wescot .please help

[TideTurner]

If you have not signed a CCA, how could your personal or financial details have been passed to an agent or anybody else without your specific authority? Ask Wescot for a copy of their letter of instruction from their client. their clients have a duty to ensure any personal and financial information you provide is kept securely. Who have Wescot shared / given it to?

 

Ask for a FULL breakdown of your account, including charges, and emphasise the unlawful provision of information as above. Bear in mind Wescot are on a 'no win, no fee' arrangement and will probably have very little information about your account.

 

Have you made a DPA to Wescot? Let's know what they know - what info they have been passed.

[maggie]

Thanks fo that Tideturner.I will send DPA request to Wescot this weekend.

Maggie

[TideTurner]

Also ask for a copy of your original agreement with their clients.

[mutzi]

I think they are just trying to put you off, hoping you don't know what your doing. Their reply seems quite stupid though. Keep their reply somewhere safe.

 

With studio cards it would seem you order something and then either pay it off, in full, within x days or make at least the minimum payment and have interest charged to your account. It sounds a lot like a credit card without the plastic. Studio are not above the consumer credit act, they charge a minimum of 29.5% on a rolling credit account and don't come under any of the exclusions.

 

TideTurner is quite right, scan through any credit agreement and you will find clauses allowing them to give details to credit reference agencies and pass on the debt to a 3rd party. If no agreement exists studio are in breach of the Data Protection Act for supplying wescot with the account or registering defaults etc.

 

I guess you want to know where you stand right now. After the 12 days is up the debt is unenforceable until they can provide you with a copy of the agreement. But they have already admitted it doesn't exist in writing, making it unenforceable as of right now. Also you've got the perfect defence against any court claim should they decide to waste their own time. You can stop paying them anything more.

 

Check this thread and decide what you want to do from here. (it's a long thread full of various peoples information but read through the first 5 pages or so and you'll get the idea) http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/other-institutions/10900-loan-company-cannot-supply.html

 

Send of the DPA request as planned, find out what you've paid in charges and claim them back at the very least. You could ask for everything back (as in above thread) and cause some nasty trouble for studio with the authorities I imagine.

 

You can relax now

[maggie]

Mutzi + Tideturner

I will send the DPA requeat off to Wescot,but if I need any further help,when and if I receive a reply,can I call on both your help in this matter,also please could either of you advise me on some sort of reply I can send to them?

Any help would be most appreciated,my strength is beginning to return now,and my health is improving day by day.slowly,but I am not sure if I should send some sort of a reply to them,as well as a DPA.

 

thanks Maggie

 

 

p.s. sorry to sound like an idiot,but I am not really clued up on all this yet.

[maggie]

Forgot to say,their 12 days is up on October 8th.,next Tuesday.

 

Maggie

[maggie]

DPA (Subject access request )letter sent today to wescott,by recorded delivery

Maggie

[TideTurner]

Maggie, we'll scrutinise this when it comes in. Often, it is not what they tell you, but what they omit which is important. Let me know how you get on. Tide

[maggie]

Tideturner,

Checked bank account this morning,and wescot have cashed the cheque I sent them for the DPA,They received my Dpa request thru recorded delivery on Monday 9th October,I checked on the track and trace Royal Mail site.I will post their reply as soon as I receive it.Can I send you a message to tell you I have posted their reply please.?

Thanks for your help in this so far.

Maggie

 

40 days and counting.

[andrew1]

Actually Maggie, you might not get too much out of Wescot for the Data Protection Act Subject Access Request. This usually generates much more from the bank or credit card or finance house you had the original credit from. It includes all the statements of account from where you can get all the payments penalty charges which I guess is actually what you'd be looking for upon which to base your claim.

 

Wescot will only have to provide the info they have on their system, which will only produce the payment record you have with them invariably so you're waiting 40 days to get not much at all.

 

 

Tide is suggesting you should have 'signed a CCA', ( maybe the Consumer Credit Agreement ) not quite sure what he means but the CCA is the Consumer Credit Act requirement for the creditor to supply a copy of your statement and a copy of the 'signed' agreements you signed when you took the credit in the first place with the bank/cc/finance co., and of any defaults registered against you by them with the Credit Reference Agencies, they should also, if they have purchased the debt from the original company, supply you with the ' Deed of Assignment' stating they legally own the debt. If, in this case Wescot were to get a CCA ' request' from you then they would have the 12 working days in which to supply the copy of the originals as above before requiring a court order to enforce the debt and after a further 30 days without supplying it they are committing a criminal offence and should be reported to the Trading Standards. The debt becomes unenforceable. In laymans terms this means ' how can they ask you for money when they dont have any agreement with you? it's extortion. If you have paid them anything you can ask for the lot back.

 

 

Most DCA's do not have any copies of agreements when they take on these debts and it is a nightmare for them to get them from the banks and to you within 12 working days anyway. They have either disposed of them ( a lot of the older accounts anyway) or lost them so your chances are slim of receiving anything. I have two which have gone way over the 30 days dates both together they cover 20k + so I am sitting quietly waiting and watching with interest ( compound! )

 

However, if the paperwork arrives, even after the 30 days then a court order can re ignite them so it's not all plain sailing, but once you have followed the letter procedure to Trading standards or you write to the DCA telling them they have committed an offence you'll invariably get a letter stating they can't find the paperwork and they have either put the account on hold or written it off.

I'd send off a CCA request to Wescot with a £1 postal order if I were you straight away and get that clock ticking, and as long as you have the Data Protection Act S.A.R - (Subject Access Request) sent to the original creditor you'll be covered.

 

I wouldn't advise stop paying until you have the debt period unenforceable ie: after the 12 working days + 1 month + 2 extra for delivery allowance period ( it's officially received 2 days after posting so your 12 days begin 2 days after posting)

 

 

Interesting eh:rolleyes: ?

 

 

Good luck..

 

 

How about a click on the ole darlings scales above if this helps. I lose a lb for every click and my avatar's getting heavy!

[maggie]

Hi Andrew1,

If you look at my previous threads,I have already sent a CCA to Wescot,and they sent me a letter of reply (see threads above)Thank you for your input,I appreciate it.

The 12 days were up on October 8th,so please could you tell me if the 30 days begin from that date,or does it include the 12 days.

Thanks Maggie.

[kellyplanet]

Hi Maggie

 

I am having a right ol time with Westcot. I got a lovely red letter from them saing they wanted £5k by the 19th or it was going to court!!!! I am sick with worry. I am a student nurse surviving on £500 per month which includes rent travel books everything!

 

However if your 12 days were up on 8th october then wait until 8th November before reporting them to OFt and trading standards.

 

 

Good luck

[mutzi]

Just catching up, been really busy lately.

 

Yes, it would be the 8th November, although I don't think they will actually have commited an offence, given that they've admitted there never was an agreement.

 

Wait for their reply to the DPA request, get a total for everything you've paid and what for, then we can see about claiming it back. I would go for the whole lot. Some people are of the opinion that morally, regardless of the lack of paperwork, you should still pay back the original debt (minus charges) but in a lot of cases, such as yours, I see it as just compensation for the way they treat people.

 

If they start coming after you to make payments I'll find a suitable 'get lost' reply. Otherwise there's nothing really to do at the moment.

[andrew1]

Just catching up, been really busy lately.

 

Some people are of the opinion that morally, regardless of the lack of paperwork, you should still pay back the original debt (minus charges) .

 

 

So if I write to you saying you owe me a few thou you'll pay me then will you?

 

If it were the bank or original creditor then that moral issue I can fully understand and accept. I've done the same myself. I had a debt which was nearly 20k that I was paying off albeit in small amounts but I was paying it. The bank then sold it to a ****** dca who paid next to nothing for it and gave me hell. I have no pleasure in running away from paying the bank, in fact I'd have prefered if they had kept it and I could continued paying, but the DCA was being a typical DCA so I CCA'd them to shut them up and I haven't heard a twinkle from them since, that was in June !

So I have as much moral obligation to the DCA as you should have for my letter to you asking for a few thou and having no proof you owe THEM anything.

 

Oh, and Maggie, I'm sorry if I misled you, your 12 days are twelve ' working days' and the 30 days is one month and yes I should have read through all the thread, I tend to start at the bottom and work up! - sorry

[Movingon]

Some people are of the opinion that morally, regardless of the lack of paperwork, you should still pay back the original debt (minus charges) but in a lot of cases, such as yours, I see it as just compensation for the way they treat people.

 

Just to clarify: this site advocates the paying back of debt which is being legitimately sought by the original creditor, minus any unlawful charges. If a debt is being sought by a DCA then you don't owe them a bloody penny and should kick scream and squirm until you get out of it... or get back to the original creditor.

 

You're right that if there is no "executed agreement" then the DCA have not committed the offence in s.77(1) or s.78(1) of the Consumer Credit Act... but they may actually be committing a number of OTHER offences under the CCA *and* several other Acts. If you don't owe them anything because there is no executed agreement between you, then they are not entitled to recover anything from you... and attempts to do so fall foul of a number of Laws.

[mutzi]

I wasn't saying anything was owed to the DCA, just pointing out that some people might put forward the point that you 'should' pay them anyway. I did not say I agree with this. I realise now I wasn't very clear but only brought it up in case maggie had any doubts about claiming everything back from them.

 

If it gets refered back the original creditor thats a seperate issue. As andrew1's case demonstrates they might just disappear.

[andrew1]

Okay Mutzi - you're forgiven !

 

 

.

[maggie]

thanks for your input everyone,will update this thread when I receive any correspondence from them.

Maggie

[andrew1]

Good luck Maggie.

[maggie]

I can,t beleive it.Wescot have just rung me to inform me that I had made an agreement to pay each month.I bluntly told her ,that I was unable to speak to her at this moment.They say they will call back later.HELP!!!!!!!!!

wHAT DI i SAY TO THEM.

MAGGIE

[Movingon]

Maggie -

 

Just say "I'm sorry Maggie's not available right now." and keep repeating that. IF THEY ATTEMPT to discuss the account with you, (even to say "Maggie owes money and we need to speak to her") report them to the Information Commissioner immediately - they are in breach of the Data Protection Act.

 

Don't be intimidated - that's exactly what they're aiming for. Just keep repeating the phrase above and they should not talk to you. If they get nasty, hang up. If their number comes up on the display and you know it's them, red button them - don't answer. Keep (save) as many voicemails as you can though, especially if they're threatening.

[maggie]

Forgot to say,I received a letter from them stating they are unable to supply the credit agreement,and I,m waiting for info from my S.A.R. request.

Maggie

[Movingon]

Forgot to say,I received a letter from them stating they are unable to supply the credit agreement,and I,m waiting for info from my S.A.R. request.

Maggie

 

LOL!!

 

So in attempting to enforce this, they could actually be comitting an offence! (in fact they most definitely are committing an offence under s.40 of the Administration of Justice Act and s.1 of the Protection from Harrassment Act - but I was originally meaning the CCA). From this moment on, ignore ANY communications from them until the 12 working days plus 30 calendar days is up; then report them to trading standards. Follow the procedure outlined above for 'phone calls.

[maggie]

And I asked that they no longer contact me by telephone,only in letter.This was sent in a recorded delivery letter same time as cca request.

Maggie

[mutzi]

ok.I have written the above letter posted by mutzi,but also added the following.=

I request that you cease and desist contacting me by telephone.All further correspondence be in writing.I am familiar with the terms of section 40 of the Administration of Justice Act.ignoring or disregarding debtors legitimate wishes in respect of when and where to contact them.

If you continue to contact me by telephone ,you will be in breach of the wireless and Telegraphy Act (1949)and i will take action on this.

with reference to the telephone call on the blah,blah,between one of your operatives and myself,i would like a transcript of this conversation,as i made no mention or made ANY AGREEMENT to pay the outstanding balance of £6--.by the 30/09/06(reference to your letter dated the 15/09/06

 

do you think this is ok.

thanks maggie.

Remember this? Don't think they have

 

If they phone back remind them of this letter then say "What agreement?, I don't remember signing anything like that, send me a copy via post. Do not phone me again." then hang up.

 

Then read through this and decide what you want to do. http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/general/14977-reporting-harassment.html