I've read through many articles on here where people are in a similar situation to myself

but I really would just like to clarify which way I should turn next.

There are a few things I'll post that I now know I shouldn't have done

but please bear with me as I try and recount everything.

I got in trouble back in 2007/2008 when the property market plummeted.

I ended up with around £50k of debt across credit cards and a loan

and found myself unable to make the repayments.

I spoke with an acquaintance who runs a debt management company

and since then have been paying £150 a month of which £125 is split amongst the 4 creditors

and the DMC take a £25 fee each month.

(I know I should be doing this myself and not paying the fee and going through the DMC

but it's been easy for the past 8 years - Now I'm trying to do something about it)!

The original debts were as follows (All originally taken out between 2002 and 2005);

EGG Credit Card - £11,500 - Now administered by Apex Credit Management

MBNA Credit Card - £15,200 - Now administered by Link Financial

Lloyds TSB Credit Card - £13,100 - Still with Lloyds TSB

Cahoot Loan - £10,600 - Now administered by Deby Managers Limited.

I had defaults for each of these which have subsequently dropped off my credit report.

My credit score has improved and my ability to get credit at a reasonable rate has also returned.

I'm getting to my main questions, please bear with me.... Just trying to fill in all the history.

I've also read about reclaiming PPI and charges but I've never tried to do this

as I'm pretty sure I've never had any PPI on any credit cards or loans over the years.

(I was in the forces so always declined PPI as the monthly payments were lower).

I've heard that PPI may have been added to credit card interest payments that people were not aware of...

. If this is the case, is it worth trying to see if I can actually reclaim anything?

Also, I've read about CCA requests to the companies currently managing my debts.

Is this something I need to be doing or will it not help matters in the slightest?

If I were to CCA the companies, am I playing with fire in the respect that they may then ask

that the debt is repaid in full

and if I fail to do so, can they issue me with a CCJ?

So, I guess my questions are, in the following order....

Should I try to reclaim any PPI?

Should I then CCA the companies currently administering my debts (Will this do any good?)

Should I send a letter offering a F and F settlement of the debts before or after I have tried to reclaim any PPI?

And finally, in the meantime, should I leave the DMP company and continue doing things myself?

Apologies for the ramblings but I hope I've covered everything. Looking forward to some good advice

Yosharoo.

Welcome to CAG

Are the amounts you have advised in your post - current balances ?

If you do not know if PPI was added without your knowledge then you would need to send a Subject Access Request to each of the original creditors.

This will cost you £10.00 for each request - although if you have more than one account with one lender - you only pay one £10.00. They have 40 calendar days in which to respond - if you had PPI then it should be shown on statements as a separate figure for credit cards and should be identified on any loan agreement as a lump sum but broken down into monthly premiums.

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?387306-Full-Subject-Access-Request-**Updated-January-2015**

This is the SAR request you should be sending ^^^^ You should send it to the original creditor at their Head/Registered office address and at the very least obtain a free proof of posting.

As for leaving the DMP - yes you can do this. I don't know if you have to give "Notice" - but it might be wise to do so. You will also need to ask them to provide an up to date account for each of the debts - showing the latest balances.

It might also be worth sending them a SAR to ensure you receive all the paperwork - which you can then cross reference with information obtained from the original creditor.

You should then write to each of the creditors advising that you are going to be self managing your DMP from DATE.

I am not sure whether you should wait for SAR data before making any further payments. I will alert others on the site team for you.

Is there likely to have been any default/penalty charges added to the accounts that you might be able to reclaim ?

Thanks CitizenB for the prompt reply!

Those figures were the original balances so they should have come down roughly £9k or so by now.

If I send a SAR to each of the original creditors and lets say that I have no PPI to reclaim. Should I then send an offer of a F and F settelment? Or, do I need to go down the CCA route first?

Many thanks.

Not sure about penalty charges

Thanks CitizenB for the prompt reply!

 

Those figures were the original balances so they should have come down roughly £9k or so by now.

 

If I send a SAR to each of the original creditors and lets say that I have no PPI to reclaim. Should I then send an offer of a F and F settelment? Or, do I need to go down the CCA route first?

 

Many thanks.

Fingers crossed, you should receive copies of any agreements within your SAR request. However, there is no harm in sending a separate CCA Request..

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?387435-CCA-Request-Consumer-Credit-Act-1974-**Updated-January-2015**%281-Viewing%29-nbsp

Statements in your SAR request should identify if there are any Default/penalty charges - as those would have been more likely added prior to the accounts being sold/assigned.

I personally wouldn't be offering F&F settlements until I was sure that the balances were correct and that there were no PPI or charges to reclaim.

CCA request to the debts with DCA's for sure

link, apex and debt managers

biggest fleecers out there

Thank you

So my way ahead is to send SARs to the original creditors and also to send CCA requests to the current DCAs.

I'll post back when I have something new.

Many thanks.

it might pay you to also SAR the DMP company..

typically the are also pooling some of your money for an F&F fund.

again typically of fee paying providers , this fund is buried deep in their T&C's.

the bottom line here is you need to dump them, and claw back whatever you can.

have you the full t&c's of when you sighed up?

Hi again everyone,

Back with an update.

After 14 business days, I have had only 1 letter back and that was from Link Financial

telling me that they don't have any information about my old debt

but will write to MBNA to get it, which will take up to 15 days.

The other 3 have all been delivered,

I checked Royal Mails track and trace and it appears they have been signed for by 2 year olds doodling on a pad!!

What course of action should I now follow please?

Many thanks.

it is your decision

but you could stop payment once the 12+2 working days have been failed by any of your fleecers.

hows the sar going?

dx

Yosharoo

- I've had thousands back in PPI.

I used to sell similar products far cheaper than banks charged so I never knowingly bought PPI.

It NEVER showed on any of my accounts.

I've just had £2000 back (Jan 16) from Lloyds for a business loan of £24K over one year

and they admitted the PPI and paid £500 compensation.

I wouldn't think twice about sending out SARs or other PPI request forms asap. You will be amazed.

One car loan was set up by Lloyds simply by pressing a button

and transferring £16,500 into my account following a simple question

"How much can you lend me for £250 per month?"

It turned out to have PPI attached and I got back nearly £7000 !!!

No medical questions,

no income/expenditure assessments,

no questions about employment (self employed)

and no APR or length of contract information

(I assumed it was a 4 year loan but it was 8 years (I know I was stupid)

- completely non-compliant and mis-sold.

Store Cards and other credit cards had hidden PPI.

DON't ASSUME - CHECK.

Hi FFS seeker,

Funny coincidence, I have 4 PPI letters in my car today ready to send!

Also, after I sent my cca requests, only Link Financial replied. They have now written to me telling me I'm in arrears and that the full amount is now due. Have I woken a sleeping dog purely by asking for cca?!

Nope. If they don't produce a compliant agreement in 12+2 days, you stop payments completely

Hi FFS seeker,

 

Funny coincidence, I have 4 PPI letters in my car today ready to send!

 

Also, after I sent my cca requests, only Link Financial replied. They have now written to me telling me I'm in arrears and that the full amount is now due. Have I woken a sleeping dog purely by asking for cca?!

Hi Y

Good luck with those 4. My quickest refund was 8 weeks (£1900 from Lloyds in Jan/Feb 2016) and my slowest was over a year (£7000 from Lloyds but that was a few years ago.)

I'm sure you haven't awoken a sleeping dog; it is just typical defensive action from the DCA. just sit tight and wait for the CCA's; chances are, they won't have the correct paperwork. Don't sign any letters in black ink - best to use red as they can lift your signature. I have a different version of my signature for such letters.

Remember, you are in the driving seat now and DCAs will just threaten. Hopefully, once they realise you are not going to pay and are 'knowledgeable', they will move on to others less well equipped to challenge them.

Did you pay your £1 CCA fee with postal orders or a cheque?

Hope to hear good news from you soon.

FFS Seeker

Hi FFS,

I sent all 4 postal orders via signed for delivery.

All 4 were signed for.

Link are the only ones that got back to me and told me they would get the agreement from the original lender.

They have produced 1 page of original agreement stapled to about 6 pages of terms and conditions.

Plus a page that says my account is now due in full.

That was about 3 weeks ago.

On Friday just gone, they sent another letter telling me I have defaulted on my payments

and that the balance is now due as my account has been closed.

I've been paying them the same amount every month for over 6 years and not missed a single payment.

My plan is to send them a F and F settlement letter.

Is this best done in writing or is it best to talk to them on the phone and discuss the F and F offer?

Also, as none of the others has even bothered to respond to my CCA request,

is it a good time to offer them reduced F and F settlements

but highlighting the fact that they have not complied with my CCA request in the specified time allowed?

Thanks again

might be an idea to go start a thread in the MBNA forum

off the main forum tab top left

then scan up the agreement they've sent.

it might be an idea to go get your credit file too

do all these debt show?

if not I question that without a CCA

and if they dont show

paying or F&F wont help you.

Hi dx,

All of the debts have gone from my credit file last year. It's starting to look reasonable again!

I just wanted to try and get rid of them all as at this rate I'll be paying them off forever! I also worry that Link could now apply for a CCJ and I'll be back to square one with a screwed up credit file for another 6 years!!

I can only see one way out, and that's to offer them all a full and final settlement. Otherwise, at this rate, I'll be here for 35 years paying them off

but you've not got back any enforceable agreements yet!!

go start that MBNA thread please

need to see what link have sent you please

I doubt it is enforceable

dx

No complaint CCA means you dont pay them a single penny.

Thanks dx,

I'll scan it in tomorrow and post it up. It looks like pages 1 and 2 are original with terms and conditions paragraphs 1-3 on them and then 4 to 19 are attached on seperate sheets too but much more legible. I also have another 'credit card agreement' stapled to the back, this time with paras 1-23 but it looks like their current terms and conditions. Not sure why they have included this.

So dx, what should I do with the other 3 DCA's who haven't responded at all to my CCA requests?

Thanks again

If a DCA hasnt responded to a CCA request, STOP PAYING THEM.

Hi dx,

Posted it up in the MBNA thread.

Hi renegade,

I'm worried about them issuing CCJ's.

As all the debts have dropped off my credit file now and it's starting to look reasonably healthy again,

I want to get them gone completely.

The only way I can see to do this is to offer them a full and final settlement,

which can hopefully be at a reduced rate if I can use the fact that they haven't complied with my request for a CCA.

Is this the only way to get them gone for good?

Many thanks.

they wont try court without an enforceable CCA