Link Financial

[angry cat]

The OFT's number may make them feel the need for a toilet!

[eeeezzzyy]

Blimey reading the posts on here it seems that LINK are a wonderfull bunch, my Asda account has found its way from Aktiv Krapital to these lot, ho hum i havent paid Aktiv a penny in 19 months and now these lot had better pull up a stool and get comfy !!!

[angry cat]

Welcome to the Link Financial Fan Club!

 

AC

[eeeezzzyy]

Thanks for the warm Welcome, just had a good read up on LINK and it seems they are a bit more "in your face" than Aktiv Krapital, Had my first and last conversation with them on Friday, the Welsh warbler i had on the end of the phone was doing ok until he asked me for some money, byeeeee...tut so begins another long and boring battle with another DCA:D

[WelshMam2009]

Unfortunately, Link aren't a million miles away from me and they have been passed one of my accounts. Such a shame for them that only a totally illegible application form has been produced so far and also, Link have demanded the full amount due on the back of a dodgy DN!!

[eeeezzzyy]

ooooh likewise LINK wrote to me last month demanding £938 on my old Asda/GE Money store card, i offered them a one off payment of 350 to clear the balance silly sausages wrote back to me on Friday demanding full payment etc or else !!.....So now there not gonna get sweet FA until i get proper paperwork and chase the charges etc

Unlucky Link !!!

[MAGDA]

ooooh likewise LINK wrote to me last month demanding £938 on my old Asda/GE Money store card, i offered them a one off payment of 350 to clear the balance silly sausages wrote back to me on Friday demanding full payment etc or else !!.....So now there not gonna get sweet FA until i get proper paperwork and chase the charges etc

Unlucky Link !!!

 

Good for you - you'll probably find, once you've worked out all of the charges and interest on top that Link actually owe you money:)

 

Magda

[ODC]

ooooh likewise LINK wrote to me last month demanding £938 on my old Asda/GE Money store card, i offered them a one off payment of 350 to clear the balance silly sausages wrote back to me on Friday demanding full payment etc or else !!.....So now there not gonna get sweet FA until i get proper paperwork and chase the charges etc

Unlucky Link !!!

 

I hope you didnt put your offer in writing:eek:

[FANTON53]

Hi can someone advise me of the next step. I received a letter from Link Financial headed 'SALE OF YOUR DEBT' followed up by threatening phonecalls and a further letter 11 days later advising "we have decided to commence legal proceedings". At this point I found CAG website and sent off S77/78 CCA request for information.

They have replied within the statutory time enclosing copy of the Letter of Assignment (their first letter to me) copy of my CCCS letter to original creditor offering £1 a month and a printout headed 'statement of account' showing four transactions. In their letter they admit that they can't provide a copy of the agreement as requested, but go on to say "We do not believe it would be fair or reasonable for us to conclude that you should not continue to pay towards the debt simply on the basis that Link Financial has not been able to provide you with a copy agreement to which the debt relates.

Where do I stand and what action should I take next?

[ODC]

Do not pay these Cretins a penny. Without a properly executed CCA they cannot enforce this through a Court.

 

send them this BOGOFF letter instead

 

 

Dear Cretins,

 

 

Account no xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

ACCOUNT IN DISPUTE

 

 

Re: my request under the Consumer Credit Act 1974

 

 

 

Thank you for your letter dated **********, the contents of which are noted

 

You attention is drawn to the fact that this account is subject to a serious dispute. On xx/xx/2007 I requested DCA NAME supply me a copy of the credit agreement covering this account pursuant to the Consumer Credit Act 1974 section 78. To date DCA NAME have failed to comply with my request and have totally ignored my written reminders sent via recorded delivery of this fact. Without production of the said agreement I am unable to assess if I am indeed liable for any alleged debt to you or DCA NAME, nor does it give me any chance to evaluate whether any original agreement was ‘properly executed’ as required by the Consumer Credit Act 1974

 

 

For the avoidance of any doubt I have included section 78(1) and 78(6) of the Consumer Credit Act 1974, which states…

 

78 Duty to give information to debtor under running-account credit agreement

(1) The creditor under a regulated agreement for running-account credit, within the prescribed period after receiving a request in writing to that effect from the debtor and payment of a fee of [£1], shall give the debtor a copy of the executed agreement (if any) and of any other document referred to in it, together with a statement signed by or on behalf of the creditor showing, according to the information to which it is practicable for him to refer,—

(a) the state of the account, and

(b) the amount, if any, currently payable under the agreement by the debtor to the creditor, and

© the amounts and due dates of any payments which, if the debtor does not draw further on the account, will later become payable under the agreement by the debtor to the creditor.

(6) If the creditor under an agreement fails to comply with subsection (1)—

(a) he is not entitled, while the default continues, to enforce the agreement;

 

 

Clearly as no agreement was supplied on request, this in no way complies with the requirements of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 and I now draw your attention to section 78 subsection 6 which states If the creditor under an agreement fails to comply with subsection (1) he is not entitled, while the default continues, to enforce the agreement;

 

Clearly this is a situation as described in s78(6) Consumer Credit Act 1974 and the debt is unenforceable at this time. In addition, I draw your attention to section 127 (3) Consumer Credit Act 1974 which states

 

127(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).

 

This is backed by case law from the Lords of Appeal in Ordinary (House of Lords) the highest court in the land. Your attention is drawn to the authority of the House of Lords in Wilson-v- FCT [2003] All ER (D) 187 (Jul) which confirms that where a document does not contain the required terms under the consumer credit act 1974 the agreement cannot be enforced.

 

 

To clarify s61(1) states

 

(1)A regulated agreement is not properly executed unless—

 

(a) a document in the prescribed form itself containing all the prescribed terms and conforming to regulations under section 60(1) is signed in the prescribed manner both by the debtor or hirer and by or on behalf of the creditor or owner, and

(b) the document embodies all the terms of the agreement, other than implied terms, and

© The document is, when presented or sent to the debtor or hirer for signature, in such a state that all its terms are readily legible

 

In addition the prescribed terms referred to in section 60 CCA1974 are contained in schedule 6 column 2 of the Consumer Credit (Agreements) Regulations 1983 (SI 1983/1553) and are inter alia: - A term stating the credit limit or the manner in which it will be determined or that there is no credit limit, A term stating the rate of any interest on the credit to be provided under the agreement and A term stating how the debtor is to discharge his obligations under the agreement to make the repayments, which may be expressed by reference to a combination of any of the following—

 

1.Number of repayments;

2.Amount of repayments;

3.Frequency and timing of repayments;

4.Dates of repayments;

5.The manner in which any of the above may be determined; or in any other way, and any power of the creditor to vary what is payable

 

 

Therefore based upon the Consumer Credit Act 1974 this debt as it stands is unenforceable and should this proceed to litigation, a court is precluded from making an enforcement order under section 127(3) unless a true copy of the signed agreement is produced.

 

At the point where this account entered into the default situation as described in s78 (6) CCA 1974 no other charges are allowed to be added until such time as DCA NAME become compliant with my request. As DCA NAME are still not in compliance with my request I insist that the following takes place with immediate effect

• All charges levied since ******** 2007 be removed from the account and further charges cease until such time as ******* comply fully with my original request or such time as a court makes an enforcement order

• All entries which refer to missed payments be removed from my credit file

• All collection activities by your company cease with immediate effect until ******** comply with my request from ********* 2007 or such time as a court makes an enforcement order

In addition, I draw your attention to the Office of Fair Trading’s guidance on debt collection

 

The OFT guidance which was issued July 2003 (updated December 2006) relating to debt collections and what the OFT considers unfair, I have enclosed an excerpt from page 5 of the guidance which states

 

2.6 Examples of unfair practices are as follows:

 

h. Ignoring and/or disregarding claims that debts have been settled or are disputed and continuing to make unjustified demands for payment

 

What I Require.

 

I require that you send me a true copy of the executed agreement as required by the Consumer Credit Act 1974. If you are unable to supply the requested documentation because no such agreement is in existence I require written clarification as such.

 

I require that you comply with my request within 7 days of the date of this letter. I will not correspond any further with you until I either receive a copy of the requested documents as laid down in section 78(1) CCA 74 or clarification that such agreement doesn’t exist. I am advised that should you persist in pursuing this debt ignoring the above information you will be in breach of the Administration of Justice Act 1970 section 40 as well

 

No other correspondence will be accepted

 

Should you attempt litigation it will be vigorously defended and the failure to supply documentation under the CCA 1974 is a complete defence to any legal action and your actions will be vexatious and unlawful

 

 

I trust this out lines the situation

 

Regards

[dcakiller]

As stated above and then do nothing as they are in default of a legal cca request .But link do have a habbit of trying to raillroad action through the courts if they were daft enough to try this your deffence would be default of a cca request. Also I think the oft are watching these clowns at this time so if they continue to make demands for payment complain to oft trading standards and the information commisoners office. By the way if they get a neignbour to pass on a massage to call them report them as they have been warened about this conduct

[di.harry]

Agree with both responses above.

 

DO NOT PAY THEM UNLESS THEY ARE ABLE TO PRODUCE A VALID CCA.

 

This is your LEGAL RIGHT. They are now in DEFAULT. This is not just an opinion of people in the CAG, this is the LAW. Check it out in other places that offer debt advice like National Debtline:

National Debtline England & Wales | Debt Advice | Factsheet Getting A Copy Of Your Credit Agreement And Account Details

[FANTON53]

Thank you all for your help, I'll let them have your letter ODC (slightly edited) and keep the forum posted. Thanks again.

[sharmal]

Hello everyone.

 

Could I please join the fan club as well. I bought a car in 2005 from a local garage as it was quite cheap, being a Rover I found out why. I did actually SA GE Money and have just looked through the paperwork they sent me. They have it on file that they passed this debt on to Asset Link Capital, I presume nwthis L:ink Financial. Anyway when I heard fro Link in November 2006 wih reference to my car loan I did as was advised on here and wrote them a letter asking for the Credit Agreement and giving them 14 days to respond. I heard absolutely nothing from them and got the information from GE Money in January 2007. There is a total of £236 in charges on that paperwork alone. I then got another letter from Link in January of this year, which is almost a copy of the one thy sent to me initially threatening me with baliffs, selling the car, judgement on an asset etc.

 

While I am a homeowner, I do not actually have my name on the mortgage, it is just in my husbands name, and he would be very upset if they started down that route.

 

I had a phone call last week, Friday by some bloke saying could I hold the line as he had a call to transfer to me, he did not say he was from Link but somewhere else. I was not realy listening because I was at work. I hung up in the end because I had customers. I got another call this morn ing using the same tactics and then a guy from Link on the phone, giving me grief. Told him to go away and write to me as I was not prepared to talk to him over the phone.

 

What I would like to know is where do I go fom here. this has been going on for years and I am fed up with it.

[di.harry]

Join the club sharmal!

 

I'm in a rush today, so hopefully someone else can give you better advice. I just want to make some points relating to what you said:

 

- Well done, telling them to write to you. If they continue to harrass you by phone, write to them about it. There is useful info here in various places, and also here: National Debtline England & Wales | Debt Advice | Factsheet 03 Harassment

 

- Someone should be able to advise you from here about what to do with the charges of £236

 

- Regarding your home here is some info from CCCS that I could find about this. If I read this correctly your home should be safe, as you haven't signed the mortgage:

 

Am I liable for my partner's debts?

 

If two people jointly enter into a credit agreement, they are both liable for the whole amount of the debt. This is known as 'joint and several liability'. For an agreement to be joint and several, it must be signed by all parties in the form required by the Consumer Credit Act. So, if you have not signed such an agreement, you are not liable for your partner's debts.

However, joint and several liability can also apply to rent arrears on joint tenancies, or arrears on joint mortgages, to council tax payments for couples and to water/sewerage charges on properties which are jointly occupied. You need to talk to the individual creditor to obtain a clear understanding of the liability for the debt.

 

 

 

Hope this helps a bit.

[kazma]

Well, I finally sent my income/expenditure to Link last week with a request for them to accept token payments with a few to increases every 4 months.

I sent my details via e-mail after repeated phone calls, even though I requested that all communication be done in writing/e-mail as I cannot have personal calls of this nature at work etc.

With this email I again sent this request and they have still phoned me to ask me when it's convenient for them to talk to me !!

I've phoned them back (on a taped line) and surprise surprise they won't accept my offer of payment.

My details showed that I actually have a minus figure of funds available but somehow the advisor says that the pro rata payments for the two accounts should be just over £70. She completely ignored that I have arrears on mortgage & secured loan and that they figures I provided overstated a few items. I used the figures that I worked through with PayPlan so she obviously doesn't know what she's talking about. She would quite happily accept a reduced payment with a debit card this month then set up a SO for next month at the pro rata amount.

If I could get money out of thin air I would - wouldn't be in the mess I am in if that was case. Managed to delay a response for another week so I can see them getting a very "nicely worded" letter in the next few days

[mr.ton]

The greed of these rogues knows no bounds.

They are not interested in what you do or dont have, they just want a payment there & then regardless.

Thats why you should NEVER pay a DCA - only a county court if it ever goes to there.

[di.harry]

Well, I finally sent my income/expenditure to Link last week with a request for them to accept token payments with a few to increases every 4 months.

I sent my details via e-mail after repeated phone calls, even though I requested that all communication be done in writing/e-mail as I cannot have personal calls of this nature at work etc.

With this email I again sent this request and they have still phoned me to ask me when it's convenient for them to talk to me !!

I've phoned them back (on a taped line) and surprise surprise they won't accept my offer of payment.

My details showed that I actually have a minus figure of funds available but somehow the advisor says that the pro rata payments for the two accounts should be just over £70. She completely ignored that I have arrears on mortgage & secured loan and that they figures I provided overstated a few items. I used the figures that I worked through with PayPlan so she obviously doesn't know what she's talking about. She would quite happily accept a reduced payment with a debit card this month then set up a SO for next month at the pro rata amount.

If I could get money out of thin air I would - wouldn't be in the mess I am in if that was case. Managed to delay a response for another week so I can see them getting a very "nicely worded" letter in the next few days

 

As a first step to resolving this, National Debtline offers the following example of a letter to creditors refusing your offer.

1 High Street,

Newtown,

Kent

R21 4RH

 

July 7, 2009

 

The Loan Company

Company House,

Church Street,

Newtown,

Kent,

R1 7HG

 

Dear Sir/Madam

 

Account No: 4563210025897412

 

Thank you for your letter of 01-01-2002 concerning the above account.

 

We are are sorry that you feel unable to accept the offer which we have made. The majority of our other creditors have accepted the offers made to them and we have commenced payments. We cannot offer you more because we can only afford £775 per month between all our other creditors, and it would be wrong to cease or reduce payments to our other creditors in favour of your company. The offer made to you is on a pro rata basis, as used by the county court.

 

In the light of the other creditors agreeing to our repayment plan, please would you reconsider our offer. We will be making the payments in line with the offer to your company, on a weekly basis, as a gesture of goodwill.

 

We look forward to hearing from you as soon as possible.

 

Yours faithfully

 

Mr A N Other

 

(Note: personally, I don't like weekly repayments, only monthly ones, so you might modify that bit.)

[MAGDA]

Well, I finally sent my income/expenditure to Link last week with a request for them to accept token payments with a few to increases every 4 months.

I sent my details via e-mail after repeated phone calls, even though I requested that all communication be done in writing/e-mail as I cannot have personal calls of this nature at work etc.

With this email I again sent this request and they have still phoned me to ask me when it's convenient for them to talk to me !!

I've phoned them back (on a taped line) and surprise surprise they won't accept my offer of payment.

My details showed that I actually have a minus figure of funds available but somehow the advisor says that the pro rata payments for the two accounts should be just over £70. She completely ignored that I have arrears on mortgage & secured loan and that they figures I provided overstated a few items. I used the figures that I worked through with PayPlan so she obviously doesn't know what she's talking about. She would quite happily accept a reduced payment with a debit card this month then set up a SO for next month at the pro rata amount.

If I could get money out of thin air I would - wouldn't be in the mess I am in if that was case. Managed to delay a response for another week so I can see them getting a very "nicely worded" letter in the next few days

 

You should make sure any spare money goes towards paying your mortgage and the secured loan, these should take priority over any other debt anyway. It would be a good idea to CCA any creditors asking for a copy of the agreement and check if it is enforceable, that way you can decide where to go next and whether they will actually be able to recover any debt through the court. If they don't have an agreement, or if it doesn't contain all of the prescribed terms (depending on when you took it out, because the 2006 amendment to the 'Act' may apply if it was later) then the creditor really doesn't have a leg to stand on.

 

It is always best to stay one step ahead of them, and whether you then decide to make payments anyway will be up to you, but it does give you back some kind of control.

 

Magda

[di.harry]

Magda hi,

 

All my debts are pre-2006... I'm now CCA'ing all my creditors (before had only done this with the ones giving me trouble, i.e. Link, etc.). How do I know if an agreement is enforcable? Can you suggest the best place to start out. I've seen a couple of threads here but I find this bit quite confusing. Or, where can I find the relevant bits of the 'Act' regarding this?

 

Many thanks,

Harry

[MAGDA]

Hi, the best thing is to post any agreements you get on the main Agreement thread http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/general/33174-consumer-credit-act-agreements.html if you aren't sure, and you will get an opinion then on whether it is enforceable or not. A lot of the time they are not enforceable and that puts you back in control again, and the ball back in your court. You can then get some advice on your next move at that time also if the agreement isn't enforceable. This might be helpful also http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/general/103383-agreement-enforceability.html

Good luck Magda