Is this the end for unenforceable CCA's?

[chickenboy]

Bad News for those trying to avoid their debts

 

Page last updated Monday, 04 January 2010

Bad News for those trying to avoid their debts

 

Page last updated Monday, 04 January 2010

#email p { margin:5px 0 10px; padding:0; font-family:Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height:1.2em; font-size:11px; } #email li { margin:5px 0 10px; padding:0; font-family:Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height:1.2em; font-size:11px; } Consumers hoping to write off their debts through a legal loophole have been dealt a blow aftera recent ruling on six test cases.

 

 

Judge Waksman, sitting at the High Court in

[chickenboy]

Sorry about the text - having trouble pasting it.To see the full article go to DebtWizard

[chickenboy]

Bad News for those trying to avoid their debts

 

Page last updated Monday, 04 January 2010

#email p { margin:5px 0 10px; padding:0; font-family:Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height:1.2em; font-size:11px; } #email li { margin:5px 0 10px; padding:0; font-family:Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height:1.2em; font-size:11px; } Consumers hoping to write off their debts through a legal loophole have been dealt a blow aftera recent ruling on six test cases.

 

 

Judge Waksman, sitting at the High Court in

[chickenboy]

Here is the full article-

 

Bad news for those trying to avoid their debts

Updated Monday 04 January 2010

Consumers hoping to write off their debts through a legal loophole have been dealt a blow after a recent ruling on six test cases.

Judge Waksman,sitting at the High Court in Manchester,has upheld that credit card companies need only provide a "reconstituted" copy of the original loan agreement.He ruled that if the lender no longer had the original executed agreement it is not therefore,itself a bar to compliance with the Consumer Credit Act.The absence of a signed executed agreement is no evidence that such an agreement was not made.

But he confirmed that if a lender could not supply a copy of the loan agreement,then this automatically prevented them from using the courts to chase a debt until such time as they could come up with a copy.

As this case was heard in the High Court it will set a precedent for an estimated 150,000 cases currently sitting in the other courts around the country that were waiting the outcome.In the majority of these cases consumers were trying to avoid payment of their credit cards and loans on the grounds that the bank had either lost or destroyed the original signed agreements.

Dispute over loan agreement.

Upon request from the consumer lenders are obliged to supply a copy of the agreement within 12 days.In previous cases those representing consumers have cited that if no agreement is produced then the debt is unenforceable,which has led to disputes between lenders and customers about what constitutes a true copy.

Following this test case it has been ruled that;

*a copy of the loan agreement must contain the name and address of the borrower as it was at the time it was signed

*if an agreement has been subsequently varied by the lender,then the lender is obliged to supply a copy of both the original agreement as well as the current one.

Office of Fair Trading.

Some of the claims promoted by Claims Management Companies clearly conflict with the OFT's guidance which says that it is legal and acceptable for a bank that has lost the original loan agreement,or whose copy is illegible,to supply an accurate reconstituted version instead in order to demonstrate that the agreement did in fact contain the information specified by th Consumer Credit Act.

The regulator points out to lenders that they are acting unfairly and potentially in breach of their consumer credit licences if they misled borrowers by;

*hiding or disguising the fact that there was never a proper signed agreement in the first place

*providing only a copy of the current terms and conditions,not the original ones

*confusing the borrower as to who they should send an information request after selling the debt to a debt collection company

*failing to preserve data so the borrower cannot be given an up to date statement of account

Borrowers still liable under previous High Court ruling.

Even if banks cannot produce a copy of the original agreement,borrowers could still be held liable for their debts due to a previous ruling at the High Court in London.Here Mr Justice Flaux decreed that claimants should not stop paying back their loans or credit cards while the claim was ongoing as the loan may become fully enforceable in future.Any non payment could be recorded on the claimants credit files which would not breach data protection law.

Enforcement.

In the previous High Court ruling it also clarified "enforcement" by the lender.It ruled that by deciding to bring legal proceedings it is not actually enforcement but a step towards enforcement.

This basically meand that any steps the lender takes before commencing legal proceedings,such as demands for payment,issue of default notices and or threatening legal action does not construe enforcement.

Consumers exploited?

Some people feel that those with debt problems have ben exploited through their desperation and vulnerability as many consumers have been cold called by CMCs claiming that they can write off credit card and personal loan debts by using this legal loophole.For this service consumers usually pay up front fees between £195 and £495 per agreement,in the hope they will become debt free.Some of these fees have been added to the credit card debt they are trying to wipe out.

The way forward.

There will still be some lenders that cannot produce a 'true copy' of the agreement,which may lead to the debts not being enforced but this is expected to be restricted to just a small proportion of the banking industry.For a 'true copy' all the lender needs to do is insert the correct credit amount,the credit rate and the original terms and conditions.They will only be able to do this though if they have the original loan agreement or know the original terms and conditions.

Borrowers will still be able to employ the services of a CMC and pay fees for this but there is no reason why they cannot do this themselves and obtain a copy of their agreement for a nominal fee.After this they can then consider approaching a CMC for advice.

If you are struggling to repay your debts,then think about getting some professional advice on how to manage the payments.There is no guarantee you will be successful in getting the debts written off and there is also a moral issue about repaying the lender that initially advanced you the money in good faith.

[themadcap]

I think this is more with original creditors rather than the DCA's who buy the debts from them as they would surley need the original to follow a debt that there is no legal proof to them ever existed.

[roony]

Just use CPR Rules, still stands, CCA has always been pointless & was bound to get watered down by corrupt legislators.