Halifax Card debt sold to Cabot

[tammi]

Hi CAG,

 

Hope I can get your advice on this matter before responding to a recent letter I received from Cabot.

 

 

I have a credit card debt which was approx. 3,500 with Halifax.

 

 

In 2008 I sent them a letter offering £2.00 a month which they wouldn't agree to so I paid £2.00 a month anyway.

 

 

For a while they continued adding interest to the account and subsequently that debt is now almost £5,000.

 

Last week I received a letter from Cabot with a letter from Halifax attached confirming that they have sold the debt to Cabot

and asking me to complete a direct debit form.

 

 

I would appreciate your advice on how I should approach this,

 

 

can I get the interest removed?

 

Many thanks in advance.

 

tammi

Edited October 2, 2012 by tammi

[huggy41]

don't know about interest but you should claim back all the charges if there is any

AND NEVER NEVER do a direct debit a standing order is the most you should do if and only if you have to . but you should first SAR Halifax and get claimeing the charges back.

[Happyhippy1959]

Just had the same and here is the Hippy's action when an OC sells off my debt to these parasites

 

No 1. Inform Crabot I have received it and disagree with the inflated amount and tell them I will be requesting a SAR from Halifax

 

No 2. Inform Crabot I want a copy of me CCA, now Crabot have always refunded my £1.00 they never charge to get one. So to save money it's all done by e-mail.

 

No 3 Check on the left hand side of the form to see if they are going to charge interest, if they are forget any plan let them take you too court. And after checking your SAR put your claim in.

 

That is Hippies battle strategy and it has always worked. 6 sold to Cabot, only paying one as they could not produce CCA's for other five. Also no interest being charged.

[tammi]

Thanks for your help I will approach them with all three points.

 

Best regards,

 

tammi

[Guest]

usually interest is stopped at some point when matter sent out for collection.

concessions eg interest freeze should be considered when there are evidenced financial difficulties, and creds should be proactive/sympathetic here as well. see Lending Code, etc.

is there any missold ppi involved? if so, get claiming on that.

depend on circumstances could try complaining to original cred re interest, maybe have to go to fos.

and also to new cred to ensure no further interest.

Edited October 7, 2012 by Ford

[ims21]

Also I would bet there are late payment charges and over-limit fees on there too.

 

They should be reclaimed together with interest on them.

 

Can you give some history of the debt prior to that which you have described above?

[tammi]

Thanks for your reply.

 

I am posting a letter to Cabot tomorrow disputing the amount and also sending CCA request (as suggested by a Site Member).

 

This is a credit card debt and I had no ppi on it. Late payment and interest charges have been added on raising the debt to almost £5,000.

 

Many thanks.

[tammi]

Thank you.

 

I'll see what the SAR reports from when I get it back from Halifax.

[tammi]

Help! what should I do now? HBOS are refusing my SAR request without a signature. I sent them both of the standard letters and this is their (final) response...

 

 

Thank you for your recent letter. I am sorry we have not been able to comply with your request, at this moment in time we are unsure in which direction you wish to proceed.

 

Under section 78 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 for the cost of £1, you are entitled to a copy of your signed agreement, you will normally also be provided with the last statement on the account. This data is provided within 12 working days.

 

Your entitlement under the Data Protection Act 1998 for the cost of £10, is to all of your data held electronically or in a relevant filing system, this data will be provided within 40 days upon receipt of the correct fee and a signed request.

 

If a customer requests this data but is unwilling to sign, the information will be sent to a branch of their choice, where upon collection they will be required to provide proof of their identify such as a driving licence or a passport and sign for the data at the branch.

 

I can confirm we are applying the rules of the Data Protection Act 1998 correctly under section 7. I quote:

 

Subsection (2) A Data controller is not obliged to supply any information under subsection (1) unless he has received:-

• Request in writing

Subsection (3) where a data controller:-

• (a) reasonable requires further information in order to satisfy himself as to the identity of the person making the request under this section, and to locate the information which that person seeks, and

• (b) has informed him of that requirement.

 

The data controller is not obliged to comply with the request unless he is supplied with the further information.

 

We are therefore correct in protecting our customer’s security in asking for a signed request.

 

However, you are asking for your data under the consumer credit Act 1974, but sending a fee of £10. As you are able to obtain this for £1 I am returning your £10 postal order to you.

 

Please write to the following address, and send £1:

 

HBOS Card Services

Pitreavie Business Park

Queensfeery Road

Dunfermline

Fyfe

KY99 4BS

 

Alternative, if you do wish for a full Data Subject Access Request (DSAR) under the Data protection Act 1998, please sign your enclosed letter confirming your wish for a full DSAR, and return the £10 postal order and we will be pleased to comply.

 

If you do require a full DSAR but do not wish to sign your request then please confirm which branch you wish your data to be sent to.

 

I hope this clarifies the situation for you.

 

If you would like a copy of our Data Protection Notification details, which have been registered with the Information commissioner’s Office (ICO), you can see this on the internet at http://www.ico.gov.uk.

 

Yours sincerely,

[cerberusalert]

There is no legal requirement for you to produce a signature & in fact even the ICO state that fact;

 

 

Data Protection Act Good Practice Notes:

 

2. Do you have enough information to be sure of the requester’s identity?

Often you will have no reason to doubt a person’s identity. For example, if a person with whom you have regular contact sends a letter from their known address it may be safe to assume that they are who they say they are. http://www.ico.gov.uk/upload/documents/library/data_protection/practical_application/checklist_for_handling_requests_for_personal_information.pdf

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=8861&d=1242456802

 

 

also this report is relevant;

 

Select committee on Trade and Industry minutes of evidence (1996 Legislative working party)

 

2. The working party looked at the legal issues regarding the terms document, writing, signature, instrument, and records of transactions and originality. The Government's current proposed legislation focuses particularly upon the issue of signature. The working party considered the leading case in English law on signature methods, Goodman -v- J Eban Limited. That decision established that:

 

2.1 mechanical signatures using rubber stamps, printing or typewriting were valid in english law;

2.2 a signature can be by a mark rather than a name as long as evidence can be given to indentify the placer of the mark and the intention to sign; and

2.3 words other than a name can amount to a signature if the necessary intention to sign can be proven

 

Now although this working party was looking into the Electronics Commerce Bill it points to . .

 

Goodman v J Eban Ltd (1954)

 

A solicitor signed a solicitors bill with a rubber stamp which contained the name of the law firm. In the judgment it was determined that the rubber stamp was a valid signature, even theough the Solicitors Act of 1932 required a solicitors bill to be signed; it was established that it is enough to demonstrate that the rubber stamp was affixed by the solicitor with the intention to sign the solicitor's bill.

 

So now taking the highlights above I go to:

 

Interpretations act 1978

 

Schedule 1

 

1973 c.37.

 

"Writing" includes typing, lithography, photography or other modes of representing or reproducing words in a visible form and expressions referring to writing can be construed accordingly.

 

You could make a complaint to the ICO but to save time it would be quicker to arrange to pick it up from a branch.

[citizenB]

This appears to be the usual obstructive and disingenous response to a Subject Access request. However, can you please confirm that you sent..

 

1: A Subject Access Request enclosing £10.00 and headed your letter -

Data Protection Act 1998. Subject Access Request

2: Or did you make any mention of the CCA - Consumer Credit Act 1974 in your letter ?

 

If you have not been in touch with the bank for a while, then they are within their rights to demand a signature for the Subject Access Request. So they can ask you to either provide a signature or designate a branch where you will be expected to collect and provide evidence of your identity such as a Driving licence or Passport.

 

If you made a request for a copy of the agreement only (which costs £1.00) then you did not need to sign your letter.

 

You say you sent 2 letters from the library - were they one of each request - sent together/separately - headed correctly with the correct fee for each request.

[ims21]

Three threads merged.

 

Please keep to one thread for this Halifax/Cabot issue

[tammi]

Oh, oh! It's my fault. I just checked; the first letter I sent was the SAR Request and the follow up when they refused because no signature, the letter I sent does mention CCA 1974 Act.

 

What's my best option without falling into a trap please?

[tammi]

citizenB,

 

Thanks for your reply. I got it all wrong so will send request again with signature and see what happens next.

[Guest]

and, if you still want to do a cca request as well, then that would go to that address they mention with the 1£.

[tammi]

Thanks Ford, I have already sent a CCA to Cabot which they have replied saying they are sure they will have the information sent to me within the time limit.

[Guest]

ok post back re what they end up coming back with? 14 days on that.

[tammi]

Thanks everyone - I'll be back with an update.

[tammi]

I recently received a reply from Cabot saying they have been unable to get CCA info from Halifax. They also state that my credit agreement is currently unenforceable but I'm still liable to repay any outstanding balance under the credit agreement. Is that to them or Halifax? I'm still making minimum monthly payments to Halifax and will continue to do so until I receive CCA info from them - is this correct?

 

Cabot's letter:

 

Our response to your request for information under the Consumer Credit Act 1974

 

Unfortunately Cabot Financial have not yet obtained the required information from Halifax to comply with your request under section 77/78 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974. We will continue to request the information from the original lender to assist you with your request and shall forward this to you immediately once it is received.

 

Your credit agreement is currently unenforceable, which means we are not permitted to obtain a judgment or decree against you in Court. However, we would like to remind you that you remain liable to repay any balance outstanding under your credit agreement and therefore recommend you contact us at the earliest convenience to discuss the repayment options we are able to offer to you.

 

Seasons greetings and a Happy & Prosperous New Year to All and thank you CAG for all your help and support

[cerberusalert]

You can withhold any payment until such time that they produce a valid & enforceable CCA.

 

As they said they cannot obtain a CCJ, the most they can do is nag you for payment but if they do that too often it could be classed as harassment.

[tammi]

Thank you cerberus...

 

Then I shall continue minimum payments to Halifax and they can pass it on.

 

[Happyhippy1959]

tammi

 

I still await my CCA from Cabot for the Halifax, why bother paying the minimum let the clock begin on SB, they have failed to produce. I know they will have trouble in finding mine because halifax bought up the card when it was with Amazon. Your choice though.