debt collection legal advice

[debttttt]

Hi everyone,
I'm looking for some practical advice on dealing with a debt that's now been passed from Lowell to Overdales.
The debt is from a credit card / mobile contract (whichever applies), and the default date was around Oct 2019。 believe the last payment or contact may have been around that time too, but I'm not 100% sure.
I've now received a Letter Before Action(LBA) from Overdales on beginning of june this year， giving me 30 days to respond
before they consider legal proceedings.

Here's my current situation:
.“I'm recovering from a serious
health condition (cancer recovery), and genuinely not in a position to handle court stress or repayments at this stage.”
.“I haven't acknowledged the debt or made any payments since default."
. “I would like to delay any court action for at least 4 to 5 months if possible, ideally to see if I pass the6-year limitation period.”
My questions are:

1. Is now the right time to send a

CCA request or should I include it in mv LBA reply? 2.Would using the vulnerable customer route now be better, or is it more strategic to use it later if they don't provide documents? 3.Does anything I say in the LBA reply risk resetting the 6-year limitation period? 4.Has anyone managed to stall long enough this way without acknowledging the debt and avoided court? Any template suggestions or advice from experience would be hugely appreciated. I've read about playing this carefully - Ijust want to avoid doing anything that revives the debt or speeds up the legal side. Thanks so much in advance

Your first port of call should be finding out exactly when you defaulted.

Once you know when you defaulted, you'll have to make a decision. Essentially you can ignore any communications, wait it out and hope they don't get around to taking legal action against you before the six year limit.

However if they do start that process, even if it's a day before the barring period, statute barring no longer applies, even if your actual court date falls outside of the six year period.

That's the risk you take - if you end up in court with a CCJ, your credit will be wrecked and they can use bailiffs to take items of value from your home to settle the debt. You'll also end up with court fees, etc.

Your other option is to engage with them. However, if you submit a CCA or respond to the LBA, this would be seen as acknowledging the debt and would reset the six year countdown to it being statute barred.

Given that you seem to be asking for ways to game the system to delay things until the debt becomes barred, that would be counter productive.

A friend successfully 'waited out' a debt in this manner last year. They received a LBA in July, the debt (around 5k) became barred in September and no legal action was taken. They subsequently contacted the agency pursuing them and informed them that the debt was barred, and were told that the matter was closed.

I'm also aware of people getting CCJs for much less than that.

How much is the debt and why have you not paid it off?

Oct 2019 til now - is there not already a CCJ on the debt ?

Some debt collectors put a hold on any legal process when they receive a CCA request. This has led to an internet myth that they are required to do so. This is not true. They cannot get a CCJ enforcing payment, but they can take steps up to that point. If you issue a CCA request and they have not produced the required information by the time of the hearing, you can use that in your defence to prevent them getting judgement against you. However, they can start legal action the day they receive your CCA request and, provided they come up with the information before the hearing, there is nothing you can do about it.

If you fail to respond to the letter before action at all, they can take legal action. If they are unhappy with your response, they can take legal action. Anything other than a response offering to pay the debt, either in full or with a payment plan they find satisfactory, can lead to them taking legal action. It is unlikely that they will allow you to spin things out until the 6 years is up.

It may be that they won't do anything if you fail to respond and the six years limitation will run out, but there is no guarantee. Even if the six years does expire, if you are in England or Wales the debt will continue to exist. It simply means they won't be able to take legal action to recover it.

If you go on the money saving expert site and search for the 'prove it' letter it means they have your send you proof of debt/ownership without you admitting liability

What use would that be? OP isn't disputing that the debt is hers, she's asking for ways to draw out the process so that she doesn't have to pay it.

Obviously not if they've only just sent an LBA.

Because it draws out the process . ..

How? If they intend to apply for a CCJ after giving OP 30 days to respond to the LBA, her asking for proof of the debt isn't going to delay that.

Because if they can't produce proof the debt is hers the debt is uninforceable

Could you put yourself in Breathing Space? https://www.gov.uk/options-for-dealing-with-your-debts/breathing-space