My Dad's UE Diary

[StansDad]

Hi all, my Dad ran up large credit card debts (around £40k) in 2013 with 3 different lenders. After several years on a DMP, 2 of the debts have now been settled, after negotiation, for around 35% of the outstanding balances. So this thread is basically about trying to sort out the remaining £14k debt from an MBNA credit card, which has been sold on to Link.

I am helping my Dad to deal with this as he lacks the patience to research what he needs to do, although is happy to follow my instructions!

[StansDad]

Debt Type: Credit Card
Original Creditor: MBNA
Commenced: Pre 2000
Current owner: Link
Default: 2013
Balance:£14k approx
DMP: £40 pcm since mid 2013


June 2021: CCA agreement requested using template letter
July 2021: Link admitted that CCA agreement is illegible and therefore unenforceable
July 2021: Dad stopped DMP payments (cancelled DD, but didn't communicate with Link)
August 2021: Letter received from Link noting DD cancellation

So far so good, just wondering how we should play this from here.

A few questions:
- Should my Dad communicate at all with Link or just ignore everything that will come from them? Should he give them a reason why he has stopped paying?
- What is the end game? Ie. do we go 6 years without making any further payments and then the debt becomes statute barred?
- My Dad is getting on a bit, do Link have any claim on his estate (the equity in his house) if he should pass away?

Thanks for the extremely useful information I have read so far on the forum,

Stansdad

[The Tech Clerk]

No CCA , Unenforceable !!!
No court case/CCJ/Charging order !! no claim on estate.!!!
No communication from him 6 years England/Wales or 5 Years Scotland = Statute Barred!!! (for information purposes)

up to them now - they admit unenforceable their problem.

[Still Waving]

- Should my Dad communicate at all with Link or just ignore everything that will come from them? Should he give them a reason why he has stopped paying?

Keep safe the letter from Link admitting that the debt is unenforceable. I would suggest treating all future letters individually, depending on their content, but many it will be OK to just ignore and file. If in doubt, ask for further advice on what they send you, but do keep a file with all correspondence together.

From now on it is important not to write or say anything with acknowledges the debt. You want the Statute Barred clock to keep on ticking. The site has template letters which can be used when necessary, which are worded so as not to be an acknowledgement of the debt.

[StansDad]

I presume that if at some point in the future we try to negotiate a Full and Final settlement then this is an acknowledgement of the debt and would reset the Statute Barred clock?

It's a dilemma because if we could get the account closed for say 10% of the OS balance that would be quite tempting. My Dad doesn't really want to be bombarded with phone calls/letters/emails from Link for the next 6 years.

Does anyone know if Link have a history of accepting very low offers in cases of UE debts?

[The Tech Clerk]

no? sit on it for now, any offers usually the last minute before statute barred if any

[PlanB]

My Dad is getting on a bit, do Link have any claim on his estate (the equity in his house) if he should pass away?

Hello

If a debt is unenforceable in life then it should also be unenforceable in the afterlife.

I don't know if your Dad has written a Will and/or chosen an Executor to manage the situation. But keep all correspondence so that the Estate doesn't automatically pay his debts without challenging them first.

It's a legal argument not a moral argument.

Di

[Timewilltell]

Well Stan, to say they have shot themselves in the foot is an understatement, they’ve done the hard bit for you. Now as advised don’t acknowledge the debt and let it ride it’s course. There are templates letters available that request all communications to be actioned in writing alone, use snail mail not email- the slower the better. This should stop the nuisance calls and any letters can be left in a pile for you to sift and sort as required, as said any that you’re unsure of post up and you will be answered appropriately. Tell your Dad to enjoy his life and waste not his precious time with worry.

[Still Waving]

Well Stan, to say they have shot themselves in the foot is an understatement, they’ve done the hard bit for you. Now as advised don’t acknowledge the debt and let it ride it’s course. There are templates letters available that request all communications to be actioned in writing alone, use snail mail not email- the slower the better. This should stop the nuisance calls and any letters can be left in a pile for you to sift and sort as required, as said any that you’re unsure of post up and you will be answered appropriately. Tell your Dad to enjoy his life and waste not his precious time with worry.

I think Stansdad would be better advised not to leave letters in a pile, but to read each one as they arrive (to be aware of what the other side are up to) and file all in date order with the most recent at the top. Many people have made life more difficult than it needed to be, by not reading something that they really ought to have, and ending up on the back foot later on.

[StansDad]

Thanks everyone

My Dad is actually pretty good with keeping paperwork, so I'll ask him to continue to open and read all letters that come from Link and then file them. I'll keep this thread updated with the correspondence received and ask for advice if there is anything worrying in there. If they start hassling with phone calls or threatening to make visits we'll use the template letters to warn them off.

I doubt that Link will accept a low settlement offer any time soon, so we'll go down the Statute Barred route and make no payments or acknowledge the debt for the next 6 years...

StansDad

[Timewilltell]

I think Stansdad would be better advised not to leave letters in a pile, but to read each one as they arrive (to be aware of what the other side are up to) and file all in date order with the most recent at the top. Many people have made life more difficult than it needed to be, by not reading something that they really ought to have, and ending up on the back foot later on.

I agree, however i suspect it will be Stan who is dealing with this as opposed to his dad and he doesn’t want his dad stressing anymore than he already is, so merely suggest that his dad puts them on side for Stan to collect once/twice a week to read through. I rightly or wrongly presumed that Stan lived local to his father hence his keen involvement.

[StansDad]

I chose a confusing username! Stan is actually my cat, so I'm StansDad and it's StansDad's Dad who has the debt! . Probably easier to continue to call me Stan.

My Dad is 10 miles away so I see him weekly. He'll let me know what he receives from Link and I can use the forum to seek advice on what action we need to take, if any. He's not too stressed about the debt at the moment, but that would change if he started to get bombarded with aggressive letters/phone calls. I'll reassure him that we can deal with that if it happens. He'll be very happy he can stop paying the £40 per month DMP.

'Stan'

[Timewilltell]

The reality is that these people get upset when we stop paying them so they will try desperately to get your attention in anyway they can, so initially they act like aggressive alleycats, but be assured as with alleycats they find another alley to play in when not getting the response they want. You then usually get a regular monthly begging letter from them for a while, remember this the longer you can keep them begging the closer to SB you’re getting. You don’t answer any begging letters - even if you were to feel sorry for them! - you may then get a couple of heavy threatening letters mentioning solicitors/legal process etc, most of which are upper level begging letters, however do post up if any make you uncomfortable and all good spirited members will soon have your feeing all squishy and comfortable again.

as one esteemed member teaches, this is a game of poker and you just have to learn the game to be in with a chance of winning.

[Warwick65]

I've not read all the replies cos I'm supposed to be at work :-)

Agreeing with people who have said , treat each letter individually - some need a reply some don't. I also keep all letters and a record. I am OCD with this and keep the letter and also scan it, name it with a number a brief description and store in google cloud. It did help me when I was able to say in court that I kept and filed all communication so I was sure I had not received a DN.

As for being bombarded, in my experience, it ramps up in years 1 and maybe 2 and then slowly decreases, sometimes with little flurries of activity. Even though all my debts are Statute barred I still have someone check my post ( I am rarely at home)- my friend takes pics, whatsapps me and I say can you open x/y etc. I am lucky I have someone I trust to do this