Old Debenhams Card - from the 90s - PPI Claim - Advice please

[chunky1701]

Hi all, I had a Debenhams card in the 90s going into the 2000s. I got into Debt with this card and it went to court and I was CCJ'd. I am still paying this Debt off now at £10.00 a month to LDS who I think are Lewis Debt Services. I took the card out in store, the assistant filled everything in and I signed it. I no longer have paperwork for the account, but do have some details and a customer reference on the monthly standing order - there is now showing an end date on my bank for this standing order of Jul 2021 - so I think I owe them around £420.00. My life is very different now - I remarried back in the 2000s and I no longer have any debt and a good credit history. I am wondering though as I start my PPI claims with all of my old creditors, whether or not I should pursue this one. It's in my old name. I want to pursue, as I was diagnosed with a chronic lifelong illness back in 1992 and therefore am using this as the basis for my PPI claims - I have of course, extensive paperwork with both my doctor and hospital to prove my condition. I wondered what you all think - should I pursue it or not? If they locate me, I can pay off the remaining balance immediately. I am convinced there was PPI on this, hence my post. Any advice or thoughts welcome x

[nemesis45]

Re: Old Debenhams Card - from the 90s - PPI Claim - Advice please

Good morning,

Why not make the creditor a an offer in full and final settlement?

Use on of the free PPI checkers to be sure about the PPI.

nem

[chunky1701]

Re: Old Debenhams Card - from the 90s - PPI Claim - Advice please

Thanks Nem - yes, that's a good suggestion. I will also try the ppi checkers out there and see what I get.

[Amethyst]

Re: Old Debenhams Card - from the 90s - PPI Claim - Advice please

PPI checkers? Be careful you don't fill in all your details on a website which actually signs you up to use a claims management company.

It really doesn't hurt to put in a complaint directly on the offchance - I think NewDay took over all the Debenhams store cards ( used to be Santander/Abbey) so the complaint in the first instance would be to them ( https://newday.co.uk/contact-us/customer-enquiry/ ) (use this form http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.u...stionnaire.doc ) or through an actual free service like Resolver - https://www.resolver.co.uk/freeadvic...m_campaign=PPI is probably simplest.

Re the £10 payments, yip you could probably do a F&F settlement offer to Lewis - if you do though make sure you do it in writing - they might be quite happy with £10 a month for the next 3 years, or they might jump at 50%-75% as a lump sum.

[chunky1701]

Re: Old Debenhams Card - from the 90s - PPI Claim - Advice please

Thanks Amethyst - yes, I was just looking at some PPI checkers and most seem to be from claims companies - so I'll definitely avoid that I am using Resolver for a number of other claims, so will put one through for this to New Day as see what I get back x

[Amethyst]

Re: Old Debenhams Card - from the 90s - PPI Claim - Advice please

Sounds like a plan, it's easy enough to do yourself direct, but if you're already using Resolver you'll know they just make managing the complaints easy.

[chunky1701]

Re: Old Debenhams Card - from the 90s - PPI Claim - Advice please

Yes, most definitely - Resolver is so useful - I have a sea of paperwork already from various Companies. In the last 2 weeks, I've sent out 8 SAR requests - I need the data before I lay out my response letters to some of the crappy rejection letters received.

[john1234567]

Re: Old Debenhams Card - from the 90s - PPI Claim - Advice please

My advice would be to try and settle the debt and pursue the PPI claim as an entirely separate matter. Completely separate.

When it comes to proposing a settlement suggest 40% of the balance first as it is very common in this sort of scenario for the debt collector to ask if you can do better. Ask them what would be a satisfactory settlement and then you split the difference. i.e. if they return with 80% you offer just over half... 60% and hopefully that will get you to the lowest amount they will accept.

Having said that, it's not a lot of money these days.

If you're planning to negotiate by phone then have a calculator to hand so you can work out what your percentages are. You won't know the settlement amount until you've asked for it. You can ask for the settle amount separately and make a new phone call when you've decided what you want to say.

[chunky1701]

Re: Old Debenhams Card - from the 90s - PPI Claim - Advice please

Thanks John really appreciated. Yes, it's obviously going to locate me and I was a bit worried about that. I think you're definitely right - clear the debt first - I was wondering if they'll have my account number - the debt collectors? It would be useful to get that to actually put on the New Day questionnaire as I'm sure their first response will be we cannot find your account. What do you think?

[john1234567]

Re: Old Debenhams Card - from the 90s - PPI Claim - Advice please

I would strongly suggest seeking further advice before deciding whether or not to avoid the debt.

As it happened a long time ago there is a possibility that you can avoid responsibility for the debt in accordance with the laws and regulations which govern your particular situation. So when you're asking questions on whether or not they can locate you I presume you're also asking whether or not you can avoid paying completely. I'd strongly advice seeking good quality advice before deciding to go down that route. As already suggested, the age of the case could work in your favour as there are legal and regulatory time limits which apply and you may be able to legally avoid settling it, but it depends on being very specific about your particular situation and I definitely wouldn't recommend going down that route if there is any uncertainty.

[chunky1701]

Re: Old Debenhams Card - from the 90s - PPI Claim - Advice please

Hi John. Thank you for the reply on this. It was a CCJ around 2000. At that time, I wasn't working so the debt collectors did a payment plan of £10 per month which I pay be standing order. However, they don't know my address and I'm now remarried so have a different surname. I know from reading Debt Camels website because I pay it cannot be time barred. I don't want to avoid it, as I don't think I can. I may PM Debt Camel and ask first before doing anything. Thanks again John

[john1234567]

Re: Old Debenhams Card - from the 90s - PPI Claim - Advice please

Well it sounds like they wouldn't be able to locate you. But it probably isn't legal to avoid the debt. You'd have to get advice on whether or not that is the case. Particularly as it was a CCJ.

As the amount is fairly low they probably wouldn't pursue you particularly vigorously but I'd consider carefully whether or not you really are out of their reach. Finding debtors is their day job and they have all the tools and facilities at their fingertips and it may be no trouble at all for them to track you down.

At risk is your credit rating. So are you in a position to either want to borrow money now or in the future? If so, then probably best to settle to avoid staining your record. If you don't want to borrow money and you think you want to risk avoiding the debt then your credit rating is what you're playing with. As cautioned earlier, if you are unsure about what to do then don't take any risks unless you are certain of what is likely to happen and that you are aware of the potential outcomes. You should seek legal advice if you intend to do anything other than settle.

[MIKE770]

Re: Old Debenhams Card - from the 90s - PPI Claim - Advice please

CCJ does not show on CRA after six years, so CRA rating would go up, if you owe little and want to get rid of it you could negotiate with CCJ owner a settlement figure no doubt, as many would rather a full final figure = less admin work, sure others will respond on here, how much outstanding?

[john1234567]

Re: Old Debenhams Card - from the 90s - PPI Claim - Advice please

CCJ does not show on CRA after six years, so CRA rating would go up, if you owe little and want to get rid of it you could negotiate with CCJ owner a settlement figure no doubt, as many would rather a full final figure = less admin work, sure others will respond on here, how much outstanding?

she hasn't requested a settlement figure yet... but mentioned something in the mid £400s based on her own calculations.

[MIKE770]

Re: Old Debenhams Card - from the 90s - PPI Claim - Advice please

well make an offer of say 40% or 50% ? to them nothing to loose if they agree, what is the outstanding amount?? peeps have stated the same so up to them now next move to ask or not?