Barclaycard, Mercers, Calder.

[marg41]

I have been having conversations with the above about a creditcard debt. I made them a very small offer which they have refused. They want me to pay 1% a off the debt a month which is £25. I cannot afford to pay this amount.

Calders are ringing back tomorrow as they said last week I needed to go over my finances very carefully to see what I could cut back on. She suggested I should stop Sky services( didn't say I had it anyway) or stop my broadband. She even said that I should not pay so much to my Council tax arrears as they were taking a disproportionate amount. I should pay them instead and they would be taking a close look at all my outgoings. I can't see how when I have not given them a financial statement.

I now know I should never have spoken to them and will not speak to them tomorrow.

My question is this, should I send off for a SAR and is it worth mentioning it tomorrow before I put the phone down. If I send for one does this then mean that the debt is in dispute.

Thank you

[Still_surviving]

Reading a post like this makes me seethe, when i see what these leeches are saying to people in the name of debt collection.

 

Im glad youve made the decision not to speak to these people by phone - indeed I would send them a letter stating you want all communication to be in written form. While doing so, ask them to confirm in writing that they want you to renege on an agreement to repay your council tax. In case they were 'unaware' non payment of council tax can end up depriving you of your liberty.

 

A subject access request will not get them to produce a copy of your original CCA, though it should reveal all the other information they hold on you - includng any unlawful charges they have levied on your account.

 

Request the CCA seperately using a template letter you can find elsewhere on this forum. Its likely you will just receive BCs latest terms and conditions, but its a start....

 

The important thing you need to get crystal clear is that these people are not gods - they have no powers to just turn up on your doorstep and take 'goods to the value of'.

 

If you are not a belligerent old sod like me, you might wish to keep these people happy by sending in your reasons why you cannot afford their suggested monthly payment. To be honest, they will probably just ignore it anyway.

 

A lot depends on your ability to deal with the stress these people will undoubtedly try to heap on you. Whilst taking you to court is really their option of last resort, they will in the meantime, bombard you with phone calls and threatening looking correspondence in an effort to get you to bend to their will.

 

Use this forum as a shoulder to lean on - there are many people here who have experienced exactly what you are going through with BC and will be delighted to help you.

[oilyrag]

Hi marg41,

 

Still Surviving is exactly right in what they are saying. Firstly, Mercers and Calders are in fact Barclaycard. They are the thuggery unit of BC based in Liverpool. Do not under any circumstances enter into any conversation with them at all on the telephone. They are totally unable to tell the truth at a later date. Everythin in writing only! They will bombard you with telephone calls and if these get to you then perhaps consider the TRUECALL device which is available from CAG. Those that do have them say that they are life changers.

 

However the CCA request is a good starting point, BC will only send out T & Cs and never a compliant "true" copy as required by the act. Under the recent test case in Manchester HHJ Waksman ruled under section 234 of his judgement that the original had to be produced along with a paper trail for each and every unilateral variation of the agreement right back to the date of alleged inception of the alleged agreement. This they cannot do! This then enables you to place the account into dispute legally. You may then stop paying anything until they do respond in proper fashion. Hit them with a SAR which will then enable you to calculate the unfair and unlawful charges which you can reclaim with interest. Calculators and spreadsheets are available also on the site.

 

They will claim all sorts in their letters and threatograms. However after a while they will go down the road of shooting themselves in the foot. Mercers will issue a Default Notice to you under section 87(1) of the CCA 1974. This will be defective in a number of ways if it is their usual recycled toilet paper. You can ignore this and then at some time on it will be followed by a formal demand for the arrears (along with threats) followed hotfoot by a Formal Demand for the full outstanding balance from Calders ( who are Mercers if you look at the tiny print at the bottom of their paperwork). This then all amounts to unlawful recission of the agreement (even if they ever had a compliant one). At this point they can only ever claim the true and correct (NOT what their paperwork says) arrears at the time of the termination, never the full outstanding balance! This has been interpreted in the past as the date of the DN. On top of this you can also claim damages from them for the unlawful recission reinforced by the Koprahor v Woolwich case which of course you can quote at the apporriate time. They will also farm out your account to other DCAs so be prepared and don't panic. None of them have a legal leg to stand on and all the help you need will be available to you from the experts here at each step of the way.

 

Barclays are usually quite slow to actually take anyone to court or to sell your account on with absolute assignment and they do get that legal documentation wrong as well. They prefer to harass you with Mercers and Calders and few of their buddies in their fold.

 

All of the relevant template letters, even dealing with doorstep visits are available on here for you to use. This is a very simplistic overview and you should do as much reading as you can on here as the road can be very rocky when you embark on this campaign, for that is what it is. Barclaycard are probably the most hardnosed and difficult crowd to deal with and they will not always obey the law or the regulations which govern their very existence. Don'y worry too much we have all been through it or are going through it, you are not alone.

 

Slick132 is the site BC "guru" and it may be worth you looking up some of Slick's advice on other threads.

 

Hope that this helps to put your mind a little more at ease and an insight into your rights. You have just as many as they do.

 

Best regards

oilyrag.

[marg41]

Thank you for your replies. CCA first then SAR. In the mean time i will also send the telephone harrasment letter to Calder or to Barclaycard. I am presuming I make the PO payable to Barclaycard as well, is this correct.

Edited April 13, 2010 by marg41
Add

[oilyrag]

Hi Marg,

 

Yes send the CCA request to BC along with the PO. However do not sign the letter with your normal signature. Either use the electronic signguard as advertised on your last post or just print your name. It is unsafe to use your signature once you get into any dispute with a bank or DCA. See other threads.

 

Finally I forgot to say that should you also bank with Barclays then it is wise to open another account for your day to day banking, salary payments etc because BC will exercise their right to "Set-Off" and raid your account for their payments and will continue to do so. It is one hell of a game to get the money back as well. If you do bank with them and you cannot get another account elsewhere (unlikely) then you should consider sending a letter to your branch, "A Letter of Appropriation" which basically tells them that you have priority bills to be paid, rent/mortgage, food, utilities etc. Credit card payments even in a court come very very low down the priority list but even so after our experiences I would not trust them an inch with one penny.

 

regards

oilyrag.

[marg41]

Thanks for that. I don't bank with Barclays, Thank God.

[rebel11]

I think sending a SAR, and getting them charges plus interest would help considerably.

[slick132]

Hi Marg,

 

Lots of good info for you above. Some of it will be useful for later but, in the meantime, focus on the basics.

 

Send phone harassment letter to BC and then a copy to whichever DCA contacts you.

 

Send the CCA request to the Northants address on your statement, by Rec'd Del'y.

 

If you don't have the last 6 years' statements, send off the SAR too. Separate letter, same envelope (if you want) and same address.

 

I'd not bother writing to BC to complain about their collection tactics - a waste of your time and paper.

 

When Calders, etc call back, refuse to answer any security Q's, tell them to put anything in writing, then hang up. They'll call back repeatedly but, when they realise you are no longer playing their game, the calls will drop off.

 

As well as reclaiming any penalty charges they made, you can also reclaim any mis-sold PPI added to your a/c.

 

[marg41]

Thanks for that.

No phone call today up to now.