Debt Collection

[tosh1]

Hi

 

I defaulted on my barclaycard and barclaycard passed my details on to a dca (mercers). I was contacted by them and made a payment over the phone.

 

The DCA have no record of the payment, I have received 2 further letters from them, the last one asking that I ring them and make a payment over the phone.

 

I have now written to the DCA and sent them copy of the payment that was made to them. I have also asked them to send all correspondance to me in writing and also to issue me with a paying in book as well as an offer to make monthly payments. They have rejected this.

 

I think they are still charging me interest. They have not written back. I have also written to barclacard and informed them of the missing payment and also a copy of the letters that I sent to DCA.

 

Can anyone please advise.

 

Thank you

Edited September 7, 2008 by tosh1

[beetzart]

Firstly do not talk to them over the phone. They will only lie and try to con you. I once paid a DCA over the phone but was very worried about them taking further unauthorised payments that I changed my card.

 

Is the DCA Mercers? If so that is their inhouse Collections Agency. They constantly hassled me and never replied to my letters. So I put a CCA Request and Telephone Harrassment Letter to them and all of a sudden they went quiet. They then started to charge me interest which comes to more then I am paying. From next month they will not get a penny.

 

So my advice would be to send them a CCA request seeing as they are being awkward.

 

I'm sure someone with more expertise will be along shortly though.

[tendogs]

Good evening Tosh.

 

I’m not sure about a response to your particular circumstances but you certainly sound frustrated and irritated by the lack of control you have here. One option is for you to go on the offensive and make them do what you want for a change.

 

As Beetzart recommends you could invoke the Consumer Credit Act (CCA) and require them to provide you with a copy of the credit agreement for this debt (this will cost £1.00). This would have the effect of putting the account in to dispute which should mean that they have to cease all collecting activity until the agreement is produced. They might not actually cease but you can tell them to bugger off if they harass you. This will give you time to decide what to do. You might also use the data protection act to send Barclaycard a subject access request (S.A.R - (Subject Access Request)) (this will cost you £10.00) but you’ll get your hands on all the information you require to make further decisions about what to do.

 

Here is a template for the CCA letter:-

 

I do not acknowledge any debt to your clients

 

I require you to supply the following documentation before I will correspond further on this matter

 

You must supply me with a true, executed copy of any alleged agreement and I enclose the statutory fee of £1.00 (use a posta order.

 

Please note that this is not a payment made against any alleged debt and may not be used for this purpose.

 

This is my right under your obligation to supply a copy of the agreement under the legislation contained within s.77 (1) and s.78 (1) Consumer Credit Act 1974 - your obligation also extends to providing a statement of account.

 

You are notified that you are obliged to supply these documents, whether you are the original creditor or not under S189 of the CCA 1974.

 

Non-compliance with my request is an offence under the above Act and will result in a report being submitted to the relevant statutory authorities.

 

Take note at this stage, that any legal action you may contemplate will be both vigorously defended and contested.

 

Yours faithfully

 

 

Your Name

 

And here is a template for the S.A.R - (Subject Access Request): -

 

Your address

 

Their Address

 

Date

 

Dear Sir/Madam

 

Your name: Account No/ No’s xxxxxx

 

DATA PROTECTION ACT 1998 SUBJECT ACCESS REQUEST

 

I understand that you currently hold details of my personal and financial information within your internal record systems with regard to personal loan accounts and or credit cards.

 

Please supply me with a complete list of transaction and charges relating to my history with your organization, INCLUDING Loans and or credit cards, payment protection insurance and other products. Alternatively a complete set of statements for the accounts or associated accounts is acceptable.

 

I would be grateful if you would provide the following for ALL accounts or associated accounts I have held with your organization:

 

1. Full copies of all contracts which you believe exist or have existed between myself and your organization, including true copies of any documents you hold in support of the same.
   
2. A complete list of all transactions or statements relating to ALL of my Loan Accounts and or credit card with your organization.
   
3. Copies of all documents which include any of my personal information including copies of any contacts or invoices, emails or computer records containing my personal information, or any records which pertain to this information.
   
4. Full copies or transcripts of any correspondence in postal, email or any other format which you have entered into with any individual, organization or third party which contains my personal or financial, or which pertains to me.
   
5. Where any previous information or records held have been deleted or disposed of, the methods used to do so, including dates, certificates or references confirming details of destruction.
   
6. Where you are unable to provide such certificates, please provide a declaration, signed by an authorised officer of your company, confirming the dates and methods of destruction of this data.
   
7. Full hard copy print outs of my personal or financial information, held in a digital, magnetic or any other format which is held in any archives, backups or other storage devices / locations.
   

I enclose a postal order for the sum of £10 to cover your fee.

 

IF YOU UNABLE TO DEAL WITH THIS REQUEST, YOU SHOULD IMMEDIATELY FORWARD IT TO THE PERSON WITHIN YOUR ORGANISATION RESPONSIBLE FOR DATA PROCECTION.

 

I look forward to hearing from you in the first instance of receipt

 

Yours faithfully,

 

Your name

 

 

Have a think about what you want to do and let us know.

 

Dogs

[tendogs]

Tosh I forgot.

 

Don’t talk to them, don’t sign anything, keep everything they send to you and staple the envelopes to the letters to have a record of the date.

 

Dogs

[mr.ton]

Hi

The DCA have no record of the payment, I have received 2 further letters from them, the last one asking that I ring them and make a payment over the phone.

 

Oh isnt that strange

[tendogs]

mr ton, you realy, realy don't like them do you?

 

Dogs

[mr.ton]

mr ton, you realy, realy don't like them do you?

 

Dogs

 

Well done for noticing that

[palomino]

As Beetzart recommends you could invoke the Consumer Credit Act (CCA) and require them to provide you with a copy of the credit agreement for this debt (this will cost £1.00). This would have the effect of putting the account in to dispute which should mean that they have to cease all collecting activity until the agreement is produced.

 

No it won't. Making a request under the provisions of the Consumer Credit Act is simply that : making a request.

If the requestee doesn't provide a copy of the agreement within the prescribed timescale, or the copy provided isn't compliant, then the requestee is in default.

The requestor can at the point advise the requestee that the matter is now disputed (specifically the right to enforce repayment) unless and until the requestee can put the disputed matter right.

 

You must remember that the matter is not 'in dispute' until you have informed the other party that you are disputing it and give good grounds for doing so. The requestee being in default is, of course, very good grounds.

 

 

It is also worth pointing out (as it is often overlooked or misinterpreted) that there being no agreement does not mean you do not owe the creditor any more. You still do.

All it means is that they have no authority to take enforcement action without the agreement as that is where their authority comes from. No agreement = no authority to enforce repayment.

[tendogs]

Thanks for the clarification; I’m always concerned about giving duff advice. For further clarification, the fact that you head the CCA request with the statement “I do not acknowledge any debt to your client” does not put the account into dispute then?

 

Dogs

[palomino]

Thanks for the clarification; I’m always concerned about giving duff advice. For further clarification, the fact that you head the CCA request with the statement “I do not acknowledge any debt to your client” does not put the account into dispute then?

 

If you aren't acknowledging it then how are you raising a dispute against it?

 

Acknowledging the existence of a debt and accepting that repayment can be enforced are entirely different things. There are two scenarios -

1. "I don't owe you anything : it is up to you to prove it."

2. I owe you something but without a compliant agreement you are unable to enforce repayment."

[rakker]

Hello

i was on some time ago but cant remember when,i was having trouble with Lloyds TSB and BLS,both saying i had,nt keep up my payments,wrote to them have,nt heard from them in month or two,then they said they were putting one of the accounts up to 10 pound,and over the weekend have had three letters saying i have,nt keep up my payments so they want the money in full,now the payments get paid each month into there bank with there payment books,and they keep asking me to ring them which i dont ,so please what do i do now its been nearly three years and have never missed payments,thank you

regards RAKKER

[tosh1]

Hi

 

Thanks or the info so far

 

The DCA is Mercers. I have written to them 3 times, asking for wriiten confirmation of the missing payment. asking for a paying in book, total amount outstanding as I believe they are still charging interest. (are they allowed to do that?) and if they except my offer of payment. So far they have not written to me regarding any of the above.

 

They have sent me a letter asking that I must ring them and make the whole payment or a local debt collector will be sent.

 

I have also made a token payent of £10.00 directly to Barclaycard.

 

Can they send someone? What is a CSA? Can they issue a Chargeing order?

 

Thanks

Edited September 7, 2008 by tosh1

[JR1]

dont sign anything and dont discuss anything over the phone

[tosh1]

ok i have sent off the cca request and it is now been 24 working days since they have failed to respond. are they allowed to charge interest on this?

Edited October 17, 2008 by tosh1

[tosh1]

ok i have received a letter from Mercers asking for immediate action today, as well as a phone call (they are now with holding the number).

 

Is there is letter i can send them to tell them to bog off and i am withholding further payments until the cca arrives

 

still not had the cca yet!!!!!!!! it's been over a month or 27 working days

[tosh1]

I seen this on one of the threads. can I send this?

 

 

FORMAL COMPLAINT

 

Dear Sir/Madam

 

Account No xxx xxx xxx xxx

 

Thank you for your letter of xx/xx/xx, the contents of which have been noted.

 

You have failed to respond to my legal request to supply me a true copy of the original Consumer Credit Agreement for the above account.

 

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

 

On **DATE** a member of your staff signed for delivery of my written request and I have an electronic proof of delivery showing their signature and the date.

 

To date you have failed to comply with these requests in any way, whether by confirmation of receipt of the request or by supplying the requested documents.

 

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

 

In my letter of the **DATE** I made a formal request for a copy of the signed, executed credit agreement for the above account under section 77(1) of the Consumer Credit Act 1974. In addition a full statement of this account should have been sent to me detailing all debits and credits to the account.

 

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.

 

This limit has expired.

 

As you are no doubt aware section 77(6) states:

 

If the creditor fails to comply with Subsection (1)

 

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

 

Therefore this account has become unenforceable at law.

 

You have failed to comply with a lawful request for a true, signed copy of the said agreement and other relevant documents mentioned in it, failed to send a full statement of the account and failed to provide any of the documentation requested.

 

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

 

Furthermore I shall counterclaim 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 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.

 

Should you not respond within 14 days I expect that this means you agree to remove all such data.

 

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.

You have 14 days from receiving this letter to contact me with your intentions to resolve this matter which is now a formal complaint.

 

Despite my letter regarding ANY communication from your company, which stated that I require ALL communications in writing, your telephone calls continue.

 

This behaviour constitutes harassment; the letters stated quite clearly to you that I require ALL communications in writing for future use. Do not telephone me again - remove any telephone numbers you hold for me from your systems.

 

Your telephone calls are in breach of the Office of Fair Trading guidelines. If you continue with them after the receipt of this letter an official complaint, together with a log recording the times and frequency of the calls will be passed both to that office and to the Trading Standards office. For your information note that ALL telephone calls are taped.

 

This type of debt collection method is contrary to the ‘Administration of Justice Act 1970’ in that it is intended to cause alarm and distress to the recipient. Your methods will not be tolerated. A formal complaint, containing copies of all correspondence including yours, has now been submitted to the relevant authorities. This will be relevant to questions of your fitness to hold a licence under the Consumer Credit Act, whether or not it results in a prosecution.

 

Take further note that continued telephone calls after the receipt of a request not to call may constitute a criminal offence under Section 127 of the Communications Act 2003.

 

Communicate in writing and ONLY in writing, your telephone calls will NOT be answered.

 

HOWEVER, CALLS WILL TRIGGER COMPLAINTS TO THE REGULATORY BODIES.

 

I would appreciate your due diligence in this matter.

 

I look forward to hearing from you in writing.

 

Yours faithfully