catalogues

[run_rabbit55]

hi, ive got an account with freemans catalogue. due to circumstances i cant afford the pay the monthly payments. they have sent a letter saying they will be charging us £12 every reminder they send me for late payements. has anyone got any experience of this sort of thing or ways to get around it?

[Bookworm]

Not about "getting around it", no. But you can and should reclaim every single charge they add to your account.

 

I am about to go to war against my Kays catalogue. For months and months, I have paid them hundreds and hundreds of pounds ahead. Now thanks to their newly redesigned stupidly incomprehensible statements, I apparently have not made the minimum payment requested and they have told me they will charge me £12 if I do not make the requested payment on time.

 

Now the way I see it, I can not be behind with my payments considering how far ahead I was, so that should be interesting if they don't back down on that one. Either way, am I bovvered? If they charge it, I won't pay it and when my balance is down to £0 by my calculations leaving only a charges balance, we'll see who backs down first. (Tip: won't be me. )

[Guest wino]

I always think first point of call is to ring customer services and explain your circumstances. They may well reduce your monthly payments for a while. Mention that you cannot afford the £12 reminder notice. They hopefully will sort out a repayment plan and not send any reminders out.

 

Let us know what happens so we can try to help you further if need be.

[run_rabbit55]

by contacting customer services and getting a reduced minium payment will that affect credit rating?

[run_rabbit55]

can i contact my catalogues (freemans and littlewoods) to ask them if they can lower my monthly payments?

if i offer a payement i can afford and they accept will this affect credit rating or anything?

[powelll]

Usually if you make any kind of reduced offer it will result in your credit ref. file being affected. Do you remember signing credit agreements for the catalogues? Also do you have any other debts? It's much easier to advise when we know all the circumstances.

 

Basic debt advice is that catalogues are a 'non priority' debt which means that you should be offering to pay what you can afford once all of your essentials are covered.

 

If any of the balance is made up of charges etc you may be able to challenge this. If you didn't sign a credit agreement you may also find the agreement is unenforceable anyway.

 

I've linked to a useful budget sheet below as this is a good starting point for anyone struggling - In the outgoigns section don't list any non priority debts like the catalogues or any cards, loans etc. There's also a good factsheet specifially for catalogues

 

National Debtline England & Wales | Personal Budget Sheet

 

National Debtline England & Wales | Debt Advice | Factsheet 32 Catalogue Debts

[mrmarmite]

all i say just remember that Littlewoods is owned by GUS, Gus also own a couple DCA's AND Experian

[Guest wino]

by contacting customer services and getting a reduced minium payment will that affect credit rating?

 

I honestly don't know, sorry:(

[UkSecrets]

can i contact my catalogues (freemans and littlewoods) to ask them if they can lower my monthly payments?

if i offer a payement i can afford and they accept will this affect credit rating or anything?

 

 

Hi,

 

Someone from Freemans called a few weeks ago out of the blue offering a lower repayment plan form the normal amount that was being paid on a monthly basis.

 

Basically what they done was stretched the length of time that the repayments had to be made by that way it lowered the monthly repayment amount.

 

Maybe you should call them and ask about a different repayment term.

 

Just thought i'd share this info, hope its off help.

 

Uksecrets.

[The GodMother]

well when i offered abound a lower repayment plan i was told it was not enough and i had to pay the minimum of half my income a month to cover the debt. the debt at the time was only 1,300 including charges.

 

i told them this was not possible due to finical circs and that l could only afford what l had offered and proof was on my IE sheet. They said l had over exagrated my expediture and made me look like i was unable to pay more out.

 

The problem there is i only recieve a set amount from my partner for my bills due to him being the claimant of the benefits and trying to share it out was not easy.

 

They refused the offer and they got CCAd needless to say l am still waiting for a copy of the CCA from october.

[pt2537]

Hi,

 

Someone from Freemans called a few weeks ago out of the blue offering a lower repayment plan form the normal amount that was being paid on a monthly basis.

 

Basically what they done was stretched the length of time that the repayments had to be made by that way it lowered the monthly repayment amount.

 

Maybe you should call them and ask about a different repayment term.NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO

 

Just thought i'd share this info, hope its off help.

 

Uksecrets.

 

I cant say it enough,

 

NEVER EVER call these companies on the phone, they will try to get you to agree to all manner of things. i even had one catalogue try to tell me that all they had to do was produce a copy of the catalogue in court and that would be enough to get a CCJ against me, they also told me they dont need a CCA and if i didnt pay they would get a charge over my home:rolleyes:

 

love to seem em do that cause i live in rented accomodation

 

the problem is if you are not strong willed then you could end up being pushed into a corner

 

so its best to keep everything in writing,that way you retain control of the situation

 

regards

paul

[Caz1974]

Morning Run

Depending on the company itself if you make a reduced payment and stick to it your credit rating shouldn't be affected.

It's when you agree to a reduced payment plan and then don't pay that your credit rating will be all over the place.

The best thing to do is to phone them and ask everything (regarding whether reduced payments will affect your credit rating) whilst explaining your circumstances and most of them will accept smaller amounts until you get back on your feet.

Hope this helps I haven't had any experience with Kays but I know that all the £12 admin charges are reclaimable so I'd suggest paying off only what you actually owe them then reclaiming the charges that have been applied.

[The GodMother]

I cant say it enough,

 

NEVER EVER call these companies on the phone, they will try to get you to agree to all manner of things. i even had one catalogue try to tell me that all they had to do was produce a copy of the catalogue in court and that would be enough to get a CCJ against me, lol good luck with that you ijits they also told me they dont need a CCA erm wrong no cca no pay. and if i didnt pay they would get a charge over my home:rolleyes:

 

love to seem em do that cause i live in rented accomodation Paul l personal think your landlord would love you for that.

 

the problem is if you are not strong willed then you could end up being pushed into a corner do what my Jack Russel done one day he growled at my partners German shepard, GS has never tired to eat JRs food whilest JR is eating it. Basically he grew some balls. If they start spouting lies as for everything in writing only. they dont like that.

 

so its best to keep everything in writing,that way you retain control of the situation even when they dont write back you are in control

 

regards

paul

.....

[mrmarmite]

they never give in, they know they having problems collecting debts now, they seem to be putting more and more pressue on, this goies back to my comments about OFT in mass complaint against dca's thread.

[run_rabbit55]

hi all. ive got an outstanding debt to freemans which has been passed on to a dca. i requested a signed credit agreement from them and then recieved a letter asking for payment again with no mention of my request. they seem to be being nice about things at the moment but i simply cant prioritise paying them anything yet otherwise i feel this will set me back financially. to me it sounds like they cant get hold of a credit agreement. so what action should i take taking in to account i wont be paying them till after the new year.

[huggys boss]

Hi, if their 12+2 days for complying with your CCA request have passed then send them this :

 

I do not acknowledge any debt to your company

Dear Sir,

 

Re:−

 

FORMAL NOTICE - ACCOUNT IN DISPUTE.

 

This letter is further to letter from yourselves dated (enter date).

On the (enter date) I wrote to you requesting a copy of the credit agreement and other information under the Consumer Credit Act 1974 (Sections 77-79).

 

To date you have failed to comply with these requests in any way.

 

These documents I requested should be readily available as proof of your legal right to collect this account under the Consumer Credit Act 1974.

 

Furthermore, you are aware that the Consumer Credit Act allows 12 working days for a request for a true copy of a credit agreement to be carried out before you enter into a default situation.

 

These limits have expired.

 

As you are no doubt aware the Consumer Credit Act states:

 

If the creditor fails to comply with Subsection (1)

 

He is not entitled , while the default continues, to enforce the agreement.

 

Therefore this account has become unenforceable at law.

 

Consequentially any legal action you pursue will be averred as both UNLAWFUL and VEXATIOUS.

 

Furthermore I shall counter-claim that any such action constitutes unlawful harassment.

 

Please note you may also consider this letter as a statutory notice under section 10 of the Data Protection Act to cease processing any data in relation to this account with immediate effect.

 

This means you must remove all information regarding this account from your own internal records and from my records with any credit reference agencies.

Should you refuse to comply, you must within 21 days of the initial request to stop processing my details, provide me with a detailed breakdown of your reasoning behind continuing to process my data.

 

It is not sufficient to simply state that you have a ‘legal right’. You must outline your reasoning in this matter and state upon which legislation this reasoning depends.

 

Furthermore you should be aware that a creditor is not permitted to take ANY

Action against an account whilst it remains in dispute.

 

The lack of a credit agreement is a very clear dispute and as such the following applies.

 

* You may not demand any payment on the account, nor am I obliged to offer any payment to you.

* You may not add further interest or any charges to the account.

* You may not pass the account to a third party.

* You may not register any information in respect of the account with any credit reference agency.

* You may not issue a default notice related to the account.

 

I reserve the right to report your actions to any such regulatory authorities as I see fit including but not limited to Trading Standards, the Office of Fair Trading, the Information Commissioners Office, The Financial Ombudsman Service and my MP .

You have 7 days from receiving this letter to contact me with your intentions to resolve this matter which is now a formal complaint.

 

I would appreciate your due diligence in this matter.

 

I look forward to hearing from you in writing.

 

Yours faithfully

 

 

Edit to suit, and remember that you should NOT sign anything you send to a dca. Just print your name.

[run_rabbit55]

thanks. so if they cant get a credit aggrement what happens. im interested in the fact that there is probably £100 worth of charges freemans have made to my account for late or non payments. if the debt has been passed over is it worth writting to freemans at the moment?

[huggys boss]

If they don't have a CCA then you can stop payment until they get one if you wish to do so.

 

Send the DCA the "account in dispute letter" and wait and see what happens. Chances are, they will pass the account back to Freemans who will pass it on to another DCA.

 

At the moment, all correspondance should be directed towards the DCA, unless you want to do an S.A.R - subject access request. The S.A.R will cost you £10 and they must supply you will all information they hold about you.

[SharpmanTF1]

hi run_rabbit55

 

. (a) when you requested the copy of CCA did you do it using the CCA74 s77/78 request, sending them the compulsory £1.00 fee.?

 

. (b) did you send it SD (signed for). if so do you have confirmation of reciept?

 

if yes to all of the above then they have 12+2 days to comply. (14days from day you posted it)

 

if after that they have not supplied then you are under no obligation to pay any more until they do so.

They are not (in an ideal world) allowed to pursue the debt or take any enforcement action.

 

(If No to the Above then you need to do this as soon as possible.)

 

Here are some good threads to be getting along with in the meantime

 

Consumer Credit Act Agreements

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/general/33174-consumer-credit-act-agreements.html?highlight=cca+1974#post258846

 

Failure To Comply With CCA Request

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/legal-issues/165363-failure-comply-cca-request.html?highlight=cca+1974#post1778436

 

Unenforceable agreements under the Consumer Credit Act

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/general-debt-issues/41731-unenforceable-agreements-under-consumer.html?highlight=cca+1974#post329461

 

Guidelines - Requests For An Original Agreement Under The Consumer Credit Act 1974

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/general-debt-issues/83035-guidelines-requests-original-agreement.html?highlight=cca+1974#post742396

 

Think that should keep you busy for a while

 

And if and when/if the CCA happens to turn up, post it up so it can be perused for validity.

 

Hope this helps

 

Sharpman

[run_rabbit55]

my freemans debt was passed to eos solutions and now ive had a letter stating the balance has been sold to actio f. gmbh. it says they will be responsible to collect the outstanding balance but have decided to leave the account under the control of eos solutions. what does this mean and who are actio f. gmbh? i sent a request for a cca to eos a while back and havent heard from this this letter