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CCA Request letter - Overview of situation and clarification needed
Hi,
I have been reading these forums with interest for the past 2 days and picked up some great free advice and there appear to be a great number of very helpful people here
I have decided to write to most of my creditors and request a CCA using the template provided here, however I would be very grateful for clarification on a few points.
Firstly I will give a rough outline of my situation, whilst at university my debt problems started as I managed to acquire 8 credit cards with a pretty high total credit limit. Since leaving university 2 years ago I added to my debts and managed them for a while but soon the minimum payments became too much to manage given my wage and the interest added made things worse. I wrote to most of them and some were cooperative but eventually after failing to stick to plans I contacted a debt managment company and went through them for almost a year. Then last september I basically stopped paying anything as things were still a strain. I will write a brief summary of each of my creditors and who is dealing with the debts, I believe the total amounts to £35000. I believe most have issued me with default notices, etc. Please also note that I don't own my own property and am living with a parent.
Barclays - Owe student overdraft amount, got papers from county court, sent income and expenditure and a £20 per month payment was agreed, have stuck to this for the past 5 months and happy to continue with this.
Goldfish - Very little communication from them, letter received from Cabot a few months back telling me they now own the debt. No payment made since september 2007.
Marbles - Now in the hands of 1st credit, though a letter recently received from Connaught Collections UK Ltd telling me they intend to issue a Statutory Demand under the insolvency act. Again, no payment made since paying marbles september 2007.
Barclaycard - Hassled daily by Mercers, no payment made since september 2007.
Cahoot - got a £13000 loan with them. It has been passed on to Moorcroft and I made one payment to them in february but since then nothing.
MBNA - no payment since september 2007, noww in the hands of Link Financial
Abbey (MBNA) - very little communication, still being dealt with by them I believe.
CapitalOne - Letters from them, now in the hands of CapQuest. Sent me a letter saying they will take a settlement for a 70% payment of the debt.
Monument - the calls have stopped for the past two months.
Lloyds TSB - Recent letter from Sechiari, Clark and Mitchell Solicitors.
I want to point out that if a valid CCA is produced by any company then I accept and am happy to deal with them and work out a payment plan.
My questions are:
1) When sending the letter is it sent to the current DCA dealing with the debt and/or the original creditor?
2) Who is the postal order of £1 payable to? The DCA or creditor?
3) What happens if the CCA is not forthcoming in 42 days? I understand the debt is unenforceable in these cases but does that just mean that I won't hear from them again and the debt will disappear after a year?
4) If the CCA is not produced and they hassle me then I report them to the OFT?
5) If they can't produce a CCA can they still sell on the debt to another company? If this is the case do I just repeat the CCA request process with the new DCA?
Thanks in advance for any help received and please ask me if any further info. on any of the debts is required.
I tried to cooperate with every one but financially it became too much and the now constant barrage of calls, particularly from Mercers is becoming unbearable!!!
Re: CCA Request letter - Overview of situation and clarification needed
First NEVER talk to these "people" on the phone as they will try and get you to agree to anything.
Before you even think about making any sort of acknowledgement or payment to a DCA you MUST ensure that they have the LEGAL right to collect the debt.
This is achieved by requesting a copy of the Signed, Executed Credit Agreement via a Consumer Credit Act (CCA) request.
There is a template letter to be found here: http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk...templates.html
Letter N.
Is it important to start the letter:
I DO NOT ACKNOWLEDGE ANY DEBT TO YOUR COMPANY in Big Bold letters.
It is best to send this request via recorded/special delivery as there are some important deadlines to observe.
After 12 WORKING days the "debt" is in default and stays that way until the request is complied with.
If a FURTHER month passes then the DCA has committed a summary criminal offence and the matter should be referred to Trading Standards for action once the DCA continues to demand payment.
I hope this clarifies some things.
Right now to answer your questions:
1/ Send it to who ever is demanding payment.
2/ see 1
3/ It's NOT 42 days but 12 WORKING days + a calendar month, see above
4/ see above
5/ No, but it does happen all too often. Once you have CCA'd a debt there is no need to do it again, this would result in CCA confetti.
My main aim of a CCA request is to have the debt returned to the original creditor for action, either F&F's or otherwise.
Re: CCA Request letter - Overview of situation and clarification needed
Thanks Curlyben for your advice and answers to my questions.
Funnily enough I know someone who currently works for 1st credit and he informed me of a lot of the shady practices these companies indulge in and how they try to trick debtors. It has certainly opened my eyes up!
Re: CCA Request letter - Overview of situation and clarification needed
Originally Posted by underdog13
Hi Poolio,
could you please share these 'shady practices' with us? An inside scoop on these people could be invaluable.
Sorry for the very slow reply! Were you researching for Panorama by any chance!?
My friend told me that phone operators were encouraged to scare people, by threatening legal action they were never going to take and were always told to get as much money as they could from people even if they couldn't afford it, standard stuff really.
I can't remember everything anymore but I know he also said some people had set up big direct debits amounts, had finished paying off their debts, 1st credit knew this but never cancelled the transactions instead continuing to receive payments until the customer realised!
Re: CCA Request letter - Overview of situation and clarification needed
There you have it - straight from the horse's mouth.
My friend told me that phone operators were encouraged to scare people, by threatening legal action they were never going to take and were always told to get as much money as they could from people even if they couldn't afford it, standard stuff really.
Standard stuff it may be, but thousands still fall for it every single day. I know we sound like a broken record on here at times, but if you ever needed to know WHY you should never engage these muppets on the telephone, you know now.
I can't remember everything anymore but I know he also said some people had set up big direct debits amounts, had finished paying off their debts, 1st credit knew this but never cancelled the transactions instead continuing to receive payments until the customer realised!
Direct debits should NEVER be set up with any organization you cannot trust. And I can't think of any organization in this world I trust less than debt collectors, unless you consider that shower in Westminster to be an organization.
I would like to ask the Westminster Wasters what benefit they think the electorate they are responsible to gains from the existence of organizations which indulge in such practices.
SH
All opinions of ScabHunter are offered in good faith and believed to be accurate and true. Please note, though, that I have no legal training and am human like the rest of us (except the DCA trolls).
If you have received court papers, PLEASE POST EARLY. We can help, but only if we are within the timescales.
I am happy to receive PMs (and friendship requests!), but if you want me to look at your thread please leave a link to it.
If I have been helpful, please feel free to click the old scales!
Re: CCA Request letter - Overview of situation and clarification needed
Originally Posted by Poolio
I can't remember everything anymore but I know he also said some people had set up big direct debits amounts, had finished paying off their debts, 1st credit knew this but never cancelled the transactions instead continuing to receive payments until the customer realised!
Further to this my friend told me that one customer realised that he had been paying back 1st Credit too much and had cleared his balance and also paid a good few hundred pounds extra, he asked for it back and 1st Credit refused!
Re: CCA Request letter - Overview of situation and clarification needed
Originally Posted by Poolio
Further to this my friend told me that one customer realised that he had been paying back 1st credit too much and had cleared his balance and also paid a good few hundred pounds extra, he asked for it back and 1st Credit refused!
I can quite believe it. Is it not time, really well past time, that someone in authority began to question whether this is the right way to run an ethical business?
And that doesn't even consider the simple fact that this entire "business model" produces no products or services of any value to anyone, and that anyone involved in it is simply living at the expense of everyone else.
SH
All opinions of ScabHunter are offered in good faith and believed to be accurate and true. Please note, though, that I have no legal training and am human like the rest of us (except the DCA trolls).
If you have received court papers, PLEASE POST EARLY. We can help, but only if we are within the timescales.
I am happy to receive PMs (and friendship requests!), but if you want me to look at your thread please leave a link to it.
If I have been helpful, please feel free to click the old scales!
CCA Request letter - Overview of situation and clarification needed
amount, got papers from county court
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Originally Posted by underdog13
