Consumer Credit Agreements - A letter from the Parliamentary Under Secretary Of State

[42man]

For those of you who need to know about Consumer Credit Agreements and why they MUST be produced.

 

I recently wrote to my local MP to inform him of my case against my forced bankruptcy. Yesterday I received a letter from my MP with the response from Gareth Thomas MP (Parliamentary Under Secretary Of State For Trade And Consumer Affairs)

 

It says

 

Thank you for your letter regarding your constituent.....blah blah about problems with debt collection agencies. However I am unable to intervene in disputes of this nature. His best course of action is to seek independent advice or go to his local Citizen's Advice Bureau.....

 

I can however provide some clarity on the point Mr (me) makes about his request for a copy of the credit agreements in question. Sections 77 and 78 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 provide that a consumer may request a copy of any credit agreement they entered into. The Act requires that the lender must comply with any such request within the prescribed period of 12 working days. If a lender cannot comply with the request, they cannot enforce the credit agreement whilst this default continues. Mr (me) may wish to pursue this point further if and when he seeks further advice about the dispute he is engaged in.

 

A lot of us on these forums know about this, but this hopefully will confirm to a lot of people who didn't know this fact, just how important it is to ask for the agreement.

[42man]

i'll see what I can do....

[42man]

OK when I get time I will post it up....in the meantime if you need the specific regulations in the Consumer Credit Act then these are they...

 

Consumer Credit (Prescribed Periods for Giving Information) Regulations

1983 (SI 1983/1569)

 

2 Prescribed period

The period of 12 working days is hereby prescribed for the purposes of each provision of the Act specified in Column 1

of the Schedule to these Regulations relating to the duty indicated in Column 2 in relation to regulated agreements

 

 

SCHEDULE

SECTIONS OF THE ACT IN RESPECT OF WHICH A PERIOD OF 12 WORKING DAYS IS PRESCRIBED RELATING TO DUTIES IN

RELATION TO REGULATED AGREEMENTS

Regulation 2

Section of the

Act

Duty

(1) (2)

77(1) Duty to give information to debtor under fixed-sum credit agreement.

78(1) Duty to give information to debtor under running-account credit agreement.

79(1) Duty to give information to hirer under consumer hire agreement.

 

and section 78 for running credit

 

 

78.

Duty to give information to debtor under running-account credit agreement.

— (1) The creditor under a regulated agreement for running-account credit, within the prescribed period after receiving a request in writing to that effect from the debtor and payment of a fee of [F1 £1], shall give the debtor a copy of the executed agreement (if any) and of any other document referred to in it, together with a statement signed by or on behalf of the creditor showing, according to the information to which it is practicable for him to refer,—

(a)

the state of the account, and

 

(b)

the amount, if any currently payable under the agreement by the debtor to the creditor, and

 

©

the amounts and due dates of any payments which, if the debtor does not draw further on the account, will later become payable under the agreement by the debtor to the creditor.

 

 

(2) If the creditor possesses insufficient information to enable him to ascertain the amounts and dates mentioned in subsection (1)©, he shall be taken to comply with that paragraph if his statement under subsection (1) gives the basis on which, under the regulated agreement, they would fall to be ascertained.

 

(3) Subsection (1) does not apply to—

(a)

an agreement under which no sum is, or will or may become, payable by the debtor, or

 

(b)

a request made less than one month after a previous request under that subsection relating to the same agreement was complied with.

 

 

(4) Where running-account credit is provided under a regulated agreement, the creditor shall give the debtor statements in the prescribed form, and with the prescribed contents—

(a)

showing according to the information to which it is practicable for him to refer, the state of the account at regular intervals of not more than twelve months, and

 

(b)

where the agreement provides, in relation to specified periods, for the making of payments by the debtor, or the charging against him of interest or any other sum, showing according to the information to which it is practicable for him to refer the state of the account at the end of each of those periods during which there is any movement in the account.

 

 

(5) A statement under subsection (4) shall be given within the prescribed period after the end of the period to which the statement relates.

 

(6) 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;

 

 

(7) This section does not apply to a non-commercial agreement, and subsections (4) and (5) do not apply to a small agreement

Edited June 18, 2009 by 42man

[42man]

Finally been able to dust off the scanner.....let's hope this works...

 

 

Edited June 18, 2009 by 42man

[42man]

bumping this up for anybody who needs convincing about credit agreements !!!

[42man]

Bumping up again for those who need convincing on the Consumer Credit Agreements !!!

[42man]

The legislation does actually mean something, it means without a Consumer Credit Agreement, they cannot get any credit debt enforced...If you want to complain ask for the official complaints procedure of the company in question, if they either don't respond or the procedure is not to your satisfaction then report them to the Financial Ombudsman Service....

[42man]

Bumping up...

[42man]

Added the letters again...