Hi James,
I keep getting phone calls about writing off my credit card debt if I took out my credit card before 2007. I was told that for a fee of £299 per card I could have the debt written off and this would not affect my credit rating with Experian. Is this true? Your help would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you, Chris, Notts
Dear Chris,
Please be very careful. Many of the statements made by these so-called ‘claims management companies’ are dubious to say the least. The Ministry of Justice regulates companies that provide this sort of service and has recently closed 100 claims management companies because they were ‘misleading the public’. Many people who have employed the services of one of these companies have been left in worse situations than they started. If you’re struggling to make ends meet I’d urge you to get some free impartial advice. For example, you could visit Debt Remedy, a free online service from the not-for-profit Consumer Credit Counselling Service. There may be a much better way of getting your finances back in the black than trying to wriggle out of your financial obligations using a possible legal loophole. Importantly, even if you did manage to successful argue that a debt couldn’t be enforced through the courts, it is very unlikely this would lead to the debt being removed from your credit report.
James