New Here. Need Help with Cap Quest

[Mockenrue]

Hi all. This is my first post here [deep breath...]

I have over £30k of unsecured debts, most of it on CCs (six or seven). I was financially very reckless a few years ago following a rather turbulent period in my life, and after falling into the usual trap of easy credit/raised limits etc. coupled with my adopting a 'buy now, worry later' mentality I got in way over my head. I've been paying the minimum amounts for several years, burying my head in the sand and ignoring the fact that once the low APR honeymoon periods were over I was barely making any inroads into the debt amounts and just paying off the interest each month. Eventually the inevitable happened and what with the rising cost of living etc. occasional missed payments became frequent ones and I was 'robbing Peter to pay Paul' every month. The situation deteriorated (not helped by being stung massively over the past few months by bank charges for missed DDs, but that's another story) and slowly but surely the defaults started. I'm now being chased by several DCAs, the most persistant of whom at the moment are Cap Quest, who are chasing £7k from a C1 CC. Hence the title of this thread.

To say I'm relieved at finding this site and the forums would be a massive understatement. A matter of days ago I was downtrodden and at my wits' end, losing sleep and worrying about losing my house. I know exactly what people talk about being frightened to answer the phone or open their mail. I'm overwhelmed at the sheer number of people on here who are either in the same boat or have been in the past and are now willing to help others; I don't feel so alone now and just writing this makes me feel better. I've read literally dozens of threads and the wealth of information is amazing. I'm now far more clued up on my rights and the action I am legally entitled to take. Clearly the majority of these DCAs are parasites who prey on the vulnerable and I really do feel for anyone who is in a similar situation to me and isn't fortunate enough to discover CAG.

I will point out that I'm not trying to wiggle out of paying my debts, but I feel that my position would not be anywhere near as bad were it not for the outrageous charges and compound interest levied by these people. I'm prepared to dispute these if I can, especially if they are unlawful which often seems to be the case.

Anyway, enough rambling. I did a search on here for threads relating to CQ and have read a great many of them. My experiences are similar to those of several others; namely the red-letter threatograms, 'H L Legal' solicitors' letter threatening court action and the incessant phone calls from the Scottish call centre. The person 'handling my account' is a particularly obnoxious individual; I have managed to fob him off until now and before discovering CAG I was desperately scrabbling around trying to scrape together the cash to pay them enough to make them go away (for a while at least) and stop the intimidating phone calls. I now know that the best tactic is to ignore them and if they do get through somehow I should insist that all correspondence be written.

Tomorrow I intend to send them a CCA, something I have not yet done for any of my creditors. I need help in choosing which template on which to base my letter as they all seem to differ slightly. If I'm going to take CQ on I want to get it right and I would be very grateful if anyone could offer any advice or opinions. Firstly there is the obvious choice which is the template letter 'N' on here. Then there is this one, which I found on another site after googling CQ:

Dear Sirs,
Yr. Ref.
I do not acknowledge any debt to your company.
For your information, all communications regarding this matter must be in writing for Court use. Personal callers will neither be admitted nor spoken to. Telephone calls will not be answered or acknowledged. If your telephone calls continue, then legal action may be taken and/or a complaint will be made to the Office of Fair Trading under section 40 of The Administration of Justice Act 1970.
You are required to supply the following before I will enter into any further correspondence with you.
1. You must supply me with a copy of the agreement you refer to. This is my right under your obligation to supply a copy of the agreement which is s.78 (1) CCA 1974 (s.77 (1) for fixed sum credit) - your obligation extends to providing a statement of account. I enclose a £1 postal order in payment of the statutory fee.
2. You are also obliged to supply a copy of the deed of assignment of the above referenced agreement.
3. You are notified that you are obliged to supply these documents, whether you are the original creditor or not.
Failure to comply with my request will result in a report being submitted to the relevant statutory authority.
I await your response in writing.

Yours faithfully etc.


Then earlier today I found this one, courtesy of 'ODC' on another thread on here:


I DO NOT ACKNOWLEDGE ANY DEBT TO YOUR COMPANY OR ANY COMPANY YOU CLAIM TO REPRESENT

Re: Account no: xxxxxxxx

This letter is a formal request pursuant to s.77/78 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974. I require you to provide me with a true copy of the credit agreement relating to the above account, together with any other documentation the Act requires you to provide.

I expect you to comply fully and properly with this request, within the statutory time limit. You are reminded that should you fail to comply with my request, the provisions of s.77(6) will apply.

If it is your view that you are not the creditor, s.175 of the CCA 1974 applies in the case of a simple assignment, and places a duty upon you to pass this request to the creditor. In the case of an absolute assignment, you are a creditor as defined by s.189. If you contend that you purchased the rights but not the duties of any agreement, you are reminded that s.189 of the Act is clear that an assignment is of both rights and duties.

Your attention is drawn to ss.5(2), 3(b),6 and 7 of the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 (CPUTR).

I enclose a postal order in the sum of £1.00, which is the statutory fee. Note that these funds are not to be used for any other purpose.

If you are unable to comply fully and properly with this request, you should confirm this in writing at the earliest opportunity, and certainly within the statutory time limit for compliance, and return the fee.


Which one should I send? Any advice would be very gratefully received. Sorry for the long winded post!

[mr.ton]

Originally Posted by Mockenrue

I will point out that I'm not trying to wiggle out of paying my debt

Oh i am & always have been doing
Anyway welcome to the forum - we are all a happy gang on here & enjoy making DCA's lives as miserable as possible
The top & bottom of it all is..DCA's have no right whatsoever to obtain 1 penny off you in any way shape or form - only a county court does & DCA's dont like going anywhere near the places coz they know they'll get the minimum back in the maxium amount of time
So i dont know if you are currently paying any DCA's right now or not?
But if so, stop all payments immediately & there aint a thing they can do about it without a county court - simple as that

[Fred Bassett]

Mockenrue,

I would do the following:

1. Send each creditor a CCA letter for each account you have with them. Make sure you enclose a £1.00 postal for each and don't sign the letters. Also, make sure you send them by recorded delivery.
2. Start a separate thread for each creditor - for DCA's use this forum, otherwise post it in the appropriate section. That way, you'll get the most relevant advice.
3. When you get a reply, post it up here for people to see - making sure you hide your personal details and any barcodes.

You've already discovered the harassment letter, so that's a good start.

Good luck.

Regards.

Fred

[Robot_roo]

HI I'm sure you will find this forum really helpful, It really takes all the worry away, I have only been on here a few weeks but its making me feel so much better, following the advice I have had.
Good luck

[Mockenrue]

Originally Posted by mr.ton

So i dont know if you are currently paying any DCA's right now or not?
But if so, stop all payments immediately & there aint a thing they can do about it without a county court - simple as that

I have been doing until quite recently but since I started researching things on here I haven't sent anyone a penny. As well as CQ I have given in to phone intimidation from the likes of Newman & Co. (Goldfish CC) and Mercers (BCard CC) and made token payments in an effort to fend off their threats to 'take things further' (i.e. legal action I presume). From now on I'll make damn sure I don't speak to any of them. Since being on here I've learned that Mercers are nothing more than BCard's in-house sockpuppets.

It is quite a leap of faith for me to deliberately withhold payments, but I'm confident enough after spending a few evenings researching things on here that I'm doing the right thing (even if it seems to me right now that it's not and all I'll end up doing is antagonising them and making things worse).

[Mockenrue]

Originally Posted by Fred Bassett

Mockenrue,

I would do the following:

1. Send each creditor a CCA letter for each account you have with them. Make sure you enclose a £1.00 postal for each and don't sign the letters. Also, make sure you send them by recorded delivery.
2. Start a separate thread for each creditor - for DCA's use this forum, otherwise post it in the appropriate section. That way, you'll get the most relevant advice.
3. When you get a reply, post it up here for people to see - making sure you hide your personal details and any barcodes.

You've already discovered the harassment letter, so that's a good start.

Good luck.

Regards.

Fred

Thanks Fred, will do. That's pretty much what I'd planned to do after reading lots of threads on here started by folks in a similar situation to my own. Thanks anyway though - there's no such thing as too much good advice.

Funnily enough, just after I got home to check this thread the CQ drone called my house. I had to answer it as my housemate was in and he is unaware of my situation. The conversation went like this:

Me: "Hello?"

Drone: "Hello, could I speak with Mr.[me] please?"

Me: "Who's calling please?"

Drone: "Mr.Craig."

Me: "From?"

Drone: "Cap Quest."

Me: "Please conduct all future correspondence in writing."

Drone: "I beg your pardon?"

Me: "I've taken advice and I'm exercising my legal right to request that all future correspondence be done in writing."

Drone (without pausing): "Is that Mr.[me]....."

<click>

How did I do? My heart was thumping for ages afterwards but I feel like I've taken the first step towards standing up to them.

[Elenathion]

Well done you =O)

You did great. They should eventually realise that all they are doing is wasting money calling you.

If possible, next time, after you've said that, try leaving the phone off the hook until they hang up. No point making it cost less for them is it

[Fred Bassett]

Originally Posted by Mockenrue

Thanks Fred, will do. That's pretty much what I'd planned to do after reading lots of threads on here started by folks in a similar situation to my own. Thanks anyway though - there's no such thing as too much good advice.

Funnily enough, just after I got home to check this thread the CQ drone called my house. I had to answer it as my housemate was in and he is unaware of my situation. The conversation went like this:

Me: "Hello?"

Drone: "Hello, could I speak with Mr.[me] please?"

Me: "Who's calling please?"

That's the right thing to do. They'll soon get the message and before long you'll get used to it to.

Regards.

Fred

Drone: "Mr.Craig."

Me: "From?"

Drone: "Cap Quest."

Me: "Please conduct all future correspondence in writing."

Drone: "I beg your pardon?"

Me: "I've taken advice and I'm exercising my legal right to request that all future correspondence be done in writing."

Drone (without pausing): "Is that Mr.[me]....."

<click>

How did I do? My heart was thumping for ages afterwards but I feel like I've taken the first step towards standing up to them.

You did the right thing - they'll soon get used to it and so will you.

Regards.

Fred

[mr.ton]

Originally Posted by Mockenrue

Thanks Fred, will do. That's pretty much what I'd planned to do after reading lots of threads on here started by folks in a similar situation to my own. Thanks anyway though - there's no such thing as too much good advice.

Funnily enough, just after I got home to check this thread the CQ drone called my house. I had to answer it as my housemate was in and he is unaware of my situation. The conversation went like this:

Me: "Hello?"

Drone: "Hello, could I speak with Mr.[me] please?"

Me: "Who's calling please?"

Drone: "Mr.Craig."

Me: "From?"

Drone: "Cap Quest."

Me: "Please conduct all future correspondence in writing."

Drone: "I beg your pardon?"

Me: "I've taken advice and I'm exercising my legal right to request that all future correspondence be done in writing."

Drone (without pausing): "Is that Mr.[me]....."

<click>

How did I do? My heart was thumping for ages afterwards but I feel like I've taken the first step towards standing up to them.

Dont worry...eventually you'll be moving onto my level of being able to tell them to f off on the phone

[Robot_roo]

Originally Posted by mr.ton

Dont worry...eventually you'll be moving onto my level of being able to tell them to f off on the phone

I have been trying to stop doing that mr.ton!!!

[mr.ton]

Originally Posted by Robot_roo

I have been trying to stop doing that mr.ton!!!

Its to be encouaged as far as im concerned

[berrylover]

Well done. I was in the same boat, took a while for me to even send CCA's because I had been brought up to pay your share. Then I realised with most companies I have paid my share and more. Also as a single parent I needed to focus on me and my kids. So, I have CCA'd everyone I had credit problems with, and I'm bored now cos I don't get any blooming phone calls, and resort to calling them up to wind them up. You are doing great!

[Mockenrue]

Thanks for all the replies and support guys. It really is very much appreciated.

So, which of the three CCA letter templates should I choose?

[Mockenrue]

CCA sent this morning.

No further calls received since the one I described above!

[Fred Bassett]

Originally Posted by Mockenrue