Hi, if they do not have the agreement (as in my case) you should use one of CurleyBen or Tom's letters; I do not acknowledge this debt etc and push the a/c into dispute. Then remind them of their obligations under the Consumer Credit Act. Seemed to work for me. Brachers ran away.

Hi, I have been dealing with Brachers - they will send a lot of threats, then offer 50% to settle (before adding their chrages etc). If you CCA/SAR Amex and see if your agreement is valid then this will buy some time to explore/define your options. I challenged Brachers on the validity of my agreement and they send their file back to Amex and closed their books. Mine is for a substantial sum (well it is now with all the charges and interest).

Does such a department exist?!

Sorry to hear your story, I had a friend where a similar situation occurred. All properties need to have annual certificates in respect to boiler servicing. You should seek legal advice for the damage caused. By the way the chemical formula for Carbon Monoxide is CO, The chemical formula for Carbon Dioxide is CO2

Hmmm. Most helpful.

I dealt with RMAI Resolve/Regain and NCO Europe for two years. They were vile, called me every day and sent lots of threatening letters, even when I was paying then £600 per month. I then requested copies of my agreement, had no response so sent the same request to the credit card company, they failed to supply. I then stopped payment to RMA/NCO and they went crazy, called me up 10 times a day/ e-mailed numerous times and made threats to contact my employer (I mistakenly told them too much). I then sent them a solicitors letter and referred them to the CCA 1974 request. They immediately replied within one day and transferred the debt back to the OC who are now making offers to settle. Still no CCA but we are close to the end game. In summary, and as CurlyBen says, their letter to you is smoke and mirrors, if they had an enforceable agreement you would have it by now. They have jack all so make them a silly offer and sit tight. They will try every trick in the book and some, thankfully there are more than enough people here who are expert in suitable and closing responses. Don't let them get to you! Good luck and let us know how it goes....

[EDIT] Please refrain from personal attacks on other users.

I agree with Monty, looks like some people have not read the actual question at the start of the thread! The main point I raised and Monty also, was in relation to the charges, the issue of breach is a no brainer. It is clear there has been!

The TA usually states the names of the tenants who will make use and reside in the property - it is therefore a clear breach of contract if another person moves into the property and takes residence as appears to be the case here. The Landlord therefore is within their right to terminate the agreement if there is no remedy provision for such a breach (I have never seen one and have 7 previous TA's). The second part of the post related to the charge, I made comment that this was unreasonable given that this was clearly disproportionate to the actual loss. I have checked this with a barrister friend and this is also their view.

Well I do have 15 years experience in intellectual property contract law and was brushing up on consumer credit so I feel I have an eye for good legal advice given I work with 4 lawyers. Hmm, another judgmental shot from the hip from a mod. Serves to reinforce my earlier statement.

Sadly this site is turning into a joke. I have ready many thousands of posts and quite frankly the most useful, helpful and informative were those posted by Laiste. I have used her approach with some of my accounts and the results have been amazing, she has legal expertise in consumer credit and appears willing to provide this advice free! yes FREE and posts complete legal arguments, fully explained for the novice! The mods appear helpful but many do not seem to have much real legal expertise - many simply directing people to standard letter templates in the reference section. Surely CAG is supposed to be more than a forum for re-claiming bank charges that are now indefinitely stayed! I just can't understand it!

You do not have any grounds to make such a charge, although the tennant has breached the contract you have not actually suffered any loss. As stated above, the other occupants have a case given they are subsidising bills etc.

Hi K1mmie Sorry to hear your situation. I also had 2 cards with Amex, but credit cards, they have passed the debt to Brachers who keep sending the same requests for settlement (50%) but added £3 K in charges. Amex are unable to produce my CCA and Brachers have acknowledged that they only have one application, so are on thin ice, hence the offers to settle. I would be interested to know what Brachers have done since your default with Amex and if they have made any offers to settle? Good luck M1977

I am surprised that someone with your experience did not confirm any verbal contractual change with a written (recorded delivery) letter confirming the same. You should NEVER talk to these people, always conduct affairs by written letter and send by recorded delivery. Take your own advice, you have shot yourself in the foot and put this down to experience.

Here is the exact wording I recieved from my TS: "My understanding is that the Financial Ombudsman should still be able to assist at least for the reason that any breaches of the 1974 Act by Amex are ongoing and certainly from early April. Consumers sign credit agreements often many years prior to any problems arising and so I think that you will be ok. I hope that the Ombudsman will be further able to assist with the technicalities of your complaint. Regards"

Dear Peter I have ready most of your threads and you are obviously an authority of credit agreements, I would be very grateful if you could take a look at my thread and let me have your comments. http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/debt-collectors-debt-collection/115794-amex-solicitors-playing-games.html Many thanks

Dear Paul I wrote to my TS and they are quite adamant, their position is that they will not deal with consumer credit issues at all. They do not believe it is their responsibility and refer me to the FOS. I have read all the treads on CAG and there is a "regional lottery" with respect to TS and their "services". My view is to let it take its course and I am prepared for the next stage(s)

Thanks Trading Standards told me that they no longer deal with consumer issues and that I should contact the FOS. My experience with them is not very positive and I feel that they would be of little use in what is now potentially a legal interpretation of what rights Amex have to enforce an application for a credit card. Given other threads and outcomes I would be surprised if the Amex lawyers would try to go with what they have. I would prefer to settle and get the default removed. I have spent a lot of time reading all the relevant threads and think the best approach is to now wait and see if they issue legal proceedings on the first account. I am convinced they don't have anything on the second since the Amex data controller has stated this back in June.

Thanks The one application they sent is almost identical to this one:

Summary of situation:- any advice/comments appreciated: 2 Amex credit cards - defaulted due to redundancy Debt passed to NCO for collection (not assigned) Paid them for 12 months following new job Charges and interest kept increasing, Amex would not respond to letters and NCO were useless and ignored every letter. Found this site and requested CCA's from Amex and NCO also did SAR on both Both Amex and NCO defaulted on CCA's - so I stopped paying NCO. Amex then produced just one application (lacks prescribed terms) for one account and a set of T&C's for the second. Data controller confirmed that was all the documentation that they had in relation to both accounts! NCO got very upset (even told me that they would lose their commission!) then passed the debt back to Amex who then instructed their solicitors. Amex solicitors issued threat of court action, I reminded them of my CCA request, said they would locate and send "applications" for both accounts. Solicitors added £3,000 in "collection charges". Amex solicitors suggested settlement, I offered 10% for both accounts They counter-offered with 50% for both accounts I counter-offered with 20% for both accounts Solicitors then sent same application as Amex had sent for one account only and now only make reference to this one account. Also made no comment in respect of counter offer and again attached their letter requesting 50% settlement, no timeframe. Also requested acknowledgment of letter. Seems very odd?! I am not sure if I should:- (i) respond to their letter with one further counter-offer or (ii) leave them to issue court proceedings before issuing a counter claim given that they don't have the docs and about 50% of the debt relates to charges or (iii) request all information held on me by Solicitors under S7 of the Data Protection Act 1998.