Mercers Problem - correct address...

[Gospodin M]

Hi guys,

 

been lurking and reading these forums the last couple of months as i have had a mercers problem.

 

I contact BC about 4 months ago to say i was going to have problems making payment and could we make an arrangement to help me out for a few months, they said....

 

nothing helpful at all.

 

Got to the point when i couldn't make the minimum.

 

Haven't paid since.

 

Had 1 month of BC apparently chasing themselves, then have had 2 months of Mercers chasing me daily, several times each day.

 

About 3 days ago i got a text saying they would consider legal action, if i didn't call them.

 

I haven't called them.

 

Now...

 

Here is the issue. I got made redundant last year, and had to move to find work. All my BC statements etc. were on email, and i forgot to change my address with them. So they only have my old one, and given i haven't received anything in wiritng at all, they haven't bothered to find my new one.

 

Questions are:

 

Should i contact BC or someone to give change of address??

 

When and how should i do so?

 

How do i do it without having a "large gentleman" on my doorstep the following morning?

 

How much do i need to worry about their threat of legal action? the debt is C.£2000

 

thanks guys

[Gospodin M]

what i shoudl also add, is that obviously there will also be charges on the card, and in order to reclaim do the CCA route i will at some point need to give the correct address, but i just want to work out how to do this without escalating things immediately.

 

Any help will be massively appreciated, i need to start sorting this out.

[silverfox1961]

Hi and welcome

 

I think it would be in your interest to let them know your new address.

 

If they don't have it, any default notice, termination of account letter, notice of assignment will be sent to your old address. Also, if they chose to take you to court, those papers would also be sent to your old address and I'm sure you could do without the hassle of getting a county court judgement set aside.

 

A CCA request will only get you back a copy of your agreement (if they have it) or a reconstruction.

If you want ot reclaim any charges and you don't have all the relevant statements, you will need to do a SAR

 

As for anyone turning up on your doorstep. Just tell them to leave and they have to-simple. You are under no obligation to entertain a debt collector who turns up

[Gospodin M]

cheers

thats a start

 

what do you think would be the best way to let them know? and i assume i should let BC know, and address things to them rather than/as well as(?) mercers??

[silverfox1961]

Well Mercers an BC are one and the same so you would WRITE to BC. Send all letters by Recorded Delivery and make sure you check the royal mail website to confirm delivery

[slick132]

I agree you should defo give BC your new address. What you should always try to avoid, if poss, is giving them your phone number as THIS is what they use more effectively to harass people several times a day.

 

Big burly callers at the door will be months away and are no problem to get rid of. There are normally quite pleasant and/or reasonable.

 

Court action is very rarely used by BC and their DCA's.

 

Do you have your older Statements and were there any charges on them - or did charges only start occurring recently with the job probs.

 

[Gospodin M]

well i got the account initially in about 2000 when i was doing a summer job at uni and it started as Morgan Stanley, then became Goldfish and then BC

 

There probably are some old charges on there, but i would need to retrieve all the statements to be able to do so.

 

I contacted barclaycard today by email to ask them to call me, before sending post.

 

will update as things move along

[slick132]

Send off a SAR asap. They'll only supply statements for the last 6 years so the sooner it's sent, the further back the data you'll get.

 

[Gospodin M]

Hi again guys,

 

got an update, and need advice.

 

I last paid BC in June this year, and it was minimum payment. Credit limit was 2000 balance after that payment 2098

I am now in a position to make them a payment, and i am hoping to be able to make a payment of 2100-2200 and have that accepted in full.

I plan to call BC direct and not go through mercers.

What do you think the chances of them accepting this in full being????

[slick132]

Did you send off the SAR to see what charges you can reclaim.

 

You need to know what the current balance is and what charges have been put on the a/c, before you know how much to offer to clear the debt.

 

As a general comment, if you owed £2098 in June and can offer up to £2200, BC would be delighted to settle at a figure so close to the total debt.

 

8-)

Edited October 16, 2010 by slick132
typo

[Gospodin M]

SAR not sent yet.

 

Calling them now to find out balance, and make the offer ....

[Gospodin M]

ok, spoke to Barclaycard - they recorded the call, and so did i (aren't smart phone's ace!)

 

Position is this

 

They will accept a payment of £2100 and close the account. the current balance is £2380

If they do this it will be closed and finished, but will show as partially settled on my credit file. As it is already in default is this going to really cause me that much of a problem???

 

Alternatively i can pay them £2100 as a substantial payment against the account and then pay the balance over a longer period.

 

It is vaguely possible that i will pay them £2100 and then my partner will transfer the remaining balance to an interest free credit card, which will enable me to clear it that way.

 

What would you recommend??

 

I am just trying to close the account.

 

I might go the charges route later.

 

advice much appreciated

[silverfox1961]

You could ask then to mark the file as settled-not partially settled. The default will remain in place until 6 years have elapsed but a settled marker looks better than partially.

 

If it doesn't matter to you what your credit file looks like then it's up to you which way to go.

[slick132]

If you pay them the £2100 and then d/w the rest by a balance transfer, the a/c will show as fully settled.

 

I don't think they'll agree to show the a/c as settled if any amount is written off.

 

If you send off the SAR to get data on penalty charges, these can be reclaimed with compound interest. Depending on how far back the penalties go, this could make quite a difference to what you owe on the a/c.

 

8-)