Very strange behaviour from MBNA

[Coactum]

This made me laugh and I hope it brightens your day.

 

Just had a call from MBNA during which the caller informed me that they cannot conduct communications in writing because they are a telephone bank.

 

I burst out laughing and ended the call.

[exchange]

I like your attitude Coactum! Others have had this response as well. For a telephone bank they seem to have spent alot on postage with me!

[Coactum]

lol. Me too. I have filled two box files so far!

[Fred Bassett]

lol. Me too. I have filled two box files so far!

 

Me too. Bet you'll see some familiar stuff from the 'telephone bank' amongst this lot.

 

Regards.

 

Fred

[Coactum]

On Saturday I received the latest letter from the telephone bank. It seems that they are continuing to ignore my CCA request and the £10 cheque I sent when I demanded a copy of all data held. This latest letter states “A Default is due to register for Six Years on my credit file” I’m sure many others on this forum will have seen similar so will not bother to rewrite. However, I would appreciate advice on how to respond. Should I write yet another letter to MBNA which will undoubtedly be ignored or should I report the matter to some body or other, if so which?

[mauricetura]

If there are enough of these sent we can try to get a disclosure from the regulators to see if in fact these complaints to get considered by anyone capable of initiating enforcement!

 

 

I suggest the following subject line: MBNA Europe Ltd, intent to send adverse credit information for processing by third parties while in dispute.

 

The following recipients:

 

[email protected],

[email protected],

[email protected],

[email protected]

 

 

Dear Sir / Madam,

 

I am bringing to your attention a breach of regulatory and industry guidance by MBNA Europe Bank Ltd, which has made it known in writing that it intends to default my account for alleged breaches of contract.

 

I made a valid request for a copy of the alleged contract with all necessary items to show my understanding of terms and conditions and agreement of the same at the time of signing.

 

I put MBNA Europe Bank Ltd on notice in XX/MM/YYYY and have not recieved a reply from them to my request for complete and validated documentation. A dispute between us exists until I have had sight of and time to validate a copy of the original contract and any document relating to that contract.

 

Therefore the threat to default my account at this time is nothing short of a coercive tactic to collect on the alleged account.

 

If it is a failure of the complaints management process within MBNA then I should like you to investigate.

 

If this is not a failure of the complaints handling process within MBNA I consider it to be a systematic example of unfairness and therefore illegal under EU law.

 

The consequential damages of either of these conditions relate to the negative impact on me in gaining further credit.

 

I look forward to your report on the matter in due course.

 

 

Yours sincerely

 

 

My Name is Angry

[Coactum]

Thanks mauricetura I'll embelish what you have written in the morning before emailing because I want to be absolutely sure of my facts and dates and it is rather late and I'm tired

[Coactum]

All that has resulted so far is yet another phone call from MBNA to ask if I realised my account was about to default and if I were makling a payment today. I answered No you cannot do that to question 1 and a simple No to question 2.

[Coactum]

and another call:

 

MBNA "This is Greig from MBNA, I think we lost the connection when I was talking to you a moment ago"

 

Me "No I hung up on you" and then I terminated the call again.

 

Why is it that these folks at MBNA simply ignore all requests to put everything in writing and persist in making phone calls, surely the penny must have dropped by now that this is totally unproductive and a waste of resources.

[PGH7447]

and another call:

 

MBNA "This is Greig from MBNA, I think we lost the connection when I was talking to you a moment ago"

 

Me "No I hung up on you" and then I terminated the call again.

 

.

 

:D:D

[Coactum]

Today’s post has just arrived and I have yet another letter from MBNA. Strange how they can send so many standard letters yet fail to read any of my replies of answer my questions in their letters.

 

The letter begins:

 

We are aware that you are now Insolvent and a Default has been registered with the Credit Reference Agencies. We therefore wish to close your account. Before we can do so the Consumer Credit Act requires us to send you this notice.

 

Hang on a moment is that not the same Consumer Credit Act that regulates agreements? They have failed to respond to my CCA request suggesting that this cannot be a contract as defined by the Consumer Credit Act

 

The letter continues to say that I am breach of paragraph 8f of my credit terms and conditions etc and that a stop as been put on the card and unless I make payment etc., etc., I’m sure you know the letter I mean.

[MeeBroke]

I'm sick of MBNA ignoring my letters. I've sent the above letter of complaint to the listed authorities.

 

It is blindingly obvious that there is a big rubbish bin at MBNA Telephone Banking HQ which all CCA requests etc are discarded (after the cheques had been taken out and 'lost' through the shredder).

[Coactum]

I think MeeBroke has summed it up all too well.

 

Too many of us within this forum are all saying the same thing:

 

MBNA ignored CCA request

MBNA ignored SAR

MBNA lost my cheque/postal order

 

and so on.

 

Surely it must be obvious to the authorities by now that all these people cannot be wrong, then again how many have registered a complaint?

[exchange]

All of which is why I believe mauricetura's approach could take this to the highest level and would potentially result in MBNA receiving a very large fine:D.

Time is running out for him to put his case together other than on an individual basis so he needs all of our support.

[griffin036]

Coatum, you said : "We are aware that you are now Insolvent"

How do they know that?

Since their offer of 65% off, which I ignored, now they have defaulted each of the accounts and asked for the full balance by 2*/07/09.

Thing is they havent supplied any CCA for two accounts, to which I have informed several times they are in default, and so they shouldnt really be issuing default notices in any case. Ho Hum.

[Coactum]

Hi griffin036, I have cash flow problems but this does not necessarily mean that I'm insolvent. I guess this may apply to many people in this forum. The fact that they stated this in the default notice is undoubtedly because it was a standard letter.

 

I have just looked at my bank statement and see that they cashed my cheque on 8th July.

 

I wonder if they left it this long to collate the paperwork and only bank the cheque once they know that they can deliver. I guess the next few days will reveal all.

[Coactum]

I have just had another phone call from MBNA. Once again the caller launched straigh into her script without verifying my identity. She continued to talk over me as I once again insisted that they write and as we were both talking at once i have no idea what she was saying, so, I hung up.

[Coactum]

I have had a response from the OFT which is as follows:

 

Consumer Credit Act 1974 (the Act)

Complaint Against: MBNA Europe Bank Limited

Licence No: 363167

 

Thank you for your email received on 10 July 2009.

 

I am very sorry to hear about the difficulties you have been experiencing, however the OFT has no authority to become involved in disputes between consumers and traders and so we cannot offer you any direct help with the complaint or advise you directly in this matter. Our role is to protect the collective interests of consumers.

 

The above mentioned Act established a licensing system to protect the interests of consumers in the credit area. If a business wishes to undertake the collection of debts that arise from consumer credit agreements then the Act states that they are required to hold a consumer credit licence; this is issued by the OFT. The above trader holds a consumer credit licence. Under the Act, the OFT has a duty to consider the fitness of all traders who hold consumer credit licences.

 

In considering fitness we take into account whether a business has engaged in improper business practices. Where we receive complaints about the business practices of licensees, we investigate them and where appropriate we take enforcement action; that action depends on the evidence and circumstances. Action the OFT can take includes revoking, refusing or suspending a licence; or placing conduct requirements on the licence of the company or business in question (failure to comply with a conduct requirement can result in a financial penalty being levied).

 

The OFT has issued guidance to consumer credit licence holders engaged in the debt collection industry. The guidance is intended to ensure that debt collectors treat debtors fairly. Non-compliance with this guidance will call into question the fitness of licence holders and applicants. You can view our guidance at: The Office of Fair Trading: Debt collection practices

 

I have noted the details of your complaint, and we will consider this alongside any other complaints we have received with a view to any licensing action we may decide to take. If we do take any licensing action against this trader, it is likely that we would need to disclose your identity to this trader along with details of your complaint. I should therefore be grateful if you could sign the enclosed consent form and return it to me. Unfortunately, we cannot disclose any details about any action we may take, due to restrictions on the OFT relating to disclosure of information (Part 9 of the Enterprise Act 2002).

 

Providing copies of agreements regulated by the Act

We note that your letter raises concern in regard to credit agreements.

As you may know, s63 of the Act covers how and when lenders must provide consumers with a first (and where appropriate second) copy of a regulated agreement. It is clearly in the lender’s best interests to retain details of the original agreement and any subsequent variations or changes made to it, particularly as consumers can request a subsequent ‘true’ copy of most types of agreement under ss77 and 78 of the CCA (and on payment of the appropriate fee). There are rules about what is likely to constitute a ‘true copy’ under these sections of the Act. Further, if a consumer does make a valid request for a copy of their agreement under these provisions and the lender does not comply with the request the agreement may not be enforceable in the Courts, subject to any other mitigating factors.

 

Should you require specialist advice or assistance on the circumstances of your complaint (including in relation to the above provisions about copy requirements), you may wish to contact your local Citizens' Advice Bureau or seek advice direct from a legal adviser.

 

The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) can help with most complaints about consumer-credit products and services if the consumer has failed to satisfactorily resolve the matter directly with the financial institution itself. FOS can be contacted at: The Financial Ombudsman Service, South Quay Plaza, 183 Marsh Wall, London, E14 9SR; telephone number, 0845 080 1800, or Financial Ombudsman Service.

 

Thank you again for writing to us and bringing this matter to our attention.

 

Yours sincerely

 

David Annis

Enquiries and Reporting Centre

Office of Fair Trading

 

I guess that this is another reason why mauricetura needs a large number of us to raise complaint (http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/mbna/204839-band-together-against-them.html) because the odd complaint here and there has little impact.

[Coactum]

This morning I got a post card stating that I should expect a call week commencing 13th July. A bit pointless telling me this at the end of the week! The phone number told me it was MBNA as did this email also received today

 

We have made several attempts to contact you recently as we have information that we need to discuss with you.

Please call 01244 674663, Monday to Thursday 08:00 – 21:00, Friday 08:00 – 17:00 and Saturday 08:00 – 12:00

Thank you in advance for your cooperation.

 

Strange that they continue to make no reference to my CCA request or intimate when my SAR is to be processed?

[Coactum]

I have just reviewed the aforementioned post card and note that it does actually state that it is from MBNA. There is small print through the centre of the card in the area separating message from address in which it says MBNA Europe Bank Limited is authorised and regulated etc., so i suppose that the phone number was not the only clue after all!

[MeeBroke]

I have had the identicle email back from the OFT.

 

I also had a similar phonecall from MBNA last week. In the phonecall they said that were 'no such laws' in regards to them having any obligation to supply me with ANY information regarding my account. Yes, this is actually what he said.

 

He said that correspondence could not be carried out in writing as they are a 'telephone bank'.

 

He also said they were well aware of this forum and it's contents (although at no point did I mention it).

[Coactum]

I have just had a real email from MBNA. I mean one where a person has actually given a reply that is applicable to me! He offered me a great discount which equates to about 29% of the aledged sum due but this is still greater that the previous discounted value due to the continued application of fees and charges. He also confirmed that my SAR was being attended to (the 40 days is nearly up for them), so I await this with interest.

[MeeBroke]

How long does it normally take before they start making reduction offers?

[Coactum]

For me, they started a few months after my last payment. I ceased payment when they failed to respond to my CCA request because the account was by then in dispute. So, my last payment was back in April and the first reduced settlement offer arrived in June. The offers are inconsistent and have varied greatly as mentioned earlier in this thread. So, if you are hoping to settle with them on this basis the best I have been offered was about 71% so if you owe £10K you know they will settle for as little as £2,900 this of course may differ depending upon how watertight they feel their agreement is. In my case I’m guessing they don’t have one.

[exchange]

Intersting as I ceased payments in March and have not had a single offer from them yet!