How prove its not my debt?

Question

Had a letter the other day from a collections agency on behalf of a bank. The debt has accumulated in an old unused account that to be honest I had forgotton about long ago.

The debt is for just over a thousand pounds but the last address the agency has was at an address I have never even been to, although its local.

Obviously I have spoken to the agency and they are legit, they say the debt was passed to them but they have little information themselves as to how the debt has come about nor has the bank as they no longer have records other than it dates back to 2000.

They have given me extended time to pay which is very nice of them Im sure but at the end of the day all they want is payment but I have no intention of paying a debt that isnt mine if I can help it!

What are the correct channels to go through to sort this mess out? So far I have been to the address and have found that it hasbeen rented to many differrent people and has probably for many years.

Answer 1

2 Options,

Offer to pay a reduced final settlement, Which will be approx 25-30% of the debt.

The debt agency will have bought the debt for about 5-10% of the total.

Or, Say the debt is not yours and you are not paying a penny, Debt can only stay on your credit file for 5 years, So it has prob been long cleared.

Worst case senario is they arrive at your door looking for money, Under law they can not force entry, Only Baliffs from a court can do that.

Answer 2

OK, let's review....

1) The bank no longer has records of this debt.

2) The collection agency admits this, and says they have little info on this debt.

3) The debt is 8 years old.  In nearly every state the

Statute of Limitations has expired, and they can not sue you for this debt.  And if they could, how are they going to prove it when the bank has no records?

4) Being this old, this debt MUST be deleted from your credit report (if it hasn't already been).

So with all of this going for you, why are you even talking to the collection agency?  

Send the collection agency a letter telling them to validate this debt and prove you have a legal obligation to pay it.  Include a cease and desist statement so they will stop bothering you.

Answer 3

You may be a vicitm of identity theft. Check the link below for information. It may be a good plan to check your credit history with Experian, Equifax and Call Credit too.

Do not pay this, if you are certain that it is not your debt. Contact the CAB. You will find your nearest one on the link below too.

Answer 4

If you are sure that the debt is not yours, write to the bank concerned and ask for an written explanation as you do not believe this should be registered against you. Keep a copy of the letter and ask them to respond within 14 days - write to their head office complaints department. Also write to the collection agency giving them a copy of the letter sent to the bank. That should "hold them off" for the time being.

If after 14 days they haven't responded, write to the Banking Ombudsman and provide them with a copy of the letters you have sent.

The bank has an obligation to provide a written response and from there, you can then argue if its a fraud.

Answer 5

There's one chanel and that's the credit bureau NOT the collection agency...people make this horrible mistake over and over. Write the credit bureau (send via registered  mail) and request a debt validation. They have 30 days to prove that the debt is indeed yours....if they can't or don't respond they have to remove the item from your report.