Amex Credit Card - timescales??

[banker_rhymes_with]

Hello Macmiddle!

 

Firstly, as DX100 says, do not waste time speaking to them on the Telephone. Cease all contact with them other than in writing, as Amex are not to be trusted on the Telephone, all they will want is a Payment of some sort.

 

Amex are flat out trying to close Accounts down across the Globe, even good ones with no other problems, as any search on the Web will confirm.

 

So, they won't waste any time on an Account that is giving them problems. Amex have financial problems enough of their own at the moment, and recently had to change their status over in the USA to obtain bailout funding.

 

You say they have demanded the full Payment, and that you were in Arrears by then? It would be good to know a little more background about the events that got you here in terms of what Amex have done thus far.

 

Envelopes

 

Keep all of them, i.e. the Envelopes that Amex use to send you things. They are important as they can show vital details such as Postal Marks that may prove when Amex sent anything to you. The Date of Posting determines the Date of Service, which can be vital in some cases.

 

The usual pattern is they will bother you on the Telephone to demand Payments, plus they will also send you various Letters to chase up the Payment(s).

 

If you were already in Arrears and in default of the Terms they will say apply, then before asking you for the Full Balance, they should also have sent you a Default Notice under s87(1) of The Consumer Protection Act 1974. To read all about the Act, follow this link where you can click on any section to see what it says:

 

The Consumer Credit Act 1974

 

Check all of your Paperwork, and try to find that Default Notice, as it could well be very important. Likewise, gather up every scrap of information Amex have ever sent you, and get it all into A4 Lever Arch Folders ASAP. See if you kept a copy of the original Application Form, and any documents sent either with it, or that were sent since.

 

s78(1) Request

 

Next step is indeed to send them a s78(1) Request to receive a true copy of your properly executed Regulated Credit Card Agreement. What they send back in response to that is important too. That will cost you £1, use a Postal Order, keep a copy of that, as well as the receipt when buying it.

 

Do not sign the Letter...just state your name in type. Send the Letter via Special Delivery, as it must be tracked with signed delivery. Send the Letter to The Company Secretary at the Registered Office for the Company concerned...to find that, check the Company Number on their Letterheads, and find the Registered Office via the Companies House Web Site here:

 

Companies House

 

I note you said they demanded full payment. Have Amex sent you a Letter telling you the Account has been Terminated? If so, hang on to that as well. Did any of your Card Statements state that the Account had been Cancelled? If so, hang on to that too.

 

Subject Access Request

 

This is important, and I would plan on sending them more than one, because you can sometimes get to see what they are up to behind the scenes as things move along towards Court. You can't send them one a week, but can send them one every Month I think. Not certain of the timescale, but there is a period during which you must not send them another one if one has recently been sent. So, do check that, but there is nothing to say you cannot send them more than one provided you do so at the correct intervals. They are well worth £10!

 

Again, send this S.A.R. Request to the same Company Registered Office as above, again send to The Company Secretary, and send them £10 for the SAR. That too must also go via Special Delivery, and keep a copy of the Postal Order and receipt.

 

Ask them for everything they have on you, there are many S.A.R. Template Letters around CAG, so any of them will do. If in doubt, say you want the lot, tell them to leave no stone unturned.

 

When that comes back, compare the copy of the Agreement that will be included in that with the s78(1) Copy, and also make sure they include copies of things like the Default Notice and Termination Letter etc.

 

This should also give you all of your Statements, so that you can start to work out what, if anything, you really do owe. If you have kept your own Statements, see if they all match the ones Amex send in the S.A.R.

 

If you have had the nasty Amex Credit Card for over 10 Years, then if you are like many, you may find that you have re-paid more than you ever spent, so the issue boils down to if the Amex Charges and Interest are valid. To be valid, they need an Agreement. To Terminate whilst you are in a default situation, and then demand full Payment of a future sum not otherwise due, then they also need a valid Default Notice that you must fail to remedy if they are to take the next step, i.e. Court action or demanding any future sum. If that is defective, and they then Terminated, they could have a problem, as they cannot now go back and issue a fresh valid Default Notice on a closed Account.

 

Clearly, if you were in Arrears, Amex said you were in Arrears, and if they issued a s87(1) Default Notice, Terminate and say they will register a Default with the Credit Reference Agencies, then this is clearly a default situation and they must follow s87 and s88 of the Act. To do that, they need a valid Default Notice. You may now see why the Notice could prove pivital to their case against you.

 

Don't tell Amex any of this for now, just gather the evidence via s78(1), S.A.R. and by searching your home for past paperwork.

 

Charges and PPI

 

Next task is to check all of your Statements, and add up any Penalty Charges and PPI. If there was PPI, was it mis-sold to you perhaps? The charges can be reclaimed but, for now, hold fire doing so. That's because Amex will never give you those back in real Cash anyway, all they will do is reduce the alleged Balance. So, as you can't get the Cash from them, I'd say hold them back ready to Counter-Claim against Amex when they start Court action against you...which they will, after first giving you a hard time via their usual crowd of low-life Debt Collectors.

 

Any charges will also have an affect upon the accuracy of any default sum they have stated in the s87(1) Default Notice, i.e. if they say you owe them £250, and yet at the time they owe you £500 in unlawful charges, then the default sum is inaccurate. This alone could render a Default Notice defective.

 

Court Action

 

Amex will usually get to this stage, but it is hard to say how long they will take. One issue you must be ready for, is them sending the Court Claim to the wrong address. That is a very favourite trick of theirs, as you may see from reading any of the Amex Threads. They will either use an old Address, or will somehow mess up your current Address to try and mis-Serve the Claim Form. The reason for that is to try and get a Judment in Default, i.e. if you fail to respond to the Claim within 14 Days from the Date of Service, then the Court will hand them victory on a plate.

 

Summary

 

At the moment, you are in the same position as many, and reasonably early in the events. So, start gathering the details you will need to defend yourself against them as they work through their various Threats and Harassment issues.

 

Be aware that Amex want to close Accounts, so non-Payment is just music to their ears, because it saves them having to work out if you are one of the Accounts they want to get rid of. Now that you have popped up on their scope, your Account is toast, so there will be no going back. Being nice to them is pointless, as they will not be nice to you. They just want money, plus anything else they can add-on while getting at money.

 

When writing to Amex, just keep the Letters short and clinical, and do not start telling them anything. Let them make all the moves. But do keep it polite, and keep Copies of everything from now on. Get a cheap Scanner if you do not already have one, as it can be useful to Scan all key documents to, say, PDF Format, and give them a Date so that they all line up in the right order, for example:

 

2000-01 01-01-2000 Application Form - Copy of my Copy

2009-02 01-02-2009 Default Notice - Copy of my Original

2009-03 15-03-2009 Termination Letter - Copy of my Original

 

OK, that should get you started, but do get organised, and get organised ASAP, don't leave it until later, or else Amex will be all over you like the nasty banking rash they are.

 

I hope this helps.

 

Cheers,

BRW

[banker_rhymes_with]

Hello Macmiddle!

 

A Statutory Demand (SD) is a particularly nasty little Threat that Amex is fond of using via their various Lawyers.

 

I regret you must act on this, but don't worry unduly. 1st Credit (DCA) have recently been hauled over the coals by the OFT for using SDs as a form of Consumer Credit Debt Collection Threat.

 

This is frowned upon so, as well everything else, complain to the OFT about both Amex and Westminster Solicitors, as both should know a lot better.

 

Next step is to get reading on CAG, as there are several excellent Threads on how to have an SD set aside...plus how to go for maximum costs when doing so...yes, you can get money out of them for doing this, so get reading!

 

Some SDs are not even genuine, in that they have not been stamped by a Court. However, I doubt a Lawyer would do that, but you never know, as they will do anything for money. The 2nd oldest profession.

 

There are very tight timescales to get the SD set aside, but how you go about that will take a little reading. I'm no expert on SDs, but know the information you need is right here on CAG, try this for a start:

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/legal-issues/162131-statutory-demands-service-post.html#post1738221

 

I hope this helps.

 

Cheers,

BRW