Couple claims they repaid debt a decade ago but face renewed demands for payment

A couple from Panevėžys has come forward with claims that a debt collection agency is demanding they repay a nearly €1,000 debt they say was settled over ten years ago, despite possessing payment receipts, Lithuanian National Radio and Television (LRT) reported on Sunday.

Liudmila and her husband Valentinas state they took out a loan in 2016 for around €800 through *Omnitel* (now *Telia Lietuva*) to purchase a computer and phone. The couple maintains they fully repaid the debt before moving to Sweden for work, providing three receipts totalling €350 in payments, with the remainder covered in cash.

However, in January this year, they received a letter from the debt recovery firm *Gelvora-Sergel* demanding repayment of the original €800 sum. “We sent the receipts, but they said they saw nothing. They just told us to pay up or face bailiffs,” Liudmila said. The couple has since paid an additional €600 under pressure, though they insist the debt was already cleared.

*Gelvora-Sergel* disputes this account. Karolis Sutula, head of the firm’s pre-litigation and post-litigation department, told LRT that the couple terminated their contract with *Omnitel* early and left a portion of the debt unpaid. “A partial payment of around €170 was made in 2016, but the remaining €450 was never settled. We sent multiple letters over the years, but they went unclaimed,” Sutula said.

*Audrius Stasiulaitis*, a representative of *Telia Lietuva* (the successor to *Omnitel*), called the case “very unusual,” noting that decade-old debt disputes are rare. He suggested the payments may have been misallocated due to incorrect reference details or client codes. “If they provide the receipts they claim to have, we can assess the situation and cancel the debt if justified,” Stasiulaitis said.

The Lithuanian Consumer Rights Protection Authority advised the couple to file a formal complaint, submitting their receipts for review. “We would then contact the debt administrator to clarify why payment is being demanded after so long,” said *Toma Žiurkutė*, head of the authority’s services department. She confirmed no such complaint had yet been received.