HFO Services/Barclaycard Debt

[Guest Cartaphilus]

I am going to stop posting now. Permanently. Bye.

[dadofholly]

Thanks, as someone who does claim IB, I can't claim that. So was wondering.

 

Had to look it up myself.

 

http://www.tameside.gov.uk/benefits/incapacity

[twincity]

Have HFO - actually sent you ANYTHING from Barclaycard - such as application, statements etc.

 

nothing at all...what i have received i have posted as links to photobucket, sorry bout the poor quality

[dadofholly]

Remember its up to them to prove it's not statute barred - not you to prove that it is.

 

So on that score the first thing you need is proof that this alledged 2007 payment was made - when - who to - and who by.

 

Documented evidence not just HFO say so.

[coledog]

Hi twincity

 

Had a change to re-read your thread properly and it nether ceases to amaze me as to the depths that this company will sink to. I would not flatter them by responding to their correspondence, you have informed them that this debt is Statute Barred (under law) and they have not provided you with any proof that it is not.

 

The correspondence they have sent you has shown everyone on CAG and elsewhere, the way this company handle personal data and use this to harass people.

 

Now that you have scanned the documents, you must send them with a complaint to OFT (you can do this by email) and offer to forward copies (with your details) if they require these as evidence. You must also make a complaint to the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) and ring Consumer Direct about a complaint to Trading Standards (make sure they inform Merton, Croydon and Surrey) mentioning your health problems and current circumstances.

 

Thank you for posting this up and making people aware and hope that you can get this sorted.

Edited October 27, 2010 by coledog

[boxhave]

Newbie here.

I am in a similar boat to you. I have just sent off my SB letter to HFO today and await their responce.

The HFO guy claims that the debt is not statute barred becuase they wrote to me in the 6 years several times and it does not matter if i acklowledge the claims or not.

I still have not admitted the claim. My debts last payment was 24/9/2004. They wrote me in 10/9/2010. I replied denying and asking for agreement.They sent it yesterday, i replied saying it is SB and he said it is not and they are taking to court. I told him good luck.

Any comment from you guys?

[DonkeyB]

You have it sorted, I would say. Report them to the OFT and TS for trying to take collection action once they have been informed the debt is SB.

[DonkeyB]

Another thread with a new Cagger who only stayed one day...

 

Anything doing?

 

“The Twin Cities was the name of the two city-states on the planet of Radnor: Tacto and Aubendo.”

– you guessed, it, Star Wars.

[boxhave]

No this isnt resolved yet.

 

I have had a new letter from them just a few days ago claiming that it is not statute barred as they tried to contact me several times and they wrote me with a claim action letter but not an actual claims proceeding. That is their reason for it not being statute barred, as if to say i was trying to hide. Having seeked advices, i have been told that they are just trying it on and as i obtained a mortgage since the time they claimed to have written me, then of course i was not trying to hide.

I am looking to write them a letter now threatning to make complaints to OFT if they do not leave me alone.

 

I will see how that goes.

[DonkeyB]

Sorry boxhave, the reminder was meant for twincities. However...

 

Ok, time for a more serious complaint.

 

The fact that they claim they wrote to you does not mean it is not SB. Therefore they are misrepresenting the legal position. In your letter, quote the following bits from the OFT guidelines at them. They have contravened them all. You MUST report this to Trading Standards and the OFT.

 

2 UNFAIR BUSINESS PRACTICES

False representation of authority and/or legal position

2.3 Those contacting debtors must not be deceitful by misrepresenting their authority

and/or the correct legal position.

2.4 Examples of unfair practices are as follows:

b. falsely implying or stating that action can or will be taken when it legally

cannot, for example, referring to bankruptcy or sequestration proceedings

when the balance is too low to qualify for such proceedings or claiming a

right of entry when no court order to this effect has been granted

 

Deceptive and/or unfair methods

2.7 Dealings with debtors are not to be deceitful and/or unfair.

2.8 Examples of unfair practices are as follows:

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

queried or disputed, possibly resulting in debtors being wrongly pursued

 

Statute barred debt

2.14 In the past we have dealt with a number of statute barred debt cases governed by

the Limitation Act 1980, which applies to England and Wales. Based on that

experience our position with regard to England and Wales remains:

b. it is the methods by which the debt is collected that can be

unfair as follows:

• it is unfair to pursue the debt if the debtor has heard nothing from

the creditor during the relevant limitation period

• if a creditor has been in regular contact with a debtor before the debt

is statute barred, then we do not consider it unfair to continue to

attempt to recover the debt

• it is unfair to mislead debtors as to their rights and obligations, for

example, falsely stating or implying that the debt is still legally

recoverable and relying on consumers not knowing the relevant legal

provisions, and

• continuing to press for payment after a debtor has stated that they

will not be paying a debt because it is statute barred could amount to

harassment contrary to section 40 (1) of the Administration of

Justice Act 1970.

[DonkeyB]

Could you post up the letter they have written to you, removing your personal and account details? Or transcribe it for us?

[twincity]

Just a quick update: have heard nothing further from HFO since 26-10-10, although I'm sure they will try again in the future.

 

Thanks to all those who gave advice.

 

In reply to post #83 - comments noted.

[twincity]

Update

Just received a letter from HFO - Special 5 day Xmas offer, Up to 50% special discount, if willing to settle. Its a very polite letter, promoting them as a very caring company, who dont want people to be worrying about their debts over xmas etc etc blah blah blah

 

Strange when you consider they were taking me to court with a 72 hour notice of litigation letter at the start of this thread for a SB debt.

 

P.S. Merry Christmas to u all

[broken arrow]

It was up to 90% last month.........

[coledog]

I would have it framed, hope I get one.

[sillygirl1]

Perhaps they will have a super special New Years Sale and offer people 70% off :madgrin:

[broken arrow]

Perhaps they will have a super special New Years Sale and offer people 70% off :madgrin:

 

I preferred my deal of 100% off.......

[twincity]

Update

 

Just received a schedule of litigation from HFO today, despite being Statute Barred they are still trying it on. Once again I having to write to them, asking for the details of the alledged payment, how much, how payment was made etc. any hints on how to word letter appreciated. Looks like I'm going to court, oh joy.

 

If I end up in court can I sue them for costs etc. or just sue 'em (just for the hell of it)

[coledog]

The 'schedule of litigation' is a particularly nasty and inaccurate threatogram that other people have been receiving also.

 

Have you actually registered some complaints with OFT and TS as I think this needs to be added to it.

[coledog]

I think that you need to write an official letter of Complaint to HFO and ask for a copy of their formal complaints procedure to be sent by return. Put on CC (copy to) OFT and Trading Standards.

 

State that you have informed them that you believe that this debt is Statued Barred and they have failed to provide proof that it is not. Point out that they are breaking OFT guidelines (see posts above) by continuing to send threatening and inaccurate correspondence and you consider this to be harassment. Ask for their written response to your complaint within 14 days.

[twincity]

sorry to be a pain but have searched but cannot find a template for this, is there one?

[coledog]

No - it is something you need to compose yourself. Happy to help if you are stuck.

[twincity]

Just realised they intend to go to Northampton County Court which is 150+ miles from me, if it goes to court can I have the case re-assigned to my local court?

 

Also just found this on MSE site, sorry I know its a bit long but if it's ok I thought it might be useful for others in the same boat. Please let me know because if it isn't I will edit the post accordingly:

 

I do not acknowledge any debt to you or any other company or organisation that you claim to be representing.

 

Acc/Ref No: *******************

FORMAL COMPLAINT under the complaint procedures set out by the Financial Ombudsman.

 

Thank you for your letter dated xx/xx/201x, the contents of which are noted.

 

On xx/xx/20xx I wrote to regarding a debt that was alleged to be owed by myself. That letter was received and signed for on xx/xx/201x as confirmed by Royal Mail tracking.

 

In this letter I pointed out the following items:

1) Under the

Limitation Act 1980 Section 5

"an action founded on simple contract shall not be brought after the expiration of six years from the date on which the cause of action accrued".

 

2) The OFT say under their

Debt Collection Guidance

on statute barred debt that

"it is unfair to pursue the debt if the debtor has heard nothing from the creditor during the relevant limitation period".

 

3) The last

correspondence/payment/acknowledgement or payment

of this debt was made over six years ago and no further acknowledgement or payment has been made since that time. Unless you can provide evidence of payment or written contact from me in the relevant period under

Section 5 of the Limitation Act

, I suggest that you are no longer able to take any court action against me to recover the alleged amount claimed.

 

4) The OFT Debt Collection Guidance states further that

"continuing to press for payment after a debtor has stated that they will not be paying a debt because it is statute barred could amount to harassment contrary to

section 40 (1) of the Administration of Justice Act 1970

".

 

Therefore it is clear that your original contact regarding this debt may well have been in breach of the Office of Fair Trading Guideline referred to in item (2).

 

Furthermore, your second letter is in breach of Office of Fair Trading Guideline referred to in item (4) and directly constitutes harassment.

 

As you are no doubt aware, breaches of the OFT's Guidance on Debt Collection are treated seriously by the OFT when considering your fitness to hold a Consumer Credit License.

 

In particular the OFT has recently stated that:

The Consumer Credit Act 1974 (the Act) requires debt collectors, businesses that offer goods or services on credit and/or are involved in activities relating to credit or hire to be licensed by the OFT. Following implementation of the OFT's new powers under the Consumer Credit Act 2006 on 6 April 2008, the companies could also have specific 'requirements' imposed on them by the OFT. If such a requirement was not complied with, the business concerned could be subject to a financial penalty of up to £50,000. The OFT can also refuse or revoke a licence if it decides that a trader is not fit to hold one. The OFT can take into account any circumstances which appear to be relevant when considering the fitness of an applicant or licensee, including evidence that the company has contravened the Data Protection Act 1988.

Furthermore, that the OFT has recently enforced their guidelines by placing a legal requirement on Mackenzie Hall Ltd to cease pursuing statute barred or disputed debts.

 

Therefore I wish to formally notify you that unless I received confirmation that this matter is now closed, then I will not hesitate to make a formal complaint to the 'Office of Fair Trading' and also to 'Trading Standards'.

 

Furthermore, any attempted contact (other than to confirm that this matter is now closed) by any:

• "trading style" of the group
  
• constituent member of the group
  
• a third party acting on your behalf
  
• a third party that claims to have been legally assigned this debt
  

will result in an immediate complaint to the aforementioned regulatory bodies.

 

Also please note that any legal action you may consider will be FULLY and VIGOROUSLY defended, and you will be put to a strict proof of the alleged debt and any payment or acknowledgement that you claim within the relevant limitation period.

 

Furthermore, you may consider this letter a FORMAL COMPLAINT under the complaint procedures set out by the Financial Ombudsman. If you wish to correspond with myself with any other purpose than to confirm that this matter is now closed, then I require you to supply me with a written copy of your complaints procedure and a "final response" that I may forward to the Financial Ombudsman with my complaint.

 

This COMPLAINT is not going to go away and ignoring this problem could potentially make your situation worse. I therefore strongly recommend that you send written confirmation that no further contact will be made concerning the above account and confirmation that this matter is now closed.

 

I would appreciate your due diligence in this matter.

[Seminole]

This will almost certainly never see the inside of a court room. If this is statute barred within the meaning of the Limitation Act, the the DCA would be mad to pursue it.

 

The fact that the debt is statute barred doesn't preclude a company from trying to persuade you to pay it but you are under no legal obligation to do so. Sending you letters threatening legal proceedings is a breach of the Office of Fair Trading Guidelines on debt collection. The best thing you can do is to complain to the OFT and to your local Trading Standards department.

 

I would carefully file any letters you receive from the DCA but studiously ignore them unless they are stupid enough to receive a county court claim in which case folks here will help you with drafting a rock solid defence.

[coledog]

Northampton is used to issue bulk claims. If you were to receive a claim and defend it, any hearing can be transferred to your local court. I told you that the 'Schedule of Litigation' letter is very misleading and designed to frighten people which is why it needs to be reported to the relevent authorities.

 

Will look at the letter in a while.