Urgent Help Needed!! Reliable Collections

[120805]

Hey everyone, was looking for a bit of help with a letter I received from reliable collections today.

I sent a CCA request to them on the 30/03/07 and they came back with a print off of a standard agreement to which THEY have added my name and address in pen, now the name and address that the account was taken out in were not those quoted on the agreement, also it does not bear my signature anywhere. Can they enforce this?

 

The letter reads as follows:

 

Dear 120805,

 

RE: Ambrose Wilson Account xxxxxxxxxx

 

We thank you for your recent letter, the contents of which we note.

 

In reltion to your request for a copy of the executed agreement under section 78 of the Consumer Credit Act, I would refer you to regulation 3 (2)(b) of the Consumer Credit (Cancellation Notices and Copies of Documents) Regulations 1983. In it you will see that there is no requirement to provide a photocopy of the agreement bearing your signature; it is sufficient that we supply details of the Terms and Conditions to which you have agreed. We are therfore enclosing a copy of the type of Credit Agreement sent to you when you opened your account in November 2003.

 

We are familiar with the Consumer Credit Act and are therfore well aware that the debt is legally unenforceable if an executed agreement cannot be provided.

 

This does not, however, alter the fact that this is an unpaid debt and will therefore be recorded as a default on our files and those of credit reference agencies such as Experian, Equifax and Call Credit.

 

If you choose not to make any further payments to this account, we feel it is our obligation to ensure that you fully understand the implications of such a decision.

 

We would therfore advise you of the following;

 

The debt will be recorded on your credit file as a default for £368.00, and will remain for a period of 6 years. This may adversely affect your ability to obtain credit/finance in the future.

 

No further applications for credit will be accepted by the J D Williams group of companies.

 

We note that at no time you have stated that you have not received the goods or questioned the amount owed and have in fact made 31 payments to the account totalling £462.90.

 

We are regretful that our relationship cannot be maintained given the accounts previous excellent conduct.

 

If this erquest has arisen as a result of financial hardship we would be happy to negotiate a reduced payment plan in accordance with your financial circumstances.

 

Alternatively, we are open to negotiate a settlement figure to clear the account.

 

Please confirm that you will or will not be making any furhter payments to the account and that you are aware of the detrimental implications of your decision, as stated above.

 

On receipt of your final letter of confirmation we will ensure that no further action is taken in regards to the above account.

 

We look forward to hearing from you in dues course

 

Yours Sincerely

 

Tracy Wagstaffe

 

 

Any help would be very greatful, Thanks

[lookinforinfo]

You have not been supplied with the executed copy of your agreement as laid down by the CCA s.78.

As they are well aware of the terms of the Act, they will know that very shortly they will be in default for failing to comply with the Act and a month

after that they will have committed an offence. The Consumer Credit[Cancellation Notices and Copies of Documents Regulations 1973] is a total

red herring since you did not put in a request using that Act.

 

Should they be unable to furnish an executed copy, they will not be able to

advise the CRAs that there is a debt, so all the talk that they will continue

processing that data for six years is a lot of hot air.

 

In addition if they have bought the debt it is a bit rich decrying you should

you fail to make further payments, when they would have bought the debt

for a pittance.

[120805]

Thanks very much for your input, what do you suppose I do now, do I send them a letter to let them know that they have not complied with my request or do I leave it the 30 days and then inform them of the offence they have just made? Am I right in saying that they must provide a copy of the original CCA, and not just a template?

 

Thanks again.

[diskmandave]

All of their reply is correct...

 

However, in court, they will need to have a copy of the original agreement!

 

Simple as that!

 

They are quoting you the law pertaining to supplying a copy of the agreement. Which they obviously can't! They're hiding behind the law!

 

Good luck, you're winning!

 

Regards, Dave.

[gizmo111]

Try this - it worked for the person I did it for - obvioulsy amend to suit

 

I refer to your letter dated 2 October 2006, in which you supplied me with an unsigned copy of your standard credit agreement. The supply of this standard leaflet in no way satisfies my request for documentation for the debt you allege exists – and I therefore do not acknowledge any debt to your company. For ease of reference I enclose a copy of that letter.

As you are aware, a credit agreement that is not properly documented and signed by the customer is totally unenforceable under the CCA and therefore is a complete defence to any court claim that is issued.

You were in breach of the Consumer Credit Act 1974, on 8th September 2006 and one month later on 8th October you were guilty of committing a criminal offence.

I expect to hear from you within 10 days of this letter, acknowledging that this debt is indeed unenforceable, else you leave me with no alternative but to contact Bolton Trading Standards, and any other relevant statutory bodies to advise them of your conduct.

In your letter dated 2 October 2006 you refer to a firm of collectors, I fully expect you to advise them that this alleged debt is unenforceable also.

 

Take note, that any legal action you may contemplate will be both vigorously defended and contested.

 

[120805]

Thankyou for the letter I will definatly be using it when the month expires.

 

In the meantime what should I do if Reliable Collections contacts me for payment? Ive cancelled my s/o to them as they are outwith the 14days but am now worried that they will pester me for payment. Any ideas?

 

Thankyou for all help offered

[diskmandave]

Brava Gizmo! 8)

[120805]

Heres a thought,

 

Ive just been looking through all the letters that I have received from Reliable Collections and ive noticed that they have spelt my first name wrong on all letters. How does this affect the debt if at all?

[dpick]

subscribing watching ripoff collections, my wife has catalogue passed to these mongrels

 

dpick:p

[120805]

Got a letter from unreliable collections today. No surprise here they are asking for payment, even though they have not complied with my request. TUT TUT

 

12+2 days passed on Friday so am just waiting for the month to expire now (20th May)

[120805]

I last sent a letter to R/C on the 1st of May basically telling then that they have not complied with my CCA request as yet and that they have spelt my name incorrectly and also defaulted me spelling my name wrong. I also asked for any deed of assignment if the debt was sold on. I then asked for removal of the default if they could not supply the correctly titled docs.

 

 

Heres the response -

 

 

 

Dear 120805

 

Despite numerous attempts to talk with you about your debt, you have chosen to ignore your responsibilities.

 

We are willing to negotiate with you and reach a mutually agreeable solution. However you must call us if you want us to help.

 

If you would like us to discuss this further call our helpline today and speak to one of our money advisors who will be happy to help.

 

Call us on 0870 160 1951, Monday - Friday 8am - 8pm and Saturday 9am - 1pm.

 

Please note that in accordance with our clients trading terms an administration charge of £12.00 has been added to your balance.

 

Yours Sincerely

 

 

 

 

 

I was just going to ignore the letter as I have already asked twice now for the agreement and they have not produced it. The 14 days expired on the 19th of April so the month will be up on the 19th of May. Should I just ignore them and wait for the month to expire or should I give one more chance in writing for them to produce the cca?

 

Or should I even send a harrassment letter?

[LAN01]

Hi 120805

 

Just popping in to offer support

 

Just ignore them now and wait for them to committ the offence!!

 

Lan

[Jess68]

Hi, i am currently receiving similar letters from r/c and i am wondering (hope you dont think im nosy) how you got the that stage. In my case i just got into arrears and then made an agreement with them that i couldn't stick to, i have been continuing to make minor payments but they are getting swallowed up by the £12 admin charges. I dont remember signing a credit agreement, i dont usually lol cos i'm harebrained when it comes to remembering to post stuff off.... so how would i start getting to the stage where i can ask for my cca and reduce the debt at least back down to the size of my original debt (its more than doubled)

[LAN01]

Hi Jess

 

You need to send a CCA request along with a £1 fee and send it recorded. They have 12 + 2 working days to comply or they will default. After a total of 42 day they will have committed an offence and the debt becomes unenforceable without a county court judgement.

 

You can find the template here letter N

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/general-debt/20758-creditors-dcas-letter-templates.html

 

Lan

[Jess68]

Thanks soo much, i wont hijack this thread but will let you know how i get on. If i did sign the agreement its fair enough, i dont mind paying my debts but i dont want that debt doubled by charges

[120805]

Most catalogue companys are well known for not having a signed agreement Good Luck Jess

 

 

Thanks for the support LANO1

[120805]

Month has now expired. I will be kind though and give a weeks allowance to them, then I will post a letter telling them to leave me alone and remove their details from my credit report.

[lookinforinfo]

Well done 120805.

You are now untouchable unless the executed agreement can be produced.

I think you are right to give them a few days grace before getting your

details amended.

[120805]

Thankyou, have to say am feeling quite chuffed with myself Although I think the hardest part is yet to come, with getting my records amended

[120805]

Another letter from Unreliable Collections.

 

Basically saying that if I do not make payment within 48hrs then the matter will be passed out of their hands and may result in:

*Debt collectors calling at my home

*Extra costa being added to my balance

*My name and address being registered with a CRA

*And that I may be rejected future banking facilities and credit

 

The letters then gives me a number to call to make payment and also mentions that in accordance with their clients trading terms they have applied a £12 administration charge to the balance.

 

 

 

 

They are still spelling my name wrong and have not even replied to my letter that I issued them mentioning that the spelling of my name was incorrect. (Obviously I have not told them how to spell my name correctly)

 

Am really starting to find their letters harrassing. The month has expired and they should know it! They have not addressed the name spelling error or provided me with an agreement.

 

:? Any ideas on what to put in my letter. Ive aready started to draft up a letter but will need to complete it tommorow now. Will also need to buy ink for printer but will not have the car again until Thurs so have got plenty time to prepare a good letter.

 

:? Has anyone had any success with Reliable Collections ?(who thought of that as a buisness name for this completely unreliable bunch of muppets!!)

[lookinforinfo]

On the other hand it might be fun to let them take you to Court, show the

court the letter you sent on the 1st May and the application form and watch

the Judge kick them out.

[120805]

Your right it does sound like fun But they are not threatening court action probably because they know that this is exactly what a judge will do.

 

Should I write a response?

[lookinforinfo]

You could point out to them that they have now committed an offence by failing to produce the EXECUTED copy of your agreement as specified in

s.77 of the Consumer credit Act 1974.

As they are familiar with the Act, they will be aware that they will be in

further breach of the Act should they carry out any of their threats in the

letter dated 17/18th May.

Give them a choice. Either they drop all claims against you for the debt and

remove all defaults and any other derogatory marks on your credit file or

you will report them to the OFT or take them to Court. There, they face

getting a criminal record and facing a fine of up to £2500. "I look forward to hearing from you" will be your final sentence. And you will.

[120805]

lookinforinfo, Is there a letter template with words to your effect in it? I am still very new to all the jargon and so would not be able to produce a very worthwhile nor meaningfull letter! Any help is much appreciated, thanks

[IdaInFife]

Hiya, i had the same rc chasing me as well, got the ame letters as yourself. I got a letter back saying while they cannot persue me for the debt they can still register it in my credit file. I sent letter back saying you can't whilst not providing cca and heard nothing since.Been about 8 weeks now so I think they know they can't scare me into paying