we've been struggling with credit card debts for some time & especially since xmas when a planned remortgage/consolidation fell thru. now thanks to mbna selling my account to link financial i found this wonderful site(ironic huh??).

it has already taken quite a weight off, knowing we're not the only ones in the same situation.

we have 5 creditors & the phone calls were almost continuous.

as we stand now mbna have sold the debt (appro 10k) to link. we have s.a.r.'d them & have just received statements. i have used the spreadsheets & they owe us £889 & 174.19 interest @ 8%. i have seen on some other threads where people are also claiming cci @28.02%, any advice appreciated.

we are currently paying £5 a month to cap one (7K), egg(3k) & morgan stanley (2.5k) although this is only a 6 month arrangement & they will no doubt be contacting me soon!!!! we are trying to arrange a debt plan with cccs but would we be better to default on all cards & let they go to dca's??

we also owe barclays £3k but they are contacting us thru mercers who seem to be part of barclays from other threads i have seen.

we have s.a.r.'d egg, ms & barclays & are still waiting for statements.

cap one have offered £239. we initially claimed £695 & £55.60 however after using the spreadsheets i get the figures to £674 & £165.41 interest, can i still reject & claim for the higher figure?

again any advice welcome

Yes you can reject their offer. As the money taken from your account was

taken unlawfully [in the eyes of just about everyone except the banks]

then you are right to expect the full 100% to be returned.

I notice that you haven't sent any of them a CCA request. Is there a reason

for this?

i had't even heard of a cca until the last few days when we found cag. forgive my ignorance, but is it wise to send a cca before claiming the charges back?

Really you have to decide whether to claim the charges back or go down the CCA route. You can't do both.

As the charges are a small percentage of the debt I would suggest that you send the CCA request. If they supply a conforming copy of the agreement you can then claim the charges back. If they can't supply a copy of the agreement then you can contest the debt in its entirety (although you will not be able to claim back charges as well).

Really you have to decide whether to claim the charges back or go down the CCA route. You can't do both.

 

As the charges are a small percentage of the debt I would suggest that you send the CCA request. If they supply a conforming copy of the agreement you can then claim the charges back. If they can't supply a copy of the agreement then you can contest the debt in its entirety (although you will not be able to claim back charges as well).

Hello smiffy,

I completely agree with rory!

Send a CCA request, recorded delivery, to the companies that currently own the "alleged" debt.

Then just wait and see what they send you! (If anything).

They have 12 working days to send you a "true" copy of your executed agreement. If they do not, then they have defaulted, and you may then cease payments! If after a further calender month, they still have not sent you a copy of your agreement, then they have committed an offence. You may then report them to the OFT and Trading Standards, if you so wish!

Best wishes, Jeff.

i read on one thread that it might be better to wait until the debt is sold to a dca & then cca them. is there more likelihood of them not having a copy?

i read on one thread that it might be better to wait until the debt is sold to a dca & then cca them. is there more likelihood of them not having a copy?

I have been thinking myself that there would likely be less chance of a DCA having a copy of the CCA than the original creditor.

One thing to be aware of though - HFC took me directly to court, very quickly, themselves - they did not sell the debt on. I wasn't aware of all this CCA business then, so I never requested one, and still don't know if they do have one for me.

In practice it doesn't matter who you CCA-it is normally only the original creditor that holds the original agreement. All the DCA does when sent a CCA request is to ask the OC for a copy-which is why they often say it will take

a month or so to send the documents.

However although I said it doesn't matter which company you send it to, if

there is a DCA involved, always send it to them as it will get them off your back while they wait for the agreement from the original lender.

thanks to all of you for your advice. rec'd a standard letter today from link finance:o so will send them a cca request.

i know this may sound stupid but as link now own the debt & not mbna, could i still claim charges back from mbna or would this compromise the cca requst??

If the charges are less than the debt then it is perhaps pointless chasing them

as all that will do is educe the debt. Whereas, if you go the CCA route, it is

generally quicker and slightly cheaper to find out if the debt is enforceable or not.

If it is enforceable then you should reclaim your charges.

ok, that looks like the way to go then. can anyone point me in the direction of a cca request letter, i can't seem to find one in the template library?

Smiffy, you will find the template here http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/general-debt/20758-creditors-dcas-letter-templates.html template N.

brilliant, thanx again:)

just one other thing, are dca's allowed to charge interest or does it stay at the figure they bought it at?

It's not that simple.

If the DCA has not bought the debt they cannot apply charges or interest'

If they have bought the debt, then they can charge the same rates of interest as the original creditor, providing a default or ccj has not already been applied.

If a ccj has been applied, then normally interest should no longer be charged.

However there are certain contracts that specify in their T&C's that they will continue to charge interest even after a ccj and also the creditor can make

an application to the judge at the time of the ccj asking that interest be continued.

have had a reply today from link finance dated 12/07/07, which i presume is a standard letter.

it says they have requested a copy of the agreement & most recent t & c from mbna, which may take up to 30 days. they have not made an administration charge & have used the £1 to reduce my debt(whoopy doo!!!) and ends "your account has been put on hold for the next 14 days for you to contact this office with further details as requested above"

they haven't requested any details in the letter??!! what should i do now??

what should i do now??

Absolutely nothing. The ball is now in their court.

Out of intrest smiffy66 how similar was your letter recieved to the one I recieved. See 1st image in my thread http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/debt-collectors-debt-collection/103104-my-link-story.html#post974824

have had a reply today from link finance dated 12/07/07, which i presume is a standard letter.

it says they have requested a copy of the agreement & most recent t & c from mbna, which may take up to 30 days. they have not made an administration charge & have used the £1 to reduce my debt(whoopy doo!!!) and ends "your account has been put on hold for the next 14 days for you to contact this office with further details as requested above"

they haven't requested any details in the letter??!! what should i do now??

Hi smiffy,

Yes this is a standard letter that they are now sending out.

It is interesting that they say that the account will be placed on hold for 14 days! They have already admitted that it may take up to 30 days to comply with your request, so their timescales are nonsense!

No CCA, no enforcement! However, they will almost certainly send another letter after the 14 days are up!

Best wishes, Jeff.

Can I be really thick here and ask a question?

If a credit card company cant provide you with a cca that has been signed by both parties, does that mean you no longer have to pay that debt? and if you dont have to pay it do they default or ccj you or can they not?

thanks:-)

.

 

No CCA, no enforcement! However, they will almost certainly send another letter after the 14 days are up!

 

 

Best wishes, Jeff.

Im on my 39th day from 2 days after I sent a CCA request to link (so 41 days from posting).

I did not recieve a letter on or around the 14th day but I did recieve a letter on the about the 25th day. Since that i have heard nothing, no letters or phone calls.

Keep an eye on my thread smiffy as we are in the same process but im about 4/5 weeks in front of you. Mmy time is nearly up and ill be asking for further help from the forum soon and the advice I hope to get should be useful to any future action you may need to take.

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/debt-collectors-debt-collection/103104-my-link-story.html#post974824

one way to stop the interest by the DCA is to persue the ccca route.

Contact the ccca for a pack and ref no. You can still try and reduce your payments while claiming your charges back.The main thing is to stop the interest now....

I assume you mean the charity cccs sanddancer?

Once the creditor/DCA has defaulted on supplying a copy of the agreement they can not lawfully charge any interest on the account anyway.

Smiffy, they are getting quite cunning by saying that they do not charge to supply the CCA request so are reducing your debt instead.

At times when nothing has been paid off a debt for six years, the debt

becomes unenforceable. So by putting the £1 to reduce the debt could in

certain circumstances, restart the debt for another six years.

I suggest you write back to them and say that if the service is free, then

they should return the £1 to you since it was not intended to reduce the debt-and see what they say.

Smiffy, they are getting quite cunning by saying that they do not charge to supply the CCA request so are reducing your debt instead.

At times when nothing has been paid off a debt for six years, the debt

becomes unenforceable. So by putting the £1 to reduce the debt could in

certain circumstances, restart the debt for another six years.

I suggest you write back to them and say that if the service is free, then

they should return the £1 to you since it was not intended to reduce the debt-and see what they say.

Im letting mine run its time then after the days are up im going to write a letter asking for my £1 back as they could not supply the information.

hi ashmk, my letter is exactly the same except for a different illegible signature.

have subscribed to your thread & will keep an eye on how you go.

best of luck.