What do I need to ask in my Freedom of Information Request?

I was thinking about asking how the £68 figure has been calculated. Anything else I should add to the letter?

I am ashamed to admit that, due to other pressing projects, I still haven't done the FOI request.

Hence we all need to move north of the border :-D

 

S.

Or have an address there..... (hey, that gives me an idea for a new business!)

Rather than come clean and say, "Yes, we screwed up." Egg have chosen to act like a bunch of dodgy second hand car dealers. They won't give you any information that you could use in court against them, whilst at the same time continuing with collections letters and calls.

Does this mean that Egg has stopped its service whereby customers can view a copy of their credit agreement online?

I have an agreement from 2000 but I can't see it online. (I am talking about MC's account, not MC's friends account).

Any action would not be based on s77/78 of the Consumer Credit Act. So why would the type of copy be what it is acceptable to provide under that section? Surely it should be a copy taken from the original agreement that would be needed. After all, the original agreement would be needed in a court case.

Section 77/78 is a red herring, in my opinion.

What is this about Consumer Credit cases not being raised without the original agreement? Is this likely to happen in England as well?

Interesting stuff, Pinky69. Do you have a thread going on this?

yeah so what??? thats as rare as rocking horse s**t an you know it. stop encouraging people to do things that are almost impossible. These companies are incredibly rapacious and like the terminator they will never, ever give in unless your case is absolutely watertight.

 

Even if it is watertight, make it difficult for them, don't make it easy. Make them waste their time and resources chasing you to a fruitless, penniless end.

 

They are the **** of society, feeding off the weak. Well done, as soon as they finished with you they were able to jump all over some poor old lady, or some poor depressed person unable to organise themselves, or some poor family trying to duck and dive and simply make ends meet.

 

Proud now with your letter of victory?

 

Sorry but I'm seeing society become one where the weak get completely trodden on. There used to be protections against harassment that could be used in the first instance, not as a last resort in the most dire cases by the lucky few that get the right advice. Unless a debt can be proven in the courts they should not be able to even write to you.

 

If they chase you like a demented bloodhound, and it transpires they have no evidence like in your case, they should be fined very large amounts of money until they learn to behave themselves.

I don't know how common it is for Moorcroft to give up in this way. We have only dealt with them on one account and they sent us the above letter when we challenged them on a legal point about lack of CCA.

This shows that it is possible for Moorcrot to send the "debt" back to the original creditor. I think that is useful information to share with people reading this forum.

If there is a genuine dispute (as there is here with the "termination" letter, as explained throughout this thread by toymaker1) then a brief letter to that point is advisable. Ignoring a "Letter Before Action" is not a good idea as court action should not be taken lightly.

I agree with your general comments about Debt Collection Agencies and their underhand methods.

PS - it is probably worth adding that the Moorcroft letter was in relation to a Next Directory account which has now been sold on to Cabot. Out of the frying pan....

It depends on the circumstances, but it IS possible:

Others feel that you should respond to letters threatening legal action and set out the reasons why you dispute the alleged debt. People have got rid of Moorcroft by challenging them in this way. Surely it's better if it goes back to the original creditor?

And here is the questionnaire:

Response from Barclaycard asking for more information from us. We have been asking them for more information for about a year. I assume they are trying to trick us into saying something that undermines our PPI complaint.

Due to continuing bombardment by phone, text and email, we have sent a complaint letter (about harassment) to Collect Direct.

If they do not address the complaint to our satisfaction, does anybody know if you can complain to the FOS in the same way as you would with the original creditor? They are only acting on behalf of Egg, they haven't purchased the debt.

Phone call this afternoon.........

Collect Direct: We want to discuss your account.

MC's friend: I will only communicate with you in writing.

Collect Direct: But we wrote to you and you didn't reply.

MC's friend: I did reply.

Collect Direct: You can't have replied, we've only had the account 4 days.

Spot the deliberate mistake.

We have just received the letter below from Collect Direct. I have seen plenty of these letters on CAG before and I think the company may be part of the Egg empire (although they don't admit to this).

In the OFT guidance on Debt Collection it states, under the heading "Physical/psychological harassment", that "pressurising debtors to pay in full, in unreasonably large instalments" is an example of an "unfair practice".

Would demanding that over £5,000 is paid within 4 days fall within this category?

Well, we already sent off the complaint about PPI to Barclaycard yesterday, so in about a week or two we will be in a position to complain about either/both to the FOS.

So in a couple of weeks we can choose to complain about either one. I am still leaning towards PPI as that could wipe the alleged debt out to zero without any need to go through court, whereas even if we obtain the agreement or knowledge that they don't have it, we still have to go to court before we can stop paying.

Subbing.

An interesting test case that may have the same s18 multiple agreement as ours:

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/legal-issues/180461-egg-county-court-summons-13.html

And another issue to think about:

Another question (and apologies in advance if I've already asked and can't find the answer)

 

Presumably Egg will have received a commission for the PPI and that is included in the amount that they charged me for the policy?

 

If that is the case am I right in thinking that this is a charge for credit and therefore shouldn't attract interest?

 

If I've got that completely wrong then please blame the glass of pinot that's seeing me through my Egging this evening

regards

S

Why do you suggest that order rather than the PPI first?

I assume you have seen this thread (Goldfish/Morgan Stanley/Barclaycard won due to no agreement):

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/dca-legal-successes/168312-morgan-stanley-cca-received.html

I don't see why we should all be so scared of Cabot. Even if they are nasty, shady characters, how can they obtain judgment when the original owner of the credit card is unable to?

I often refer to this useful thread about defending litigation:

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/legal-issues/108467-basic-introduction-consumer-credit.html

Post #5 talks about notices of assignment having to be correct. I don't know if that is true, as I am only basing it on the guidance in the thread, but this suggests to me that Cabot can only issue proceedings against you if they have issued a notice of assignment for the correct amount.

Now, if you turn to the back of the "Welcome to Cabot" letter is says in small letters:

1. This letter acts as Notice of Assignment......."

But where is the amount assigned? Is it on the front of the "Welcome to Cabot" letter? No, because there you will find the figure that "You currently owe". (which is higher due to their made-up charges).

Just a thought, and something I would not bother complaining about until such time as it became part of any defence.

Thanks Slick, that may affect the wording of our FOS complaint if and when Barclaycard refuse to refund the PPI. Perhaps we'll be able to kill two birds with one stone.

 

The crux of my complaint is this:

 

• On 28th March 2008, I had a zero-balanced account with Goldfish.
  
• On 13th June 2008, Cabot claimed that this account now belonged to you and that it was in arrears. I received no notice of assignment, no correspondence from you and yet you have, fraudulently in my view, reproduced 2 undated letters that you claim were sent 3 months earlier on 26th March. These letters were not received by me. I believe that this is because they were never sent.
  
• You have virtually confirmed that the original document that you would have to rely on in court has been destroyed.
  
• You have misrepresented the Consumer Credit Act in your correspondence by (this is where I really need help in getting something coherent together).
  
• You have consistently requested that I contact you by telephone when I have stated very clearly that I will not do so.
  
• You have added £xxxxxx to an account which had a balance of zero.
  
• You have continued to harass me while the account is in dispute in contravention of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 and against OFT guidelines on Debt Collection practices.
  

Would you please send me a copy of your complaints procedure.

 

Yours faithfully,

 

 

 

Fred Bassett

Hi Fred

I haven't read your whole thread but do take an interest as we have just become a Cabot 'customer' ourselves.

My hunch is that their whole business plan of buying ancient and unenforceable 'debts' for a few pence in the pound, and then using the aggressive and underhand tactics we have heard about on this site, is doomed to failure.

We now have the internet, we have CAG, and it's pretty obvious that the OFT is going to shut them down if they carry on like this.

In the meantime, you have to deal with them.

My opinion is that your letter overcomplicates things and you risk helping your opponent. Why lay all your cards on the table so that they know what you have spotted and they are able to deduce your weaknesses?

If I were you I would limit your letter to the part I have quoted above, and keep your file of evidence to yourself for future reference and for defending any court claim they bring against you.

If they do not address your complaint then complain to the Financial Ombudsman - that will cost them money, and they could be ordered to write the balance off to zero if they have made it all up from nothing.

If they are really harrassing you, complain to the OFT (Consumer Direct).

And I wouldn't accuse them of fraud, as that is defamatory (unless it can be proved to be true).

Hi myfairlady and welcome to CAG

This sounds similar to the Next Directory situation. I suggest you start a new thread for your case so that people can advise without it getting mixed up with this thread.

You can, of course, place a link to your thread here.