Varde/Brachers claimform - MBNA card

[Smoothound]

Hi new boy here Confused new boy to be honest not sure this is the right place for this as it's not really about charges unless they have been [causing problems] me for ever?

 

I've been a bad boy after losing my job and not paid my card at all for about 6+ months. Ignored the letters and phonecalls and the debt was transferred to Experto around February this year. They wrote a couple of letters and then resorted to phonecalls and texts. Last week I had a message left warning me that if I didn't phone back within the day my house would be at risk and they would be filing some charge or something similar against my house. I thought I better phone them just to suss out what they are doing. The guy on the phone was immediately fishing for details of other loans and Cards etc. already knew the value of my house and how much equity is in it. The debt is around £15,000 and he then proceeded to offer to reduce it to a straight £10,000 if I could finance that from friends and family by the end of this week!

 

Having read a lot of this forum, I'm thinking he's offering me a deal because there are issues with my CCA or something else but i'm not really sure as I really don't understand 90% of it all

 

Just looking for pointers for when he phones later this week please

[maroondevo52]

Hello and Welcome,

 

I'll move this thread to a more appropriate Forum.

 

Regards.

 

Scott.

[Smoothound]

Thanks and apologies :o

[Smoothound]

Any pointers as my head is spinning from all the reading I've done and I really don't understand most of it

[Bazooka Boo]

OK, morning, first things first, stay off the phone to these fools, they will tell you absolutely anything to get money out of you and then completely deny it afterwards.

 

You MUST keep everything in writing from now on, if they ring, tell them everything in writing and hang up, or place the receiver down on the side and do something more important like watching the paint dry.

 

Ignore their idle threats about your house being at risk, there is a long way to go before they can put a charging order on your house.

 

How long ago did you take out this card?

Friends and family have nothing to do with your debts, and telling you to further borrow from them is indicative of just how desperate they are getting.

 

If the card was taken out prior to 2007 then send these fools a CCA request, enclose a £1 Postal order, and mark it 'statutory CCA request fee' no need to sign it, and PRINT your name on the CCA request letter.

Send it recorded delivery so you know they have received it, and the clock starts ticking from when they have received it, they have 12 working days in which to supply you with the agreement, if/when they do scan and post it up on here so others can take a look as to the enforceability of it.

CCA request.

 

You MUST NOT talk over the phone with them, just hang up, if they persist, then keep a diary of events with a view to reporting them to the Police for the offence of harassment.

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/resources/templates-library/52-harassment/135--harassment-by-telephone-response-letter-

[Smoothound]

 

How long ago did you take out this card?

 

Thanks

 

I was going to fire off the CCA today as that much i understood from reading around the other threads

 

The card I have had for a good while. How long I'm really not sure but certainly years prior to 2007.

 

Phil

[Bazooka Boo]

Definitely worth firing off the CCA request then.

[Deb T]

I don't think them offering you to pay them 10k down from 15k has anything to do with a dodgy cc (at this stage anyway) simply because of the amount they're asking for - 10k would be a very nice little earner for them

[Bazooka Boo]

Any reduction in a debt offered should always set the alarm bells ringing, if they are confident that they have a rock solid case they would ask for the full amount owed, regardless that they pay 6p in the pound for the debt, why wouldn't they want to get the maximum profit for it, besides, what they may do is take the 10k then flog the other 5k off in another portfolio to be pursued by another DCA.

[Smoothound]

6p in the pound is that all they pay, £900

 

When the guy was on the phone, I said he'd probably paid peanuts for the debt, which he poo poo'd but I never realised it was that little!

[Bazooka Boo]

It has been known for DCA's to pay as little as 6p in the £ for debts, but don't forget they won't just buy one, they buy a whole portfolio of them.

[Deb T]

How do you know that they've actually purchased the debt? Most DCA's are collection vessels for the Original creditor and your debt is seemingly recent in

being a debt owed, have you had a default notice/termination letter/assignment notice etc?

 

Also and without wanting to worry you, if you have property and equity in it and the debt is sizeable and enforceable it is possible that an OC or agents acting on their behalf would move to try and secure the debt via a ccj and on from that a charging order or possibly even a stat demand/bankruptcy.

 

I'm not saying this is the case but I would always advise caution and care when dealing with an Original Creditor/DCA where there is realizable equity at stake .

 

 

So, thats all, just tread carefully until you know what you're up against and you know what they have against you to be able to enforce the debt etc

[Smoothound]

I have a letter telling me they are the legal owner of my account now. I don't remember and cannot find any letter from MBNA telling me they have or were going to sell their interest in the debt.

[Deb T]

Owner of the account doesn't necessarily mean they own the debt, Dca's are very good at playing with words when issuing threats/ultimatums/legal jargon. You could send a subject access request to mbna or even the prove it letter to the dca to see if they have the legal authority to collect the debt.

[Smoothound]

Owner of the account doesn't necessarily mean they own the debt, Dca's are very good at playing with words when issuing threats/ultimatums/legal jargon. You could send a subject access request to mbna or even the prove it letter to the dca to see if they have the legal authority to collect the debt.

 

Right, so now I'm further confused

 

I'm rereading the letter and the wording is "Varde Investments (Ireland) Ltd has bought the interest of MBNA Europe Bank Limited in the above referenced account, including the outstanding balance. Consequently, Varde Investments (Ireland) Ltd is now the legal owner of your account."

 

So the above is basically a lie then? Not that I'm that surprised to be honest

[Deb T]

It might not be a lie but as previously stated DCA's do have a tendency to play on words...

 

Has the account been defaulted/terminated?

 

As for Varde/Expertio whatever...Take a look here

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/mbna/203820-very-strange-behaviour-mbna-5.html

[Deb T]

In regards to Varde supposedely making a purchase, there is a procedure...see here for a brief but accurate description....

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/general/129685-debt-purchasing.html

[Smoothound]

How do you know that they've actually purchased the debt? Most DCA's are collection vessels for the Original creditor and your debt is seemingly recent in

being a debt owed, have you had a default notice/termination letter/assignment notice etc?

 

Also and without wanting to worry you, if you have property and equity in it and the debt is sizeable and enforceable it is possible that an OC or agents acting on their behalf would move to try and secure the debt via a ccj and on from that a charging order or possibly even a stat demand/bankruptcy.

 

I'm not saying this is the case but I would always advise caution and care when dealing with an Original Creditor/DCA where there is realizable equity at stake .

 

 

So, thats all, just tread carefully until you know what you're up against and you know what they have against you to be able to enforce the debt etc

 

 

I've had no papers at all from the court or anything like that in writing just a veiled threat on the phone a week ago that soon it would be out of their(Experto) hands unless I could raise some money from family friends to clear the offered 2/3rds discount no offer of a payment plan either.

 

I've read through the linked threads but not really any the wiser as to what I should do!!

 

Should I fire off the CCA to the DCA and also a Subject Access Request to MBNA?

Edited July 15, 2010 by Smoothound

[Deb T]

You don't seem to answer questions asked several times

 

Have you had a default notice

A termination letter?

 

If you have either then scan them in and put them up so that others can see if the account has been defaulted/terminated in the correct manner...

 

As for a CCA, I don't see requesting it would do any harm, particularly as you say it was a few years before 2007

 

As for the Subject Access request, I've already given you my opinion on that as has somebody else in regards to sending off for you CCA, add to that you could send the prove it letter etc.

 

It is considered unreasonable by the OFT for a creditor to expect/demand unusually large amounts of money when you clearly don't have it ..

here under section 2.6f http://www.oft.gov.uk/shared_oft/business_leaflets/consumer_credit/oft664.pdf

[Smoothound]

I've been through all my MBNA and found what appears to be a Default Notice but I can't find anything about Termination apart from the mention of it in the DN after a certain date.

Edited July 15, 2010 by Smoothound

[Smoothound]

I sent the CCA in to Experto yesterday, will send the Subject Access Request to MBNA once I have some spare money for the PO.

[Smoothound]

I've just been going through my records and now realise there was also PPI on this account which I'm 99.9% certain was sold to me well after I became Self Employed and was done on the phone. I'm not sure if I ever signed anything or not. When I first started to struggle to repay I tried to claim on it but they said it wouldn't cover me unless I was made bankrupt etc. etc. I then cancelled the payments there and then and argued on the phone with them about it a few times.

 

I now realise I can probably claim this back. I'll need a Subject Access Request first to confirm dates etc. but is there any reason why I shouldn't get this rolling now or leave it until I have had a reply back from the CCA?

 

I assume there are letters somewhere to recover this?

[Guest HeftyHippo]

no need to wait for the cca, though you will get a copy of any agreement in the SAR anyway

[Smoothound]

no need to wait for the cca, though you will get a copy of any agreement in the SAR anyway

 

Thanks

 

Once I get the SAR here I will look into claiming back my PPI which in theory should reduce the debt massively.

 

If the debt has actually been sold on to Experto rather than Experto acting for MBNA, if they pay out are they more likely to pay it to Experto or direct to me?

[Deb T]

no need to wait for the cca, though you will get a copy of any agreement in the SAR anyway

 

 

Not so, most of the information provided in a subject access request is from computer generated information such as statements, letters sent to you (but not yours to them) and other such info, the credit agreement is a physical document and is not covered by computer generated documents.

 

Some companies seem to be able to provide them but others do not and and in ALL the SARS I've made not one has produced a credit agreement under the request.