I'm not entirely sure! i sent the letter of complaint to RMA Resolve as SD had written to us to say that RMA were acting, but nothing has been said about NCO until they replied to the letter to RMA so they seem to have sold it on (again?) without confirming to us

That's interesting - we first had a default on Feb 16th or at least a letter titled "Notice of Default Sums under the Consumer Credit Act 1974". So this means that the FOS point of view is that if your in financial difficulty it's acceptable for the company to continue to charge interest for 6 months after this point (i assume you meant after and not before?). If that's correct than any interest from around 16th August should be unenforceable if i were to have sufficient evidence to show that Shop Direct failed to assist ? If that's correct that would be a huge relief as we do want to pay the debt back, admittedly it will take some time, but whilst Shop Direct continue to add 40% annual interest we haven't got a hope, at least if they froze the interest (or if FOS or OFT forced them to) then we'd have light at the end of the tunnel. I've still not had anything back from NCO Europe and it's now nearly a month since they wrote back stating that they were investigating, I'm tempted to go ahead with complaints to FOS and OFT now as Shop Direct seem to be failing in many areas regardless of what (or even if) NCO Europe ever come back with.

Thanks for your reply. I think i have effectively already sent the formal complaint (wording below). I forgot to mention we'd actually got a letter back from RMA Resolve which suggested that an agreed reduced payment plan was already in place! they'd never agreed to anything all i had done was dropped the payments to £1 So i should now report them to OFT ??? (rather than FOS as i's stated ... oops) This was the full letter i sent:- Dear Sir/Madam COMPLAINT Client: Shop Direct Group (Very) Account Number: xxxxxxx Thank you for your letter dated 13th August 2013 which suggests that “previously agreed reduced monthly terms” are in place on this account, and that you would like to review these in accordance with the lending code. I can confirm that contrary to all of the guidelines and codes issued by the relevant bodies and authorities that govern you and the way you conduct yourselves, you (or Shop Direct Group/Very) have failed to assist me in any way during a period of financial difficulty. I am therefore confused as to why you would refer to a previous agreement relating to “reduced monthly terms”. In fact, I have not received replies to any of my previous letters asking for your help and attempting to agree on realistic reduced monthly terms. As you are acting on this matter you should be in receipt of all correspondence relating to the account from your client. However, this does not seem to be the case. I would draw your attention to the enclosed copies of letters and proofs of receipt. I first wrote a letter on 28th February 2013 stating that I was in financial difficulty and not able to meet my normal monthly repayments. I offered to make a reduced monthly payment of £50 per month, and requested that as a reciprocal goodwill gesture any penalty charges would be levied and interest frozen on the account. I wrote a second letter on 21st March 2013 stating again that I was in financial difficulties. Again, I offered to make a reduced monthly payment of £50 per month which is all I can afford. I specifically requested that Very write back to me within 14 days in order to maintain an accurate written record of communications. I did not receive a response to either of these letters. As both of my letters were ignored and no assistance was given, and as detailed in both letters, I had no alternative but to reduce my offer to £1 per calendar month for the rest of the life of the account, as there is no realistic way for me to reduce the balance owing on the account. I can confirm that in accordance with the lending code, both of my other main creditors, Barclaycard and Creation, have been willing to accept payment plans of £30 and £10 respectively with interest rates virtually frozen. I have enclosed copies of the agreements with these companies, and also a copy of my current income and expenditure details. I respectfully request that you re-consider my offer to make a reduced monthly payment of £50 per month, and that as a reciprocal goodwill gesture you refrain from levying any penalty charges & freeze any interest on my account. This will give me realistic way to reduce the balance owing on the account. I also request that any penalty charges imposed since 28th February 2013, when I first wrote to you asking for help, are removed immediately, along with any interest charges. If you are not able to assist me, or chose not to reply to this letter, I shall have no alternative but to continue to pay £1 per calendar month for the rest of the life of the account, as your actions would do nothing to help me and there is no realistic way for me to reduce the balance owing on the account. I have been advised to communicate with you in writing only, in order that an accurate record of proceedings is maintained. I am making every effort to resolve this situation with you. If you fail to assist me again, or ignore this letter and chose not to respond in writing, I will have no choice but to report the matter to the Financial Ombudsman Service without further delay. I look forward to receiving your written response within 14 days. Yours faithfully

Hi All. We've had an on-going debt issue for about 6 months now due to a drop in income for my wife and I. My wife has sorted out reduced payments with Barclaycard and Creation for 2 credit card accounts, both have kindly accepted temporary reduced payments of £10 and £30 and all but frozen the interest. The issue we have is with a third account which is storecard type account (Shop Direct) charging 39% interest. We have from the start offered a £50 reduced payment but they just seem to ignore our requests. Isent 2 letters (recorded) in March and April both asking for help with the usual threat that if they don't help we will reduce the payment to £1. I've also asked for all correspondence by letter to maintain an audit trail. Nothing comes back, except endless bills adding almost £200 per month on now as the debt was originally around £2k and has not grown well past £3k. I thought I'd have a third and final attempt in August so i sent another letter complaining about their lack of responses and threatening to report them to the FOS if they didn't respond, i also included copies of all of the other letters sent and delivery receipts, and even copies of the 2 temp agreements from the other 2 lenders, and also a copy of the income/expenditure report we'd used for the other lenders. I did get a reply back dated 27th August, this time from NCO Europe Ltd stating that the matter was being investigated and that we would receive a full and detailed response once the investigation is complete. We've still not heard anything ... I had also put the following in the last letter "I also request that any penalty charges imposed since 28th February 2013, when I first wrote to you asking for help, are removed immediately, along with any interest charges." I know that the penalty charges are unlawful and i can strike these off the debt, but am i within my rights to demand that the interest be removed as they failed to assist us for the last 6 months? I'm worried that the debt will just grow and grow even if they accept the £50 payments. Is the interest likely to be enforced ? I've read a fair bit about the legal processes and I've seen that if it becomes a CCJ the interest will be effectively frozen (there is nothing in the CA stating that interest will be added after judgment) but is there any way to force the interest to be frozen whilst we try to pay the debt off ? can i actually report them to the FOS or some similar authority who would assist me in freezing the interest to allow a realistic way to pay the debt off ? can we force a CCJ somehow ? I'm waiting eagerly for the "results of their investigations" but i fear that it's just another stalling tactic whilst they pile more interest onto the debt whilst ignoring our requests for help...

We did try one phone call, but the best they will offer is to stop the penalty charges the call was ended. I've had zero response to the letters offering £50 pm if they agree to freeze interest. Its the interest that worries me, it's in my wife's name but the mortgage is in our joint names, i am concerned that in 5 years time (when the £4k debt has become >£21k) they will try to get a charging order or similar and try to force a sale on the house. I wouldn't mind if anyone can cast their eye over the agreement uploaded here http://www.pdfhost.net/index.php?Action=Download&File=00b0642078c3d23434dedd7c1352a373 I can't see anything re adding contractual interest following a judgment, does this confirm that if it's goes down the CCJ route it will not be possible for Shop Direct to carry on adding the high level interest ?

Sorry, another thread for Very !! I'm worried about a debt we have with them, my wife has approx £4000 owing and the APR is just under 40%, so in just over 2 years it will have doubled and in just over 4 years time it will have increased to £16,000. Due to changes in circumstances I've now written the initial letter to Very offering £50 p/m which is about all we can afford at the moment, and asked for the interest to be frozen - I'm not convinced they will do this (it strikes me that the type of company to charge 40% APR will not be sympathetic). One thing I've read is that a CCJ will normally mean that the interest is frozen (i need to check the credit agreement to make sure there are no clauses around applying interest after a judgement is made). In this case it feels like a CCJ would actually be beneficial - is there any way we can force this into court ? we have a mortgage with limited equity, so worried that the APR will snowball if this isn't dealt with and overtake the small amount of equity that we do have, we would even welcome a charging order on the house if it means that the interest is frozen and we can pay off the debt with realistic monthly payments If anyone has any experience of how Very react to offers of reduced payments, etc, it would be greatly appreciated

okay thanks for the info

sorry guys, my last post crossed both of your recent replies, I'll go with sending failed to provide credit agreement letter in the first instance. will also get SAR sent in, and work on the basis that there was no credit agreement, therefore i feel i have paid them enough money (having paid well over the cost of the goods actually received), does that sound like a realistic plan ?

Ah okay, well i can say for certain that i did not sign a credit agreement back in 2003 - my partner at the time who is now my wife placed the initial order on-line, in my name (with my knowledge, simply because as i was the only one on the electoral register at the address). I remember thinking - wow these people are very trusting, they open an account with no signature/proof of id required, anyone could have opened it, nothing arrived in the post either only the goods ordered... EDIT: this sticks in my mind as i have had a beef with them ever since about account security, it must be the only on-line account where you can order simply by having the account holders account number and dob, no password required which is something i put a complaint in about Is there any way i can prevent them from registering the alleged outstanding amount on my CRA now, they claim to have satisfied their obligations under the consumer credit act by sending me the recon agreement, however there it does not contain my name and address, or any of my personal details at all for that matter. Should i now send them the failed to provide credit agreement letter as it doesn't satisfy all requirements (without telling them why), or can they simply draw up another agreement at will to satisfy the credit act ? (seems ludicrous if creditors can now do this)

My CRA file shows the approx £900 outstanding balance as defaulted, to which i'm sure they will be applying their 30% APR ... tbh i'm almost happy my CRA is stuffed to prevent any further credit

Hi, we are struggling to pay various debts at the moment, we have approached most asking for reduced payments, interest freeze, etc. However, CCA'd Next and they have openly admitted (in writing) that they cannot locate a signed credit agreement, please see http://freepdfhosting.com/626c0a8d51.pdf for full masked response from them. They also sent me some sort of account summary, which shows "Total Sales TD"of over £8000 which i assume is total of goods purchased, and "Cash Since Start" of £8700, which i think means i have paid them more than the value of the goods purchased ( have been making minimum payments for almost 10 years), but not the approx 30% interest they like to charge, which leaves the outstanding balance of approx £900 I'm unclear as to whether, in the absence of a true signed CCA, I am liable for the amount outstanding, given that i don't believe i ever signed a written credit agreement when i first bought goods from them some 10 years ago, and i have paid them more than the total value of any goods. Can anyone advise my best course of action in response to this letter please ? They have also obviously contradicted themselves by stating that the true copy must include "original name and address of the parties" which it does not (are they simply allowed to reconstitute another CCA which does ? or are they limited to 1 attempt to reconstitute it ???)

Sadly not so many yet, although they will be adding them on now. It's the future interest rate I'm worried about as it's 38% !

Hi all, my wife has a shop direct finance account (Littlewoods/Very) which charges a ridiculous rate of interest. It is now in default as she can't afford to pay the full payments. We CCA'd them to check details - there is an online 'ticked' agreement from 2011, but i did notice the credit agreement on the CCA is considerably lower than the amount of goods eventually purchased. My question - do the terms of the CCA therefore only relate to the % of the outstanding balance as shown in the CCA, or does it by default cover all items purchased on the account ? i had hoped to negotiate an agreement such as pay the high rate of interest on the % of the balance, but demand that they freeze interest on the remaining amount and we'd pay x amount per month to settle the debt. Thanks for any advice you can offer !

Hi all, please can someone assist with making sense of a bonus i received from my US employer. The bonus is in restricted stock units which are paid in 30 units batches (total 90) over 12, 24, and then 36 months. The first 12 month 'vesting date' occurred in December 2011, and i received a payment on my wage slip which was shown as a credit in the 'deductions' section. I had received a letter stating that 16 of the 30 units were being "withheld for taxes". This led me to believe that the remaining 14 units were the payment (credit) shown on my wage slip (although i didn't actually do anything to trigger a sale, my assumption at that time was that it was actioned by default). Surprisingly i have recently logged into my account on the financial management website used to administer the scheme, and it shows that i have a holding of 14 shares which are available to sell. I'm now confused as to what the credit on my December 2011 wage slip was, why, and more importantly how much i potentially owe the tax office if i sell the remaining 14 shares. I'd really appreciate any advise on the matter, i'm no tax expert myself, i've tried reading the ts&cs but as it's a US company it so often simply states "refer to local taxation rules for the recipients country" and i won't even bother approaching our 'outsourced' HR/payroll department..... Links to both docs below showing the figures. Thanks in advance! http://imageshack.us/g/209/lettero.jpg/

I called the MCOL hotline today and they informed me that the claimant has not responded to the defense, and as a result the claim has now been stayed. As far as i can see the claimant has never had justification to bring this claim, and has breached CPR on many levels. I'd like to put this to bed so i'm sure my next move is N244 application. Can someone advise whether i first need to submit an N244 asking the court to order that the claimant produce the paperwork (they won't), and then an N244 asking for the claim to be struck out, or can i skip straight to N244 asking for the strike out given that I've been pushing for the paperwork (using CPR31.14 and section 78) since beginning of Jan ? I've drafted the following, which is a straight forward request to strike out, please can someone advise as i'm keen to put this to bed using the most effective route !!! Box 3:An order that this claim be struck out under CPR 3.4 (2) (a), (b), and © as the particulars of claim have not been sufficiently particularised to enable the defendant to understand what charges she has to answer and the claimant has not responded to the defendant's requests made under CPR31.14. Box 4:Yes Box 5:Without a hearing Box 8 District Judge Box 9:Claimant Box 10:See Witness Statement Draft Order 1. This claim is struck out under CPR 3.4(2) by order of the court 2. The Claimant shall pay the defendant her costs of this case to be assessed on the standard basis and pursuant to the provisions of The Litigants in Person (Costs and Expenses) Act 1975. Witness Statement 1. On 28/12/11, I received a claim form, issued by Aplins acting on behalf of Hillesden Securities. The particulars of claim was insufficiently particularised and disclosed no legal cause of action. It therefore failed to comply with the civil procedure rules 16.2(1) (a) (cc), 16.4(1) (a) and 16.4(2) (a) and (b). (enclose a copy of the claim form) 2. On 03/01/2012 I sent a letter to Aplins requesting the disclosure of information pursuant to part 31 of the Civil Procedure Rules (according to Royal Mail this was delivered on 06/01/2012). The information requested amounted to copies of the loan agreement referred to in the particulars of claim and any default or termination notices. Also a copy of the Deed of assignment and Notice of assignment to Hillesden Securities Ltd and confirmation of whether the balance claimed includes late payment fees, over limit fees, failed direct debit fees, etc. (enclose copy) 3. Following a request by Aplins for a 28 day extension to enable receipt of the documents, on 26/01/2012 I sent a second letter to Aplins requesting this information (according to Royal Mail this was delivered on 30/01/2012). (enclose copy) 4. On 07/02/2012 I received a letter from the claimant stating that they were “still awaiting documentation from Lloyds TSB pertaining to your account and are hopeful this will be made available shortly”. (enclose copy) 5. On 21/02/2012 I sent a letter to the claimant requesting a copy of the loan agreement stating “under the Consumer Credit Act 1974 (Sections 77−79) I am entitled to receive a copy of the credit agreement on request”. (enclose copy) 4. On 02/03/2012 I received a letter from the claimant stating “In view of the associated costs involved with this matter, we have taken the decision to close our file”. As of the date of this application the claimant has failed to comply with the requests for disclosure. (enclose copy) 5.I therefore respectfully request that the court uses its powers to strike out the claim under CPR 3.4(2) (a) (b) as an abuse of process and the Claimant be ordered to pay the costs of this application to be summarily assessed on the standard basis and pursuant to the provisions of The Litigants in Person (Costs and Expenses) Act 1975. STATEMENT OF TRUTH I believe that the facts in this statement are true

bump, any thoughts on this please ?

Have a look at my thread, similar situation. As mentioned above you need to acknowledge, and send the CPR letter to the claimant ASAP. If defended correctly, it will all hang on whether the claimant has all the correct paperwork to back up their claim. http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?331683-Defending-CC-Claim-Hillesden-Securities-Ltd

any tips for next course of action please ? keen to get and application in if this is the best course of action....

Thanks for merging threads dx sorry for not having replied sooner i was a bit hesitant in case prying eyes were following my thread(s) on here, I'm now at a stage where i feel i can post all the relevant info (with details removed of course). Firstly, huge thanks for the feedback on here and the many hours i've spent reading threads - it has been a huge help and for sure we would have been clueless without it. I've attached pdf's of relevent info, brief summary as follows:- 1.Claim received (pdf), no documents to back up POC 2.Acknowledged claim 3.Sent CPR 31.14 request to claimants solicitors (agreement, default notice, account termination notice, and proof of assignment) and CPR 18 request (date of last payment, source of payment, balance claimed, penalty charges, late payment, etc) 4.Sent SAR request to original lender (bank) along with SAR fee 5.Claimants solicitors requested a 28 day extension by letter, but then failed to send any response to CPRs 6.Defence submitted (pdf) 7.Recieved SAR response from bank, un-signed doc (pdf) as you suggest dx - poss filled in by employee! 8.Recieved letter (now directly from claimant, not sols) offering to negotiate (pdf) 9.Sent letter to claimant denying any debt, asking again for docs, this time under CCA with £1 fee 10.Recieved letter from claimant returning fee stating that in view of costs they have "closed their file" I think that covers it .... I wondered what my best move is now in light of the fact that they have "closed their file", not sure what this means re the court claim. The claimant maintains that they are awaiting receipt of documentation, and have failed to come up with this 2 months on ... the documentation i have received appears to be invalid. Should i apply for judgment/costs or for the claim to be struck out, and is it possible to seek costs as defending LIP, should i complain to the FSA for breach of consumer credit act (against original debtor and/or claimant). I have not received anything from the court other than the acknowledgment of defense, which states "if the dispute cannot be resolved informally, the claimant will inform the court that he wishes to proceed". I'm assuming that they will now not be proceeding, but who knows ... Any advise at this stage would be hugely appreciated http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?23si2eop79r2lqo http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?omnkm8rnpf552nk http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?u61tax0olqtb1wf http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?dx01g9ntjb1ofbf http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?ycykr283zi97rym

I've studied the SAR info further and it looks as if the following has occurred:- The original loan was taken out in 2002. My wife (well, she is now) could not afford to continue paying the debt as she went back into full time education following redundancy. A 'rescue package' was agreed which is the second loan issued in 2003. The interest was in effect frozen (well it was lowered drastically to 1%) and lower payments agreed. She then began to struggle with these payments. It looks as if the bank then decided to withdraw their good will and closed the second CCA in 2005, and opened a new account which appears to be without her authority as no signed CCA, which was back at a higher interest rate with even less chance of her affording the payments. She made some payments up to 2007, at which point the debt was sold to debt collection agencies.

EDIT: sudden realisation that i now need to CCA the debt collection agency - i wish i thought first before posting

Just received the results of SAR to the bank There are 3 loan agreements - first was closed and transferred onto the second, the second in turn then closed and transferred onto the third and final loan (which is the subject of the claim). The bank have sent the CCA for the final loan which is being claimed, however section which is marked "sign it only if you want to be legally bound by the terms" and "signature of customer(s)" and "date of signature(s)" are completely blank! it looks like the CCA was drawn up without my wife even being present !..... There is a big black arrow pointing to a box saying "please sign" - the box is blank. The only thing signed is a direct debit instruction which she has signed and dated with the same loan account number on, but it appears to be a separate document entirely. Am i correct in thinking that if defended properly, the lack of signature on the CCA means that the debt cannot be enforced under the consumer credit act ? I've had nothing back from the repeated CPR requests to the claimants sols, i think i can see why now..... I'll get the docs scanned in on Monday if necessary, appreciate any views

okey dokey, thanks for the advise we'll see if anything turns up tomorrow or Monday.

Afternoon Andy yep claim is for although I did state in CPR request "case has not been allocated to a track. In consequence the provisions of CPR 27(2) are of no effect and you should not seek to avoid compliance with your CPR 31 duties by claiming otherwise."

I received a response to my CPR31.14 request asking for 28 day extension to allow for receipt of documents, i forwarded to Northampton CC and they extended defense date to this coming Monday 6th (28 days). I sent another letter which the claimant received on Monday stating that i need adequate time to file my defense from receipt of docs (14 days specified) and requested a further extension to Monday 20th Feb (this would be that max 28 days from original defense due date) and that they should respond back to me by today at the latest. I have not received a reply from the claimants sols.... I am now intending to file a holding/embarassed defense on Monday on the basis of no docs to back up POC (cca, sum arrived, default, assignment, etc, etc), no response to CPR31.14 request, etc. The defense closes with the following statements:- 8.The claimant has failed to comply with my requests for disclosure entirely and it is suggested that such failure highlights that there is no case for me to answer. It has proven difficult to compose this defense without disclosure of the information requested, especially given that I am Litigant in Person. 9.Since the claimant has failed to comply with the request for disclosure as outlined in point 6, it is requested the court consider striking out the claimant statement of claim as failing to disclose reasonable grounds for bringing the claim. 10. I further ask the court consider striking out the claimants case as it fails to comply with part 16 and practice direction 16 insofar that no documents have been supplied and fails to show any consideration to the overriding objective to allow the court to deal with this case justly. 11.Alternatively, I respectfully request a stay in proceedings until such time as the claimant complies with the requests outlined in point 6 above or until the court orders its compliance with the same. I will then be in a position to file a fully particularised defense and counterclaim and will seek the courts permission to amend my statement of case according My question is .... IF i don't get a response from the claimant on Monday (which is in my view way too late to be considered in my defense anyway, plus they ignored my letter requesting further extension) is it worth submitting an N244 as well as the defense or will the closing statements in the defense have the same effect ??? Thanks