Link Financial have done a mass mailing of Default Notices re: assigned accounts.

[AndyOrch]

Yes but the Default Note should state the arrears and not the full balance giving the debtor the opportunity (ie 14 days)to rectify said breach but in this case Link are giving neither and therefore renders said D/N invalid flawed ,void

 

I trust this clarifies the points of this thread

 

 

Regards

 

Andy;)

Edited October 7, 2008 by Andyorch

[shakespeare62]

There seems to be considerable confusion on here over what a Default Notice actually is.

 

Say, for the purposes of an example, you have a credit card and the terms of it are that your minimum monthly repayment is 2.5% of the balance. If you don't pay that amount, the difference will mount up as arrears. At an unspecified point in the future, the credit card company or their assignees will issue a Default Notice for the accumulated total of the arrears, giving you 14 days to clear those arrears in full.

 

So - for six months, your minimum payment is £100 (let's assume for the purposes of simplicity that interest has been frozen), and you pay £20 because you're on a DMP. That £80 per month difference will amount to £480 arrears, and the default notice will give 14 days to pay that. If you pay it, you retain the right to bound by the terms of the agreement, as long as you carry on paying the 2.5%. If you don't, the arrears will build again.

 

If you don't pay it in that 14 days, they can terminate the account, and the full balance becomes payable. It's at this point that they can apply for a CCJ or issue a Stat Demand. After the agreement is terminated, it is also a considerably greyer area whether you have an automatic right to CCA them - if the agreement has been terminated, there is no agreement between you. Also, should they issue a Stat Demand, failure to reply to a CCA request on its own will seldom be sufficient to get it set aside.

 

No Credit Agreement Copy means the the debt is unenforceable. Section 127(3) of the Consumer Act 1974 states : quote :-

 

"(3) The court shall not make an enforcement order under section 65(1) if section 61(1)(a)(signing of agreements) was not complied with unless a document (whether or not in the prescribed form and complying with regulations under section 60(1)) itself containing all the prescribed terms of the agreement was signed by the debtor or hirer (whether or not in the prescribed manner)."

 

How else would a DCA prove that you own X amount and under what terms ? No agreement = case binned (assuming you defend any claim)

 

It should be noted that for pre 2007 agreements ALL the prescribed terms must also be present.

 

Link Financial tried that argument on me ...your account was closed so we don't have to send you a copy of an alleged credit agreement. Rubbish ! I've sent them a breach letter for failure to comply with s77 - 79 under CCA 1974.

[tyra]

IMPORTANT!!!!

 

Please. please, please.......

 

For all members who have received the imfamous Default Notice from Link.

 

You MUST ALL raise complaints through your own

local Trading Standards;

Consumer Direct and;

 

the main regulator of Debt Collecting Agencies;

The Office of Fair Trading;

 

Your local MP's and

your MEP, as the European Consumer Protection Regulation/ Laws are being flouted!

 

It may prove beneficial if another thread is started, in order that a log can be made of all members who have made their complaints to the above bodies.

 

This matter must be brought to the attention of these bodies, who appear to be asleep!?

 

Enough is enough and it is about time that the debt collection industry is properly regulated, as it is in America.

 

Both Bush and Brown have admitted that the credit crunch has been caused by the irresponsible and reckless actions of the Banks;

Look at Iceland, 20 Bankers have caused this country to become almost Bankrupt!

 

It is time to make them accountable for their actions!

Not good enough selling off accounts in dispute, getting tax relief for the write offs and then;

These debt collection agencies step in, in an unclear manner, starting their harassment tactics, when they have no right to do so!

 

Please act on the above message, if you do not the whole matter will be watered down

 

AC

 

Hi is it possible for someone to do a standard letter for me to tweak and send off to the trading standards, OFT etc.. i'm really c*ap at writing these sort of letters..!

 

I received the DN dated 25/09/08 to be paid by 09/10/2008

 

thanks

[shakespeare62]

Also I'd like to mention sections 9.4 & 9.5 of The Consumer Credit Act 1974 – Post Contract Information Requirements. (OFT / July 2008) quote :-

 

"9.4 Where a creditor fails – on request and upon payment of the appropriate

fee by the debtor - to provide the information required by sections 77-79

and 97 of the 1974 Act, the creditor is not entitled to enforce the

agreement whilst the default continues. If the creditor fails to provide

information relating to any security, pursuant to sections 107-110, he is

not entitled to enforce the security instrument."

 

A link for the above is at :- http://www.oft.gov.uk/shared_oft/business_leaflets/consumer_credit/oft1002.pdf

[shakespeare62]

Hi Tyra,

 

Have you previously sent off to the DCA (Debt Collection Agency) a copy agreement request under s77 - 79 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 ? (..by recorded delivery & enclosing a £1 postal order ), and if so - have you received a repy ?

 

[if you haven't sent the above request, you might be an idea to so a soon as possible, while you are drawing up a complaint to the OFT etc...]. I can help with a CCA request letter - if you need one.

[shakespeare62]

Yes but the Default Note should state the arrears and not the full balance giving the debtor the opportunity (ie 14 days)to rectify said breach but in this case Link are giving neither and therefore renders said D/N invalid flawed ,void

 

I trust this clarifies the points of this thread

 

 

Regards

 

Andy;)

IMPORTANT re: 14 days & Default Notice :-

 

The 14 Days only counts from the Date of Service. So if you haven't received it by recorded delivery - then I believe 5 days from the Date of the Letter is deemed the Date of service !!!! i.e. u then add fourteen days to that.

 

To quote from secton 6.3 (Default Notices) Consumer Credit Act 1974 – Post Contract Information Requirements. (OFT / July 2008) :-

 

"6.3 The date specified in the notice must be not less than 14 days after the date of service.51 (This period was increased from seven days by the

2006 Act).52 The creditor is precluded from taking enforcement action

until this period has elapsed."

 

So ..taking a letter dated 25/09/08, adding 5 days gives a deemed date of service as 30/09/08. Then adding 14 days gives the minimum notice period as ending on 14/09/08 !!!

 

Note: I have taken the 5 days for delivery starting from the date after the date of the letter. Can anyone confirm this please ?

 

In any event it looks like - for everyone on this forum Link Financial have messed up the notice period & are in breach of OFT guidelines and Statutory regulations. When the OFT guidelines here refer to "The ACT" it means the Consumer Credit Act 1974 and or any amendments...

[shakespeare62]

Please note a link to The Consumer Credit Act 1974 – Post Contract Information Requirements. (OFT / July 2008) is given in my posting above.

 

Also Tyra want some help with writing a letter of complaint to OFT / TS etc.

[matsinlondon]

Service is usually deemed to occur 2 days after posting

[shakespeare62]

Service is usually deemed to occur 2 days after posting

 

Is there any definitive reference for this ? However if its correct (2 days after posting, I believe it still puts Link Financial in breach of the Default Notice Requirements for everyone- as Link Financial have clearly taken the Date of Service as meaning the Date of their Letter.

 

My friend for example, received such a letter on 29 September (2nd class post) for a notice dated 25 September. The other question is ..when is the date of posting ? is it deemed to be the same day as the date of the letter ?

[Jeff2000]

Hi,

 

 

When you receive a County Court claim form it is deemed to be served 5 days after the date of issue!

 

So do the same rules apply? A DN is, after all, a legal document!

 

 

Jeff.

[shakespeare62]

The question assumes of course there is no postmark on a stamp & that the letter is sent by company prepaid post etc. - 2nd class in the case of Link Financial ..

[MAGDA]

A Default Notice has to be served correctly, if it was not then it would be rendered ineffective!

Furthermore, if the default notice was not served correctly and the account was terminated;

that termination would be ineffective.

 

The following article confirms that;

The Link Financial Group Headquarters;

are in Dublin.

 

Link Financial, Ltd.: Private Company Information - BusinessWeek

 

AC

 

Hi AC where does it say the head office is the Dublin Branch? It mentions they have opened a branch in Dublin, but not that this is their head office (at least I couldn't see anything anyway). It states that they are based in London. The reason I am querying, is TS are saying that the HO is in London, and I recently informed them it is actually Dublin, so the article would have been useful to sent on to them also.

 

Many thanks,

 

Magda

[MAGDA]

Just ignore the above post, can see it now:)

 

thanks, Magda

[shakespeare62]

Now that we've established Link Financial have breached the minimum required notice period (of 14 days following Date of service) as laid out in the year 2006 Amendment to Consumer Credit Act 1974) - does anyone have a standard template letter we could use to report them ...it could be useful...

[shakespeare62]

TEMPLATE LETTER - re Default Notice

 

I've found a sample template letter for "multiple Default notices" on a different posting at :-

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/letter-templates/131232-credit-reference-agencies-multiple.html

 

I've copied the template below :-

 

 

"

Date

 

Dear Sir Or Madam

 

FORMAL COMPLAINT UNDER YOUR CONSUMER CREDIT ACT 2006 COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE

 

NOTICE TO CORRECT DATA UNDER DATA PROTECTION ACT 1998

 

 

I note that you have registered a default on XXth against account XXXXXX on XXXXX. Subsequently, you have issued a default notice on DATE.

 

 

Default is defined by the credit reference agencies as the termination of account for cause.

 

 

It is not possible to default an account twice, since by definition the account has already been closed. Attempting to register a default X years after already registering one is against the guidelines issued by the information commissioner, and is regarded as an unfair practice.

 

Please take this as a request to correct data under the Data Protection Act 1998.

 

Please send me a copy of your complaints procedure as required by law, with acknowledgement of this formal complaint.

 

Yours Faithfully,

 

XXXX. (type don't sign)"

 

-----------------------

 

Note: the above template is for a letter sent directly to a Debt Collection Agency (DCA) . Presumably it could be copied as an attachment in a letter of of complaint about the DCA, to the OFT / Trading Standards

 

Also, a paragraph could be inserted to the effect that the Debt Collection Agency had not allowed reasonable time for Delivery of Service, i.e. the Date of service of this [2nd class post] was actually several days [put the the number of days e.g. 4 or 5] following the date of the letter, therefore under section 14.1 of the Consumer Credit Act 2006 (which amends the notice period of CCA 1974 from 7days to 14 days) the notice period the DCA dd/mm/yy breaches the statutory notice period required of 14 days following date of service.

 

The above is only a suggestion. Hopefully some other forum members can contribute useful ideas / amendments ....?

 

Remember the DCA cannot prove date of service unless the Default Notice was sent by recorded delivery or delivered by Hand. Therefore unless you didn't receive one at all, I believe 5 days is deemed reasonable by a Court for receipt by post of legal documents. It would be great if we could find a concrete definition of the time allowed. Same day or next day delivery is not a reasonable expectation for receipt of a legal document sent by ordinary or 2nd class post.

[angry cat]

Link Financial is based is London;

their registered office is London;

Camelford House

89 Albert Embankment.

 

However, according to their recent press release,

The Link Financial Group Headquarters is in;

Dublin, Republic of Ireland (Eire)

 

by MAGDA:

The reason I am querying, is TS are saying that the HO is in London"

 

The Trading Standards Home Authority should be Lambeth, but Lambeth TS state:

"Although Link Financial are based in Lambeth we do not currently maintain a Home Authority relationship with them" ?

 

How strange is that?

 

AC

[shakespeare62]

However, I'm just wondering - if you haven't received a copy of the consumer credit agreement, and the Debt Collection Agency is unable to produce one - would referring to a previous Default Notice be an admission of the debt in terms of amount and terms ?

 

As already stated, no signed and properly credit agreement means it is unenforceable under section 127(3) CCA 1974. Section 3 still applies to agreements executed before April 2007.

[angry cat]

To be honest,

I believe that the only intent behind the mass mailing of these DN's, is to enable Link to off-load these disputed accounts.

Link want to pass the Lemons onto another DCA via secondary assignments.

 

AC

[mummybird]

Hi all

mummybird here

I've got my own post - but wanted you all to know that my letter was identical too.

Has anyone noticed that in previous letters that they "acquired the debt from MBNA, but now they are implying that its a shared debt with MBNA

Glad we're all in this together.Good luck to us all:)

[AndyOrch]

As stated earlier in the thread, totally, utterly ,completly invalid.Coincidence or not that these DN where sent out prior to the amendements of Oct 1st Default Notes???? see here :-

Amendments Default Notices CCA 1974 from Oct 1st 2008

 

Regards

 

Andy

[robcag]

As reported on another thread, I received two DNs from Link on 26 Sept 2008, one dated 20 Sept and the other 22 Sept, giving me until 4 Oct and 6 Oct respectively. Unfortunately for Link, they cocked them up like everyone elses due to insufficient time to rectify. Not that I'm particularly bothered as they haven't supplied anything in response to my 2 CCA requests from approx a year ago. All good stuff to use against them I guess, when the time comes .

 

I can't remember if MBNA ever issued DNs for these 2 alleged accounts, I'll have to have a search sometime.

 

 

A Default Notice has to be served correctly, if it was not then it would be rendered ineffective! Most definitely! It was the issue of a defective DN which forced HFC/Restons to discontinue their claim against me, see http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/dca-legal-successes/124572-hfc-no-agreement-amended.html#post1298236

Furthermore, if the default notice was not served correctly and the account was terminated;

that termination would be ineffective.

 

 

Remember the DCA cannot prove date of service unless the Default Notice was sent by recorded delivery or delivered by Hand. Therefore unless you didn't receive one at all, I believe 5 days is deemed reasonable by a Court for receipt by post of legal documents. It would be great if we could find a concrete definition of the time allowed. Same day or next day delivery is not a reasonable expectation for receipt of a legal document sent by ordinary or 2nd class post. I think Rule 6.26 probably applies here PART 6 - SERVICE OF DOCUMENTS

 

Cheers

Rob

[Guest Menucha]

Rob - re your reply to Shakespeare62

I think Rule 6.26 probably applies here PART 6 - SERVICE OF DOCUMENTS

 

As I live in Cyprus I wonder if the the following section which I found in the document (6.35.5) applies to me - i.e. 21 days instead of 14 days - or am I reading it incorrectly?

Service of the claim form on a defendant in a Convention territory within Europe or a Member State

(3) Where the claimant serves the claim form on a defendant in a Convention territory within Europe or a Member State under rule 6.33, the period –

(a) for filing an acknowledgment of service or admission, is 21 days after service of the particulars of claim; or

 

(b) for filing a defence is –

(i) 21 days after service of the particulars of claim; or

 

(ii) where the defendant files an acknowledgment of service, 35 days after service of the particulars

I've read Rule 6.33 mentioned above, but I really don't understand all this legal jargon.

 

Any help would be appreciated.

[AndyOrch]

Hi Menucha

 

With reference to your post this is with regards to Court Sumons not Default notices

 

Regards

 

Andy;)

Edited October 8, 2008 by Andyorch

[Trekrider]

Well, I finally got my own copy of the DN from Link today (8th October)! It was dated 25/9/08 but the postmark was London 30/9/08. It requests payment by 9th October giving me 1 day to comply!!! It was sent directly to my correspondence address here in Oz.

 

I haven't seen anyone else mention this but enclosed with the DN was a sheet saying 'What to do next'. I have tried to attach the sheet but not sure if it will (not attached anything before). It states that the DN has been sent to allow them to terminate the agreement with MBNA.

 

MBNA sent me two DNs a year ago and the final letter I received from them stated quite clearly that I was no longer a customer as the debt had been sold to Link. Today's DN is the first communication I have received from Link.

 

I was making reduced payments to MBNA until they sent me the letter stating I was no longer a customer. They continued charging interest and late payment fees up until their final letter.

 

So, what do I do now? Should I ignore the DN and see what happens next or should I submit a CCA request (I never sent one to MBNA)?

 

Thanks for any help that can be offered.

Link Attachment.pdf

[Guest Menucha]

Hi Menucha

 

With reference to your post this is with regards to Court Summons not Default notices

 

Regards

 

Andy;)

 

Thanks Andy

 

The DN was dated 26 Septermber, but only received here on 3rd October. Is it correct that 3 October is considered date of service, and therefore the 9th October date which they have given should in fact be 17th October? In which case I have sufficient time to sent CCA letter - I know the CCA will be invalid as it's one of the old ones anyway when it was RBS Advanta before it became MBNA.

 

Cheers

 

Pip