Written by John Kruse, one of the leading experts on Bailiff Law, this consumer friendly guide is essential reading for anyone who comes into contact with a bailiff.
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Im looking for advice on behalf of a friend, they received a speculative letter from a DCA asking if they were responsible for a debt relating to a credit card number, he recognised the number as an old card that expired in 2007. He believed he had paid this card off so called the DCA who said he owes about 500.00 - Barclaycard haven't written to him or sent a statement since 2007. He asked the DCA for some proof of the debt and was told they didn't hold any information.
He then telephoned Barclaycard to find out some more information and was told they couldn't provide anything as the debt has been passed on. Without really knowing what to do next we sent a CCA request to the DCA in September.
They returned our correspondance and told us they would no longer pursue and the file has be returned to Barclaycard. The next thing received was a letter allegedly from Barclaycard (it wasn't on headed paper) thanking him for the request but they couldn't find his account. Together with the letter was copies of the correspondance with the DCA which featured all the account information several times, at this point I had to wonder if it was Barclaycard we were dealing with at all.
He then received a letter from another DCA asking for payment. We wrote to them with details of everything that had gone before, they said they would contact Barclaycard for the relevant information and have them forward it to us. This was 2 weeks ago - my friend checked his bank on Friday and Barclaycard has taken the money without warning or permission. We called them today and they said that they are able to do this as this is what my friend had signed up for.
Please forgive me if this is a bit of a ramble, my friend is happy to pay them if indeed he owes this money, he only ever wanted to see proof of how this amount has been reached.
Is there anything we can do?
Thanks...
Just thought I should add that his account is a Barclays account - we presume that is how they managed to deduct the money, he has not made a payment to Barclay Card from this account, he has not given them his bank details.
Unfortunately one of the arcane rules of banking is the "right to offset" this basically means if you owe them, they can take it from your current or savings account.
If your friend sent all his letters by recorded delivery then with that evidence that he has attempted to find out what the debt is for prior to them "snatching" the money without providing that proof should be in a formal complaint to Barclaycard in the first instance.
Whenever you have a debt with a bank its always recommended you create a parachute account somewhere else to safeguard your money.
IMPORTANT: Please take my advice in the spirit it is given and on the basis that I am expressing my opinion, These opinions are not endorsed by CAG in anyway and are offered informally without prejudice or warranty of any kind. These opinions are solely based upon the knowledge I've gained from this fantastic site and life in general. I have NO legal training.
You'll not easily get the money back that they've taken.
So, you should send BC a SAR to see what penalty charges and/or mis-sold PPI have been charged to the a/c. You can reclaim charges in full with interest on top.
Any help and advice is offered in good faith, based solely on my own knowledge and on experience gathered from this site. I am not qualified to offer legal or financial advice, which you should seek from an expert before making any important decisions. My opinions are therefore offered without liability.
HELP - Barclaycard
asking if they were responsible for a debt relating to a credit card number, he recognised the number as an old card that expired in 2007. He believed he had paid this card off so called the DCA who said he owes about 500.00 - Barclaycard haven't written to him or sent a statement since 2007. He asked the DCA for some proof of the debt and was told they didn't hold any information.
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