Studio response to CCA request, please help

[natalie]

Well they are a lot quicker than I expected, but I'm not sure this is acceptable

 

"In order to comply with your request, I have enclosed a sample credit agreement. Your current balance is £xxx and you are currently in an interest free payment arrangement to pay £x.xx every 28 days.

 

Under the credit terms you will receive a statement every 28 days. You may choose to either pay the full balance on your account at once or in installments. Should you choose to pay by installments , you may pay by any amount of your choice above the minimum payment detailed on your statement. If you choose to pay every 28 days a service charge of 2.9% (or 2.0% if you choose to pay by direct debit) of the brought forward balance will be added to your next statement, together with a service charge on any purchase on your previous statement from the date of despatch up to that statement.

 

A miimum payment of £10 or 6% of your outstanding bill plus any outstanding arrears from previous statements will be required every 28 days. Further information can be found in the enclosed credit agreement."

 

 

 

In with this is a credit agreement, with my name and address filled in by someone in biro (my current address not the one when I took out the account).

[cerberusalert]

Obviously they don't have a copy & a sample is not satisfactory it must be a true copy with your details included although they are allowed to omit certain things such as signatures.

 

I'd be tempted to send them Scots letter below & see what their response is;

 

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. The items 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. It 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 had until XX/XX/2008 to provide me with the true copy I requested. 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.

 

The requirement for consent to share data is a clear requirement of the Data Protection Act 1998. any such attempts to share my data without my consent will be met with a complaint to the Information Commissioners Office

 

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.

 

 

I look forward to your reply.

 

Yours faithfully

Print name do not sign

 

**amend to suit your circumstances.**

[natalie]

They still have until 8th July for the CCA, so perhaps its best I just use the first 4 paragraphs at this stage?

[count orlok]

There is no need to write them another letter, they know the law on credit agreements yet they choose to ignore it. When the 12 days are up and they don't produce an agreement stop paying them. they'll send it to various DCAs but these are easily dispatched with the bemused type of letter. Unless you pay the "reduced" payment they decide on, they'll trash your credit file and even keep charging you 39% interest, but that's all they can do.

[cerberusalert]

You could do.

[sam614]

They still have until 8th July for the CCA, so perhaps its best I just use the first 4 paragraphs at this stage?

 

 

when did you request cca

 

they only have 12+2 days

 

SAM:pLOWELL DETESTER

[natalie]

Its 12 + 2 working days isnt it?

 

Request was made 18th June

[The GodMother]

Oh what a suprise it looks like the same response i had a year ago

 

Not been piad since oct/nov 2007.

 

Wescot dca 2 im ignoring was told ****ing great on the phone when old in dispute.

[natalie]

Just had this in response to that letter

 

"The Office of Fair Trading and local Trading Standards acknowledge that for the Home Shopping Industry the supply of an exact copy of the credit agreement together with all relevant financial information is acceptable to meet your request for a copy of the credit agreement.

You can be assured that legal advice is sought in such matters where liability is in dispute. It is clear that the debt exists, but of course, we are aware that the courts would not, at present, be able to grant an enforcement order should a default summons be issued by us because of non payment and it was defended on a challenge to produce a copy of the original signed agreement, as defined by Section 61 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974, unless we were able to produce a signed copy of the original agreement in support of the claim. It is only in such an instance that it would be cost justified to recover originals from our archives.

We would remind you that the original credit agreement was sent with your order when the account was opened in November 2003. Our customers are asked to sign both copies, returning one copy and to keep their copy in a safe place should they decide to choose repayment by credit terms instead of full payment. By taking advantage of paying the minimum payment every 28 days you are as such subject to the terms and conditions as stated within the credit agreement.

You have been a customer of ours for several years and we are trying to avoid an irretrievable breakdown in that relationship. Without making regular payments we will have no option but to register the debt with all the credit reference agencies as an unsatisfied default. That may adversely affect your ability to obtain credit for up to 6 years as well as any person with whom you may be financially linked.

The company will not write off a debt just because there may be the possibility of a legal defence if we were to take action as a method to recover the debt owing to us.

If it subsequently transpires that you did not sign and return a copy of the agreement [which I didnt] we realise it will be unenforcable but it is not void nor an unlawful debt. We are satisfied upon discussion with the Information Comissioner's Office and on legal advice that it can still be registered as a default with credit reference agencies.

The balance on your account is £xxx.xx and you are currently on an interest free payment arrangement to pay £x.xx every 28 days. This is a valid debt which we will pursue.

If you are dissatisfied blah blah blah Financial Ombudsman yada yada yada.....

[count orlok]

they send that letter to every one, what it means in short is: "we know we cant get the money from you but we will trash your credit file, and we will pass it on to a string of DCAs even though we are not allowed to".

[babybear39]

I got TS involved and they didn't pass the account, they sent it back to studio who wrote off the alleged account.

[payback68]

This is comical, as i am sure that you aware, the OFT state the following :-

 

We note that your letter raises concern in regard to copies of credit agreement.

 

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.

 

Furthermore if they intend damaging your credit file, contact the ICO

 

Regards.