Alter to suite. Send a copy
Mercers Debt Collections Ltd PO Box 55 Liverpool L32 8XX DO NOT IGNORE THIS LETTER
I note that you are acting as agents to Barclaycard therefore I draw your attention to the facts below.
This account is in Dispute.
In October 2006 and again On ********* I wrote to Barclaycard requesting that they supply me with a true copy of the executed credit agreement for this account.
In response to this request I was supplied a mere application form which did not comply with the requirements of the Consumer Credit Act 1974.
The document sent purporting to be a credit agreement does not contain any of the prescribed terms as required by section 60(1) Consumer Credit Act 1974. The Consumer Credit (Agreements) Regulations 1983 (SI 1983/1553) made under the authority of the “1974 Act” sets out what the prescribed terms are, I refer you to Schedule 6 Column 2 of SI 1983/1553 for the definition of what is required. Suffice to say none of the terms are present in the document
Since this document does not contain the required prescribed terms it is rendered unenforceable by s127 (3) consumer Credit Act 1974, which
states 127(3) The court shall not make an enforcement order under section 65(1) if section 61(1)(a)(signing of agreements) was not complied with unless a document (whether or not in the prescribed form and complying with regulations under section 60(1)) itself containing all the prescribed terms of the agreement was signed by the debtor or hirer (whether or not in the prescribed manner). This situation is backed by case law from the Lords of Appeal in Ordinary (House of Lords) the highest court in the land. Your attention is drawn to the authority of the House of Lords in Wilson-v- FCT [2003] All ER (D) 187 (Jul) which confirms that where a document does not contain the required terms under the Consumer Credit Act 1974 the agreement cannot be enforced.
In addition should you continue to pursue me for this debt you will be in breach of the OFT guidelines, I draw your attention to the Office of Fair Trading’s guidance on debt collection
The OFT guidance which was issued July 2003 (updated December 2006) relating to debt collections and what the OFT considers unfair, I have enclosed an excerpt from page 5 of the guidance which states
2.6 Examples of unfair practices are as follows: h. Ignoring and/or disregarding claims that debts have been settled or are disputed and continuing to make unjustified demands for payment
In addition to the above, I note you sent me a Default Notice under S87 (1) Consumer Credit Act 1974 dated 24/08/2007. I am sure you are aware a Default Notice is needed before a creditor can terminate the agreement or demand repayment. However the default must be accurate and comply with the Consumer Credit (Enforcement, Default and Termination Notices) Regulations 1983 (SI 1983/1561). The document purporting to be a Statutory Default Notice does not comply with the requirements of regulation 2(2) SI 1983/1561 and schedule 2 of the same document for the following reasons
Firstly; the document does not state the name and postal address of the creditor. I note that your address is present; you are not the creditor under this agreement. Also the document does not sufficiently state the nature of the breach and term of the agreement, which has been breached. Also the statutory terms, which are required to be capitalized, are not
For example
“IF THE ACTION REQUIRED BY THIS NOTICE IS TAKEN BEFORE THE DATE SHOWN NO FURTHER ENFORCEMENT ACTION WILL BE TAKEN IN RESPECT OF THE BREACH ”
Or
“IF YOU DO NOT TAKE THE ACTION REQUIRED BY THIS NOTICE BEFORE THE DATE SHOWN THEN THE FURTHER ACTION SET OUT BELOW MAY BE TAKEN AGAINST YOU [OR A SURETY]”.
However on your Default Notice these statements are shown in lower case and therefore not in compliance with the Consumer credit Act 1974 or the regulations referred to above
Also the regulations require the Default Notice to contain
a statement in the following form— "IF YOU ARE NOT SURE WHAT TO DO, YOU SHOULD GET HELP AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. FOR EXAMPLE YOU SHOULD CONTACT A SOLICITOR, YOUR LOCAL TRADING STANDARDS DEPARTMENT OR YOUR NEAREST CITIZENS' ADVICE BUREAU".
This excerpt is taken from the SI 1983/1561 itself and clearly your copy of the Default Notice does not contain this required statement either. There is a body of case law, which has confirms that where a statutory default notice issued under section 87(1) not compliant with the Consumer Credit Act 1974 and the subsequent Regulations it does not allow a creditor to terminate the agreement or demand repayment etc. In addition your attention is drawn to the fact that Failure of a default notice to be accurate not only invalidates the default notice (Woodchester Lease Management Services Ltd v Swain and Co - [2001] GCCR 2255) but is a unlawful termination of contract which would not only prevent a court enforcing any alleged debt, but give me a counter claim for damages via the ruling in the case of Kpohraror v Woolwich Building Society [1996] 4 All ER 119
Therefore you would be rather foolish to attempt to add any adverse data to my credit file while this account is subject to a
Serious Dispute
As it stands, the document supplied by Barclaycard is not a valid credit agreement nor is it enforceable by any court
What I Require
Firstly, I require all correspondence in writing from here on; any persistent attempts to contact me by phone will be reported to Trading Standards.
I require you to produce a compliant copy of my credit agreement to confirm I am liable to you or any organisation, which you represent for this alleged debt, if you cannot do so I require written clarification that this is the case. Should you ignore this request I will report you to the Office of Fair Trading to consider your suitability to hold a credit licence in addition to a complaint to Trading Standards, as you will be in breach of the Administration of Justice Act 1970 section 40
Since the agreement is unenforceable and the default notice is non compliant, it would be in everyone’s interest to consider the matter closed and for your client to write the debt off. I suggest you give serious consideration to this as any attempt of litigation will be vigorously defended and I will counter claim for all quantifiable damages.
In addition to the foregoing £82.00 was taken from my Barclays current account on the 21/12/2007 to offset arrears. I will give you 7 days to replace this amount otherwise I will start a claim in the County Court.
I respectfully request a response to this letter in 7 days
Yours Sincerely
Copy sent to Barclaycard
Re: Mercers-Barclaycard 
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