Alan v LPF Littlewoods/Barclays

[furnitman2003]

My wife has a Credit Card Account with LPF Littlewoods, she got into arrears a while ago and has thus incurred charges and interest on this account,

The current Balance stands at 312.00 as of Feb.08, of which 104.00 is penalty charges.

Credit Limit 000.00, and has been for years.

 

I wrote to LPF a while ago and informed them that I am now acting on my wife's behalf.

 

My wife recieved a letter from Mercers debt collectors limited on Mon.25th Feb 08, informing her the Account has been passed to Mercers for collection, I was not happy with their attitude when I rang them that day, as they were most abrupt and misleading in theit comments ( see post about mercers )

Re: Mercers....

My wife missed a payment on a littlewoods credit card account earlier this month and recieved a default notice from mercers today i rang them on her behalf (as I have authority to deal with this on her behalf ) I offered to pay the arrears to littlewoods at the end of the month, I was told they can hold off till 29th Feb, after that it will go to doorstep collection. I replied that as part of balance is made up of charges I will be claiming them back etc. but will still pay arrears at end of month.

 

I then re-read the default notice and found that they have given me till 10th march to pay the arrears, got back on the phone and queried this they simply said "oh that's a misprint" I told her "I could hold you to the default notice if I wanted" she said that I would still get a doorstep collection if I failed to pay by end of month.

 

Following this phone call I took the following action:

1. I sent LPF a CCA request for a true copy of any Signed Credit Agreement, (as I suspect they only have an application form), this was recieved by LPF on 5th March 08.

2 I sent LPF a letter regarding Mercers conduct and misleading comments in the above mentioned phone call. I also enclosed the cut up credit card and my wifes "wishes to exercise her right to close the account forthwith". And in view of Mercers attitude I informed LPF "I will Not be dealing with Mercers in any way whatsoever,and respectfully request you take back control of this account from Mercers".

And

3. I sent LPF a LBA Letter requesting a refund of 104.00 in charges.

 

My wife recieved the following letter from LPF today ( Thur. 13th March 08) (addressed to her,even though I am suposed to be dealing with this now) in response to my LBA request for a Refund of Charges:-

Dear Mrs -----------

LITTLEWOODS SERVICES

ACCOUNT NUMBER -----------------------

 

I write further to your recent letter, your correspondence has been passed to me in order that I may investigate and respond in my capacity as Customer Relationship Manager.

 

With regard to your request for a refund of charges I am sorry you feel the charges you have incurred are unfair. We believe that our charges are both fair and transparent, and we make them clear in our Terms and Conditions, and on the reverse of every monthly statement. These charges are avoidable by staying within your limit and making your monthly payment on time.

 

In your correspondence you have outlined case law which you say supports your view. As I am sure you will appreciate Barclaycard is aware of all the information you have drawn to our attention. I must inform you however, that we disagree with your legal analysis.

 

However, as a goodwill gesture and without any admission of liability Barclaycard is prepared to credit you with 8.00,

The adjustment will be confirmed on your next statement.

 

Please be advised that from 1st August 2006, Barclaycard reduced its fee to 12.00 following the publication of the statement by the OFT.

I hope that this now clarifies the situation. Should you have any further questions regarding this matter please do not hesitate to contact me. If my reply does not meet with your expectations you may ultimately be eligible to refer to the Financial Ombudsman Service. Further details if the service are available on request.

If I have not heard from you within 8 weeks from the date of this letter, I will close my file in accordance with our usual practice.

 

Yours sincerely

P-- B---- ( Mrs)

Littlewoods Personal Finance

 

When my wife showed me this I was Livid,

and had to post it on here for all to see ( my scanner dos'nt work at the moment so I typed it )

A goodwill gesture of 8.00 what an insult

I'm going to wait and see if they can come up with an enforcable Credit Agreement and take it from their

If any one has a template letter to respond to this or any sugestions as to how I should respond I would be greatful, as if I respond the way I feel at the moment I may get arrested

 

By the way Mercers have now started to ring me,

1st last night when I was in the Bath,

and again tonight, they left a message to ring Mercers on 0151 473 ****

 

Alan

[42man]

Alan...., you seem to be doing pretty well so far, I would also post this up on the Bank Charges Forum too as you may get some assistance on this (the claiming back of charges) there (don't forget to add 8% compounded interest to the penalty charges too).....It might be worth starting an official claim in to them.

 

As for Mercers send them this letter....(edit this to suit) You can also tell them that this account is IN DISPUTE

 

Company Name

Road

Town

City / County

Postcode

 

Re: Harassment by telephone

 

 

ACCOUNT NUMBER: XXXXXXX

 

Dear Sirs

 

I am writing in relation to the quantity and frequency of telephone calls that I have received from your company, which I deem to be personally harassing.

 

I have verbally requested that these stop, but I am still receiving calls. (Delete if necessary)

 

I now require all further correspondence from your company to be made in writing only.

 

I am of the view that your continued harassment of me by telephone puts you in breach of Section 40 of the Administration of Justice Act 1970, and the Protection from Harassment Act 1997.

 

If you continue to harass me by telephone, you will also be in breach of the Communications Act (2003) s.127 and I will report you to OFCOM, Trading Standards and The Office of Fair Trading, meaning that you will be liable to a substantial fine.

 

Be advised that any further telephone calls from your company will be recorded. (**Even if you don‘t yet have recording equipment!!**)

 

 

Yours faithfully,

 

If they continue to call you write down the times and dates of their calls...

[furnitman2003]

Thanks for that, I sent that letter off this morning, (as I found the template for that letter shortly after posting last nights post and wanted to get in quick) I sent it this morning 'Special Delivery Guaranteed next day'. an interesting point emerged, when the post office typed in Mercers address it flagged up Simmons and Simmons.

I had yet another call from Mercers tonight, this time I was ready for them so instead of hanging up on them I thought I'll have a bit of fun with them first,I asked them that if I was to make a payment who would it be payable to, he said it would be Littlewoods themselves, I replied that's ok as you would not be able to take a payment as you are Dormant according to a Webcheck ( I read that somewhere on this site, and did my own webcheck to see). I then asked who are Simmons and Simmons, there was a 'long pause', an 'ummm', then an 'I dont know, it may be our solicitors', he then went on to say that it has just shown up on his system that Barclaycard are looking into my request for CCA therefore he will take me off their automated phone call system for 14 days while its sorted out, I told him that he will be recieving my Harrassment letter tomorrow, so it'll be longer than that. then hung up.

I did so enjoy that