. the car etc.

So, I've offered £300 and she's offered £5 per month, but this has been refused, they want more.

Please read my post carefully. You need to get an I&E sorted (link provided) and send it with the offer. Forget about the F&F for the moment. Get a repayment plan sorted at an affordable rate - they will accept £5 per week. Ensure interest and charges are frozen. Once you've started repaying, send the SAR as and when you can afford it. Identify unfair charges and question them - I can provide you with plenty of ammunition for a letter to get them removed, or reduced.

The NEDCAB site is very good. If you don't want to do it yourself, contact Payplan or StepChange who will help for free, but this would limit your ability to challenge charges etc...

If you complete the I&E, then we can worry about letters etc... later - I know NEDCAB supply template ones, but they may not be ideal for this situation, I'm not sure.