Barclaycard and Capquest.......

[maa]

Good Afternoon Everyone

I've only just joined this site this afternoon as it seems a good place to try and seek out answers to a quandary which I currently find myself in......

I took out a Barclaycard way back on 15th December 2004 which, for a while, I managed quite successfully however due to various personal circumstances and severe depression and mental illness I defaulted on repayments - I can't be 100% accurate on when I defaulted however it would have been around the end of 2007 to early in 2008 (I no longer have any paperwork relating to the account as some got thrown away and I've also moved house 4 times since then!)

Anyway Barclaycard have subsequently sold my account to Capquest, there is a Capquest default shown on my credit files as having been applied on 26th February 2009. At the same time as I held my Barclaycard I also held a Barclay's Current Account with overdraft and an unsecured Barclay's Personal Loan; There are no entries from Barclaycard or Barclay's showing at all on my credit files at Experian, Equifax or Call Credit - The bank account and loan accounts were sold to Lowell Portfolio and there are no defaults showing from them either which would suggest that the accounts are now over six years past last acknowledgement and / or payment so will have become statute barred under the Limitations Act of 1980.

To date neither Barclaycard nor Capquest have taken court action against me in regard to the debt and we are getting close to the six year anniversary for the default to be removed from my credit files. Obviously the Barclaycard would have gone into default at some point prior to the debt being sold; I have spoken with an Adviser at Equifax for some guidance on the Capquest default and they told me that the default date shown was the same date on which Capquest added the default to my file (apparently if no actual default date is provided then the entry date is used as an acceptable alternative.)

This morning I received a letter in the post from Capquest which tells me that as I have not responded to any of their previous contact attempts that, "It is therefore our intention to progress your account for a pre-litigation review. Your account may be passed to our solicitors who may commence legal action on or around 05 May 14."

At no point since late '07 or early '08 have I acknowledged the debt either in writing or by making payment; Also with the date of default being the date that Capquest physically added the default to my credit files after purchasing it from Barclaycard and there being no references to Barclay's or Barclaycard (directly) showing on my credit files I suspect and am reasonably confident that this account should now be statute barred under the Limitations Act.

My quandary is this, is there a way in which I can request proof of when the account was last acknowledged and / or when the last payment was made WITHOUT admitting liability or acknowledging the debt? Having read a number of different forum posts and blog articles with regard to Capquest it would appear that they often try to bend the rules and use deceptive techniques to scam people in my position into making payments on legally uncollectable debts. I have never had cause to invoke the Limitations Act previously so I'm a little confused and not that familiar with the procedure etc.

Thank you for taking the time to read my post and any advice, guidance or suggestions which you can offer would be greatly appreciated.

With best regards,

Michael :tinysmile_hmm_t2:

[welshspark]

Re: Barclaycard and Capquest.......

Have you tried speaking to barclycard about this ? they may be able to advise you when their original default was applied...

Capquests & barclaycards Default dates should be identical, they cant change the default date.

If they cant provide you with the information over the phone.

It may be worth sending an SAR Request for all the information they hold on you, however as capquest are threatening you with legal action on the 5th, you may not have enough time.

Its worth adding also, if capquest do try court action, your defence would be a statute barred one, and then the onus is on them to prove that it isnt.

I would defiantly try to speak to someone at Barclaycard, and see where you go from there.

[FlamingParrot]

Re: Barclaycard and Capquest.......

Hi and welcome to LB

This morning I received a letter in the post from Capquest which tells me that as I have not responded to any of their previous contact attempts that, "It is therefore our intention to progress your account for a pre-litigation review. Your account may be passed to our solicitors who may commence legal action on or around 05 May 14."

The wording you mention suggests a standard threat-o-gram as opposed to a letter before legal action. :thumb:

At no point since late '07 or early '08 have I acknowledged the debt either in writing or by making payment

; Also with the date of default being the date that Capquest physically added the default to my credit files after purchasing it from Barclaycard and there being no references to Barclay's or Barclaycard (directly) showing on my credit files I suspect and am reasonably confident that this account should now be statute barred under the Limitations Act.

My quandary is this, is there a way in which I can request proof of when the account was last acknowledged and / or when the last payment was made WITHOUT admitting liability or acknowledging the debt? Having read a number of different forum posts and blog articles with regard to Capquest it would appear that they often try to bend the rules and use deceptive techniques to scam people in my position into making payments on legally uncollectable debts. I have never had cause to invoke the Limitations Act previously so I'm a little confused and not that familiar with the procedure etc.

There's a first time for everything! :grin:

If you tell them it's statute barred, they will have to prove it isn't, for example, by showing that payments were made in the past 6 years. You could send them this:

Dear Sirs

Statute barred account xxxxx

You have contacted me with regards to the above account. The last payment to this debt was made over 6 years ago and no more acknowledgement or payment has been made since that time.

Unless you can provide evidence of payment or written acknowledgment from me within this period, under Section 5 of the Limitation Act 1980, you’ll no longer be able to take court action to recover the debt. Any court claim will be defended on this basis.

Section 7.15.8 of FCA Consumer Credit Sourcebook states: "A firm must not continue to demand payment from a customer after the customer has stated that he will not be paying the debt because it is statute barred."

If you have evidence that this debt isn’t statute barred then please send it to me within 21 days. Otherwise, please confirm that you won’t pursue me for this debt.

Yours faithfully

[FlamingParrot]

Re: Barclaycard and Capquest.......

Have you tried speaking to barclycard about this ? they may be able to advise you when their original default was applied...

Capquests & barclaycards Default dates should be identical, they cant change the default date.

If they cant provide you with the information over the phone.

It may be worth sending an SAR Request for all the information they hold on you, however as capquest are threatening you with legal action on the 5th, you may not have enough time.

Most banks only send statements and notes for the past 6 years, for an account that has been inactive since 2007/08, this may yield very little information. As you say below, the onus is on Capquest to prove it's not SBd, and this applies even if they do not start court action.

As per my post above, the wording suggests a standard threat rather than a real letter before legal action, since they are saying they have the intention to "progress the account for pre-litigation review", in other words, standard DCA templated threats. The account MAY be passed to solicitors who MAY take action. :blah::blah::blah:

Its worth adding also, if capquest do try court action, your defence would be a statute barred one, and then the onus is on them to prove that it isnt.

I would defiantly try to speak to someone at Barclaycard, and see where you go from there.

...or send the Statute Barred letter, and see where THEY go from there!