Help Needed Please - Marlin Letters

[slay1373]

Dear All,

I am writing this on behalf of my partner who has been left with debts due to her recently finalised marriage.

She is being pursued by Marlin Europe V Limited who we believe sold her debt from HSBC Bank PLC (Credit Card) and another.

She had an arrangement with the bank to cease all interest charges and pay £1 a month to at least pay something. I am unsure if she has ever received confirmation of HSBC selling the debt to Marlin, but have had several opprssive letters and calls.

I am keen to support her through the process of proving this debt is unenforceable but feel that there is so much information on the net that it could be easy to leave her exposed. I have only just found this site and see there is a lot of good advice and support available.

My initial questions are;

• Should she stop paying any money to HSBC immediately, although on each letter the debt is reducing monthly, so obviously payments to HSBC are going through?
• What letters should she send to prove ownership and legibility of the agreement?
• What payment does she need to make via postal order as I have seen S78 requests for £1 and another type of request for £10 Postal Order?

Please help as she is trying to bring up two children with my support with little pay, as she is on an apprentice wage, and the letters are getting more threatening which is driving her to despair!!!!

Thanks in advance.

[Deepie]

Re: Help Needed Please - Marlin Letters

Hiya

Have a read here ------>http://forums.all-about-debt.co.uk/s...ide-to-UE-2014


What's the balance ?

When was the agreement taken out ?

[cymruambyth]

Re: Help Needed Please - Marlin Letters

Hi welcome to AAD where you and your partner will find a lot of guidance and support but no judgement! As Deepie has said read the link that he has given and then post some more information on the debt, such as when it was taken out. Cards taken out before 2007 are often easier to prove unenforceable.

[slay1373]

Re: Help Needed Please - Marlin Letters

Deepie,

Unsure of when agreements taken out until I return home, and there are two different amounts. One I have got a copy of the letter she has texted me that arrived today is for £5956.78 this is for a Credit Card debt.

Can get more details soon, but think these are over 7-8 years old. I suspect they will not have signed agreements.

She has done nothing to date at all, apart from stress a lot!! She is annoyed as some of these are in joint names (again unsure which), and she is the only one being chased. We think this is through her honesty in that when she moved and started to go through divorce proceedings she wrote to the banks that she was paying as part of her agreed repayment schemes and asked if there was anyway that they would accept him taking over the debt. They all said no chance and now they have her new address and only her name in the letters. He refuses to assist in any of the payments!!

[cymruambyth]

Re: Help Needed Please - Marlin Letters

Wait until you get home and then post the information so that you can have the right guidance and shown the appropriate letters.

[slay1373]

Re: Help Needed Please - Marlin Letters

Wait until you get home and then post the information so that you can have the right guidance and shown the appropriate letters.

many thanks, I have just asked her to provide this information later as I am away on a course. Hopefully I can post amounts, type and approx dates of credit along with current payment agreements later tonight. Thanks in advance.

Danny

[MrsD]

Re: Help Needed Please - Marlin Letters

welcome to AAD

Are these her only debts
it's probably easier to get a better picture if she makes a list of all that is owing. Sounds as if she has unfinished business with an ex-partner
we need to know about that too as it matters whose name the debt was taken in

no stressing, we certainly don't allow that.

just relax, and get the information and we can go from there. Your partner could join too, it''s always easier dealing with the actual person.

[slay1373]

Re: Help Needed Please - Marlin Letters

welcome to AAD

Are these her only debts

No, she has some other ones but her creditor is happy with the arrangements.

it's probably easier to get a better picture if she makes a list of all that is owing. Sounds as if she has unfinished business with an ex-partner
we need to know about that too as it matters whose name the debt was taken in

Will find out when we speak later. She has gone through Decree Absolute, and just wants a break from him and all the misery he brought!!

no stressing, we certainly don't allow that.

Thanks, I am OK, just need to relax her.

just relax, and get the information and we can go from there. Your partner could join too, it''s always easier dealing with the actual person.

I may get her too, but happy we both share the info and read together when possible.

Just a huge thanks for the support as there is only so much I know!!

[oscar]

Re: Help Needed Please - Marlin Letters

Just a huge thanks for the support as there is only so much I know!!

There is as much support and help on this forum as you need.

[slay1373]

Re: Help Needed Please - Marlin Letters

Please find details of partners debts and details of history to date; Marlin are by far the most agressive and to date she maintains the £1 payment to each creditor asper her original agreements.

First Marlin is £5956.78 for HSBC Credit Card, current agrrement is £1 a month 0% interest rate paid direct to HSBC since April 2010 but original agreement date is unknown but several years prior (5years plus).

• In October 2010 letter from Payment Services Bureau stating they were taking over day-to-day management and that current repayment arrangements were satisfactory and to continue to pay, which she has till now!!
• No further correspondence till May 2014 when Marlin wrote to inform they had been assigned the account.
• Recent letter show Original Creditor as HSBC Bank (Credit Card) and Current Creditor as Marlin Europe V Ltd.
• Balance is still falling in line with £1 payments.
• Recently letters have been getting more frequent (fortnightly) and increasingly threatening (field agents to make home visit or solicitors).
• Last one arrived today, 3rd December, dated from 15th November for this and debt below.

Second Marlin is £2164.57 for HSBC Bank Current Account, account was in joint names and opened many years ago.

1. Partner wrote to HSBC in 2010 to explain position and offered to pay £1/mth and bank stop applying interest.
2. Further letters from HSBC to both account holders stating final demands.
3. Letter from Metropolitan Collection Services in June 2011 (both names) stating they had been instructed to recover the outstanding balance. No action taken.
4. In July 2011, wrote again stating 'we note you maintaining repayments under your arrangements, this was temporary and we need to assess your position'. Reply sent with income/expenditure and that could only afford current arrangement (£1/mth).
5. Further letter from Metropolitan questioning arrangements again in March 2013.
6. First letter from Marlin on 18th of October stating debt passed to them. No action taken.
7. November, repeat letter.
8. latest letter arrived today dated 15th Novemeber(two weeks later with 7 days to act!!) but with balance reduced by £1 payment?

Third with Buchanan, Clark and Wells (BCW) for £4732.64 from MBNA Credit Card agreement dates to around 2008 (but unsure).

• In 2010, partner wrote same letter for £1 month payment and MBNA froze interest and accepted payment arrangement.
• First letter from Experto Credite in November 2010 stating Varde Investments Ltd have bought the interest of MBNA Europe Ltd for the account, stating they were the legal owner of the account. Under terms Experto appointed by Varde to recall any and all outstanding sums.
• Wrote to explain offer of £1, which was accepted in Dec 2010.
• April 2012 Activ Kapital Portfolio recently purchased account from Varde, allowed Experto Credite to continue management of account.
• Statement received in May 2012 and review in August 2012 (ignored).
• Offered 70% off for full settlement in July 2012 by Experto, no capital to pay it!
• Offered again in Nov 2012.
• Feb 2013 offered a match payment offer (50/50).
• In April 2013 another 70% off offer.
• First letter from BCW in Aug 2013, No action taken and no further correspondence received since then.

Fourth is for £2755 with Nat West who have accepted the £1/mth and frozen interest but are happy with arrangement and maintain monthly statements.

Guess ideally she needs to know best course of action? For me there is evidence that the third debt may be open to a F&F offer, Nat West debt is not a concern at this time due to their acceptance of current arrangements, and a F&F offer may be favourably acceptable for this too.

Kindest regards in advance.

[slay1373]

Re: Help Needed Please - Marlin Letters

There is as much support and help on this forum as you need.

Oscar, I am intrigued? Your location is MBNA, are you a fighter from within? One of her debts was with them? But unsure who owns that one, just that BCW were the last one to try and recover it?

[nightwatch]

Re: Help Needed Please - Marlin Letters

bcaw is just a debt collector, oscar is not "from within" but is on the dark side and is still a fighter on the "bright side
your partner has nothing to fear from telling her problems on here we do not judge, or bite.
your problem is our problem, any seemingly silly question will be answered by one of us, we are a collective, if one of us has not got the answer then another one may have, if not we will try and find it.
THAT IS WHAT WE DO
we have all had the same problems in the past, or even now so we have been there done that and own the t shirt, please read my thread if you wish 'nightwatch and hubby's diary of debt' but i suggest you pour a large drink and make something to eat. its a long story

[nightwatch]

Re: Help Needed Please - Marlin Letters

may I ask are these debts in her name , ie did she take them out in her name and if so when? what year?
this helps us see where we may go from here xx

[slay1373]

Re: Help Needed Please - Marlin Letters

Nightwatch,

As explained, the joint account is in joint with her ex, but letters only to her, the remainder are in her name but she took them out to assist in family living while they invested in his studies which he never completed. They have since divorced and he will not support and assist this debt in anyway.

As for exact dates of when they were established, she does not know but all are in excess of 8 years. But cannot be SB as she has, in good faith been paying the £1 a month as per the arrangements she had.

My primary concern is her first two as Marlin are being increasingly threatening.

Regards

[cymruambyth]

Re: Help Needed Please - Marlin Letters

Hi again, it maybe easier if either your partner starts her own account or posts as you, just because it will be easier to get direct answers. If she wants to try the unenforceable route then she will need to send a CCA request from the site template letters. http://www.all-about-debt.co.uk/inde...1-starting-out
To access these you will need to reregister using your same log in details; you will then receive a verification email which you must follow.

As as for oscar, if you ever find his story on the site you will realise that there is slight irony in his location