Gary(posted 8309 days ago)If the letter that you got a year ago was really the first then they are time barred by the Council of Mortgage Lenders agreement. It is likely, however, that they will have sent letters out to other addresses and will therefore say that they commenced recovery proceedings. This is highly debateable as the act of sending a letter does not constitute contact being made and as per the wording of the agreement it is up to them to prove that they contact you or that you ignored their letters.
That aside, can you afford £2000. If you can then there is no harm in making an offer - Mark the letter 'Without Predjudice' - the only thing this will do is show them that they had in fact made contact with the letter of 1 year ago which as it is outside the 11/2/00 deadline then they could be time barred.
If you make the offer I would consider offering a bit less and negociating upwards and if you get agreement the ensure that you get a letter saying that this is in full and final settlement and that no further contact shall be made either by the lender or by any third party on this matter. Also ensure they agree to remove all reference of the 'debt' from all credit reference agencies.
It must be good to see the back of something like this so if you can and you feel that it would be wise then by all means make an offer.