BLS Collections - offering early settlement

[Ldyexport]

:-? Can anyone help me on this one please, this is a joint debt through Lloyds-Tsb with my ex-husband, originally this was a bank account and all this debt of £1900 is overdraft and charges. I myself have been paying £3.00 per month towards and do no know how much my ex is paying to them. My present husband would love to help me get rid of this debt but as its joint debt with my ex is a bit reluctant, which is understandable.

 

Anyway, BLS have said that they could reduce this to 60% which means I could settle the debt at £1169. The bit which I find very amusing is the wording on their letter "On receipt of cleared funds, our client will advise the Credit Reference Agencies to amend your records to show this account as partially settled, surely it should say settled not partially??.

 

:-?

[setmefree]

Hi Ldyexport

 

Firstly is this debt in the hands of a debt collection agency??

If it is i would send off a CCA request letter (N) apllies in the template section, click on the link below.

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/general-debt/20758-creditors-dcas-letter-templates.html

They must supply you with a True copy of your agreement,without a copy the debt is unenforcable, your copy should be sent to you within 12 days,we say 14 days which allows for postage,if after this period you have not received your copy then they have defaulted,this then means you can refuse payment until they do supply you CCA request.

If you haven't received your CCA after 42 days then this becomes an offence on the part of the Debt Collection Agency,and you should report them to the Trading Standards in the area where the DCA's are from.

Always send your CCA request recorded or special delivery,that way you will have proof of postage,and a signature can be obtained through the royal mail web site using their track and trace,link below is for Track and Trace.

http://www.royalmail.com/portal/rm

Alter the CCA request template to suit your circumstances,any problems after doing the above let us know.

SMF

[NailPost]

If the debt is made up principally of charges it could be best for you to wait and see what happens in the test case currently before the courts. That may declare charges and penalty fees illegal in which case you could apply to have the whole lot set aside.

 

Offering a lower settlement fee would suit the collector best - money for very little effort - and I would certaibnly make both the debt collector and the original bank work very very hard for their money. Providing the proper paperwork to prove the debt would just be the first step.

 

Remember the old adage no paperwork = no debt.

[Ldyexport]

Thanks everyone, I will get the CCA letter sent off straightaway. This debt is approximately 10 years old or even more, will be interesting to see what comes up.

 

Again, many thanks for your help

[surprise]

For info and as it my friends at Lloyds not, I have it in writing that they don't keep their agreements after six years even if the account is live. I did remind them of their obligations that it should be six years after the account is closed. I'm awaiting their next move.

 

Good luck with your request.

[shane5408]

Hi,

 

If the debt is for an overdraft a CCA REquest probably won't be much use, subject to a OFT Determination order Overdrafts are exempt from Section V of the Act and the creditor has no legal requirement to hold a credit agreement for them. However, the creditor is required to of informed you on the general terms of the agreed overdrft prior to opening it, ie Credit Limit, Rate of Interest and Repayments etc, to ascertain whether or not they did that you would need to send a SAR request, it will also be beneficial as you will get a complete transactional breakdown of the account and can begin claiming back any penalty charges on the account.

 

kind regards,

shane

 

 

____________________________________________

All advice is offered freely & without prejudice

 

If my post has been useful to you please click the scales

[Ldyexport]

Sorry I'm new to this site, so which letter do I send for the Subject Access Request, shall I still send a request for CCA?

 

Many thanks

[Ldyexport]

Have just received a reply from Debt Managers after having sending them a request for CCA, they have said in the letter that they have requested a copy of the signed agreement from their client and wilkl revert to me once this is to hand.

 

So, do I just sit and wait and still carry on paying those £3.00 per months as usual? Any help would be greatly appreciated

[surprise]

They have 12 working days+2 to produce the agreement if your payment is due in the interim I would think it wise to pay it otherwise you will just get phone calls. If there isn't a payment due just sit back and wait for them to respond to your request.

[Ldyexport]

Ok will sit and wait and see what happens, will keep the standing order payment going, many thanks