Marshal Wards & Some Company called Moorcroft

[laineynic]

After dealing with Marshal Wards for about 3 years I have had nothing but problems for the last 8 months. I bought some goods on a buy now paylater over the internet and according to Marshal Wards I never requested the goods to be paid this way.

After an exchange of emails and phone calls I felt I was getting no where so I began paying them. I made payments of £30 - £40 thinking this as enough. After about 3 months I received a staement advsing me that I was in arrears and that I should pay or my account would be reffered to a debt collecting agency.

I rang tham and spoke to them - (not helpful at all). I made arrangements to continue payng my £40 per month.

We moved house in October and it was chaos - I was 2 weeks lat in making the payments to them. Then out of the blue in November I got a letter from a company called Moorcroft. So i contacted Marshall Wards and they said to me that they can't speak to them about my account and that I need to speak to Moorcroft.

Not happy with this I wrote a letter to M/W telling them that I have been making payments to them and I don't intend paying a company I have never heard of. I offered to up my payments to clear my balance quicker and thought end of story. MW and me have always had a good relationship they would surely listen to me.

No - 2 weeks ago I got another letter from Moorcroft saying thank you for your offer of payment and I should continue to make payments of £50.

So I made my last payment on the 17th December - today I received a letter from Moorcroft saying "Our records show that you have defaulted on your agreemtn to pay £50.00 per month with the result you are now in arrears of £50.00. Er no I paid Marshal Wards £50.00 on the 17th December.

If any one can give me advise on hat to do next it would be appreciated. Do I have to pay Moorcoft or can I still pay M/W DIRECT.

M/W seem so unapproachable these days and no one seems to listen.

[jamesbond]

god i love these moorcroft chimps..they really do take the pis$.
first of all can you establish what this debt is for, as in is it a consumer credit agreement you have signed, or is it a catalogue debt? this is important as if it is a catalogue debt it is very unlikely you have signed an agreement and the debt will not stand up in court.
next we need to remember that moorcroft are a debt collection company and have no powers to do anything at all without a court authority. full stop.
if moorcroft dont have your phone number for gods sake dont let them have it they will send you barmy.
post me details on what the loan is about and how much etc and i will do my best to help you get this under control...
007

[laineynic]

The amount outstanding iss for £593.39 and it was for catalogue goods. Clothes, stuff for the house etc.

Since moving I have a new number which is x-directory so I won't give them this phone number.

My husband is worried that these guys will ruin our credit rating and wants me to pay them asap. I don't want to pay them as I have never been involved with them.

[jamesbond]

ok..first i would suggest that you have already been defaulted on your credit file as it is not normally passed to a debt collector until a default has been issued. send a £1 p.o off to the credit reference agencies to check this out.it is not unusual for this bunch to apply defaults with out writing and informing you in the correct manner

i read that you ordered some of this on the internet so without full details i cannot be sure if you have signed anything as there is provision for electronic acceptance in the cca.

i would imagine that there are unlawful charges applied to the account as you have stated that they informed you of late payments?
we first need to establish if the debt they have can be enforced and also if any charges have been applied that are unlawful, as you will want to reclaim those and also it is the first line of defence to get the account in dispute, this allows time to address all the info requirements you need and enable you to establish what portion if any of the debt is correct, and also in this case allow you breathing space to get the debt paid off at your pace.

if you have statements for all your transactions and charge details this will help alot, failing which you will need to get them off marshall wards via a subject access request, and look to see if any late payment charges have been applied.

you will also need to do a request under the cca asking for a copy of the signed credit agreement and send them a £1. this should be done straight away and sent to marshall wards and you will then see in 12 working days if they hold a signed agreement or not or if they have electronic agreement via the internet, this needs to be sent recorded delivery.

next send a letter to moorcroft informing them you acknowlege no debt to them and any debt you may hold with marshal ward is being disputed.
do not pay moorcroft any money whilst this is going on, if you feel you still hold a debt with marshal ward and wish to pay them directly that is your call.
but do not enter into a payment agreement with moorcroft while the debt is being disputed.

if you do choose to carry on paying marsall ward, write and tell them that you will pay them directly at the agreed amount whislt this account dispute is being addressed.

there are plenty of posts on moorcroft and you can read these and put your mind at rest they will threaten and harrass but fear not they hold very little fire.

if the debt is in dispute it should suspend any further actions on it whilst this dispute is open, again this gives you time to address the debt or take any other actions you feel are required.

in this case i would imagine that moorcroft are only acting as collectors of the debt on behalf of mw, and have not purchased the debt, so follow the route i have laid out and keep us posted of what transpires..

usually moorcroft will continue to write and send threatening demand letters despite what agreement you make with mw, file them away and ignor them whilst you settle the dispute. remember they only make money if you pay them directly.

mw cannot refuse to take your payments no matter what they say, and as long as moorcroft have not purchased the debt which they have to disclose if asked, nothing can happen further for the near future..

any more help feel free to ask...
and have a happy christmas...it really is nothing to worry about.

[laineynic]

Hi

Thank you for the info which has opened my eyes I thought I was going to have to pay moorcroft.

You advise me to send a cca letter to mw can you tell me where I can find this template then I can do it today.

Cheers
Lainey

[chezt]

Originally Posted by jamesbond

if the debt is in dispute it should suspend any further actions on it whilst this dispute is open, again this gives you time to address the debt or take any other actions you feel are required.

Do you have anything i can use to back this up to enforce Littlewoods not to continue with the default they are threatening? I've already commenced proceedings but the letter I used before is no good as apparantly it only applies to banks (ie the banking code quote) Here is the link to my thread if you can help
http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk...catalogue.html

Originally Posted by laineynic

You advise me to send a cca letter to mw can you tell me where I can find this template then I can do it today.

Cheers
Lainey

here is what I used for Littlewoods (I nicked bits from everywhere!!!) There are lots more around which may be more suited to your own claim but feel free to beg, borrow n steal if it helps!

'DATE

Consumer Credit Act 1974 s78 (1) Demand

Dear Sir/Madam,

ACCOUNT NUMBER: xxxxxx

With reference to the above account, please supply me with a true copy of the credit agreement under which this account is conducted.

I understand that under the legislation contained within s.78 (1) Consumer Credit Act 1974 (s.78 (1) for running – account credit) I am entitled to receive a copy of the credit agreement on request - your obligation also extends to providing a statement of account. I enclose a payment of £1.00 which represents the statutory fee payable under the Consumer Credit Act. Also, I am aware that you are obliged to supply these documents within 12 days.

You are notified that you are obliged to supply these documents, under S189 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974. I understand that under the Consumer Credit Act, creditors are unable to enforce an agreement if they fail to comply with a request for a copy of the agreement under these sections of the Act.

Non-compliance with my request is a criminal offence under the above Act and will result in a report being submitted to the relevant statutory authorities.

As you are aware, a credit agreement that is not properly documented and signed by the customer is totally unenforceable under the CCA and therefore is a complete defence to any court claim that is issued.

Furthermore you are reminded that under s78 sub section (6) whilst the default continues you are not entitled to enforce the agreement in law

I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours faithfully

chezt
Enc - £1.00 Payment'

ps - hope u don't mind me hijacking your thread!

[laineynic]

Just received another letter from Moorcroft - that is 3 since last week. So I rang them.

The guy I spoke to said that unless I begin to make payments to them from today they will have alternative that to issue court proceedings. I told them that I am disputing this account and he told me that yes they had received the letters, but it made no diffeence as the debt had now been passed to them and that I had to pay Moorcroft.

I told him to forget it as far as I was concerned the debt was with Marshall Wards and that was who I was paying.

He told me that they had not received any payments since 19th october 2006. I told him that was funny because I hadn't sent him any payments and also that I had been making regular payments to Mw.

I think I should just pay it. I don't want a ccj from them. I have struggled for the last 18 mponths trying to sort this out and I am tired of it.

I though banks were bad but these companies are ruthless and don't give a s**t. I really want to fight them but I just don't have the energy any more.

i

[steve5080]

Hang on in there. My wife had a Littlewoods account passed to Moorcroft but when she told them she was not paying because she had retund an item back in Feb which they had not credited, they backed off a returned it to Littlewoods. I am about to go for Littlewoods as they have acknowlegde in their "statement of events" (send in responce to Subject Access Request) the debit is in dipute, not that that stoped then defulting the account. Keep the faith, and good luck, there are lots of people here who will help you all the way.

[maxibon]

Originally Posted by laineynic

Just received another letter from Moorcroft - that is 3 since last week. So I rang them.

The guy I spoke to said that unless I begin to make payments to them from today they will have alternative that to issue court proceedings. I told them that I am disputing this account and he told me that yes they had received the letters, but it made no diffeence as the debt had now been passed to them and that I had to pay Moorcroft.

I told him to forget it as far as I was concerned the debt was with Marshall Wards and that was who I was paying.

He told me that they had not received any payments since 19th october 2006. I told him that was funny because I hadn't sent him any payments and also that I had been making regular payments to Mw.

Did they specifically state they WILL take you to court?

They have to put any cases on hold that are in dispute so I would write to them or email them via moorcroft website ( enter your ref ) then state it is to be put on hold till further notice. Usually they will only do this for 2 weeks to 1 month so dont be suprised if you have to ask them again to do this.

Speak to a manager Dawn Mcguire if you have no luck.

I think I should just pay it. I don't want a ccj from them. I have struggled for the last 18 mponths trying to sort this out and I am tired of it.

They need specific details in order to issue a CCJ i.e if you are working and homeowner or they generally wont bother. Its not worth their time unless they have this info and the debt is around £10k etc

I think its worth looking into the templates and you could send them Template A but adapt it to show you are 'in dispute' rather than 'seeking advice and assistance regarding our current financial difficulties'.
Its located at

Thanks to Barracad for this. Ask that they send you written conf that the account is on hold as they wont automatically do this.

[Laiste]

Hi,

As far as I'm concerned, catalogue debts are unenforceable. These sort of agreements generally work on the basis that they will provide goods, in return for a percentage pmt of the total goods value at a usually exploitative interest rate. This is a type of credit agreement. A credit agreement is only enforceable through the Court and in the absence of the agreement, they cannot enforce it. Neither can they apply for a CCJ. They have to commence proceedings, go through the whole legal process and only if they won and you couldn't pay, would they be able to do that!

I haven't paid a penny to a catalogue company for about 7-8mnths. They have threatened me with Court, involved DCA's for more threats and imminent Court action. Did any of it amount to anything? No! A threat starts to lose its impact when its repeated 20 times a week!

Something that is very important to remember, is that when you add up the penalty charges levied to your account and interest added on top, harassment and threats from the company and DCA's employed by them, you have a substantial claim against them, which would probably end up wiping out the debt anyway! As I have said to others, let them make mistakes and do and say things they shouldn't. Make a note of the frequency of calls, jot down details and names and before you know it, you will have compiled a dossier against them! Keep all letters also!

Get all details of notes on the account, anything wrong, or defamatory can be used against them. Force them to provide you with a copy of the contract and the terms and conditions of the agreement(v. important). It is almost a certainty that any contract's t&c's will be totally biased in their favour and in all probability will contravene the Consumer Contract Regulations 1999, more ammunition to use against them! These companies can be beaten, you can even get your money back in certain circumstances, you just have to be prepared to do a little digging to find things to use in your fight!

Don't be intimidated by these morons, I have found that if you hit back, either down the phone or by letter(be careful what you say however) they back off! There is nothing they hate more than someone who is familiar with the law and isn't afraid to point out the unlawfulness of their actions. They like to prey on easy targets, people they can frighten with threats about the consequences of failing to pay.The chances of a catalogue company going to Court in my humble opinion is remote.

In letters I have written, which I must admit I have taken sadistic pleasure in, I've practically begged the catalogue company to take me to Court. Even saying that I am really looking forward to receiving the papers, so that I can respond with a very lengthy counter-claim! They don't know what to do with such letters, so they go quiet for a couple of months and then send pretty much the same letter, with the same old threats and so we repeat the process! Having advised them that under no circumstances whasoever will I ever be paying the debt, you think they would have started legal action. I'm still waiting........

Hope this helps!

Laiste.

[chezt]

Originally Posted by chezt

Do you have anything i can use to back this up to enforce Littlewoods not to continue with the default they are threatening? I've already commenced proceedings but the letter I used before is no good as apparantly it only applies to banks (ie the banking code quote) Here is the link to my thread if you can help
http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk...catalogue.html

Just came back to say it doesn't matter about this bit now as I'm gonna use the 'Statutory Notice pursuant to Sections 10 & 12 of The Data Protection Act 1998/Data Subject Notice' as advised by me mate willowb .... good luck with your claim!

[laineynic]

Just can't believe it - today I have received a ltter from Shop Direct Financial Services - in the leetr it says We have enclosed a true copy of your agreement with Shop Direct Finance Services ltd - Not enclosed.

It goes on to say that I opened my account in 2004 amd to date the balance is £582.39 - Since October I have been paying £50.00 per month the first letter I received from Moorcroft was on the 20th october the balance was £582.39. So basically SDFS are saying I have paid nothing of my account in 5 months.

The parting sentence is - we look forward to receiving confirmation that liability for this debt is not disouted together with your proposals for payment of the outstanding balance.

God knows where my money is going.