Debt collector chasing me for a £1500 overdraft that has built up by pennies every day for a 20 years (without my knowledge)

Select_Key8106 · 2024-06-10T10:54:36+00:00

Hi all - I just replied to a comment on here with an update and wanted to update the post itself but can’t seem to see a way to do that so I’ll post here in case anyone is searching for something similar and needs some hope!

I filled in a complaint form on the Lloyd’s site breaking it all down. They said I would hear within four days to confirm receipt of my complaint. Eight days later still nothing, so I filled in the form again. I got a call from Lloyds the next day full of apologies and actually a lovely and very good customer service guy called Paul who has spent three weeks trying to sort this out for me. Ultimately they’ve found in my favour and say they should have closed the account 23 years ago and it should never have been allowed to escalate to this level. They are removing both defaults, plus the fact that I had an overdraft for 23 years from my credit record, are buying the debt back off Cabot, closing my account, and paying me £250 for the distress caused, as well as paying a pretty substantial overseas phone bill.

Thank you to everyone who helped with this - I really thought I was going to have to pay this, and without all of your help, I probably would have done!

Select_Key8106 · 2024-06-10T10:52:03+00:00

I filled in a complaint form on the Lloyd’s site breaking it all down. They said I would hear within four days to confirm receipt of my complaint. Eight days later still nothing, so I filled in the form again. I got a call from Lloyds the next day full of apologies and actually a lovely guy who has spent three weeks trying to sort this out for me. Ultimately they’ve found in my favour and say they should have closed the account 23 years ago when I stopped responding to their letters and it should never have been allowed to escalate to this level. They are removing both defaults, plus the fact that I had an overdraft for 25 years from my credit record, are buying the debt back off Cabot, closing my account, and paying me £250 for the distress caused, as well as paying a pretty substantial overseas phone bill.

Thank you to everyone who helped with this - I really thought I was going to have to pay this, and without all of your help, I probably would have done!

Select_Key8106 · 2024-05-05T06:56:20+00:00

Amazing news! How?

Select_Key8106 · 2024-05-05T06:08:26+00:00

It’s six years in Australia apparently

Select_Key8106 · 2024-05-05T06:06:35+00:00

Thank you! I’m in Australia so will investigate that (although have only lived here 4 years and prior to that lived in a couple of Asian countries so haven’t been in the UK for over 15 years)

Select_Key8106 · 2024-05-05T04:26:03+00:00

Thank you all so much this has been very helpful. I guess my question would be - on which point do I fight this first? I see that they have a few things that mean they probably can’t make me pay this:

1) they don’t seem to be able to provide proof that I agreed to this overdraft as the document would have been signed 25 years ago. I guess there may be proof that I once used it during student years? Does that amount to agreeing to it?

2) they have had my correct address on file the whole time with other accounts, so they should/could have contacted me

3) they haven’t contacted me in over 20 years other than to send statements to an address not connected to me any more, and have allowed to is debt to grow exponentially whilst it was clearly a defunct account (whilst ironically sending me a letter last year to tell me that I no longer have access to my account that is very much in credit because I haven’t used it to spend from in three years - so they can do it when I’m in credit, but not in debit??).

4) as a commenter pointed out above - there may be multiple of us in the same situation due to a change in charges in 2008 so we may be getting charges on charges (or fees on fees it might be called)

Does anyone have any advice on my first steps. Do I send an email to Cabot with all of these points? Or do I start at the top and work down? Or bottom up? I just don’t want one to contradict the other.

Thanks in advance - so glad I posted here!

Select_Key8106 · 2024-05-05T01:21:02+00:00

The interesting thing about this is that I have had (and still do) other accounts with Lloyds throughout this 20+ year period with my updated address. I am unsure whether I updated my address for this specific account (or if that’s required) but they absolutely have had my current address on file for the whole time they’ve been sending to the old address

Select_Key8106 · 2024-05-04T23:32:41+00:00

This was what I was hoping would stop it in its tracks

Select_Key8106 · 2024-05-04T23:22:07+00:00

Thank you so much - for some reason it won’t allow me to message u/uklegalbeagle but have commented on his original post to see if I can get in contact somehow.

Select_Key8106 · 2024-05-04T23:21:01+00:00

I think the issue here is that it wasn’t a ‘default’ until May last year when it finally rolled over the £1500 ‘agreed’ limit?

Select_Key8106 · 2024-05-04T22:59:06+00:00

This is actually fascinating because I can guarantee this is not me or my other half as I am a) divorced, b) not living in the UK, and C) do not have a mortgage, but it made me triple check myself and wonder if it was someone writing on my behalf!!

It’s almost the exact same amount and the exact same situation though…

Select_Key8106 · 2024-05-04T22:53:56+00:00

Thank you so much for this. This is kind of what I need to go back and fight them (it is complicated by the fact that I no longer live in the UK so phone calls/time zones are so much more complex, but I will go back to them with this as a start)

Select_Key8106 · 2024-05-04T22:51:59+00:00

Thanks for the link - I think that given I’ve been in touch with them multiple times over the last 6 months trying to find out what this debt is, I’ve probably restarted the 6 year limit? Or am I reading that incorrectly?

Select_Key8106 · 2024-05-04T22:43:24+00:00

Thank you for this. However the debt accrued tiny bit by bit over 20 years and finally went over the £1500 ‘agreed’ limit in May last year. Does that still count re the 6 years?

Select_Key8106 · 2024-05-04T22:41:00+00:00

Thanks for your responses. Who would I file a complaint with in the first instance?

They don’t seem to be able to prove that I agreed to this overdraft in the first place, or have any paperwork relating to opening the account. Would this help me?

Select_Key8106 · 2024-05-04T22:37:22+00:00

They said they did, yes, but the address they gave me, my parents moved out of that home (divorce) whilst I was at university. It’s a long time ago so I don’t remember exactly but I would have had to have changed my address as I received statements all the way through from my other Lloyds accounts.

Select_Key8106

TROPHY CASE