what rate of interest did you add on your claim? I'm just filling in my prelim and wasn't sure what rate to put in for interest.

yep I agree as well. Surly was a bit of a renegade but my God he certainly helped a wheen of people, when they needed it and put the wind up the CRA's. Yes JJ has a right to post and not be abused and for the site's sake you have to protect that right. But IMO JJ posted here as someone in a position of power over us, otherwise like most folk he would have posted as "anon who has experience in the CRA's" he didn't answer any question only quoted his companies policies. What did he expect? many people on this site have suffered real hardship because of CRA's and we shouldn't forget that. the site is poorer for Surly's absence and the CRA's will be celebrating

I tend to read rather than post and yes I'm sure Surly did upset a few folks. I realise that for the credibility of this site standards have to be set, but perhaps we should look at what's been achieved here? there is a great deal of expertise on this site in many areas that has allowed us to begin, some successfully others still ongoing, to reclaim these unlawful charges...all thanks to this site! The next part for many is to get their credit records corrected (not changed!) and without doubt the person that excelled in that area was Surly. Without him I doubt that there would have been much progress and i believe that we've a way to go before this is hailed a success. Unfortunately the only people that have gained anything from this debacle is the CRA's themselves. The CRA's whether deliberately or by default have succeeded in silencing Surly...who is their biggest enemy and therefor our ally in our campaign against these bullies. Bear in mind the huge impact that CRA's currently have on all our lives and finances. we should all thank Surly cos i'm sure there's not many here that haven't used his letters. There must be some kind of middle ground here surely(not Surly!!)?come back Surly for all our sakes, just don't mention you know who's name! with regard to JJ, I agree that he should be entitled to his say but this is not an equal relationship between us and CRA's and Mr J posted here knowing that. Given that he holds a position of power over all of us then it is outrageous that he is not an expert on the Data Protection Act and I believe an indication of how his agency views us, the consumers ie treat us like mushrooms...keep us in the dark and feed us bulls..t! this was posted before Dave's post above, and I agree that for everyone's benefit the last thing needed is for site to be closed down, but again, there must be a middle ground.

now i know i'm not martin but here it is directly from the Act, "If the creditor under an agreement fails to comply with subsection (1)— (a) he is not entitled, while the default continues, to enforce the agreement; and (b) if the default continues for one month he commits an offence. " so they default after 12 working days, then if that default contiues for one month, an offence is committed

it's not a case of it not being dealt with, they have been dealing with it but don' t agree that the company needs to supply copy of original agreement, and the fact that they defaulted on cca by about 6 weeks doesn't interest them

no, i made initial complaint by phone, was asked to put it in writing and did so, giving them copies of all correspondence cca's and responses etc and proof of posting etc. and that's what the response to all the evidence was. to be honest i don't want them to do anything for me, I've dealt with it and am still dealing with it thru help I got from this site, but i wanted TS to kick their ass. that's why i put this in legalities cos as far as i am concerned these companies have committed an offence. but not according to TS!

made a complaint to TS sent my letter and copies of most of correspondence. it was a catalogue company i used years ago and as far as i was concerned had paid what i owed. got letter with incorrect balance due to them incorrectly billing me for something i didn't order or get, was only around £30. phoned them etc and forgot about it. over time used to get letters about £30 balnce which I ignored. anyway over course of couple years balance grew to £200 and in total 6 agencies handling it. when I found you guys I sent out about 3 CCA's and was given run around ie passing on eventualy sent to original people who spouted rubbish about not needing to have agreement and enclosing a blank agreement, so 7 companies in all. eventually they conceded that they couldn't enforce it but would put on credit file which they have as a default. demanded it be taken off and complained to TS. all of companies have committed an offence under CCA by anywhere between 3 -6 weeks. also adding to my credit file when I didn't give my consent( no agreement). So trading standards tell me that there may be a few wee breaches of CCA, ...minor. and they don't need to send me or have a copy of original signed agreement. They have asked me to go back ~4 years and look thru bank statements to prove I've paid for everything then we can prove to company that this is case, they weren't particularly concerned about the DPA breaches..... what chance do we have when this is the advice, i ask you!!!!!!! I was all fired up and had another complaint about a big company ready to go, but don't think I'll bother now quite frankly

not sure if they are allowed to, but loads do it. But you just send CCA & £1 by recorded del to new dca and they need to comply. I had to do this 6 times for a debt that didn't even exist. also complain to trading standards about pursuing unenforceable debt and passing it on.

oooh! got steam coming out of my ears and I need to have a good moan so sorry...! having said everything above I was considering my next move or to leave it, I was wondering about trying to claim some of money back cos i have paid way more than I owed but wasn't sure. anyway after receiving letter saying that while they looked for agreement (even though they are about 1 month over timescale for CCA) they wouldn't be collecting "debt". tonight I receievd a call from Intrum asking me to verify my address which i declined to do. anyway upshot of conversation was that they are chasing me for payments saying it's in default , i told him about request and further letter reminding them that they had defaulted and committed offence, basically bloke just talked over me and said that I should still be paying etc. they would send someone over to my house etc, which really doesn't bother me cos i'd give them short shift! but I'm so mad cos he was an ignorant little eeijit (scots slang!). what should be my next step please before I pop!

Hi, i'm quite comfortable with what i've done to date but a bit flummoxed by dca(Intrum Justitia) response. Sent CCA(same one as posted above) and fee by recorded delivery, it was delivered on 21st june so unenforceable and offence committed on 7th aug. I never had any acknowledgement from them. I left it a bit and on the 14th august got a standard letter saying they hadn't received a payment since 4th July etc. I responded by sending them(recorded del) a copy of the CCA and date it was delivered also quoted Act verbatim to them saying that they had committed an offence and debt was unenforceable, also that i was complaining to TS. Anyway received a letter from them saying they could not explain why my request was overlooked and they were investigating. They were concerned by my statement saying that i no longer acknowledged debt and went on to state the history of the account and how much I had paid them since 1998. They said that they were contacting original lenders to get documents and account was put on hold until this was done. For as long as the situation continued they would not be collecting debt. so, should i just leave it meantime?

Neo, thanks I scoured the CCA and found this, 87 Need for default notice (1) Service of a notice on the debtor or hirer in accordance with section 88 (a “default notice”) is necessary before the creditor or owner can become entitled, by reason of any breach by the debtor or hirer of a regulated agreement,— (a) to terminate the agreement, or (b) to demand earlier payment of any sum, or © to recover possession of any goods or land, or (d) to treat any right conferred on the debtor or hirer by the agreement as terminated, restricted or deferred, or (e) to enforce any security. I have quoted this to them and stated that since they do not have true copy and I never receievd one then they can't prove it was posted. They have got a continuance and have referred it to their senior partner

Gawd! these companies really don't want to be moved on defaults. Company are willing to accept settlement figure (just as well cos it's all that I owe them) but are playing silly on the removal of default. Lawyer told me they applied for a further continuance and matter has been referred to senior partner! This must have cost HFC an absolute fortune to do this, far more than I owe them for sure. However they can't come up with original default letter and say they don't have it, so .......... In answer to my earlier question about what legislation covers the deafult notice, it is section 87 of CCA here it is 87 Need for default notice (1) Service of a notice on the debtor or hirer in accordance with section 88 (a “default notice”) is necessary before the creditor or owner can become entitled, by reason of any breach by the debtor or hirer of a regulated agreement,— (a) to terminate the agreement, or (b) to demand earlier payment of any sum, or © to recover possession of any goods or land, or (d) to treat any right conferred on the debtor or hirer by the agreement as terminated, restricted or deferred, or (e) to enforce any security. So if they didn't send a default notice or can't supply a true copy of this then they can't enforce it

Did you send this to same address as Data Protection Act? just had my recorded delivery letter returned to me by royal mail at the trent house address

Hi, I am just about to go on to the court stage and wondered if anyone has used the Glasgow court or Paisley or Dumbarton? I don't want to use my nearest one since I'm sure I'll know folks there. If anyone has used these ones which are quite close to me, I'd appreciate finding out how clued up and helpful they were/are. thanks

not heard anything back from lawyers yet and it's due back in court on wednesday this week. I need some advice on this if anyone can......... The outstanding debt according to them was ~£700 including charges. I paid them a cheque for £270 to cover missed d/d and said I'd pay another £200 as final settlement with removal of default. cheque was cashed but now they say they will only mark default as settled. they don't have a copy of default notice , only template and i never receievd letter. I need to be clear in case i go to court, exactly what have they not complied with in not keeping copy of default notice and what can i expect judge to do? I will take the £200 balance along with me. I have just graduated uni and am not working yet so I hope the fact that i gave them cheque 5 weeks ago for £270 and gave them the option of £10 a month or lump sum of £200 shows to judge that i have tried. what do you think, thanks in advance

don't know if this is any help, but last week I sent my preliminary letter to BoS, PO Box 23581, Edinburgh. When i checked Royal Mail website it was delivered from Leeds sorting office! I phoned and was told that all BoS has redirection in for all mail with this PO Box to go straight to Leeds.

what about a PO box number? like the banks use, would that be possible?

thanks for your help. i hope they agree cos if not, it's due back in court next week. eeek!

okay I emailed this to them this morning, it's not brilliant but I hope i've not shot myself in the foot. What do you think? "Dear Mr HFC's lawyer, Both HFC and yourselves are fully aware of the history of the account in question from my defence and counterclaim to the summary action and subsequent correspondence. I am fully aware that HFC as a financial institution are licenced to practice and as such are bound by legislation which they must comply with and which I have a right to be protected by. HFC have not complied fully with my request under the Consumer Credit Act 1974 which was received by them on 23rd June 2006, by recorded delivery and are in breach of their duties under Section 78 of the Act. Additionally the Data Protection Act has been breached by them on several points, by passing innaccurate information to a third party and by not keeping a true signed copy of letters they say they sent to me advising me of a default. A template is not a copy and does not prove it was sent. I insist that this data be removed in it's entirety from my credit file as unsusbstantiated, or I will have no other option than to refer this case to the Information Commissioner's Office, Banking Ombudsman and Trading Standards as appropriate. As soon as you can confirm to me that HFC have done this i will send the £200 as the remaining part of the settlement. Yours faithfully Ecobabe" They want it all tied up before the 30th August which is when the 4 weeks continuance is up.

Neo et al, do you know what specific legislation covers the copy of the default notice, i've been sent a template and told they don't keep original copy. want to make sure I'm confident when I email them again, I don't see mention of it in CCA 1974, but maybe the terms of the Act cover it

thanks lickthewall, i was very wary of admitting this in those words. as you say they do know the position, and so I shall simply say that and the bit about the original default notice. is the copy of original default covered by the CCA 1974, or the data protection act? i'm not sure

I will do that. any idea how I should word my reply to their solicitor (their question is posted above)???

hi. need some advice pronto!! I am negotiating with HFC over a loan which I have with them. Ran into some difficulties earlier in year and after a perfect repayment record i missed 3 payments. they raised a court action, which I replied with a defence to...… ." total made up of unlawful charges etc........ and also never served with a default notice etc" HFC asked for a months continuance(?) and i negotiated with their lawyers to pay off in a lump sum what I owed (i paid £200 upfront and said i'd pay the other £200 when resolved), not the penalty charges, part of the agreement was removal of default. They did supply the agreement but wrote to say that they do not keep copies of default notices but here is a template. their lawyer emailed agreeing saying that HFC would make sure that the account was satisfied. "No, no, no" says I removed completely! I quoted the fact that they had not completely complied with CCA and had not kept my info as per the Data Protection Act. Lawyer got back quickly to say that HFC would not reverse default but they had sent copy of letter to me and they looked forward to receiving my lump sum of £200 and resolvng matter before court date on 30th August. so what do I do? I have emailed back to say that they didn't supply copy , but a template and that I'm confident (OMG!) it would stand up in court. HFC are using a local lawyers company so they have to conatct HFC for instructions. any ideas or help would be gratefully accepted!! within 10 mins received an email back from solicitors saying "Before I take further instructions could I clarify one point. Do you accept that you were in breach of your payment obligations under the agreement?" what do I say here? I only owe £200 and I am waiting to send it to them, but I want this default removed. I did miss 3 payments but they have now been paid and i did not receive a default notice, but I am wary of answering this in case I scupper my case. Help!!!!!!!

here is the Act verbatim "If the creditor under an agreement fails to comply with subsection (1)— (a) he is not entitled, while the default continues, to enforce the agreement; and (b) if the default continues for one month he commits an offence. "

i could be wrong here but i think that the court's permission is needed after the one month. the Act says that after 12 working days it is in default and while default continues it is unenforceable, if default continues for 1 month then an offence is committed. so within the month they can come up with agreement, but after that they need to go to court to have it enforced. but it doesn't look likely in your case that they've got agreement