mackenzie hall

[ghost town]

hi can anyone help me. a couple of month back i applied for credit with ge capital to pay for a boiler with british gas. a week later i recieved a letter from mackenzie hall saying that i owed money to ge capital from a account at dorethy perkins that i had held over 7 years ago from my old address which was a house where i rented a room. i replied to them and told them that i had never held this account as i was not into womens clothes and i asked for a copy of the agreement as i thought it was a [problem]. i never heard anything till i just applied for credit and i was refused so i sent off to equifax to find out why and on my report was mackenzie hall and when i contacted the people whom i applied for credit they told me that was why i was refused and also i was search twice by ge capital a month apart for the same finance which they gave me. so why would they give me credit if i was supposed to of not payed for credit in the past can they do that is there anything i can do are they allowed to leave a mark on my credit record do i need to contact equifax to have them removed. so i can obtain credit.

[Gruffle Gaw]

Yes. MacKenzie Hall is at the fag end of this dubious industry. Its staff seem to specialise in buying in unenforceable debts very cheaply and attempting to bully unwitting members of the public into paying them. There are many things you can do about this. For the moment, DO NOT ADMIT TO OWING ANY MONEY WHATSOEVER.

 

Even if the debt were yours, if you have not admitted to owing any money on the accounts or made any payments for more than six years it is unenforceable by law unless you admit you owe it, in which case the six-year period starts all over again. Have you made any payments or admissions during the last six years?

[Gruffle Gaw]

Secondly, you have a legal right to a copy the original credit agreement. Send them the following letter, and don't forget to keep a copy of it, obtain proof of postage (you can get a certificate of postage free from the post office) and include the statutory £1 fee in the form of a cheque or postal order.

 

[Your address]

 

 

[The date]

 

 

[Their address]

 

Dear Sir/Madam

 

Re:− Account/Reference Number 4563210025897412

 

I do not acknowledge ANY debt with regard to the above account. Before I will communicate with you further, I require a copy of the original credit agreement.

 

Under the Consumer Credit Act 1974 (Sections 77−79), I am entitled to receive a copy of this credit agreement on request. I enclose a payment of £1.00 which represents the fee payable under the Consumer Credit Act.

 

I understand a copy of the credit agreement should be supplied within 12 working days.

 

Under the Consumer Credit Act, creditors are unable to enforce an agreement if they fail to comply with a request for a copy of the agreement under these sections of the Act.

 

Furthermore, failure to comply with this request within 30 days constitutes a criminal offence and in this instance I will have no hesitation in informing the relevant authorities, including the police, Trading Standards and the Office of Fair Trading, which I understand is already investigating your company.

 

Please note that any legal action you may be considering in relation to the above account will be vigorously contested.

 

I look forward to hearing from you.

 

Yours faithfully

 

[Your name]

 

By the way, the OFT is indeed investigating MacKenzie Hall because of its appalling disregard for the law and industry standards. This company will attempt to bully you, hassle you and wear you down, but if the debt has expired under the 6-year statute of limitations they CANNOT collect it unless you admit you owe it, regardless of what they tell you. My advice is to refuse to communicate with them over the phone, put EVERYTHING in writing and keep copies and proof of postage of ALL correspondence.

[Gruffle Gaw]

There are also several things you can do to force them to remove the note on your credit report and receive compensation for the fact they put it on there in the first place. However, it would be wise to gather evidence that the debt is not actually yours before proceeding down this route.

[ghost town]

hi Gruffle Gaw thanks for you help i have not accepted the debt the first i new of it was when i recieved the letter . I have got no doubt it might of been someone at the rented house because i had a problem with my cash point card going missing but it was used to take £800 pound out of my bank . I sent a letter to mackenzie hall stating that i had not taken a account out with dp and i asked them for a copy of the credit agreement i sent it recorded delivery over a month ago but not had any reply , but it still shows on my credit report.

[NailPost]

All good advice. I would just add the letter should be sent by recorded delivery. A certificate of piostage is free but only prooves it was actually sent. A court may say it was delivered but with a signature you have definative proof. I would also send payment by postal order. That way MHall don't know your bank details. The postal order should be crossed and a sentence inserted in the letter to state that the payment is in respect of the statutory fee for a CCA request. What they do with the £1 is their business. I have seen them credit it against the account. That may make them suggest you have acknowledged the debt and started payments to it. This is all just to cover yourself against their dubious tactics which are being revealed one by one and countered.

[Gruffle Gaw]

Ghost town, did you do everything correctly (e.g. ask for the information under the appropriate Act of Parliament, send them the £1 fee, keep proof of postage)? If so, you are now in a very strong position as you can prove they have committed a criminal offence and what's more, they can't enforce the debt at all if they don't have one.

 

You should certainly report the matter to the police (get a crime reference number) and the Office of Fair Trading. There are further remedies you can take as well, such as taking them to court to obtain an order that they remove the default notice from your record, since they can't prove the debt is yours. You can ask for the court to award compensation in an amount in deems suitable as well.

 

Theoretically you could also sue them for defamation as they have communicated in writing to a third party (whoever accesses the credit report) an untrue and damaging statement about you. This could get complicated and expensive (more for them than you), but the law is on your side in that the onus is on them to prove that what they said is true (you own the debt), not on you to prove it's false. They would almost certainly lose and may well agree to settle out of court. If you are thinking of taking this route PM me and I'll talk through defamation law with you.