Verify Doorstep Visit

[KKA]

Morning All
Used this website for help over the years; looking for a little bit more advice.
I moved house around a year ago, updated electoral roll and several creditors have started sending letters.
All debts will be +6years old now so am aware they will be SB.
Got a letter last week from ACI stating they will instruct Verify to attend my address with an aim to make contact.
I ignored this but now have a letter from Verify saying they will attend if no contact made in 7 days.
Anyway to tackle this?
Seems a bit pointless them wasting money sending a field agent for something thats so old?
Any advice appreciated.
KKA

[MisterK]

Choice seems to be between ignoring field agent (and accompanying threats) or sending SB letter (National Debtline & Stepchange both do suitable letters).

This raises the more general question which is what to do when you decide to move home and all your old debts are SB.

If you do nothing then this sort of thing can happen although really it shouldn't be any more than an irritation as they can't do anything legally. Problem could be if a claim comes along and you don't hear anything about it because you've moved home and they don't have your new address. There could then be an adverse default judgement because there would be no-one to tell the court that it is in fact SB. Probably depends on the court whether that might happen. In this case you do have updated CRA files although that might not stop some creditors trying it on.

Probably the only way to really stop this kind of thing is to send an SB letter just so long as you're really sure that SB can't be contested.

Those are my thoughts.

[Dottir]

Without wanting to start an argument but make 100% sure you understand what the limitations act means. It is not just 6 years from not paying. It can be from default date remedy dates if credit cards for example.

Just be confident

[MisterK]

No, probably not the best idea to scatter SB letters around at the first possible opportunity and without having a good reason to do so - but if say 7 years have elapsed since the default notice and absolutely zilch has been said (or written) to the creditor during that time then KKA can most likely feel pretty safe to go ahead with it if need be.

Though I think that keeping a decent set of records is key to this rather than relying on memory. Particularly if it's my memory.

[KKA]

Hi guys, Thanks for the response.
The default date on this one goes back to 2012.
I kept pretty good records and this particular one got little corrospondence; the scanned documents i can find date back to 2015 when they were sending me reduced settlement figures - the last scan i have is a statement of account going back to 2017.
I have no record of sending any letters out on this one.
I would rather not get a doorstep visit and would like to cut this off if possible so do you think its worth sending something to verify who are stating they will send a field agent?
Thanks
KKA

[Dottir]

Hi
Depends on you but you could just send the SB letter or
a letter saying ‘I don’t recognise this account but the only one I think it might be is SB . If it is this account please be aware I will not engage with you or make any payments’
or
a simple prove it letter then followed up when and if they reply with a SB letter

I used number 2 to effective results not too long ago.

[MisterK]

Chances are that you will achieve your objective by sending an SB letter to the field agent. They will more than likely pass it on to whoever owns the debt (which is where you need it to go anyway). I'd send it with proof of delivery so that you could show that you made a reasonable attempt to inform them of it being SB should that ever be necessary as a result of an unwise letter of claim ever arriving from any direction.

If anyone attempts to get you to expand on why you think it's SB then I don't think you should really need to engage with them in any way as long as you are certain yourself that it is SB. If they don't think it is SB then you've given them an opportunity to explain why. A creditor would be very foolish to take action if you have emphatically declared that it is SB whilst at the same time they have no evidence at all that it is not SB. Should they wish to engage with you further then you could simply repeat the SB letter in order perhaps to emphasise again the point you made the first time.

This is my view but others may have a different take on it. If you do decide to go with the SB letter then please let us all know the outcome (which may well be a complete silence).

[KKA]

Hi Guys
Thanks for the response.
Might just send a prove it letter for now and see what comes back.
Back in the day the advice was to always send via snail mail.
Is this still relevant? does it matter if i send via email??
Thanks
KKA

[MisterK]

I wouldn't give them my email address. I wouldn't want to offer them a completely new way of communicating with me. Apart from which you need everything in writing for legal reasons and emails definitely don't carry the same level of credibility/authenticity etc as an original document. Also if you send something by email and they choose not to respond then you won't know if it was received and you certainly won't be able to prove it was received if you ever needed to do that. There is nothing like having proof of delivery - although make sure you print it off from the RM website before it disappears forever.

I'd keep it slow and steady if it were me.

[Dottir]

I would agree with Mr K- send it by Royal Mail - preferably signed for but at the minimum proof of posting (free).

I have in the past sent both RM and email with a line in the email saying this is not to be used for communication- now this was a rather inept pay day loan company and they did not reply to either. That was back in 2015- I still have copies.