OP here, quick update: - Despite several written requests in the appropriate format, Aktiv Kapital (AK) have refused to provide the required statutory information to prove the debt. They have in fact returned the statutory fees with a letter stating they are unable to supply the information requested due to insufficient information on their part, and that we should contact them by telephone to discuss the matter (fat chance) - Letter sent to Experian (CRA) requesting removal of the offending adverse entry from their credit reference records. Experian replied refusing the request, stating that AK, having themselves inputted the adverse entry (!!) the are the only ones who can remove it, and that Experian were only able to enter a "notice of dispute" on their record which expires after 30 days (note to self - Experian in bed with AK, country is totally and irredeemably corrupt, Gordon Brown in need of new moral compass) Experian helpfully (not!) suggested we ring AK by telephone to resolve the dispute (fat chance) - Letter sent to Information Commissioner's Office making complaint under Data Protection Act against AK and Experian in light of the above. Reply received basically stating that they're not interested - Letter sent to local Trading Standards Department complaining about AK & Experian. They replied stating that they will write to AK demanding either disclosure of statutory information to prove debt or removal of adverse entry from Experian's records - Further letter received from Trading Standards Department, informing us that AK have ignored their letters that they are big mad about this and that they have therefore referred the the case to the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) - Letter received from OFT stating that they have received the complaint from Trading Standards and will be pursuing an investigation against AK concerning breaches of the relevant Code of Practice and their fitness to hold their Consumer Credit Licence :D - Further Credit Report requested from Experian - discovered that the adverse entry by AK has mysteriously been removed Tested current creditworthiness in light of this by applying for a new credit card online. - Letter from credit card company received in response to online application for credit card. Guess what? Refused due to adverse entry on Experian's records Letter sent to Experian asking for an explanation and a copy of the report disclosed to lenders, not the censored rubbish they fob off onto consumers and have the cheek to charge a fee for - awaits reply. - Further letter received from OFT requesting consent to use documents as evidence in OFT investigation. They also said that they are unable to take on our individual case and advised us to seek formal legal advice from a solicitor with a view to forcing AK either to disclose statutory information to prove the debt or remove the adverse entry from Experian's records So, can anybody suggest good solicitors specialising in consumer law who would be willing to take this one on? Class action, anyone?

I was already thinking that legal action might ultimately be the only way a remedy can be obtained here. What would the basis for it be?

I agree with your sentiments, only problem is that in my sister's case, the evil empire that is AK placed an adverse entry on her credit reference agency records - this without having proved the debt! Then, to rub it in, (and despite clearly having sufficient information to make the adverse CRA entry), they claim that they cannot comply with the CCA as they have "insufficient information" to supply the requested documents! Utter (and probably highly illegal) disgrace. Complaints to CRA, local Trading Standards Dept. and Data Commissioner's Office have been made. Be interesting to see whether these complaints procedures are anything more than window-dressing...

You need to crawl back under the rock marked "Aktiv Kapital" that you came from, mate. Hope AK are paying you well for trolling these forums.

Thanks very much for that ScarletPimpernel. Someone has passed me the following standard letter; would you say that this is appropriate (and legally current enough) to send to AK in the light of your comments? If so, what would you add to it to take into account CPUTR 2008? Dear Sir or Madam, Account no ACCOUNT IN DISPUTE Re: my request under the Consumer Credit Act 1974 Thank you for your letter dated ........, the contents of which are noted Your attention is drawn to the fact that this account is subject to a serious dispute. On ......... I requested that ........... supply me a copy of the credit agreement covering this account pursuant to the Consumer Credit Act 1974 section 78. To date ........... have failed to comply with my request. Without production of the said agreement I am unable to assess if I am indeed liable for any alleged debt to .............., nor does it give me any chance to evaluate whether any original agreement was ‘properly executed’ as required by the Consumer Credit Act 1974. For the avoidance of any doubt I have included section 78(1) and 78(6) of the Consumer Credit Act 1974, which states… 78 Duty to give information to debtor under running-account credit agreement (1) The creditor under a regulated agreement for running-account credit, within the prescribed period after receiving a request in writing to that effect from the debtor and payment of a fee of [£1], shall give the debtor a copy of the executed agreement (if any) and of any other document referred to in it, together with a statement signed by or on behalf of the creditor showing, according to the information to which it is practicable for him to refer,— (a) the state of the account, and (b) the amount, if any, currently payable under the agreement by the debtor to the creditor, and © the amounts and due dates of any payments which, if the debtor does not draw further on the account, will later become payable under the agreement by the debtor to the creditor. (6) If the creditor under an agreement fails to comply with subsection (1)— (a) he is not entitled, while the default continues, to enforce the agreement; Clearly as no agreement was supplied on request, this in no way complies with the requirements of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 and I now draw your attention to section 78 subsection 6 which states If the creditor under an agreement fails to comply with subsection (1) he is not entitled, while the default continues, to enforce the agreement; Clearly this is a situation as described in S.78(6) Consumer Credit Act 1974 and the debt is unenforceable at this time. In addition, I draw your attention to section 127 (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 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. To clarify S.61(1) states (1)A regulated agreement is not properly executed unless— (a) a document in the prescribed form itself containing all the prescribed terms and conforming to regulations under section 60(1) is signed in the prescribed manner both by the debtor or hirer and by or on behalf of the creditor or owner, and (b) the document embodies all the terms of the agreement, other than implied terms, and © The document is, when presented or sent to the debtor or hirer for signature, in such a state that all its terms are readily legible In addition the prescribed terms referred to in section 60 CCA1974 are contained in schedule 6 column 2 of the Consumer Credit (Agreements) Regulations 1983 (SI 1983/1553) and are inter alia: - A term stating the credit limit or the manner in which it will be determined or that there is no credit limit, A term stating the rate of any interest on the credit to be provided under the agreement and A term stating how the debtor is to discharge his obligations under the agreement to make the repayments, which may be expressed by reference to a combination of any of the following— 1.Number of repayments; 2.Amount of repayments; 3.Frequency and timing of repayments; 4.Dates of repayments; 5.The manner in which any of the above may be determined; or in any other way, and any power of the creditor to vary what is payable Therefore based upon the Consumer Credit Act 1974 this debt as it stands is unenforceable and should this proceed to litigation, a court is precluded from making an enforcement order under section 127(3) unless a true copy of the signed agreement is produced.. At the point where this account entered into the default situation as described in s78 (6) CCA 1974 no other charges are allowed to be added until such time as ............... become compliant with my request. As ................ are still not in compliance with my request I insist that the following takes place with immediate effect All entries which refer to missed payments be removed from my credit file All collection activities cease with immediate effect until ............. comply with my request from .date........... or such time as a court makes an enforcement order In addition, 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 What I Require. I require that you send me a true copy of the executed agreement as required by the Consumer Credit Act 1974. If you are unable to supply the requested documentation because no such agreement is in existence I require written clarification as such. I require that you comply with my request within 7 days of the date of this letter. I will not correspond any further with you until I either receive a copy of the requested documents as laid down in section 78(1) CCA 74 or clarification that such agreement doesn’t exist. I am advised that should you persist in pursuing this debt ignoring the above information you will be in breach of the Administration of Justice Act 1970 section 40 as well No other correspondence will be accepted Should you attempt litigation it will be vigorously defended and the failure to supply documentation under the CCA 1974 is a complete defence to any legal action and your actions will be vexatious and unlawful I trust this out lines the situation Regards

OK, a quick update. After sending the approved letter giving them the statutory 12 days to provide copies of the executed agreement, statement of account and deed of assignment, Aktiv Kapital have written back today (outside the statutory 12 day period). They state that they have "insufficient information" to be able to comply with the request for documents, and will therefore not be supplying them. They ask to be contacted on a telephone number "to discuss your request and obtain further information". Needless to say, I smell a rat. It seems to me that Aktiv are playing a cynical game, trying to get out of their legal obligation to supply the documents by claiming they are unable to do so due to lack of information on their part, despite already having sufficient information available to them to write letters claiming the money and make an adverse credit reference agency entry against my sister. Surely the onus is on Aktiv to prove the alleged debt by supplying any documentary proof in support, and that it is not for my sister to help them prove it? I strongly suspect that Aktiv cannot provide the documents to prove the debt because they simply don't have them, and they are instead trying to get my sister to contact them in order to draw her into their "system" and trap her with their well-practised call-centre patter into accepting a debt she does not acknowledge and which they cannot prove. My sister is understandably not prepared to engage with Aktiv any further and therefore proposes to send all the correspondence in the matter to the credit reference agency with a covering letter asking them to remove the adverse entry, and copy everything to the local trading standards department asking them to consider prosecution of Aktiv under the CCA for failing to disclose the relevant documents. Any further advice or comments on the above would be much appreciated.

I am in the process of selling my house with a view to emigrating. I took out a Discounted Variable Rate mortgage with the Chorley & District Building Society (CDBS) in 2006, with first year discount of 2.25%, second year 1.25% and third year (current discount) of 1.05%. In the small print of the Terms & Conditions, there is mention of an "Early Repayment Charge" (ERC) of 6.30% of the original loan amount, amounting to a charge of approx. £5,300 if the mortgage is repaid within 6 years of drawdown. This ERC seems to me to be rather excessive and more than what I would regard as fair and reasonable contractual compensation for CDBS in respect of the reduced rates in the early years of the loan, particularly bearing in mind the short period of the loan and the collapse of interest rates of late. I would have no problem paying a lesser amount in fair compensation, but from reputation, CDBS are unlikely to be willing to negotiate. I would welcome any informed views and advice concerning my prospects of challenging this ERC, either in full or in part. Many thanks in anticipation. S.

Correct, no knowledge of any debt, no CCJ, nothing. Completely clear credit reference agency record prior to this latest entry.

My sister has received one of the Thames Credit/Aktiv Kapital "out of the blue" letters claiming that she has a debt dating back to 2003. I'm just about to assist her with the usual CCA letter requesting the original credit agreement etc. in order to confirm whether the alleged debt is in fact enforceable and/or statute barred. I'm aware of the usual advice that if the company do not reply/fail to provide the information, she need do nothing as the debt will be unenforceable by the company. However, the difference here is that Thames Credit/Aktiv Kapital have already recorded a default against my sister's Experian credit record in respect of this alleged debt. Therefore, doing nothing is not an option even if the company fail to comply with their disclosure obligations, as she will have to do something to get the offending entry removed from the credit reference agencies' records. Has anyone else had experience of this? Is this a new tactic by our friends at Thames/Aktiv? Any advice much appreciated. Many thanks. S.