Littlewoods debt - where do i start?

[carolmac34]

Hi

 

I'm finally taking my head out of the sand and dealing with my Littlewoods debt, have been with them for years.

 

I've been unemployed since mid Feb, receiving job seekers allowance and simply cannot make the required payments. Current balance with them is £600 and i'm 3 months behind in my payments.

 

I've been reading through various threads & find they've inspired me enough to get my head out the sand and deal with the problem. Obviously I need to get in touch with them, are there any kind of template letters here that I can use? What about the CCA request - do i do that first

 

Am a bit unsure as to where to start here, any help greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks in advance, Carol

[supasnooper]

Hi there,

 

Get the CCA request off ASAP.

 

Letter 7 - The Consumer Forums - Debt collectors

 

Amend to suit, do NOT sign, enclose £1.00 postal order.

[carolmac34]

thanks for the help supasnooper, i'll get this sent off to them 2moro

[Zorro01]

Try giving the CCCS a call after you have requested and recieved / not recieved your CCA from Littlewoods.

They have been nothing but totally and utterly unhelpful towards me so don't expect them to care in the slightest about anything you say and they will keep adding charges if you don't meet their minimum payment but don't be put off by their charges and rubbish letters and threats as they seem to adopt this method as standard (in my case anyway). I myself have just complained to the ombudsman on behalf of my mother because they were harrassing her and I myself have sent off a CCA request today so now it is up to them to prove all this evidence about said debt and from there you can consider you plan of attack going forward.

If you want any other info regarding littlewoods reclaiming (as i am in this process on behalf of my mum) etc then give me a shout but like I say just get the CCA first and take it from there.

 

Good luck

Edited May 21, 2009 by KevMall

[fed up and ripped off]

I don't know if you can help me, did you have the book type of payment card and if so how many pages does it have, I have been ripped off bby an agent who rewrote the payments resulting in me having to pay an additional £500

[carolmac34]

Right, i've finally gotten a reply from Littlewoods

 

"We refer to a recent request for a copy of your agreement.

 

Unfortunately we are unable to locate a copy of an executed agreement, but for your information we enclose a copy of the current agreement which applied to this type of account. This version includes all contractual variations which have taken place."

 

According to our records, the account was opened on 29/04/1999. You agreed to make payments every 28 days.

 

The outstanding balance is £734. In accordance with the terms of the catalogue statements are issued every 28 days.

 

If a third party is acting for you, please pass a copy of this letter to your representative" (i like the way they put this last bit in bold on their letter, made me chuckle).

 

My CCA request was sent on 12 May. Their letter is dated 22 May, which wasn't received my end until the 28 May.

 

Reading thru some of the other littlewoods topics just now. What would be the next thing i should do guys? - is it clemma's post #5 in this topic? (not acknowledging the debt) http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/other-institutions/195052-ive-cca-littlewoods-how.html

Edited June 2, 2009 by carolmac34

[version302003]

What they have sent is the standard littlewoods letter basically stating they don't have a signed cca which is always good news.

 

Just send the 'account in dispute letter' below.

 

Account In Dispute

 

Ref:

 

Dear Sir/Madam

 

On xx/xx/2009 I made a formal lawful request for a true signed agreement for the alleged account under consumer credit Act 1974 s77/8. A copy of which is enclosed for your perusal and ease of reference.

You have failed to comply with my request, and as such the account entered default on xx/xx/2009.

 

The document that you are obliged to send me is a true copy of the executed agreement that contained all of the prescribed terms, all other required terms and statutory notices and was signed by both your company and myself as defined in section 61(1) of CCA 74 and subsequent Statutory Instruments. If the executed agreement contained any reference to any other document, you are also obliged to send me a copy of that document.

 

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 your client enters into a default situation.

 

This limit has expired.

 

As you are no doubt aware section 78(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.

 

As 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.

 

I would appreciate your due diligence in this matter.

 

I look forward to hearing from you in writing.

 

Yours faithfully

NAME (print / do not sign)

[carolmac34]

Thanks version302003, appreciate the help. Letter has gone to them in this morning's mail. Will post again when I hear back ;-)

[supasnooper]

Have a read of pt2537's Littlewoods thread, there will be lots of info there from the top man -

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/general-debt-issues/93571-pt2537s-cca-request-against.html

[perinatal]

on a balance of £600 the lowest minimum payment should be around £30 per month. I know it seems alot but play the system and get yourself out of the three month reminder stage. If you pay this it will remove you from the debt process and take you back to the begginging. If you pay again before another debt letter the minimum again £30 your minimum payment will reduce even more....dont forget to have removed any payment protection its a load of rubbish

[carolmac34]

thanks for the link supasnooper, am going thru it now (it's a long thread lol).

 

perinatal - being on benefits, i can't afford to pay anything to them at all, (i hate not being able to pay things & find it very frustrating). However, i dont think i have payment protection added, as i'm sure I asked them to remove that years ago... I will check tho. Also, there probably a chunk of my balance owing which consists entirely of late payment charges over the 10 years i've had it.

 

As yet i've received no response to the 'account in dispute letter' above, sent to them on 5 June. Tomorrow is the deadline, i think, for them replying to me.

 

What's my next course of action? Should I prepare the letter for going off to the credit reference agencies as in PT2537's reply in his littlewoods thread (http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/general-debt-issues/93571-pt2537s-cca-request-against-4.html ) ... or am i jumping the gun?

 

I guess i have to do a letter back to Littlewoods but am unsure which one to use - pt2537's letter in post 63 of that thread?

 

Any advice greatly appreciated

 

Regards

Carol

Edited June 23, 2009 by carolmac34

[carolmac34]

bump

[Nagasis]

Hi carolmac, don't really expect them to reply to the dispute letter sent 5th June as it doesnt really require one.

 

Upto now you have cca'd them, they have replied saying they don't have one, you replied saying you aint paying due to no cca.

 

You are now in the same boat as me with littlewoods.

 

You can leave it as it is (not paying and them reporting to cra's for 6 years) or you can fight to get the info removed. You will have to file at court tho as they will not removed it unless you do.

 

If you don't mind them reporting info to the cra's then do nothing. There is no cca and therefore you are not legally obliged to pay.

 

I choose to do nothing as I don't care aout my credit report for the time being.

[mkb]

Subbing as in same situation

[rainbow moon]

Hi guys, just to let you know I have had the same letter from littlewoods, re no agreement. I sent the account in dispute letter a couple of weeks ago and today have received their reply stating they will not take any further action on this debt. They will register the debt with the credit reference agencies but to be honest with the problems I have with other debts it isn't going to matter too much. Just thought I would let you know that if they can't find an agreement they know they can't and in my case haven't a chance of enforcing the debt

good luck to you all

Rainbow x

[troughmonster]

Hi

 

I would like some advice, with a situation involcing my wife.

She has a Littlewoods accoutn, with a balance of around £1700.

She could not afford the monthly repayments recently, as they wanted about £200 a month, so she went onto a short term reduced payment.

This is expiring now, and Lwds say that payments have to resume at over £200 which she cant afford.

We cca'ed them a few weeks back, and they wrote with the standard response that I have seen elsewhere in the forum, i.e. they havent got a credit agreement.

I would like advice on the best way to proceed - should she continue to make reduced payments on this account, but write and tell them that she is doing it out of goodwill as there is no CCA, or should she dispute the whole thing?

[Zorro01]

Go to the CCCS and then set up a token payment via them. If LW don't have a credit agreement then they can't demand payment and you don;t have to pay them a penny if they can't provide a valid CCA. By not providing you with the CCA makes the alledged debt UNenforceable at law. If they don't have it then they can't make you pay.

I got them to write off over £5k worth of debt by doing this. They won't play ball though so be prepared for a fight. Send them the Account in dispute letter from the templates libaray and then await there response.

[troughmonster]

Hi

 

Thanks for the advice. We dont want to go to CCCS, as she is managing her repayments to her two other creditors, but there just isnt money to pay Lwds at the amount they want each month

What is the best way to proceed?

[Zorro01]

The way I would do it is. If they have failed to send you a Consumer credit agreement like you requested then the debt is unenforcable so I would send them an account in dispute letter from the templates section (amend to suit) and then it is upto you.... Pay them what you are paying now or don't pay them anything. They can't add charges and interest and they can't pass your details on to credit refence agencies or debt collection companies.

the simple fact is if they haven't got a signed CCA then you can tell them to get stuffed and sit back and put your feet up.

Maybe send them something like this.

 

 

Account in Dispute

 

Ref / Account number:

 

Dear Sir/Madam

 

Re: My request under the Consumer Credit Act 1974

 

Thank you for your recent letter sent to me, the contents of which are noted. I appreciate your quick response to my original letter. However, the reply received by me does not fulfil your requirements under the Consumer Credit Act 1974.

 

The Act demands that I be supplied with a true copy of any properly executed credit agreement that exists in relation to the above account. I may ask for this on demand providing that a fee of £1.00 is paid. This fee was sent with my original letter.

 

My request remains outstanding. An unsigned credit agreement with no details relating to myself, like the one you sent in your reply, does not constitute a true copy of any credit agreement that may or may not have been signed by me on the opening of this account. A blank agreement neither confirms that I am liable for any alleged debt to you, nor gives me any chance to evaluate whether any original agreement was ‘properly executed’.

 

I still require you to send me a true copy of the original credit agreement that you allege exists. As you will know, under the Consumer Credit Act 1974, a judge is not permitted to make any enforcement order unless the creditor can provide a true signed copy of the original credit agreement. This means that unless you can produce such an agreement, this alleged debt is not enforceable in law.

 

 

You are now in default of my request. Any account I hold with you is now in legal dispute. Whilst the account remains in dispute, you are not permitted to ask for any payment, nor am I obliged to offer any payment to you. Furthermore, whilst the dispute remains, you are not entitled to charge any interest on the account, nor make any further charges to the account. Additionally, you are not entitled to register any information on this account with any credit reference agency.

 

To register information with a credit reference agency, you must have written consent from the customer to collate and share such information. This consent is given in the form of a signed credit agreement, so until you produce such an agreement, you may not do this.

 

You now have until xx/xx/xxxx to comply with my request. Should you fail to provide me with a true copy of a properly executed credit agreement by this date; your conduct will be reported to the Office of Fair Trading, the Financial Ombudsman and Trading Standards. Any investigation undertaken by them may affect your ability to offer credit in the future.

 

To sum up, I will not be making any further payments to you until you provide me with the document I have requested. Whilst you remain in default of my request, you are not permitted to take any action against this account. This includes adding further charges and passing any information to the credit reference agencies.

 

Should you not have any signed credit agreement in relation to this alleged debt, please confirm this in writing to me at the earliest convenience.

 

 

I look forward to your reply.

 

Yours faithfully

 

 

PRINT YOUR NAME HEAR *DO NOT SIGN ANY LETTERS TO THEM*

Edited July 24, 2009 by Zorro01
Left personal detail on the letter (school boy error)

[Zorro01]

p.s - make sure you send it recorded (that goes for everything you do in relation to these companies) don't agree to anything over the phone and get everything in writing. Infact just tell them to communicate in writing only if they start houding you.

And please remember not to sign the letters you send only print it.

Good luck. If you need any further help then just post.

[mkb]

Troughmonster - if they don't have the agreement, you need to send this:

 

 

Account In Dispute

 

Ref:

 

Dear Sir/Madam

 

On xx/xx/2009 I made a formal lawful request for a true signed agreement for the alleged account under consumer credit Act 1974 s77/8. A copy of which is enclosed for your perusal and ease of reference.

You have failed to comply with my request, and as such the account entered default on xx/xx/2009.

 

The document that you are obliged to send me is a true copy of the executed agreement that contained all of the prescribed terms, all other required terms and statutory notices and was signed by both your company and myself as defined in section 61(1) of CCA 74 and subsequent Statutory Instruments. If the executed agreement contained any reference to any other document, you are also obliged to send me a copy of that document.

 

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 your client enters into a default situation.

 

This limit has expired.

 

As you are no doubt aware section 78(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.

 

As 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.

 

I would appreciate your due diligence in this matter.

 

I look forward to hearing from you in writing.

 

Yours faithfully

NAME (print / do not sign)

[troughmonster]

Thanks for all of the advice - you've been a great help:)

[havinastella]

They do not have an agreement, so STOP paying ASAP.

 

It's as simple as that.

 

Jogs

[troughmonster]

Hello again,

 

Littlewoods (Shop Direct) have confirmed that they have no agreement, and they will not be trying to enforce any debt.

 

The have said that they will be recording information about the accoutn with credit reference agencies, and have sent a default notice for the account in another letter.

 

What is the best way to respond?

 

I was going to write back stating that I do not acknowledge the debt, and insist that they remove any notes on any credit reference files, but what is best way to do it?

[Zorro01]

I asked the same question to someone a while back and was told it all depends how much you care about your credit file. I for one (as I am in the exact same position) do not care about my credit file that much as I don't want credit again.

Up to you though but i suspect they will tell you they have an obligation to warn other creditors about you.