AIC help!!

[Tommojay]

A couple of months back i had my student bank account closed and my overdraft taken away (£1800) quickly followed by my current account (£500) all with Natwest. As i was a recently graduated student i couldnt afford to pay it off so the debt got moved to Triton.

 

I had been keeping up with monthly repayments with them fine, but due to arrears incurred the debt then went to AIC, (which i had no notification of).

 

So spoke to a man from AIC on the phone for the first time today and he told me that i had two options.

 

1. Pay half the debt within the next two days and the rest will be written off.

or

2. face litigation proceedings.

 

They would not agree to a payment plan, they basically want all or nothing.

 

I don't know what to do! please help!

[Huff&Puff]

Never speak to them on the phone, they are professional phone bullies, and will tell any number of lies in order to get you to pay

 

Send them a "prove it" letter - there is no CCA involved, so asking to see one won't do you any good. Send it recorded delivery, and print your name, do not sign it. The alleged debt will then go into dispute when they get the letter, at which point they aren't allowed to chase you until such time as they do provide valid proof.

 

http://www.consumerforums.com/resources/templates-library/86-debt-collectors/573-general-debt-letter-if-you-know-nothing-of-the-debt

 

Standard advice - send all letters by recorded delivery in case they "lose" them. Do not sign letters, just print your name, so that they can't get creative with Photoshop.

[Pinky69]

Pay half and the debt the rest will be written off?? And I am Elvis Presley! Liars. If you pay anything at all, AIC sell the rest of the debt to another DCA as a matter of course. Banks now stink at giving graduates a chance to get on their feet and Natwest will be the losers because when you are on your feet you won't look their way again. Get that proof letter off and put AIC right in their place.

[Tommojay]

Thanks for you help going to send the 'prove it' letter today recorded delivery and i'll just ignore the phone calls for now.

 

Any idea what kind of interest or extra charges i will be getting added onto the debt?

 

once i send the letter what will they do to 'prove it'? do they have a limited time frame within they have to provide proof?

 

Thanks again

[debt4get]

no not really time frame! interest and charges? well they arent supposed to add any..did you tell them they could? no!! remember even if they were stupid enough to take you to court. and they won, a judge would only order you to pay what you could reasonably afford, if you arent working this could be as little as a pound a month. inform dca when and if you get proof of yet what you can afford..remember its your money not theirs

[debt4get]

oh and if they ask what your income and expenditure is tell em to mind own business, again only a court can ask for this information

[Tommojay]

Just thought i'd give an update of whats happened so far.....which isn't very much.

 

I sent the letter recorded delivery on the 9th and it was received and signed for the day after. Since then i've heard nothing, no phone calls or letters or anything.

 

So what should my next step be? should I just wait for them to get in touch?

[Pinky69]

I would wait to here from them. The next you may here could be from another DCA as AIC don't usually spend time getting caught up in disputes.

[Tommojay]

oh right, will the new DCA be even more scary and uncompromising that AIC?

[debt4get]

doesnt really matter once they have failed to send documents you requested then account goes into default and no other dca may ask or demand payment

[Pinky69]

They are only scary if you allow them to be. The Account in Dispute letter and bog off works wonders.

[F_DCAs]

No, they're not scary if you stand up to them. In fact, they can be quite funny (at their own expense).

[Huff&Puff]

Once you are member of CAG, and you've read few threads, you will start to see DCA letters as the pathetic joke that they are, and they become a source of amusement rather than worry

[scrambledbyegg]

AIC tried the same [problem] with me, "please tell ,e your circumstances so that we (AIC) can convince our client to accept the offer" yeah I'm sure they want to help me! My advice, put the phone down and send them a notice stating all contact to be in writing, visits or calls will be treated as harassment.

[palomino]

There seems to be a little confusion here about when accounts 'go into dispute'.

 

If you request information (eg. a copy of a credit agreement) then that is all you are doing. If the recipient fails to comply with your request then that is all it is - a failure.

If you want to dispute the matter on the basis of that failure then that is a separate step that you must take yourself. It is not automatic.

[debt4get]

i think in the letter sent it does state that the account does go into default once 12 + 2 days are reached...

The time limits, which are laid down in the Consumer Credit (Prescribed Periods for Giving Information) Regulations 1983 are clear. You must supply an executed Credit Agreement within 12 + 2 working days of a proper Consumer Credit Agreement request.

If you fail to comply with a legitimate request the account enters a default situation,

[palomino]

I think you are agreeing with my statement : the sentence in your letter is the separate step I mentioned.

[debt4get]

i dont know if that is semantics, as i read it.. if they do not comply then account enters into default...end of.. if that is incorrect..well it is incorrect..most posters on here seem to think this is the case..

[palomino]

I see what you are getting at.

If you just assume the matter will be in dispute at the end of the deadline then it won't as this is not automatic.

You have written a letter stating that the matter will be in dispute if your request is not complied with and hence any 'automatic' assumption is irrelevant. Many people do not mention the matter being in dispute in these circumstances and just assume it will happen automatically.

[Tommojay]

Ok still no reply from AIC or any other DCA. Not really sure how much of a good idea just leaving this debt hanging is. I need a plan lol.

[debt4get]

debt is in dispute..you can send another letter telling them so if you want to..they cannot ask for payment..they cannot enforce payment..they are not supposed to sell it on...but dca's do..but that is easily dealt with...

 

Dear xxxxx

 

Your Ref xxxxxx

 

I do not acknowledge any debt to your company or to any company you claim to represent.

 

A request for my Consumer Credit Agreement (Consumer Credit Act, 1974) was made to xxxxxxx (name of company) on xx/xx/xx. Since you are now in serious default of my legal request.

 

In the meantime, please be aware that no action can be taken against a disputed account and this includes the following :

 

You/your "client" may not demand any payment on the account, nor am I obliged to offer any payment to you.

 

You/your "client may not add any further interest or charges to the account.

 

You/your client may not pass the account to any third party.

 

You/your "client" may not register any information in respect of the account with any of the credit reference agencies.

 

You/your "client" may not issue a default notice related to the account.

 

In addition, please be awre that your recent telephone calls (delete if N/A) and letter to my home could, under the Administration of Justice Act 1970 section 40, be construed as unlawful harrassment in the absence of such an Agreement. As you claim in your letter to have been "instructed" by xxxxxxx, please note that any court claim regarding harrassment would be brought against both xxxxxxx and yourselves should this be necessary; since you would be complicit in this action (delete if N/A).

 

You may therefore consider this letter a statutory notice under Section 10 of the Data Protection Act 1998 to cease processing any data in relation to this account with immediate effect. This means that you must remove all information regarding this account from your own internal records and from any records with any credit reference agencies. Should you refuse to comply, you must within 14 days provide me with a detailed breakdown of your reasoning behind continuing to process my data. It is not sufficient to simply state that you have a legal right; you must outline your reasoning in this matter and state upon which legislation this reasoning depends.

 

I look forward to a favourable response within 14 days of the date of this letter, informing me that on this occasion you have made a genuine mistake and that you files are now closed. Failure to respond favourably however, will result in me reporting this matter to Trading Standards, Office of Fair Trading, The Financial Crimes Branch of HM Treasury and any other authorities as I see fit.

 

I look forward to your reply in due course.

 

Yours faithfully,

cut and use as appropriate

[Tommojay]

Ok new update,

 

Just started getting calls today from a company called Frederick International, so I'm guessing they've bought the debt off AIC. Still not received a single letter off AIC or Frederick International, not answered the calls from the latter yet either. What do you think i should do?

[Pinky69]

Continue not to answer the calls and ignore them.

[Tommojay]

Just received some angry letters from Fredrickson International Limited informing me that i have to settle the full amount within the next 7 days otherwise they 'will take immediate action'.

 

They say immediate action would involve the County Court or the Sheriff Court.

 

There's no way i can pay it in full, what are these guys like when you speak to them on the phone?

 

I wouldn't mind entering into a reasonable payment agreement but if there anything like AIC were they're probably not going to be to into that idea.

 

Don't really know what to do.

[debt4get]

do not ring them ever....what they have sent is what is known on here as a threatogram..weve all had them they are designed to threaten and intimidate you into calling them..do not fall for it...have you sent the account in dispute letter above if you have ignore them..they will do nothing...