debt collectors: contact or not?

[cri51234]

Hi, I have just received letters from DVSL and HL Legal trying to establish if I was the occupier of an address in the UK 4yrs ago. From what I have understood, these companies are debtcollectors and I am unaware of any outstanding debt . I wanted to know if I can just disregard the letters or if any action should be taken (i understand that acknowledging the debt is the worst possible course)

Thankyou in advance
Cris

[guythegorilla]

Hi Cris, yes just another business working of the misery of others!! Disregard or return to sender.

[Cathselmes]

I would just disregard the letter at this stage especially if it was not registered or recorded.
If solicitors start writing then I think you will have to respond.
I know somebody who ignored all the letters when being chased for unpaid council tax he had paid and just turned up at court on the day and produced the receipt.
The court accepted he had paid but awarded costs against him as they said he should have produced the receipt before it got to that stage.

Cath

[tonywiltshire]

You are under no legal obligation to respond to debt collection companies whether you owe the creditor money or not, in fact if you are not the person they are seeking you can inform them of this and they must stop contacting you. The only problem I can see is that not being the person they are seeking but perhaps having a similar name or DOB you may have been given a bad credit rating, which may stop you obtaining credit at a later date. You can correct this by contacting the three credit rating agencies in the UK, paying their fee of £2 and obtain a copy of your credit rating; if it is faulty it can be corrected.
The 3 agencies are: Experian, Equifax & Callcredit.

[mike11111]

I have found that the best way to deal with unwelcome mail like this is to return it to the sender with envelope marked, "Addressee now deceased".

[bednobs]

it sounds like cris is the person they are seeking though!

[ummmm]

Where do you live?

'address in the UK 4yrs ago' makes it sound as if he/she may be out of the UK.

[factor-fiction]

If you do owe the money though, it won't become statute barred if you ignore demands

[craft1948]

Thanks guythe gorilla...................I used to be a debt collector, and the majority of my clients were people who wouldn't pay, as opposed to those who couldn't pay. In other words their get something for nothing attitude increased everybody elses bills.

[cri51234]

HI to all,

Thanks for the replies.
I am currently living in south east England but the claim is from the north. I am pretty sure I left all my pending accounts sorted without any outstanding fees. My reasoning for asking if I should surrender to the debt-collectors is this:

1. If there is a debt, it is small and not worth the hassle of a court case
2. If it is larger than thought, I can hold on long enough to get it statute barred (2years to go)
3. If I do not reply, they will not find me very easily at my current mailing address ( not my living address address)
4. Until I acknowledge liability of the debt, there is nothing the debt collectors can do except affect my credit records, but can always do that on experian (thanks Tony)
5. If I wanted to know what the debt was or I were to subdue to their scare tactics and contact them, I would have to identify myself, giving them a reason to put more pressure on me

I therefore think the best approach is to ignore the debtcollectors for as long as possible, and never acknowledge the residency at the named address. Is there any hint of sanity in my logic?

I appreciate your help and am hoping to minimize the chances of a black mark on my name.

Regards
Cris

[factor-fiction]

f it is larger than thought, I can hold on long enough to get it statute barred (2years to go).
No, not if you receive demands but ignore them or if you change address without notifying them

[bednobs]

if you want to minimize the chances of a black mark against your name - pay your debts. I'm afraid the statute barred thing won't work as factor says. You say it'll be hard for them to find you, but they have found you!

[kloofnek]

how long before a debt is written off or statute barred

[ChuckFickens]

It isn't

it's only written off if the persons trying to recover the debt don't chase it, if they are actively trying to recover the debt it's never written off.

[ummmm]

They don't ever have to be written off. They can chase you forever. If the company hasn't contacted you for 6 years, and you have informed them of any address changes, then they can no longer take you to court. If you move without telling them then this rules doesn't stand.