Help needed - joint credit card which was originally with citicards

[karenr31]

Hi, can anyone help me please, my self and my husband both had a credit card which was originally with citicards and taken out over 6 years ago we think,

which we had a large debt of approx £19k of cc debt.

 

we also have other credit cards and debt which are all in payment plans.

 

our citi card was passed to a company called opus and we fell into arrears.

we both entered into an arrangement to pay monthly and had not missed any payments.

 

on 22/12 we recd a letter from opus saying that cc asset management has assigned all respective rights to 1st credit.

.we then recd a letter from 1st credit saying that they are now the owner of the debt and they understand we were in a p/ment plan

and to contact them to continue making these payments to them.

 

I contacted them and said that we would like to deal with all correspondence in writing

and that i would send them an income and expenditure letter and offer of payment,

since they have recd the letter i am now getting letters from lcs solicitors demanding full payment within 9days or they may commence court proceddings.

 

I contacted 1st credit again and was told they were not accepting our offer of payment and i asked them to confirm this in writing,

we were advised that as we were paying other debtors more than the offer of payment to them that this was the reason they were not accepting the offer.

 

I tried to explain that our other debtors are either on p/ment plans or the loans had been a resolve loan

and we had not missed any payments and could not start to miss payments again.

 

we are also unsure of the amount that is owing on both our cards and not sure if the account have been assigned correctly.

 

After reading some of the posts on here I was enquiring if we should dispute the debt amount and request the original aggreement?

really not sure where to start but so stressed.do we contact citi cards for the original aggreement? what do we say to 1st credit ?

 

I really dont want to talk to them on the phone and requested in writing that they do not phone me.

 

Any help would be appreciated.we have had no letter as yet stating that they have refused the payment offer.

 

I hope someone can advise me as at my wits end. many thanks in advance.

Edited January 19, 2012 by citizenB
spacing to make reading easier

[citizenB]

Hello Karen,

 

If you are in Scotland, then this will be the right place to be. I have removed your other thread so things arent confused.

 

You should just write to 1st credit advising that you will only deal with them in writing - this is your legal right.

[citizenB]

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/content.php?840-Stop-your-bank-or-lender-breaching-their-instalment-agreement

 

You might want to have a read of the article above.

 

You had an agreement with the original creditor - I dont think the new owner can renege on that deal. But will try and find some more information for you.

[karenr31]

Thank you for the reply, will i dispute and ask for the credit aggreement? is there a letter i can send them asking for the signed agreement? do we have to make any payments until this is recd? how do we know if the account assignment is correct? thanks

[citizenB]

The letter you have received, pretty much confirms that an assignment has been made.

 

You might want to have a read of the following and perhaps even make contact with National Debtline, if you are already in a Debt Management Plan, then it is very wrong that 1st credit are trying to prioritise their debt above the others on the plan.

 

The following has recently been brought to my attention and could prove very useful. Especially now the OFT guidance specifically states it's an Unfair practice to ignore a cashflow budget!

If you are experiencing difficulty in repaying your debts, CASHflow is a way for you to negotiate affordable repayments with your creditors. Before you can use CASHflow, you must have spoken to one of the free advice agencies licensed to offer CASHflow to their clients. The advice agency will start by talking to you about all of the options available, and can help you to decide if CASHflow is the right one for you.

 

If you decide to use CASHflow, you will be provided with all of the tools you need to be able to complete your own financial statement and negotiate offers of repayment with creditors yourself. This will enable you to stay in control of your situation, but still have support from an adviser at any stage if you need it.

 

You can contact a local advice agency to check if they offer CASHflow. You can find a list of free advice agencies that are near to you by searching for a money adviser in England or Wales, Scotland, or Northern Ireland.

Alternatively, you can call National Debtline on 0808 808 4000

CASHflow: http://www.cashflow.uk.net/

National Debtline: http://www.nationaldebtline.co.uk/

https://www.mymoneysteps.org/

xx

[dx100uk]

your situation is vey common with old citi cards [see that forum]

 

firstly

STOP talking on the phone

never EVER speak about your debts on the phone

ESP to a DCA

they have NO LEGAL POWERS to do ANYTHING to you.

 

and NEVER EVER till will get things sorted, send any financial details to anyone too

NONE OF THEIR BUSINESS, only a judge can demand that.

 

can you check your cra file to see who owns this debt please.

 

dx

[karenr31]

I will check my file today and get back in touch, unfortunately we had sent a letter with offer of payment and what our other debts are, we are not on a debt management plan as we managed to get all our creditors to accept our offer of payments until opus passed this to 1st credit.what will I do if we get a letter from 1st credit refusing our offer?

[rebel11]

Hi karen

 

Have you been Mis-sold PPI on these accounts which you can claim back with interest? or have you got Penalty Charges on these accounts that you can claim back with interest?

 

Have a read of 1,2 and 3 in my signature.

[karenr31]

not sure if any charges on account,

going to try and look out all paper work.

 

in the mean time i still need advise on what to say to 1st credit or what letter to send ?

 

do we ask for a copy of assignment showing the debt owed ?

and any payments made over the years which will show interest etc?

 

we think we should be given a copy of the agreement and any payments that have been made over the years

and that we legally owe the debt to 1st credit.

 

hope this will show on my credit file.x

[dx100uk]

i hope it doesn't show at all - then you poss owe nowt!

 

i'd not worry about 1st crapit

 

they have NOT LEGAL POWERS to do anything

 

the are a DCA they are NOT BAILIFFS.

 

you really need to take control

of your finances

 

NOT let your debtors dictate things

 

you TELL them what they are going to get - end of!

 

you poss also need to look at reclaiming penalty charges & PPI on all your debts.

 

as advised

 

dx

[karenr31]

Hi, just checked my cra and there is nothing for citi or opus at all, there is a credit search from 1st credit done on 16/01/12? not checked my husbands yet as he is at work but will check later. does this mean they have no record of the debt? what do i do now?x

[42man]

Keep paying the installments and when they try to take you to court you can bring up this issue of promissory estoppel....

[dx100uk]

if its not on BOTH CRA files

and all addresses are linked

then IMHO you owe NOWT

its poss SB'ed?

 

dx

[karenr31]

will let you know later dx and in the mean time i will do nothing until i find out, they have not responded in writing yet but will take your advise when they do.x

[karenr31]

Hi, just checked my husbands cra and there is nothing from citi or opus at all either, 1st credit also done a credit check on 16/01/12. sorry to be ignorant but what does sbed mean? and what do you suggest we do when they contact us again? thanks in advance

[dx100uk]

you dont ever speak to them thats for sure

 

if its not on your cra then it poss SB'ed

 

STATUTE BARRED

there has been a period of 6yrs where you have made no financial transaction or acknowledgement of the debt in writing.

 

how old is this card?

as if you've been paying it recently then it must have been sb'ed before you started paying it again?

 

puzzled?

 

dx

[karenr31]

Hi.

Thanks again for your reply,

we are very confused by the whole thing ,

 

we have found the original crdit card from citi valid 11/09 until 11/12,

we have not used the card for a long time as we went into arrears

 

but citi on 21/08/2010 agreed over the phone to accept a p/ment of £61.25 per month and that all interest would be frozen from 01/09/2010,

 

the account was passed to opus on 21/11/2010 and then as of 31/08/2011 the agreement between opus and us was passed to progressive credit limited

and advised us we needed to take no action,

 

we continued to pay this amount monthly until december when the account was passed to 1st credit .

 

the last payment made to citi was on 01/10/2010, all this was done over the phone although we continued to receive default letters with our opus statements.

 

not sure about the statue barred thing as we have been making payments but nothing on our credit file!

 

What do we do now?

[dx100uk]

when did you FIRST take this card out?

 

dx

[karenr31]

Hi, not exactly sure but we think approx around about 2006 maybe even 2005, we will try and find out but have found a recpt when we purchased an item with the card in dec 2007 and that card expired 2008 and we think the cards have 3 years on them. will get back to you.x

[dx100uk]

could there have been a period of 6yrs where you did not use the card or pay them anything?

 

dx

[karenr31]

Hi,

we dont think there was a period over 6 years that we didnt make any payments,

 

we got into arrears about 08/10

 

we made a terlephone arrangement with citi and this was same with opus until they passed to 1st credit.

 

do we need to check other credit reports or is there a reason that 1st credit checked our cra file?

 

was it to see if the debt was showing for them to take action?

 

why wouldnt it be on our cra file?

[dx100uk]

its a puzzler why certain debts that are not 6yrs old dont show sometimes

have you ever looked at your cra before, did it show previously?

 

you could sar citi and get the full story

 

something smells here thats for sure

 

dx

[karenr31]

Hi,

checked my file before and dont think it was ever on it,

will we send 1st credit a dispute letter and sar citi to see what happens?

 

if we send a dispute letter does that mean they cant start to take court action?

bit worried as we sent them our pay slips and income and expenditure details in a letter

 

we dont think they have the original credit agreement do they have to have this to take action?

 

would think they would have to prove we owe the debt and the correct amount soo very confused with this .ty

[dx100uk]

sad you sent all that bank etc info!

 

they have NO LEGAL RIGHT to see any pers fin details.

 

it might be they are chancing their arm .

 

dont ever do that again though

never converse with a DCa

and never ever give them any info

 

certainly never ever phone any dca

 

they have NO LEGAL POWERS to do anything.

 

i'd ask them by letter for a notice of assignment

 

if they dont OWN the debt [whomevers name is on the SD]

then they are doing this unlawfully.

 

dx

[karenr31]

Hi,

 

we recd a notice of assignment from opus,22/12/11 saying that cc asset managment has assigned all respertive rights etc to 1st credit on 16/12/2011

 

on 22/12 letter sent from 1st credit ref account assignment stating to contact them to continue with payments.now what to do ?

 

although they sent a notice of assignment should they have not have been supplied with the credit agreement?

 

thanks