Advent Computer Training (Barclays Partner Finance)Info and discussion thread

[Tricla]

Has anyone seen the response to the petition? They clearly don't understand the position

 

They do talk about the validity of S75 though so that is surely a positive.

[10pack]

Has anyone seen the response to the petition? They clearly don't understand the position

 

There's a petition?

where?

[MARTIN3030]

http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/adventcomputer/

 

Government response

 

Whenever there is a failure which effects a significant group of creditors be it students; retail customers or small businesses proposals have in the past been made that such groups should be given priority in the distribution of funds when a company becomes insolvent. However, a major aim of our insolvency law is to achieve, as far as possible, an equitable distribution amongst all the unsecured creditors. The effect of extending preferential status to customers, such as students, who have made payments in advance would simply be to reduce the amount of money available to other creditors including, for example, small traders who may be similarly hard hit by such a failure.

Advent Computer Training Limited (Advent) and Access 2 Careers Limited (Access) went into administration on 17 February 2010. The administrators are Ian James Gould and Brian James Hamblin of PKF, New Guild House, 45 Great Charles Street, Queensway, Birmingham B3 2LX.

On 31 March 2010 the Administrators sold the business and certain assets of Advent Computer Training Limited (Advent) to Computeach International Limited (Computeach)

Computeach were prepared to offer similar courses as those run by Advent and where students have attended such courses it is unlikely that there would be a claim for recovery of fees previously paid to Advent. Barclays Bank PLC was one of the companies which provided students with loans to pay for their course. For those students who did not continue their studies information about their position is available on the website: http://www.pkf.co.uk/web/pkf.nsf/B3CB7D2B64C68FD58025770D00383D66/$file/Final+FAQs+-+Barclays+students.PDF

The information on the website sets out in detail how all students are affected and the requirement to make any additional payment will largely depend on how payment for the original course was made. Where payment for a course was made by credit arranged through the trader with a finance company and the cash price of the services/goods is between £100 and £30,000 section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 makes such companies equally liable with the supplier for breach of contract. Where there is an outstanding claim students should contact the appropriate finance company to discuss the issue. For those students who are seeking recovery of monies paid in advance contact details for the finance companies who provided loans are also available on the link shown above.

[lowdown]

Has anyone seen the response to the petition? They clearly don't understand the position

 

More than likely they do not understand the petition - thats why they are Politicians, along with management teams,

they are all brain dead.

[MARTIN3030]

There's a petition?

where?

 

 

Now closed.Link is above.

 

Deadline to sign up by: 03 June 2010 – Signatures: 1,039

[10pack]

I just read it.. another buck passing response.

 

I bet they phoned their mates at barclays towers and was told the same **** that gets told to the FOS..

Dont bother us while we are making money!!

[MARTIN3030]

hi all is anyone else having trouble getting onto the student website ?cant log on there seems to be a problem with connection ?

 

There is still some tweaking going on to fully resolve all issues being reported.

If you are still experiencing difficulty then feel free to report it to site team giving a brief detail of the prob experienced.your operating system and browser settings.

If poss a screenshot too.

[Tricla]

I just read it.. another buck passing response.

 

I bet they phoned their mates at barclays towers and was told the same **** that gets told to the FOS..

Dont bother us while we are making money!!

 

Do you not think that the last paragraph that talks about S75 is a positive thing though? It says that those with a debtor-creditor agreement can claim under S75 as BPF are liable? Or am I reading jt wrong?

[cryss80]

Guys let's get together and protest!!!

This is the only way!!! After I red the Petition response I feel that this is the ultimate solution we've got left. Let's set a date somewhere at the end of Sept, to give enough time to everyone to organise. What do you think??? Cmon people!!!!!!!!!!

[10pack]

Do you not think that the last paragraph that talks about S75 is a positive thing though? It says that those with a debtor-creditor agreement can claim under S75 as BPF are liable? Or am I reading jt wrong?

 

yes we are supposed to be able to but BPF are busy trying to find ways to not pay out... thats why they are pushing so hard with computeach, they have done a deal and probably did us for a few hundred quid.

 

I just had a reply from a letter I sent to BPF, and they dont know what I was supposed to be studying that was apparent from what the wrote, but the answer is full of legal buzz words, its been written by their lawyers and they just put my name on and posted it, I am certain they did no investigation into what I wrote to them.. that also is certain by their reply, they ignored many key points I raised.

[parand]

I have an idea, we should write a letter about our situation, from the day that advent's rep came to our homes, till now that debt collectors are on our doors! then all of us print it, sign it in our real name and address and post it to 10 downing street!

 

just imagin how hard is it to ignor at least 1039 letters? i beleive our request at petition wasn't clear enough....

we havn't done any thing wrong and we dont deserve this....

may be in that case we wont get the same answer as petition! so.... what do you think?

[MARTIN3030]

yes we are supposed to be able to but BPF are busy trying to find ways to not pay out... thats why they are pushing so hard with computeach, they have done a deal and probably did us for a few hundred quid.

 

I just had a reply from a letter I sent to BPF, and they dont know what I was supposed to be studying that was apparent from what the wrote, but the answer is full of legal buzz words, its been written by their lawyers and they just put my name on and posted it, I am certain they did no investigation into what I wrote to them.. that also is certain by their reply, they ignored many key points I raised.

 

 

Any chance you cold post this up ?

[lc1989]

Hi all.

 

Ive had a reply back from the FOS and Barclays Partner Finance. The FOS said the following:

 

As there is now debtor-creditor link with my father through advent then i cannot hold barclays partner finance liable for the agreement and cannot claim my money back. which i cannot understand as advent agreement states that they are supplying my father the MCIW, through a link loan with barclays partner Finance, so my father has a link with advent as they say they are supplying him with the course but me as the student. but the FOS state as im the student this isnt the case????? confused.......

 

Barclays say that my investigations into the company are correct in some cases, but afetr reading the majority of the corporate jargon. the main point that made me chuckle that they say its not there fault that a computeach course is cheaper than an advents course. I can post the whole reply if you like see what you guys think.

 

So they have closed the complaint with the FOS and Barclays Partner Finance states that this is their final response to the matter. So where do i go from here???? Has any one else had the final responces from Barclays Partner Finance????

[raj4u]

Has any one else had the final responces from Barclays Partner Finance????

well i had final response from BPf saying all crap about computeaach and agreed to clear only arrears they added on my account since may'10. but still i'm getting letters from mercers n resolvecall asking to clear those arrears. i sent bpf's response to mercers n when i called them, they said they had lots of letters everyday n asking me to give them the ref. no from bpf's letter..so its just waste of my money on recorded deliveries:mad:..

This morning i had a letter from bpf again stating:

 

" despite our previous correspondence and attempts to contact you, your account with Advent consulting Ltd remains in arrears. This matter has now been passed to our debt collection agency for escalated recovery action.

Sanclare Financial 0844 555 2123.

You have previously been advised that Advent consulting Ltd shares information with licensed credit reference agencies. Your account is seriously behind with payments, and as such will be registering adversely at these agencies. This will affect your ability to obtain future credit.

If a third party is assisting you in your financial affairs you should notify them on this so they can update their records accordingly."

 

so now we are goin to get harassments from another f****rs, sanclare..excellent, so they will pass the same file to many debt collectors as they wish:?. Are they referring to Hausfled in their response regards third party? Also Advent consulting LTd is sharing information with CRA's, not BPF..

 

Has anyone else got this letter? going mad with all these s**t! Please advice me what to do next..thanx.

[lowdown]

" despite our previous correspondence and attempts to contact you, debt collection agency for escalated recovery your account with Advent consulting Ltd remains in arrears. This matter has now been passed to our action.

 

Sanclare Financial 0844 555 2123.

You have previously been advised that Advent consulting Ltd shares information with licensed credit reference agencies. Your account is seriously behind with payments, and as such will be registering adversely at these agencies. This will affect your ability to obtain future credit.

If a third party is assisting you in your financial affairs you should notify them on this so they can update their records accordingly."

 

so now we are goin to get harassments from another f****rs, sanclare..excellent, so they will pass the same file to many debt collectors as they wish:?. Are they referring to Hausfled in their response regards third party? Also Advent consulting LTd is sharing information with CRA's, not BPF..

 

Has anyone else got this letter? going mad with all these s**t! Please advice me what to do next..thanx.

 

But their is no account with Advent - its gone bust!....The account is with BPF, they supplied the finance not Advent.

This is why BPF will not go any where near a court, they are not sure about anything regarding this - STILL.

If they pass it over to a outside DCA - they will have to take you to court, and i am not sure DCA's will go near a court.

These outside DCA's will only take the dept on, if they think they can make money out of it - aound ten grand..

not a chance in hell of getting that back for years via courts - you are means tested in court.

However they will try and get it back through harassment on behalf of BPF - and then collect commission.

But the account would still be with BPF - just that they will not be harassing you any more.

[dron]

I`ve got the same letter today. 8) Who knows is it legal from BPF to send to Credit Reference Agencies until the dispute has completed its investigation?

What action I can take against BPF in this situation?

R.doc

Edited August 21, 2010 by dron

[Fuzzbutt]

Making a complaint about a debt collection agency. Some may find this useful!!

 

From OFT's guidance (see this link for more details)

http://www.oft.gov.uk/about-the-oft/legal-powers/legal/cca/debt-collection

"Debt collection complaints

 

If you are an adviser or third party organisation and you would like to complain to the OFT about the debt collection practices of creditors and/or their debt collection units, as well as external debt collection agencies, please download and complete the complaint form (Word 123 kb) and return it to the OFT at the following address:

 

Enquiries Centre

Office of Fair Trading

FREEPOST

London

EC4B 4AH

 

Email: [email protected]

 

The OFT complaints evidence checklist (pdf 90 kb) may be helpful when dealing with complaints against traders collecting consumer credit debts. It can be used alongside the OFT's debt collection guidance and the complaint form."

[Fuzzbutt]

Barclays are blatantly breaking OFT guidelines in all ways now.

 

OFT cites examples of unfair practice as...

 

"using more than one debt collection business at the same time

resulting in repetitive and/or frequent contact by different parties

d. not ensuring that an adequate history of the debt is passed on as

appropriate resulting in repetitive and/or frequent contact by different

parties

e. not informing the debtor when their case has been passed on to a

different debt collector

f. pressurising debtors to pay in full, in unreasonably large instalments,

or to increase payments when they are unable to do so

g. making threatening statements or gestures or taking actions which

suggest harm to debtors

h. ignoring and/or disregarding claims that debts have been settled or are

disputed and continuing to make unjustified demands for payment

i. disclosing or threatening to disclose debt details to third parties unless

legally entitled to do so

j. acting in a way likely to be publicly embarrassing to the debtor either

deliberately or through lack of care, for example, by not putting

correspondence in a sealed envelope and putting it through a letterbox,

thereby running the risk that it could be read by third parties."

 

and...

"passing on debtor details to debt management companies without the

debtors' informed prior consent

g. failing to refer on to the creditor reasonable offers to pay by instalments

h. not passing on payments received within a reasonable time resulting in

delays that adversely affect a debtor's financial position.

i. failing to investigate and/or provide details as appropriate, when a debt is

queried or disputed, possibly resulting in debtors being wrongly pursued"

 

http://www.oft.gov.uk/shared_oft/business_leaflets/consumer_credit/oft664.pdf

 

You can complain - see my post above.

[Fuzzbutt]

yes we are supposed to be able to but BPF are busy trying to find ways to not pay out... thats why they are pushing so hard with computeach, they have done a deal and probably did us for a few hundred quid.

 

I just had a reply from a letter I sent to BPF, and they dont know what I was supposed to be studying that was apparent from what the wrote, but the answer is full of legal buzz words, its been written by their lawyers and they just put my name on and posted it, I am certain they did no investigation into what I wrote to them.. that also is certain by their reply, they ignored many key points I raised.

 

I had exactly the same, 10pack. In my last reply letter I stated that their investigation into my complaint was incompetent and I was now taking legal action.

[Fuzzbutt]

Hi all.

 

Ive had a reply back from the FOS and Barclays Partner Finance. The FOS said the following:

 

As there is now debtor-creditor link with my father through advent then i cannot hold barclays partner finance liable for the agreement and cannot claim my money back. which i cannot understand as advent agreement states that they are supplying my father the MCIW, through a link loan with barclays partner Finance, so my father has a link with advent as they say they are supplying him with the course but me as the student. but the FOS state as im the student this isnt the case????? confused.......

 

Barclays say that my investigations into the company are correct in some cases, but afetr reading the majority of the corporate jargon. the main point that made me chuckle that they say its not there fault that a computeach course is cheaper than an advents course. I can post the whole reply if you like see what you guys think.

 

So they have closed the complaint with the FOS and Barclays Partner Finance states that this is their final response to the matter. So where do i go from here???? Has any one else had the final responces from Barclays Partner Finance????

 

Please do post it - FOS are toothless and incompetent.

You could join our group legal action if you haven't already.

[skyblue dave]

I have also received a letter saying my account has been passed on to Sanclare Financial. I am also receiving letters from Mercers.

Based on the OFT guidelines about unfair practices (thanks fuzzbutt), which clearly state that Companies can't use two Debt Collection Agencies, I have emailed a complaint to Consumer Direct.

I'll let you know how I get on.

[lewis2]

hi all i was receiving letters and phome calls from mercers so i rang bpf and complained about it as i considered my account in dispute because i was part of the class action so clearly my account was under investigation

.....have'nt had a phone call or letter since thats nearly a month now!

[10pack]

I also receieved similar letter.. But have you noticed its not signed?

 

The letters from mercers are also signed with a no name squiggle.

 

These letters are to intimidate nothing more, and as I wrote before if BPF were serious they would have been taking us all to court months ago, and by the sheer numbers of us in dispute with them over this they know they are in the wrong by trying to force us into accepting computeach, any decent company would have asked us what did we want them to do rather than dictate to us.

 

they dont want any of us near a court because a judge would give them a good kicking.

[blade325]

I had a similar response type letter from Barclays when I asked for an investigation and my money paid back. The letter was full of legal jargon and at no point in the letter did it answer any of the questions that I asked them to.

[Fuzzbutt]

The Protection from Harassment Act 1997

 

"If you feel you are subject to Debt Collection Harassment then this too could be classed as a criminal offence. Harassment can be verbal or in writing and would include making repeated calls to your workplace or in anti social hours. The Protection from Harassment Act 1997 makes it a Criminal Offence for any person to pursue a course of action "which they know, or ought to know, amounts to harassment of another person".

 

http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts1997/ukpga_19970040_en_1