Moorcroft - some help/guidance please.

[manna1977]

Hi,

 

This is my first post and am just after some advice please.

 

I have been paying Moorcroft since July 2005 for an Empire Stores Debt.

 

I missed my December payment of £20, and received a letter dated 11th January from them saying I had to send the arrears by return of post. I didn't do this as I was hoping to wait and just pay the arrears via standing order along with this month's payment, at the end of the month.

 

I then received another letter dated 21 January saying this has been passed to their home collections dept - and if I wanted to continue paying to Moorcroft, the arrears of £20 must be received by 10am on 28th January. I phoned them last night and the bloke said I could send a cheque tomorrow, so I agreed to this. I then called again tonight tonight and asked if I could pay it with my pre-pay Maestro card in the morning. The bloke I spoke that payment must be made by 10am tomorrow morning. He then said that as I have defaulted, the agreement of £20 per month no longer exists - and I will have to pay half of my oustanding balance (which after the £20 arrears have been paid will stand at £155.99) on Feb 24th and the remaining half on March 24th.

 

How can they do this? I am in an IVA and unfortunately Moorcroft caught up with me after the IVA was in place. I was considering phoning the company dealing with my IVA for some guidance, but saw this site and decided to give it a shot.

 

Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

[sharondogf]

I personally would still phone the IVA for some guidance, but as I am not offay with an IVA keep looking on this site and I am sure you will get some good advice from the experts who have and are in the same position as you.

 

You are in good hands here, everybodies advice and experience has been helpful to me, I can sleep easily at night knowing that I am not alone

 

Sharon.

[sharondogf]

Here's the templates you need.

 

Letter N for the CCA request. Do not sign your letter, send Recorded or special delivery, enclose £1 postal order.

 

If you have are harrassed by phone send them a telephone harrassment letter as well or do that anyway to avoid calls.

 

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

[manna1977]

Thanks, what happens next if the CCA isn't forthcoming after the 12 days?

[ODC]

Thanks, what happens next if the CCA isn't forthcoming after the 12 days?

If they do not produce a valid CCA within the 12 days then you can legally stop paying them. Being an Empire Stores Debt they will not have an executed CCA. If they continue to harrass you after the 12 days are up then report them to TS.

[manna1977]

Thanks. As the payment I missed is only 3 weeks late as of now, is there any danger of one of their "agents" turning up at my door as they have threatened? Cheers, Chris.

[minichedda]

hiya

 

i've dealt with moorcrap before i joined this site. i found them to be ok when i offered to go through my expenditure to describe how i couldn't afford the payments they wanted. they were happy to take what they could get!

 

however, i am sorely regretting it now as i cleared the debt.

 

i'd now say to go the cca way, and although it may get sticky at some times but just try and ride through it. if you have worries post on here there are loads of people to support you x

[manna1977]

Hi, I have been paying them for 2 and a half years and this is the only payment I've missed. I can afford to continue paying the £20 per month, but they are demanding I pay the £20 arrears then half the balance in Feb and the remaining half in March. I'll be sending the CCA tomorrow. I would like to know though, what is the procedure to stop paying them if they don't produce it within the 12 days? Will they just leave me alone? I'm also gonna ring my IVA supervisor in the morning to get his views.

[minichedda]

er... i think you just stop and let them get themselves into default. yeah i regularly fell into arrears and paid the last payment with the current one but with no problems, i used to say 'well i dont get paid until xxx date' and they'd say 'what can you afford today?' kind of thing. must admit i always tried to stay on the right side of them and spoke to them like i'd like to be spoken to. unfortunately i was very naive and decided to settle the debt to have a quiet(er!) life.

[manna1977]

Yeah, the bloke I spoke to last night seemed okay, but the one I spoke to last night was a *bleep*, making things up as he went along lol

[dpr]

Hi, I've had a few dealings with Moorcroft in the past and found their all talk and not really much action. When ever i was late with a payment I would pay them as soon as possible and send them a letter apologizing for the delay in payment and that I would catch up as soon I can. I would not agree to their demands if you can't afford it, after all you can't give them what you haven't got. I would put in a letter that you can afford the £20 a month as you have been doing but no more.

Never speak to them on the phone unless you record the conversation and tell them that you are recording it. I'm sure these advisers are trained in making you make pannick decisions, which result in you pannicking further.

[manna1977]

Thanks for that - would you recommend continuing to pay them, or sending the CCA? I think I'll definitely ring my IVA supervisor in the morning before making my final decision.

[minichedda]

you could always point out that you did offer to make some contribution but as they are not willing to accept what you have offered you could say that in light of their actions you will be processing a reuest for a CCA then send your CCA at the same time. I send these guys 2 or 3 letters at a time for different things because that is exactly what they do to me!

[dpr]

By sending the CCA you are putting the debt in dispute, if that's the route you want to go then don't pay anything. If you think that you didn't sign a credit agreement in the first place you have nothing to loose really, if they can't produce the CCA the debt is unenforceable.

Under Section 77 fixed sum credit of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 they have 12 days to produce one, if they don't under section 78 (6 a and b) of the Consumer Credit Act 1974, they are not entitled whilst a default continues to enforce any alleged agreement.

[dpr]

I know this to be true because when Bryan Carter solicitors took me to court on behalf of shop direct i used them quotes from the consumer credit act in my defence to the court and Bryan Carter solicitor's dropped the case and I haven't paid them a penny since.

[ODC]

Manna

 

Just remember how nasty they were to you on the phone. Send them the CCA letter. Make them prove that a debt actually exists and that they have a legal right to collect it. After 12 days you can LEGALLY stop paying them. THey can huff and puff all they like but without a properly executed CCA they can do absolutely nothing. If they continue to harrass and threaten you after failing to produce one then report them to Trading Standards. Above all things NEVER EVER SPEAK TO THEM ON THE PHONE

[PGH7447]

I offered to pay these muppets £20 a month on a debt, but they insisted I pay £50, anyway sent £20 for 2 months running then got a letter from the pathetically named Pre Courts Divison - so sent CCA and stopped all payments, they are now in default. Serves em right for trying it on.

 

PGH7447

[ODC]

I offered to pay these muppets £20 a month on a debt, but they insisted I pay £50, anyway sent £20 for 2 months running then got a letter from the pathetically named Pre Courts Divison - so sent CCA and stopped all payments, they are now in default. Serves em right for trying it on.

 

PGH7447

Most DCAs are so stupid. They send people nasty letters with all sorts of threats. Some people worry and believe them and cough up. More and more people google them and end up here and discover their rights and CCA the DCAs who it usually turns out cannot enforce a debt,

[manna1977]

Thanks. CCA request has been typed up, gonna go to the Post Office for a P.O at lunch time and send it off. We'll see what happens next.

[Sidewinder]

Subbing.

 

The most incompetent DCA I have ever had dealings with. I have experienced all of the above at various points but alas cannot CCA them as I owe on a CCJ. They are swines for making up the rules as they go along and saying that payment agreements have been cancelled or overruled - it is just a ruse for the employee who gets the increased payment to earn more commission. I agree entirely that they are idiots who by harassing the debtor for an increased amount end up with a defaulted CCA request and get nothing. If a Home Collections agent turns up you are not obliged to open the door, let them in or even speak to them - they have no more right to visit you at home than anybody else, and under the OFT guidelines cannot visit you without an appointment.

[Mrs_Ryan]

bear in mind Moorcroft are the shower who threatened to take a murdered girls mum to court as she hadnt paid her daughters phone bill.... and it seems refused to believe the girl was dead. Lovely people.. sooo competent

[manna1977]

Hopefully the CCA request will shut them up lol

[Guest Old_andrew2018]

any update