Some advice please

[Houndy]

Hello there,

Would really like some advice from you folks if possible. A bit of background first.

I had an amex card with a balance of about £6000 on it, because I was only making the minimum payments, they said that due to a revue they were withdrawing my facilities. I have been making the payments and have explained my situation to them on several occasions. the day before yesterday i was phoned up by a DCA called allied international credit, saying that my debt had been passed to them and they were demanding immediate payment of £6200. I was a little suprised by this and told them that i had allready paid off £750 of the account and asked why it was up to this amount. They toldme that a referal fee of £950 had been added and that i now owed them that amount immediately. He then started asking me lots of personal questions about wether I had a car and various other things. I explained very calmly that I hadnt had anything in writing yet and that I didnt agree that the adding on of the £950 was right. I also explained that because I hadnt had anything in writing I was uneasy about answering these questions when I was at work and at a disadvantage (I work on a building site), and that matters like this should be discussed when I have had time to review my situation and had all my documents at hand. He also rung me again and I explained to him that I still hadnt had anything in writing and that I didnt want to discuss anything while I was at work, and in front of my work colleagues. He then started to say things like " its because you didnt talk about this that your in this sort of situation" I replied " with all due respects I dont think you should be saying that sort of thing because you dont really know all the facts, and that I am happy to discuss the matter shortly because I am discussing the matter with a debt management company, and I will get back to you as soon as possible" He then very agressivly said " are you going to pay up or not?" " I replied " I cannot discuss that at the moment until i have had some advice from an expert" He then snapped " Well if you want to be like that, I tell you know that I am actioning the court action now" and slammed the phone down.

When I returned home the letter was there and i am due to speak to the debt management people tonight"

I dont know if I am right but surely they are being a bit out of order here, but surely I must be given a chance to seek advice before making any promises. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance

[PriorityOne]

Ok. Rule number one... never discuss any of your financial matters over the 'phone. DCAs (debt collection agencies) will tell you any old bowlarks that suits them at the time. Their aim is to get money out of you and if that means that they threaten you with court action, bailiffs, doorstep calls and the like.. then they will threaten. Most of the time though, it's absolute rubbish.

 

To stop them 'phoning, there is an excellent bog off letter in the Bank Templates section - Harrassment by telephone : response letter. Scroll down until you find it. Send it by recorded delivery and keep the receipt.

 

The second thing you need to do is to send off a CCA request (by recorded delivery, keep the receipt). This stands for Consumer Credit Agreement (under The Consumer Credit Act, 1974). I will edit and paste the link on here shortly. The DCA has 12 days within which to comply with your request. After that, they are in default and can no longer collect/demand payments from you until that document can be re-enforced in court. After a further calendar month, they will have also committed a criminal offence.

 

There are 2 types of DCAs. Those that have bought the debt and those that have had the debt passed to them and who collect on behalf of the original creditor.

 

If the debt has been bought and the DCA does not produce a DCA after 12 days, you are within your rights to withhold payment and tell them to shove off.

 

If the debt has been passed to the DCA and they are collecting on behalf of the original creditor, then the debt will be passed back to the original creditor, who will then contact you to arrange repayment. If this is the case, you can then send the original creditor a S.A.R - (Subject Access Request), in order to re-claim any unlawful charges applied to the account.... after which, you can then arrange to re-pay the correct amount owed on the account.

 

I hope you have not found this too confusing... Click on the link below for the CCA request....

 

Creditors and DCAs - Letter Templates & Budget Planner Scroll down to Letter N.

[gemspan]

Hello there

 

I'm sorry to hear about the problems you are having. What debt management company are you dealing with? I hope it isnt one that you have to pay for. The CCCS offer a completely free service. Do not pay anything to a Debt Management Company because there are charities that will help you free of charge. That means that all your money can go to the debt - not just some of it!

 

I wouldnt even answer the phone to these people but I would write a CCA letter (template in library) and also a telephone harrassment letter (template in library). You will need to include £1 in the CCA letter as this is the charge for obtaining a copy of your original agreement.

 

I hope this helps. Have a look around the site and try to familiarise yourself with the legislation.

 

I cannot understand why amex suspended your agreement if you were paying even the minimal that was required.

 

Kind regards

Gemspan

[Houndy]

Hi folks,

Thank you so much for your help so far. have written the following two letters whoch i will post tomorow by RD. I hope that they get the message across.

 

 

Allied International Credit (UK) Limited

Anderston House

389 Argyle Street

Glasgow G2 8LR

Dear Mr Gilmore

 

Re:− Account/Reference Number xxxxxxxxx

 

With reference to the above agreement, we would be grateful if you would send me a copy of this credit agreement.

 

I understand that under the Consumer Credit Act 1974 (Sections 77−79), I am entitled to receive a copy of my 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 my credit agreement should be supplied within 12 working days.

 

I understand that 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.

 

I look forward to hearing from you.

 

Yours faithfully

 

Mr R D Morrison

[Houndy]

Allied International Credit (UK) Ltd

Anderston House

389 Argyle Street

Glasgow G2 8LR

Re: Harassment by telephone

 

 

ACCOUNT NUMBER: Your Ref xxxxxxx

 

Dear Sirs

 

I am writing in relation to the two phone calls I have received from a Mr. Gilmour of your company. Both of these calls were received by me when I was at work. And at that time I had not received any details of the above account in writing.

I would also hasten to add that I found these phone calls extremely intrusive, and I found his manner very intimidating. I would also like to point out that at this moment I dispute the amount concerned of £6229.61, particularly with the addition of the £950.28. I therefore request a copy of any documentation which shows that I have agreed to these charges being included in any agreement.

I therefore request that any action is suspended whilst the amount is in dispute as is my right.

 

I also request that if you have any further questions for me, that you ask these questions in writing. I also bring to your attention guidelines laid out by the Office of Fair Trading on what actions can be considered as harassment. Creditors are warned that they should not:

• Bring unreasonable pressure to bear on you in default of payment
  
• Falsely claim that criminal proceedings can be brought for non-payment
  
• Make nuisance visits and phone calls, or use abusive or threatening language in person, by letter or by telephone
  
• Leave messages for you to contact someone urgently with no explanation
  
• Contact you at work, or the customer's employer with intent to create embarrassment and create fear of dismissal

I now require all further correspondence from your company to be made in writing only.

 

I am of the view that you continue your harassment of me by telephone, it puts you in breach of Section 40 of the Administration of Justice Act 1970, and the Protection from Harassment Act 1997.

 

If you continue to harass me by telephone, you will also be in breach of the Communications Act (2003) s.127 and I will report you to OFCOM, Trading Standards and The Office of Fair Trading, meaning that you will be liable to a substantial fine.

 

Please find enclosed a request for a copy of the CCA in relation to this account.

When I receive a copy of this document I will contact you further. I am currently seeking expert advice on this matter.

 

 

Yours faithfully,

 

 

 

[PriorityOne]

Howdy... it might be any idea to include the words "I do not acknowledge any debt to your company" at the beginning of the CCA letter... this is included in the template CCA request on this site.

 

Also, try and keep the harassment letter focussed on harrassment and nothing else. You can re-claim any unlawful charges later... for now, you just need to establish if they can provide you with a CCA or not.