Hi all,
Sorry this may be a tad long-winded!!
Car purchased from Welcome Finance in mid-2008,
stopped paying the instalments in mid-2009 as I was unhappy with the car,
how they operated and how they had treated me.
I have no records from that time as to when the last payment was made
but I know that the car was returned to them around October 2009.
They agreed on the phone to collect the car and because I had rectified some existing faults at my expense etc etc
I was told the final balance owed was up to £300 once the car had been handed back depending on a few factors.
I asked for written confirmation of this as a full & final settlement offer and would make payment immediately.
I never received this and then didn't hear anything else for quite some time.
In the mean time I had been in and out of the country, moved house etc
eventually a couple of years ago I received some letters via my mum's address from MKDP saying I owed £4000.
Significantly more than £300!!
I confirmed this detail by applying for a credit report with experian and note that they hold an account on my record for £4000 which is defaulted as of 28/10/2009.
Then today I was passed a letter from MKDP, which was again sent to my mum's address,
stating that the debt of £4000 had been sold to Robinson's and also enclosed was an offer letter from Robinson's
saying I can pay £10 per week for several years,
£15 per week for less years or call them to discuss options.
I've always ignored all letters and never replied to them or spoken to them on the phone.
As I was;t even in the country for some of the past few years I never even needed credit so it didn't affect me,
however I'm now back permanently so want to make sure this doesn't go to CCJ.
Now, I'm aware that this debt is either Statute Barred already or is about to be. If, for instance, the SB start date is indeed 28/10/09 then this is just 2 months away from now, however I'm not exactly certain when the car was returned or when exactly the last payment was made to Welcome Finance.
I've never received a default notice, never received a notice of assignment to MKDP
and generally didn't receive anything after the car had been handed back
so I assumed there was no outstanding amount and that was the end of it.
I moved house a couple months after the car went back so I can only guess that some paperwork may have been sent to my old address,
but seeing as I hadn't heard anything from Welcome Finance in that time I assumed, rightly or wrongly,
that there was no need to update my address with them.
Now my questions, if I may....
1. Should I just sit it out and hope a claim form doesn't arrive in the post?
2. If no to Q1, then I'm looking to clarify exactly when the debt was/will be SB. What''s the best way to do this and how long does that add to the process?
3. If yes to Q1, then I guess if a claim form does arrive I'll need to formulate a defence and cross that bridge when it comes?
Any advice is greatly appreciated!
