Link Financial (MBNA) - County Court Claim Form Received - Please help if you can?

[spiritgirl59]

PriorityOne - thank you so much for your explanation - I understand now...durr it takes a while with me sometimes, but it sinks in eventually

 

I shall keep on paying them £1 for my own peace of mind, but they are getting no more than that now, no matter how they kick off and demand more.

 

Yes I do have the rec. del receipt for the CCA letter, and of course they replied to that letter so I have their reply as evidence they received it too.

 

Spiritgirl

[PriorityOne]

PriorityOne - thank you so much for your explanation - I understand now...durr it takes a while with me sometimes, but it sinks in eventually

 

I shall keep on paying them £1 for my own peace of mind, but they are getting no more than that now, no matter how they kick off and demand more.

 

Yes I do have the rec. del receipt for the CCA letter, and of course they replied to that letter so I have their reply as evidence they received it too.

 

Spiritgirl

 

Just remember that we have all been through it and know exactly how you feel !! You are not alone any more....

 

[pmhcfc]

PriorityOne - thank you so much for your explanation - I understand now...durr it takes a while with me sometimes, but it sinks in eventually

 

I shall keep on paying them £1 for my own peace of mind, but they are getting no more than that now, no matter how they kick off and demand more.

 

Yes I do have the rec. del receipt for the CCA letter, and of course they replied to that letter so I have their reply as evidence they received it too.

 

Spiritgirl

 

If they haven't produced the OA after 12 working days then stop paying them.. It'll show them you mean business and that you're not to be messed with. You have all the support you need here now, no need to be scared of them anymore...Honestly, if no OA after 12 working days then stop paying them, you are within your legal rights to do that.

[PriorityOne]

I have just realised how this reads... so need to clarify....

 

If they have defaulted by going past the 12 working days allowed for compliance with your request, you are within your rights to withhold any further payments. Non-compliance with a CCA request is a complete defence in any court claim that is issued against you.... so Link would be very stupid to proceed with this. As long as you have kept your proof that a request was made (rec. delivery receipt) you should be ok.... but you are right, a judge would look upon your regular payments favourably if they did try to do that.

If it went to court (which is highly unlikely)... a judge would look favourably at your regular payments before the CCA request. If they do not comply with your request within the legal timescale of 12 working days from receipt.... you are then within your rights to stop payments.

 

Thanks pmhcfc... hadn't realised that my original post could be read a different way.

 

[pmhcfc]

NP Priority...All I ever see you give is great advice...wasn't trying to 'stitch you up' in any way....Keep up the great work you do !

[ecobabe]

spiritgirl, my friend had exactly this scenario with link. they wrote that rubbish about s77-78. we wrote to Trading Standards complaining, enclosing copy of CCA and wrote to Link to tell them that we had done so, Link told TS that they would still be pursuing debt!!!!! but to be honest TS know very little... we quoted the law and the case law to TS. anyay she never heard another word from Link. so be proactive and sock it to them....you will feel so good when you do!

[djdave]

I had the same guff from Link too, telling me that the CCA didn't apply to them as the agreement has been terminated for non-payment. They also said that they could "try" to obtain a copy for £5. Fools!

 

Good, I replied. If the agreement has been terminated then you won't be wanting any money, will you?

 

The letter stated that I could see all my data for a fiver, so I took them up on that as it's half the price of a traditional SAR. All they sent back was a printout of my records so full of gibberish that I've given them the remainder of their 40 days to send me ALL of my data, with full explainations of all abbreviations and terms, otherwise I'll report them to the ICO.

 

Haven't heard a peep since, and the clock's ticking...

[Jeff2000]

I had the same guff from Link too, telling me that the CCA didn't apply to them as the agreement has been terminated for non-payment. They also said that they could "try" to obtain a copy for £5. Fools!

 

Good, I replied. If the agreement has been terminated then you won't be wanting any money, will you?

 

The letter stated that I could see all my data for a fiver, so I took them up on that as it's half the price of a traditional SAR. All they sent back was a printout of my records so full of gibberish that I've given them the remainder of their 40 days to send me ALL of my data, with full explanations of all abbreviations and terms, otherwise I'll report them to the ICO.

 

 

 

Haven't heard a peep since, and the clock's ticking...

 

 

Hi djdave,

 

I'm in a similar position. So I might just send that SAR. It's got to be worth a fiver!

 

I've already reported Link to TS for default on CCA. I just have to copy all my letters to and from Link and then send them to TS.

 

 

Jeff.

[albi]

Hello folks.!! Some DCA's collect the outstanding debts on behalf of the original creditor but some avtually purchase the debt from the original creditor.. Has Link purchased the debt.?? When I was involved with debt collcting our company used to offer between 10% to 20% to purchase debts and this offer would depend on how easy we thought it was to get the payments from the debtor. So, if you offer 25% as a final settlement figure..You might be lucky.BEST OF LUCK Al

[Seahorse]

Anyone having a problem with Link might like to complain to everyone they can think of (OFT especially) that their website appears to breach OFT guidelines regarding debt collection. Maybe tip the wink to the FOS too? Specifically...

 

Quote:

2.6 Examples of unfair practices are as follows:

 

b. pressurising debtors to sell property, to raise funds by further

borrowing or to extend their borrowing.

I say this, because their website has on their customers page, this wee nugget...

 

Quote:

If you are a new customer of Link and would like to settle your balance please call us on our freephone number 0800 064 44 99. We accept payment by credit card, debit card, cheque or bank transfer. Alternatively, you may wish to discuss secured loan or remortgage options with us.

Looks pretty damning to me. They HAVE been asked nicely to remove the potentially offending sentence, but have ignored me. So I've seen fit to report them to the OFT myself, even though I'm not a "customer" of Link myself.

 

Chancers, the lot of them.

[Guest blackie]

I have just had a phone call at work from Link, who were very threatening, I told them I can not take calls in work, he said they will continue to contact me at work as and when they like. They where most threatening. I have entered into an agreement with Pay Plan who are supposed to be sorting everything out, but Link appear to be ignoring all my offers. Can anyone help.

[Guest blackie]

I have just had a phone call at work from Link, who were very threatening, I told them I can not take calls in work, he said they will continue to contact me at work as and when they like. They where most threatening. I have entered into an agreement with Pay Plan who are supposed to be sorting everything out, but Link appear to be ignoring all my offers. Can anyone help.

[DocH]

I have just had a phone call at work from Link, who were very threatening, I told them I can not take calls in work, he said they will continue to contact me at work as and when they like. They where most threatening. I have entered into an agreement with Pay Plan who are supposed to be sorting everything out, but Link appear to be ignoring all my offers. Can anyone help.

 

You may want to make a complaint to the Office of Fair Trading. They have breached the OFT Debt Collection Guidance:

 

2 Unfair Business Practices

 

Communications

2.1 It is unfair to communicate, in whatever form, with consumers in an unclear, inaccurate or misleading manner.

 

2.2 Examples of unfair practices are as follows:

g. ignoring or disregarding debtors' legitimate wishes in respect of when and where to contact them, for example, shift workers who ask not to be telephoned during certain times of the day.

I'd also let Pay Plan know that Link are giving you hassle. If you've told Link that you've appointed Pay Plan as your representative, then under the OFT Debt Collection guidance they are supposed to deal with your representative. By dealing directly with you Link are breaching the guidance yet again.

[spiritgirl59]

Hiya friends

 

By way of an update, I never did receive a CCA from Link, and as a result of them not being able to prove I owed the alleged debt, I DID stop paying them their £1 a month. I heard nothing from them and as yet this alleged debt has not reared its ugly head with any other DCA.

 

My OH also got briefly hassled by Link, but a CCA request in that case saw them off as well, so my experience with them is that they soon go away if confronted with a CCA request which they cannot comply with.

 

Love SG x

[colin1096]

Thanks Spiritgirl . fingers crossed the same happens to me too...

[TNED]

Having just joined this site I have been reading through all the advice.As I find myself in the same situation as most other people on here I am so far extremely grateful there are a lot of people who know what they are doing and willing to help others.

So far Link have offered me a voluntary restriction on my property(no chance of ex partner allowing this to happen).The next step they say will be to apply to the courts for a charging order.

Having read most of whats been going on this post,I have written the CCA letter,sending it registered and not really expecting them to be very helpful.Only thing I have noticed is the address is a PO box.Can a registered letter be sent to a PO box or is there another address where these type of letters can be sent?

All help will be really appreciated.

[tierisch]

Like others have being having some 'challenges' with Link. MBNA sold on my balance to them some time ago and since then i have been following the advice on here. I have CCAd them (all letters signed for and yes you can send them to the PO Box and get the signature via Royal Mail Track and Trace). They sent the standard responses back telling me i would have to wait etc etc. After their time was up i informed them so using templates from here. Suddenly a month later they sent a copy of CC application form. I rebounded this by stating it wasn't what I asked for within the original letter and that they had committed an offense by now. In the meantime i had the usual phone calls but just kept re-iterating i will not discuss via phone which the agent couldn't seem to get into his head.

 

Last week they sent letters to an old address i lived at and where i have mortgage - now they are doing the 'we have noted your financial interest in this property and may go for a charging order' plus they are really disappointed i haven't contacted them (well not the contact they want anyway).

 

I am wary as they are a nasty bunch but thus far they haven't followed the law and possibly broken it. I have reported them to TS and OFT.

 

From my experience over the last 6 months don't communicate by phone and put everything in writing and signed for. Require them to put everything in writing as well.

 

Just to say Steven4064 from here was really supportive

 

Tierisch

[DocH]

So far Link have offered me a voluntary restriction on my property(no chance of ex partner allowing this to happen).The next step they say will be to apply to the courts for a charging order.

 

If you haven't already done so, it might be worth throwing this letter, from the templates library, at Link:

 

1 High Street,

Newtown,

Kent

R21 4RH

 

June 28, 2006

The Loan Company

Company House,

Church Street,

Newtown,

Kent,

R1 7HG

 

Dear Sir/Madam

Acc/Ref No 4563210025897412

 

Further to our meeting of 23−06−2006, we are writing to confirm that we are not prepared to agree to a voluntary charge on our property as requested by you, in respect of the debt to your company.

 

As already discussed with you, we have a number of creditors, apart from yourselves. To allow you to obtain a charge on our property would be to grant your company preferential status, and could therefore prejudice the rights of our other creditors, all of whom have already accepted our proposals without any request for additional security.

 

In addition, whilst it is not our intention in any way to be unco−operative, we are not prepared to allow a debt which is currently unsecured to become a secured debt and therefore put our home at risk.

 

As you will see from the Personal Budget which we have already submitted an offer to your company is still open for you to accept. This is based on our income and expenditure, and a pro rata of equitable distribution of available income. We would therefore hope that you will follow the lead taken by the other creditors, and accept our proposals without attaching unnecessary conditions.

 

Furthermore, whilst of course we wish to avoid county court action, we are aware that were your company to pursue this debt through the county court, the court would look at our circumstances and order a level payment which we could afford, and in addition would freeze interest on the account.

 

We would bring to your attention that following the case of Mercantile Credit Ltd−v−Ellis and others in the Court of Appeal on March 11th 1987, if we were to maintain payments as ordered by the court, your company would be unable to obtain a Charging Order against us. This is further reason why we do not wish to allow a charge on our home.

 

In light of the other creditors agreeing to our repayment plan, please would you reconsider our offer. We will be making the payments in line with the offer to our company, on a monthly basis, as a gesture of goodwill.

 

May we take this opportunity of expressing our sincere hope that we can come to a mutually acceptable arrangement, that will allow repayment to our creditors at a level which is affordable based on our circumstances.

 

We look forward to your co−operation in this matter.

Edit it to suit. Don't sign it, just print your name. Send by Recorded/Special delivery.

[TNED]

DocH,

Thanks for the advice.It's got to be worth a try!

[mfpa]

They then go on to say :-

 

1. That Sections 77 and 78 of the CCA 1974 do not apply to my account because these sections only apply to "matters arising during the currency of agreements". Since my agreement has been terminated (for non payment) the agreement is no longer "current"

If the agreement is terminated, then surely so is any derived consent they may have relied on to process or even hold personal data.

 

2. That under Section 7 of the Data Protection Act 1998, if I wish to receive a copy of data they hold about me I have to notify them in writing and include a cheque or p.o. in the sum of £5! and an s.a.e.

 

Bargain! They are allowed to charge £10 for a SAR.

 

3. A copy of my agreement may be available from my "original lender". They (Link) are prepared to obtain a copy for me but this will involve administrative time on their part and may involve them paying fees so if I wish to obtain a copy of my agreement I have to notify them in writing and include a cheque or p.o. made payable to Link for £5! and an s.a.e.

In order to enforce the agreement against you they must be able to produce this, and as you already know it is £1.00.

4. If I wish to obtain a copy of my statements a fee of £5 per month will be charged to me!! I must write to them clearly stating whatever period I require statements for and they will contact me with the cost once they have verified that the information is available. I will then need to make a payment in advance of the statements being forwarded to me.

They are contradicting themselves, as they have already offered all info for a total of £5.

[rudy1]

They are phoning me everyday although i have told them i only want to communicate in writing, they are now phoning from wales (gone legal) and quoting a different ref...does anyone know wheather they change the ref no. when it gets to the welsh office, its starting to worry me, keep thinking is it for something else. Mind you if they had anything on me, sure they would of put it in writing by now! Any advise would be great....

[spiritgirl59]

They are phoning me everyday although i have told them i only want to communicate in writing, they are now phoning from wales (gone legal) and quoting a different ref...does anyone know wheather they change the ref no. when it gets to the welsh office, its starting to worry me, keep thinking is it for something else. Mind you if they had anything on me, sure they would of put it in writing by now! Any advise would be great....

 

Hiya Rudy

 

Don't bother getting into a discussion on the phone with them, if you are unable to bar their calls, simply say you are "out" when they ask for you by name. Eventually they WILL write to you to get a response, and when they do, come back on here and we will help you with a reply, depending on what tosh they write.

 

Love SG x

[rudy1]

Thank you spiritgirl.

[frickester]

Hi guys, I need some advice over Link.

 

To cut a long story short I sent Link a CCA request over three months ago and this morning I got a reply.

 

What they have sent me is a copy of my credit card application form (which dates back to 1996).

 

Now not knowing what a CCA looks like I'm sure it is not my application form when I applied for my card.

 

Can anyone advise me?

 

Thanks....

[Guest blackie]

Link Financial are now phoning me continually at work. I have sent them the usual letter re harrassment but they take no notice. Mr David Reed from Link said he can do what he wants. I have explained I can not receive personal phone calls and now of course he has told my line manager who the company are so everyone probably knows. Could loose my job over this. Please Please someone help.