Being chased for 15+ year old debt- have I massively fucked up here?

[AngeloMysterioso]

I got a text message this morning from Resolve Call saying your account has been passed to us for a home visit. To prevent please visit then a weblink.

I have recently missed a credit card payment so thought it might be relating to that, although I thought it was a bit hasty as it’s only been a few weeks! So I clicked the link, confirmed my id and looked at the letter.

The address on the letter is for my old address that I haven’t lived in for nearly 5 years. The debt is supposedly with Lloyds TSB for over £1200, except I haven’t had an account with them since uni, and I graduated in 2008! So I’m thinking it’s an unpaid student credit card? I was utterly shit with money back then and was also financially supporting my mum at the time (long story).

I know that debts usually get written off after 6 years if you don’t engage with the creditors, but would my confirming my details and reading this letter be sufficient to revive it somehow?

Any advice gratefully received as I am now freaking out about this.

Well whatever you do, don't answer the door to them or let them in your home.

Contact them and say that you have no idea what they are talking about, and they need to send you much more information about this so-called debt, before you can even confirm whether they are chasing the right person or not.

Debt collection companies can (and do) make mistakes.

I had one lot chasing me for an unpaid parking fine for a vehicle I'd never owned in a town I'd never visited in my entire life. How they got my name I shall never know, but the first communication was a lot like yours. Big on threats, thin on information.

There good advice on Martin lewes website regarding this

Hang on, I just read your OP more thoroughly. You got a text from someone you'd never heard of, clicked on a link, and then confirmed your ID.

Oh crikey. What ID? What did they ask for? What did you give them?

I hope this isn't a scam.

Just what I thought. Check it isn’t a scam as you have given them your ID

That was my first thought, it sounds like a scam... Be careful op. What info did you give them?

They can buy old noncollectable debts for a penny and if you acknowledge the debt, restart the clock. Usually that is what they are doing, trying it on to see if they can get you to acknowledge it otherwise they've so little invested its worth the try as any payment will be pure profit.

So the letter went to your old address?

I did Google the company before I clicked the link and saw it was a debt collecter. The ID confirming was my name and DOB. The address on the letter was my old address so I’m not mega worried about them turning up where I live now, and they can’t rock up to the old address either as you need a fob to get in the building and to get the lift to the floor I used to live on.

Further research suggests it’s a company who have bought a load of historic debts from Lloyds TSB (https://debtcamel.co.uk/letter-from-intrum-resolvecall-about-lloyds-debt/) so not a scam, so my main worry is that by just logging in and reading the letter that somehow counts as establishing contact and will un-expire the debt? Can that happen after all this time?

This is a scam, a well known one. Contact your bank, change passwords on everything and never click on a link in a text message or email again.

I was rather hoping it was a scam OP. Does anyone living at your old address know your new one? And would they pass it on?

Not just looking at the debt but if you respond to any letters other than to say you don't believe the debt is yours/legitimate then you could, be very careful of anything said on the phone as a "Yes, this is XXXX", can be recorded and manipulated to "Yes that's my debt".

Did you name change and also create this thread on this board https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/money-matters/5065615-does-anyone-know-who-these-people-are

You need to look up a 'statute barred' letter, there's some on Martin Lewis I believe, and send that to them.

Does it matter?!

@AngeloMysterioso
Martin Lewes website
Statute barred look it up!!

Nope, I’m clearly not the only person they’ve done this to today! I got my message at 10 this morning.

Dear god.
yes it does - I am alerting OP to the fact that she is possibly not alone. So unless it’s her thread there’s someone else also being scammed.

But actually there’s another thread about this company from earlier this month-

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/_chat/5045459-25-year-old-debt-letter-out-of-the-blue

Apologies, got you.

ie.trustpilot.com/review/resolvecall.co.uk

Thing is, this isn’t necessarily a scam. To be brief I had a text from a debt collection company. Obviously I didn’t click the link but I did call them. I knew I hadn’t any debts. They got nothing from me but persevered. They were a legitimate company. They had one digit wrong in the phone number hence got me. They removed my number when I insisted. The problem is they are pretty ruthless.

So do I just call them and say the debt is statute barred and to leave me the fuck alone?

I'd just block the number and completely ignore it. They'll go away eventually and can't enforce anything after so long, they are chancing their luck hoping there will be people who just pay even after so long.

I posted too sorry. I got the text to my phone but it was someone else's name. We share the same first name
But different surnames.

There is some template letters online to send them regarding stature barred debts, but they usually ask you to do SARs request first to see exactly what detail they hold about the debt. Don’t engage in conversation. Do everything in writing.