Help with Various Debts and DCA's

[Shanidev]

Sorry if it has been covered elsewhere but I could not find it - spent most of the morning.

 

Excel Counselling claim LloydsTSB has instructed them to intervene although Lloyds asked me to work with CCCS. Excel have not provided any details of accont other than their own ref no. Excel have tried calling on the door when I was in the shower. They left after dropping a letter (env - By Hand) to say 'they will call again...'

 

Barclaycard have Mercers on my neck along with Scotcall. Scotcall gave wrong name and card numbers on their letter which I duly faxed back stating so. Mercers have now sent a 48 hour notice. What should I do?

 

Aegis claim they have been instructed by MBNA.

 

Then there are different depts and people chasing me unilaterally. So, I altogether I have on average 9 to 10 vultures chasing after the non-existent meat, so to speak.

 

I am currently out of work and am spending my time panicking and responding to these without making any headway.

 

The question I have is, "can I send 'Letter to request the halt on the processing of your data' to the bank and CC companies?" in the hope that they can allow me to generate money rather than fight with the 'deaf and dumb' vultures.

 

Thanks in advance.

[madasamuppet]

There is a template on here some where stating that you will only deal with in writing and not to call at your house. Also states law which applies. These people have no powers and if they call at your house tell them to leave or you will call the police and then close the door. if they do not leave then do call the police. Also do not communicate with any of them on the phone put everything in writing so you have a paper trail and evidence if need be and keep their letters. You can refuse their calls as well and send a telephone harrassment letter to them to get them stop. Or just simply refuse to go through their security questions.

 

Also would be helpful if you gave more details of the types of debt i.e loan, credit card and roughly the amounts and dates to get a better idea of how people can advise on a course of action for you. But do not panic

Edited April 2, 2009 by madasamuppet
add a bit

[cerberusalert]

Dear XXX

 

In a direct response to your recent activities / letter, dated xx xxx xxxx, received at this address on xx xxx xxxx. [Delete whichever is not applicable]

 

 

I DO NOT WISH TO RECEIVE ANY REPRESENTATIVE OF YOUR ORGANISATION, OR INDEED AN AGENT OR REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYED BY ANY ORGANISATION THAT YOU ISSUE INSTRUCTIONS TO.

 

There is only an implied license under English Common Law for people to be able to visit me on my property without express permission; the postman and people asking for directions etc (Armstrong v Sheppard and Short Ltd [1959] 2 Q.B. per Lord Evershed M.R.)

 

THEREFORE TAKE NOTE THAT I REVOKE LICENSE UNDER COMMON LAW FOR YOU, OR YOUR REPRESENTATIVES TO VISIT ME AT MY PROPERTY AND IF YOU DO SO, THEN YOU WILL BE LIABLE FOR DAMAGES FOR A TORT OF TRESSPASS AND ACTION WILL BE TAKEN, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO , POLICE ATTENDANCE.

 

 

I also caution you here that should you ignore my request on this point, the actions of your representative(s) will happily be recordedeither by CCTV or by telephone recording equipment – whichever is applicable. Accordingly I reserve the right to use any evidence of you or your representatives’ ignoring this request in connection with any actions that I choose to pursue, including media exposure.

 

Should it be your intention to disregard my wishes, and break your obligations, please be advised that the following rules also apply, as laid down by the OFT in respect of debt collection, and that you, as a holder of a consumer credit license, are obliged to follow:

 

The areas of the OFT guidance which applies to you in this instance are:

 

Debt collection visits

2.12 Examples of unfair practices are:

 

a. not making the purpose of any proposed visit clear, for example, merely stating that collectors or field agents will call is not sufficient

f. visiting or threatening to visit debtors without prior agreement when the debt is deadlocked or disputed

 

Deceptive and/or unfair methods

2.8 Examples of unfair practices are as follows:

 

k. not ceasing collection activity whilst investigating a reasonably queried or disputed debt.

 

 

I do believe this makes my position clear and unambiguous.

 

 

Yours Faithfully

Print name do not sign

[cerberusalert]

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.

 

You are reminded of the following under The Administration of Justice Act 1970.

 

Section 40 of the act provides that a person commits an offence if, with the object of coercing another person to pay money claimed from the other as a debt due under contract, he or she:

 

(a) harasses the other with demands for payment which by their frequency, or the manner or occasion of their making, or any accompanying threat or publicity are calculated to subject him or his family or household to alarm, distress or humiliation;

(b) falsely represents, in relation to the money claimed, that criminal proceedings lie for failure to pay it;

© falsely represent themselves to be authorized in some official capacity to claim or enforce payment;

(d) utters a document falsely represented by him to have some official character or purporting to have some official character which he knows it has not.

 

I am of the view that your 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 further advised that any further telephone calls from your company will be recorded.

 

 

Yours faithfully,

Print name do not sign

[Shanidev]

With LloydsTSB - it is overdraft £4K and with MBNA (£15K) and Barclaycard (£9K) it is CC debt. I drifted in an out of these debts over the past 10 years. Three years ago, I had almost cleared them and then my business went bad and I ended up building the debts again and last Nov 2008, I worked last.

 

Is there anyway, I can ask these companies not to pass my data onto third parties?? They are more of a nuisance than anything else. Scotcall got details wrong and Excel masquerading as counsellors don't even have my details.

Edited April 3, 2009 by Shanidev

[harrassed senior]

 

Is there anyway, I can ask these companies not to pass my data onto third parties?? They are more of a nuisance than anything else. Scotcall got details wrong and Excel masquerading as counsellors don't even have my details.

 

 

Unfortunately, these guys just love the kid's party game of Pass The Parcel.

 

Having said that, it is against the Guidelines for more than one DCA to be handling any particular debt, but many of the 'Solicitors' are 'in House' (otherwise read as same office, different desk, same with doorstep collections).

 

Check back through your paperwork and see if you have received any Notices of Assignment, this is when the OC passes to the first DCA, and then another of the first DCA to second DCA etc. You get the picture

[Shanidev]

HI,

 

I wonder if someone can advise me on this. I received this from MBNA and I am currently out of work and pay them £1/month. debt just over 10K. I can't pay anymore. am working with cccs. Haven't asked them for CCA for the fear of upsetting them. I was constantly pestered on the phone by Aegis and now it is MBNA themselves. I spoke them last week before receiving this and the default notice and they said I have to write to them every month about my situation - crazy!! recorded delivery costs over £1. Also, received from Barclaycard but I think I shall post separately.

 

Any guidance!!

[dx100uk]

urm..not sure what happened to the link....

 

if they have no cca then they will not get paid

 

CCA them! thats the only way.

 

oh and ignore the threats of legal bla-bla, a court will not award anymore than you are already paying.

keep up the £1PCM, but get that CCA in!

 

dx

[mr.ton]

Stop paying them this £1 immediately.

If a county court hasnt authorised it then they have no authority to it.

[Pinky69]

You are discovering that being with CCCS doesn't stop creditors from contacting you to pressurise you for more payment and if there was any court action, CCCS would not be bending backwards to help you. They were set up by the banks themselves and are there to collect for the banks, albeit making out that they are there for your benefit. They take the heat off initially but are not a long term solution to debt problems. You can only offer any creditor what you can afford and if there were court action any court would not make you pay more - MBNA know that but will continue to put pressure on you to pay more because they think they can get blood out of anyone. I would not heistate to send a CCA request - you cannot pay them any more than you are paying anyway so you have nothing to lose. MBNA put their agreements onto microfiche and most of what they have is application forms so you will never know if what they have could be enforced in court if you don't ask. I came out of CCCS in 2007 because their admin was a shambles and their statements never made any sense. I CCAd 12 creditors and not one of them had an enforceable agreement. I never paid any of them another penny. Don't be afraid to CCA a creditor because of a 3rd party, either MBNA or CCCS. Do what is right for yourself. Remember, you are in charge of what happens, not MBNA - they have no power whatsoever and cannot predict what a court will do, although they will try to scare you by telling you that they can -bo**ox! In reply to my CCA request to MBNA, I got a newspaper cutting application form that was partially obliterated by their stamp and too small to read -no more enforceable than bog roll. What's more, a microfiche is a copy and they have to produce the original in court if they are going to take legal action against you. Your call.

[Shanidev]

I think I better CCA them before it is too late. Should I do that under section 78 or something of CCA (1974) or should I do it under Civil Procedures. I ask this question because in another posting (too complicated to follow) some say you should not do it under section 77/78. (link).

 

And, BTW, where does one send this request to as I have received letters/threats from all kind of departments. Thanks in advance.

[DonkeyB]

But do keep paying until they are in default of your S78 CCA request (until then there is no dispute) - looks better for you should you find they don't have an enforceable agreement and it gets taken any further.

[Shanidev]

So where do I sent request for CCA and which template should I use. CCA (1974) or one under civil procedure

[Shanidev]

So where do I send request for CCA and which template should I use. CCA (1974) or one under civil procedure

[DonkeyB]

CCA direct to MBNA, and £1 fee for a Section 78 request.

 

Looking at the letter they sent, I think it's out of order and worthy of a complaint to the OFT. They say a CCJ 'would' happen if they decide to take legal action, together with a host of other things that 'would' happen. This simply is not the case: they have to get judgment first, and that is not a foregone conclusion. Therefore they are making threats of actions they cannot substantiate. Please do complain about these muppets.

[meerkatsmimm]

My wife had the same letter from MBNA even though they had only just agreed to the £1 a month token payments.

 

It baffled us then and even now I continue to get the odd ' this is only an informal arrangement and we will still seek full payment at some stage in the near future'.

 

At the time of setting up the £1 a month plan with them, they stated they would sell the debt on afer 6-9 months, however, as is the case with cl finance, even though they have been assigned the debt, they continued with this informal arrangment. So I guess it should be the same if MBNA sell it on.

 

CCA them as has been said and then CPR them if they fail to provide. Im scared about rocking the boat, but all it comes down to is you wanting to find out were you stand, should they decide to take you to court. Surely they cant complain about that!

[cashins]

I had a letter like that in the early days however, after I cottoned on and CCA'ed them I haven't paid them a penny for getting on for 15 months now.

 

What they do with letters like that is to try and get control and keep it.

 

Don't be having it. CCA them and see who actually holds the cards.

 

David

[Desperate Daniella]

I couldn't agree with Pinky more.

 

I contacted CCCS when I was being frightened to death (literally considering it) by AIC last October and I am very, very grateful to them because they were kind and reassuring and gave me a reference number which I could quote which immediately made AIC and others back off. They told me to offer £1 a month initially which was either ignored or refused by all my card companies.

 

However, as Pinky says, they were set up by the banks themselves, and consequently they don't give you the best advice which is to see exactly where you are by asking the card companies for your agreements. That would be biting the hand that feeds them.

 

Like so many others here I saw the Panorama programme, did a search on 'unenforceable agreements' and found CAG, thank God.

 

Start by requesting to see your agreements - it is your legal right to see them. Then wait for the responses and tell us what you get.

 

DD

[Shanidev]

I have been getting letters from RMA for a few weeks (about 3 to 4 a week) telling me this is my final opportunity to settle my debts. They started with wrong account number but now a few have arrived with right account number but name is still spelt wrongly by one vowel.

 

Do I ignore them or do I write to them with correct spelling of my name.

[debt4get]

personally if it was me Id ignore em

[Shanidev]

I am seriously thinking of throwing in the towel. Just can't take the stress any more. I clicked on this link in this forum just out of curiosity. Anyway, the company in question is GW Financial Solutions. I believe they are based in Manchester. They suggested IVA and some Govt backed or funded schemes - can't remember exact words.

 

I was wondering is anyone has had any experience (good or bad) with them. Or if anyone knows of any better and successful ones.

 

I appreciate your help. Thanks in advance.

[Desperate Daniella]

Hi Shanidev,

 

I can see that you have a number of threads and have been getting advice.

 

What is it that you think GW Financial Solutions can do for you that you can't deal with yourself, bearing in mind you'll have to pay them for advice?

 

I don't know anything abut this company but I do know that a lot of people have been let down by various DMCs and would have been better off handling matters for themselves.

 

An IVA may well be the right solution but it's difficult to say without knowing all the circumstances.

 

DD

[odetter]

Avoid any fee paying DMCs.

[BRIGADIER2JCS]

Costly minimum deductions nearly £40 per month 17.5% of each contribution, personally I would stay well clear.

[Shanidev]

Thanks DD and Odetter.

 

I appreciate all the help I have had and have kept all except 3 at bay.

 

I am, now, gettiing on in years and it is becoming difficult to keep on changing hats.

 

I get tired and exhausted.

 

I now just want some time for myself.

 

Right outfit could take my headache away but it is difficult to find an honest one these days.

 

Judges are naive and debt collectors are fraudsters.

 

Courts are... the least said the better. Solomon's justice is history and today's justice is on sale.

 

I won't use any fee paying DMC for the main reason that I do not have money

but also becuase I burnt my hands with Mortgage/finance brokers. 6 months wasted cost me £67000.

 

One was a clown based in Guildford the other two were banks

- one of them well known (If anyone wants to know details, just PM me).

 

They just could not admit that they were useless to say the least. Overconfident and Incompetent.

 

I would love to have done this myself but have just run out of steam.

 

So, if anyone has had good experience I would appreciate them sharing it with me.

 

Thanks in anticipation.