Old Barclaycard Debt (Lowell, Fredrickson etc.)

[horatioeastwood]

Hi forum goers!

 

This is my first post so I hope I've got it in the right place.

 

My situation is quite standard but need some advice on what to do next and some clarification of my position.

 

Some years ago I had a Barclaycard which I was unable to meet the payments.

 

Eventually I stopped paying and forgot about it.

 

I sought debt advice at the time and stopped worrying about it.

 

The debt got transferred to Lowell who chased me for years and my credit rating was shot.

 

A few years ago though I started getting accepted for credit.

Opened bank accounts, got a credit card everything seemed a ok.

 

I checked my credit reports from each of the providers and it was all good.

Not the best but good enough.

I then wanted to return to study and got accepted on a masters.

 

To pay for it I was going to take a professional development loan but got turned down.

I decided to go back and check my reports to see what the problem was.

I checked Noddle first and there on my report was Lowell listed as a lender who had placed defaults in my name for the past few months.

I checked again a few months later and all of a sudden the defaults had been backdated all the way back to 2010.

 

I decided to investigate as I was pretty sure I was near the statute barred time limit on this debt.

 

I used a SARS with Barclaycard and they sent me all the info.

Very interesting.

Here are the main points.

 

1. My statements with Barclaycard continue to the present day????

2. I made my last payment to Barclaycard on 27/03/2006.

3. The statements then continue until 26/06/2008 at which point several transactions coded CHRGOFF appear.

4. After this date all the statements list a balance of zero.

5. Prior to my last payment I had arranged to make a token payment of £1 a month until my situation improved.

 

There are a few other interesting details but these are the main ones.

 

Now I assume the code CHRGOFF is a reference to Barclaycard selling the debt.

 

On my Noddle credit report Lowell lists the date of default as 27/06/2008,

the day after Barclaycard may have sold it.

 

As I understand:

1. Statute Barred debts run from the date of last payment or communication (there has never been any communication from myself).

2. Barclaycard was unfair/wrong to wait 2 years from my last payment to declare the debt defaulted (unless my payment arrangement of £1 affects this?)

 

So I guess what I need help with is:

1. Is this debt statute barred?

2. If it is can I get Lowell to remove it from my credit report?

3. If so are there any good template letters I can use?

4. Should I just wait until June this year to be certain that six years have elapsed?

 

One final point is that

 

I am now receiving letters from Fredrickson International saying they have been authorised by Lowell to collect the debt.

Can they do this?

I reckon Lowell know it's ended and want to sell it off to someone else.

 

Hope this wasn't too long.

[silverfox1961]

Hi and welcome to CAG. the Leeds Losers and Freds share the same building.

 

Based on what you have posted, this debt is Statute Barred. Even if they defaulted you as late as 6 months after the last payment, it still would be SB

 

It the default date of 27/06/2008 is correct then Lowell cannot place another for 2010 and if they have, complain.

 

this debt should have fallen off your credit file by now

[dx100uk]

option 4 as above.

 

did you get a copy of the DN in the SAR

 

or a note mentioning it [comms log]

 

dx

[horatioeastwood]

Sorry, what's the DN?

 

I got a few things in the SAR.

[silverfox1961]

DN = Default Notice.

 

Unlikely that you received a copy with your SAR but sometimes it does happen. Usually you will see a note of it in your account history.

[horatioeastwood]

In the Data Protection Act Reporting sheets they have a section called Collections Details. Its lists the part payment arrangement date as 04/03/2005.

 

It lists a lot of things called re-age which I don't get.

 

it also lists missed payments which all amount to zero. There are 8 of them. There are a few of these listed at different times. It also mentions a delinquency amount.

 

Its difficult to decipher as most of the dates relate to 2010 with one in 2008 and a couple in 2005.

 

There's a code for NO PAY DUE and a warning bulletin dated 05/03/2005 but I don't think that refers to my default.

 

There is a section that lists my last payment date as 22/03/2006, payment due date as 26/03/2006 and then lists Date Last in Order as 27/02/2013 and states that it was not delinquent.

 

It then list date account was last delinquent as 29/05/2008 (which is shortly before they sold it to Lowell)

 

and that's all the other info I can find. It's pretty difficult to decipher as it's all in codes.

[unclebulgaria67]

Think I would send the statute barred letter from the library and it is up to them to prove otherwise. If they believe that you have made a payment so the debt is not SB'd, they will have to provide details of the payment you have made.

[fkofilee]

This £1 payment arrangement, did it ever go into plan at all and if so .... If you made one payment you have acknowledged this debt.

[dx100uk]

last payment 03/06 = statute barred

 

for safety sake [with regard to all the 'stuff' about when SB commences at present here]

 

add 3 months

add 14 day.

 

still makes it SB

 

send freddies the SB letter.

 

you need to complain about this default date of 2008 then!

 

dx

[horatioeastwood]

I did make a payment on the £1 arrangement but the last was in 2006.

 

I will send the SB letter but what about getting it removed from my credit report?

[silverfox1961]

Based on what you posted above, you should have been defaulted no later than September 2006. As there is a default date of 27/06/2008, this is 21 months later than it should have been which is grounds for complaint.

 

While you are waiting for a complaint to be handled, you can place a notice of correction next to this entry on your credit file. (up to 200 words)

[fkofilee]

Very good point from Silverfox there. A NOC would be very effective in explaining that the default has been placed a long time after the last payment.

If you do go down the route of this then please remember that a NOC cannot be damaging towards any third party etc and also this will make credit decisions potentially take longer to complete.

[slick132]

Hi Horatio,

 

As already said by others, the a/c is almost certainly Statute Barred so the SB letter to Freds should see them off as regards collection.

 

You then need to take Lowells and/or BC to task about the unreasonably long time they took to place the DN.

 

[horatioeastwood]

Thanks for all the advice guys. I will follow all of this up.

 

My only question is how do I get it removed from my credit report?

[slick132]

Hi Horatio,

 

You will do this by arguing that :-

 

1. The last payment to the a/c was made in March 2006.

 

2. BC and/or Lowells had a duty to record the delinquency of the a/c within a reasonable time.

 

3. The delay in recording the delinquency of over 2 years was wholly unnecessary and unreasonable.

 

4. The failure to record the failure to pay within a reasonable time is both detrimental and unfair to you.

 

Others may have more comments.