Link/MBNA Claimform - Card Debt Poss statute barred **Struck Out**

[rudy1]

hi,

first time i've ever done anything like this,

pretty stupid when i comes to computers,

 

my problem is i have a debt with a credit card company which i have not heard anything from in years,

 

Link Finanicial have contacted me in the last few week asking for the money,

they say they are about to go legal,

i have not made payment since mid january 2002, not admitted the debt in writing etc,

they say it is not satue barred because default was served october 2002.

 

Surely credit card companies could delay putting on defaults to buy extra time.

Can anyone clarify i'm worried sick.

is this debt statue barred.

[saintly_1]

Hi and welcome to CAG

 

What you might be best doing first is to ask for proof of the debt send a letter along the lines of this one

Dear Sir/Madam

 

Account no:

 

You have contacted me/us regarding the account with the above reference number, which you claim is owed by myself/ourselves.

 

I/we would point out that I/we have no knowledge of any such debt being owed to (insert company name).

 

I am/we are familiar with the Office of Fair Trading Debt Collection Guidance which states that it unfair to send demands for payment to an individual when it is uncertain that they are the debtor in question.

 

I/we would also point out that the OFT say under the Guidance that it is unfair to pursue third parties for payment when they are not liable. In not ceasing collection activity whilst investigating a reasonably queried or disputed debt you are using deceptive/and or unfair methods.

 

Furthermore ignoring and/or disregarding claims that debts have been settled or are disputed and continuing to make unjustified demands for payment amounts to physical/psychological harassment.

 

I/we would ask that no further contact be made concerning the above account unless you can provide evidence as to my/our liability for the debt in question.

 

I/we await your written confirmation that this matter is now closed. Otherwise I will have no option but to make a complaint to the trading standards department and consider informing the OFT of your actions.

 

I/we look forward to your reply.

 

Yours faithfully

 

 

 

(Your Name) Print do not sign

 

 

See what they come back with

 

 

saint

[rudy1]

thank you,

will that stop legal action,

can they go legal if i say i have no idea what this is for?

 

have read other letters on this site where this company (Link Finanicial) say they don,t have to provide aggreements etc.

 

Surely they have to provide document to the court if i defend myself,

I have also seen on this site that the company i am supposed to owe (MBNA) are not very good at coming up with the original agreements, any credit card i may have had must of been applied for at least 8-10 years ago?

any answers to help me sleep.

[saintly_1]

Most of these letters are just scare tactics to get you to phone them so they can get you to make a payment.

 

Send the letter asking for proof of the debt then we can go from there

[rudy1]

Thank you, i will try and let you know how i get on.:-| Should get better with time (meaning my skill in finding my way around this site not my mental health) mind you could probably have a look at that as well:)

[saintly_1]

Hehehehe ..........

 

 

Have a look at this http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/welcome-consumer-forums/107001-how-do-i-dummies.html its a big help

[Goldlady]

You will be extremely unfortunate if MBNA manage to find anything. I am still waiting for any scrap of paper to prove I ever had a card:D

 

Link are one of the bottom feeder DCAs - they mostly buy unenforceable debts IMO.

 

Best of luck....

[rudy1]

thanks, I will fire that letter off today and see what they come back with. What does IMO stand for? Sorry not very good at this yet but will learn and fight back hard.

[ozzywizard]

Saintly,

Would it be better to put Without Predjudice on this letter ? . .

 

This is not a corrective post, I sent one similar a few months ago and put Without Predjudice to costs on top of letter, so just not sure if this mattered.

[rudy1]

Hi again,

need to act today as Link given me seven days before legal action,

 

found the statue barred letter and don't know whether this would be better,

 

national debt line say 6 years from last payment made and no acknoledgement of debt,

 

Link financial say its 6 years from default date which would in fact make it 6 years 10 months by my calculations (default served October 2002) .

 

Please clarify.

 

Looking on this website they don,t seem to be very nice to deal with!

[Lula]

Hi Rudy, just send the letter that Saintly gave you first, they have to prove it before they try and enforce it

 

IMO = In my opinion

 

and at the top of the letter in big bold letters put "I ACKNOWLEDGE NO DEBT TO YOUR COMPANY"

 

Never Ever talk to them on the phone, just keep saying "In writing only" till they put the phone down, you you can just put the phone down.

 

Hope this helps.

[rudy1]

Thanks Lula, will do this today. want it to go away:(

[Lula]

Rudy, I have asked that this be moved to the relevant forum, might be an idea, once moved, for you to have a read in the forum that you are moved to, there will be people in the same situation that can offer support

[rudy1]

thanks lula, must admit haven't really got a glue what i'm doing. That will be great.

[rory32]

Thread moved to Debt Collection Forum.

[Vagabond_UK]

I hope you send the letter.

 

When you do, chances are you'll get a response along the lines of Link Financial are contacting the original creditor and you'll hear within 28 days. In reality, you'll likely never hear from them again.

 

In essence, what you are asking them to do is PROVE they have the legal right to collect this debt. To do this they have to produce the original credit documents that you signed. (That's another point - DO NOT sign the letter when you send it - DCAs are sneaky and will forge a credit agreement, trying to pass it off as original)

 

If they ever tried to take you to court, they would have to produce this document, otherwise there's no case to answer and the judge will laugh them out of court.

 

Stay strong!

[rudy1]

Thank you Vagabond, thats made me feel better, think i'm getting a bit fixated, can't seem to think of anything else, and the more i'm reading about Link on here the more worried i get. Will just wait for their reply now. many thanks

[michellefromessex]

I am going through similar with Link right now, read my thread "Restriction on Property". I am a letter ahead of you atm (at the moment).

 

Do as the guys on here say regarding sending the letters, they are a great bunch and know their stuff,

 

Good luck x

[confused78]

Send a copy of the letter that they've sent you - that claims it's not statute barred because of the default date to the OFT and to the FOS. Send the standard "statute barred" letter to them and also attach a note on top (so they see that first) that informs them that their attempts at deception have been forwarded to the relevant authorities. You're not just relying on our word for it the national debt line also agrees with us so stop worrying and start laughing at them.

 

just in case you don't know OFT = office of fair trading and FOS = financial ombudsman service.

[rudy1]

thanks confused78,

did send them the statue barred letter,

they actually told me on the phone about it being the default date not last payment.

 

found out that the actual statue barred date is the date i would of been late on the next payment,

ie last payment jan15th 02, next payment due feb15th 02, from that date statue barred,

 

the only clause i can find is "if the creditor has been in regular contact we feel it is fair to collect" (from guidelines of statue barred debt) so far i have spoken to them once 4th feb and written to them 15th feb.

 

Had a couple of letters which were not read by me (away at the time) now wondering whether that constitutes regular contact?

[rory32]

No.

[saintly_1]

regular contact means two way contact not them sending you the odd letter

[rudy1]

Thanks,

you lot are keeping me going at the moment,

don't want to talk about it too much with friends/family because they will worry then i'll worry even more, not that i'm a total worrier! You know,

 

i just don't want to pay these people,

the whole ethics of credit cards\ loans etc really make me angry.

 

7 years ago i was on £12k, i was given so much credit,

i remember going to my bank and them saying you can borrow £17k today (i didn't) thats just outrageous.

 

I said to them you know what i earn,

every few days getting different credit card offers,

think my limit on my credits went upto about £12k they should think themselves lucky i didn't really spank them.

 

All these companies need to do when you apply for a card is take more responsibility,

they can see when doing credit check just how much credit(debt) a person has.

 

So suprised nobody has taken court action for irresponsible lending yet, that would be interesting...

..i shall now climb down from my soap box.

[Goldlady]

I share your spot on the soap box about irresponsible lending rudy1. I was definitely a victim of it, however as most of my creditors have been unable to find a CCA I have not had to explore the idea of using it as a court defence:p

[rudy1]

lucky you, hope they don't find anything.

 

But at some point someone will do this, when you apply for a card,

they do checks with experian and equifax to see if you make payments on time etc,

the more creditors your paying on time the higher your credit score is.

 

I do everthing in cash now, have done since i made a decision to move away from the city to a quiet life in the country,

i don't have the pressure of needs and wants now.

 

So my credit score would probably be 0.

I think that this could be the next big thing since the reclaiming of bank charges.

Its wrong,

 

ey have to start giving credit in a responsible manner,

there are limits on how much you can borrow on a mortgage (3, 3.5x's your income) the same should apply with lending,

someone should challenge them......

sound so brave after a couple of glasses of wine,

will probably be crying in the corner tomorrow after another sleepless night,

feels like a past life has caught up with me. Night.