Ignore debt collectors

The first method people try is never acknowledging the debt but still communicating about it. They write to the creditor, informing them that they refuse to contract with them or make any payments until they receive an original signed agreement.

This method focuses on the agreement. The technique states that a bank representative should sign the agreement, and it must be the original version, not a copy. You should also request that the creditor provide proof that they loaned you the money.

The creditor is likely to treat this as a complaint.

They will follow the FCA complaints procedure and provide you with a copy of your signed agreement (not an original). If it is a bank, for example, they may also send you statements detailing all your transactions as proof you have spent the money. They will handle the "complaint" until they reach the final stage, resulting in them sending you a "Final Response Letter". This will include details of how to contact the Financial Ombudsman. They will see this as their job is done; it’s now time for you to pay your debts.

If you continue refusing to make payments - not even token payments - you will risk legal action. If your case did end up in court, you should expect to lose the case. The creditor’s solicitor will turn up with a copy of your signed agreement and statements with every transaction you have made. Here’s what you could expect to happen in court...

You might mention that the creditor has not been able to provide an original copy of the agreement or proof that the money was loaned.

However, the creditor's solicitor will then inform the judge that, under the Consumer Credit Act, a copy of the agreement is acceptable if it has been properly executed.

To prove that money was loaned and the creditor has suffered a loss, the solicitor may ask the judge if they have ever had a credit card or a loan. The likelihood is they will say yes. Next, the solicitor will ask the judge if they pay it. Again, they are likely to say yes. The solicitor has planted the seed with the judge, "You pay your credit card or your loan off every month, so why does this person think it's ok not to?".

The solicitor will show all the transactions made using the credit card, explaining how you have benefitted from the money. The final nail in the coffin will be when the solicitor asks you if you made those transactions. If you say no, you may be committing perjury by lying in court if you are under oath.  

Now, do you see why this method made the list?

The second method people try is to ask the debt collector to produce a Deed of Assignment to prove the debt.

The Deed of Assignment should detail the amount the debt collector has paid for your debt, the date they bought it, and other additional information.

Let’s be clear: a debt collector will never give you this information. Why? When debt collectors buy bank debt, they rarely buy a singular debt. They will buy a portfolio of debts.

Your £1,000 credit card debt with Barclaycard, for example, will be one of thousands of other debts, all rolled together to make a combined value that could be in the millions. When Barclaycard sells this portfolio of debt to a debt collector, it is all lumped into one transaction. The debt collector may not necessarily have a specific deed for your debt.

Another key reason you will never see the deed of assignment is that it will show how little the debt collector paid for your debt.

If you follow this method, you will likely end up in court. You will see that the judge will accept a Notice of Assignment and, 99% of the time, will deny the demand to see the deed of assignment.

Is it a risk worth taking?

The third method some people try is to tell the debt collector who has purchased the debt to "mind their own business" and that they are acting as a "third-party interloper" interfering in a private agreement or even thank them for clearing the debt, and they won't be paid.

Trust us when we say this: if this worked, we would be the first to detail this as an option on this site.

Again, informing the debt collector that they are interfering in a private agreement between you and the original creditor will not hold up in court.

If you are not making any payments towards your debt and challenging the debt collector that they have no legal right to the debt, there is only one result. The debt collector will follow their internal procedures until the case ends up in court, and you will lose.

The fourth method people try is to inform the debt collector that buying and selling debt is illegal. The technique also suggests that you state that they are committing fraud by contacting you and that once a debt is sold, it no longer exists.

Now, this method isn’t even theoretically correct. The police will not accept this as fraud.

Creditors and debt collectors are trained to handle methods like these and will get you nowhere.

It's important to understand that these methods are not just risky, but also completely wrong. The creditor or debt collector will simply treat this as a complaint and follow the standard complaints' procedure.

The Real Debt Guy is a qualified financial adviser and a UK debt expert. The information in this article is considered to be true and correct at the publication date.