09 Mar 2015

A question about : Dealing with debts and debt disputes

This thread is for people wanting to start getting help with sorting out their debts and also disputes about debts. If you're being chased for payments by a lender or being taken to court, it is possible that you might not have to pay the money.

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Best answers:

  • I am so glad I found this thread and am hoping someone can give me some advice.
    For the past two years I have had letters from debt collection companies, coming to my address, addressed to someone else. I thought I had sorted this out last year - I contacted the various debt collection companies and informed them that Mr X did not live here. They took a bit of convincing and some were worse than others, but eventually the letters stopped and I thought that was the end of it.
    However, now it has all started again. In a matter of a week I have had three different letters from two different debt collection agencies looking for the same person. This time the letters are more threatening. One says that they have 'confirmed' that Mr X resides at this address which is complete nonsense and has threatened to make a 'door step collection'. I am really worried that I am going to come back from work and find that my house has been emptied. I just don't know how to stop this and it is causing me endless worry now. I feel sick with worry that someone might come to the door and force their way in. I have contacted the companies and told them that Mr X doesn't live here and I have sent the letters back to them marked 'addressee not at this address" but it doesn't seem to work. And when I phoned one of the companies they said they would update their records but that as soon as they got another debt to persue, they would said it to my address again so I feel like I am in a never ending cycle. How can I stop it? Please help! Many thanks.
  • Hi,
    I suggest you make a formal complaint in writing by recorded delivery to each company. If you are not satisfied with their response, or 8 weeks have passed then complain to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS)
    To reassure you - no one is coming round to empty your house - only bailiffs could do that - for a debt that belonged to you, that you had been taken to the County Court for, and you had failed to do what the court said.
    It is completely impossible in any other circumstance for credit debts.
    I might add that bailiffs chasing credit debts only have a right of peaceful entry with permission, which means you let them in or they walk in through an unlocked door.
    DD
  • Thank you so much for the information and the reassurances! I really appreciate it.
    Can I just confirm that bailiffs can't enter the house when I am not here? I am sure I have heard horror stories of people coming home and finding their door forced open and a notice pinned on it stating that the bailiffs did it.
    Thank you very much once again!
  • Can we have a comprehensive reply about the situation in England.
    This should at least cover:
    Utility Providers rights to break in to disconnect.
    Bailiffs on behalf of the creditor with a County Court Judgement.
    High Court Enforcement Officers (still sometimes called "Sheriffs") acting on behalf of the Court.
  • Hi espresso21, thanks for your query regarding a debt which is not in your name.
    Firstly you have done all the correct things by returning letters to sender and writing to them but I would suggest you write once more, by recorded delivery and keeping a copy, stating the debtor is not living at your address and asking them to cease all collection activity against you and to pass this information on to any other collection agencies they may pass the debt to. If they continue to contact you then you can make a complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service and you can find information on how to do that at https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk.
    Regarding your concerns about bailiffs, as debt doctor has stated above, a bailiff could not be used to collect a consumer credit act regulated debt without a county court judgement and they have no rights to force entry into your home and once informed the debtor does not live at your address should just return the warrant to the court.
    Hope this is of assistance
  • Hi John_Pierpont,
    Thank you for your feedback, which we welcome. We have set this board up to provide answers to individual queries. You will however find comprehensive information, for all four of the UK countries, on our Adviceguide website. Produced in collaboration with Citizens Advice Scotland and Northern Ireland Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux, the website covers a wide range of topics.
    I hope you find the website gives you the information you're looking for.
  • Thanks for that BUT I no longer have the problem - it will eventually go away.
    I did not wade in with advice as I was waiting for the expert from the CAB.
    What I learned was that the best technique was to answer the door via the bay window (which had a convenient piracantha thorn hedge outlining it) and advise some callers to go forth and multiply, when I did not recognise them and they asked for the previous owner (The property was purchased from "The Halifax" repossession department).
    Many callers are unwilling to explain their business over a thorn hedge, but in 5 years the only attempt at forced entry was from a couple of simple youthful ("druggie"?) burglars, one of whom found himself "citizen arrested".
    However what I did discover is that not all aggrieved callers have the same powers and the former owner did not leave details, of the presumably dodgy, business he tried to run from the property.
    Inheriting the heritage, of what might have been a fraudster attempting a Reggie Perrin, can be a bit more complicated than dealing with the debts of a former flat sharer.
  • My parents have seperated and my father was due a settlement amount, in order to leave the house with my Mother. She has sold the house and transfered the money into someone elses account to hide it. She has now left the country without paying him.
    Can you advise on any action we can take? Hope I am in the right place!
  • I wonder if someone could help
    I got into a lot of financial difficulty in 2006 and entered a DMP with payplan. I had a lot of creditors at the time and they all accepted the offers. In 2007 I got a letter from natwest stating they were going to put the account into default if I didnt pay on time. they never and continued to accept the payments from paylan. Then in 2009 they put the account into default with no warning whatsoever.
    the debt is all paid off now but as they filled the default in 2009 it is going to stay on my file until 2015 which is very frustrating as im working very hard to rebuild my credit.
    I have also had an account from virgin media put on my file that dates back to 2006, it has only just appeared on there. The default is due to come off in December of this year but again can they still do this as I would rather this not on my file as the last remaining accounts (apart from natwest) will fall off by October.
    Thanks
  • Yes maybe you have got the wrong end of the stick, I have paid off all my debts and have spent the last 6 years saving etc. I dont need any credit, apart from a mortgage which is a part of life but this is holding me back
  • Hi Biglad, thank you for you enquiry regarding credit references and default notices.
    Firstly let me say well done for dealing with your debts and I understand your frustration in trying to build up your credit rating again so you can get a mortgage. When you are in a Debt Management Plan you have an informal agreement with your creditors to pay less then the contractual payments each month. This means that as you are not making the contractual payments you are breaching the credit agreement and they can still add a default notice to your credit reference and you cannot challenge this. You can however ask the credit reference agencies to put a Notice of Correction on your credit file to explain that you had a DMP and were making the payments and that the debt is now paid in full.
    Hope this is of assistance.
  • Thanks for your response, I have put a notice of correction on the file but just worried that creditors wont see this as acceptable.
    I have done this with experian, would it be worth doing it on other ones aswell?
  • Thank you very much for the helpful advice and for the reassurances regarding the bailiffs. I will follow your advice and hopefully whip these debt collection bullies into shape. Many thanks for the service you provide.
  • Hi, I would like to make a queary about a debt.
    Back in February, SAAS wrote to me saying they overpaid my February payment by Ј175.00, this was due to me leaving college after payment apparently, but I emailed them from my onlinejournal email address only to learn that they are now using my online journal name instead of my real name!, I have emailed them about this but they continue to use this name, what steps are there to take now? has this voided the debt? (I hope so). The funny thing is in other contacts with them they referred me to my real name, but as my online journal email is the only email address I use (and used when I applied for my SAAS) I just used it as normal, also I sent them a CAB financial sheet with my REAL name on it so why on earth are they calling me by my journal name?
  • I've got someone pestering to meet me to give me an order to attend court, over a long ago debt that I have already had a CCJ for. He insists on meeting me tomorrow, what can I do about it, do I need to meet him, do I have to attend court again for the same debt, what shall I do?
    Thanks
    PS: I've moved several times and have also changed my name since the debt was first settled with a CCJ in court.
  • Hi MrsMacFarlane12, thank you for your query regarding SAAS
    I am presuming by SAAS you mean Student Awards Agency Scotland and unfortunately the Scottish student and legal system is very different from that in England and Wales and I have not been trained in this area so am unable to assist you. You may some information at
    https://www.adviceguide.org.uk/scotland.htm
  • Hi ErikaRex, thank you for query regarding order to attend court.
    This sounds like someone trying to serve you with a Order to Obtain Information. If you have a CCJ that has not been paid in full then the claimant can ask for you to attend court and answer questions about you income, outgoings, employment, bank details and assets, if you fail to provide those details or fail to attend the court can make a committal order for your imprisonment (this is likely to be suspended on grounds you do attend/supply information within a certain amount of time). A claimant will take this action in order to see the best way to enforce the judgement e.g. by way of an attachment to earnings, charging order or bailiff warrant. I would suggest you seek specialist debt advice and you can find your local citizens advice bureau at www.citizensadvice.org.uk. The fact that you have changed names and addresses does not effect whether you still owe this debt and will not stop further enforcement action being taken.
    Hope this has been of assistance
  • I owe money to the Revenue. I had been contracting on a ltd company basis for a while and then I broke my leg last year which meant I couldnt work for almost 2 months (3 children to support and rent to pay still). During this period I took a Directors Loan and as I couldnt pay it back by the end of the financial year have had to pay more corporation tax (25% on the value of the Directors Loan)and therefore am behind on paying VAT too. This has meant I have been behind in paying my VAT and although I have been paying back Ј150 a month to VAT and Ј150 Corporation Tax, they said as I dont have enough money coming in to pay off the amount they have now referred me for bankruptcy.
    I dont have enough money to pay them any additional money at the moment but my grandmother died 2 weeks ago and she has left me a quarter of her estate - this is effectuvely a quarter of Ј95K cash and a quarter of the value of the house she owned. I mentioned this to the HMRC lady I spoke to and she said as I didnt currently have the money she was referring me to the bankruptcy dept anyway. My debt to the revenue is Ј5k so my inheritence will be way more than that. Can I get a solicitors letter or something to send to them to prove this money will be coming. I know probate can take some time but surely the guarantee of money in a few months is better for them than receiving nothing?
    Please can you advise.
    Many thanks