Legal and Trade.. advice please

[loulou78]

:-? :-? I have just recieved a letter from Legal and Trade about a debt i have with Bank Of Scotland credit card (£1800) asking for imediate payment. Now this has been passed on to them from Blair, Oliver and Scott. I was paying £150 a month but stopped as i could no longer afford to pay this. I phone legal and Trade who informed me that if i could pay today then i would only have to pay £1200 (how kind!!). I replied saying that there was no way i could afford that. I did ask about repayment plan and they did say that i could do it that way. Fill in a expenditure form etc. What i really am asking is if anyone has had dealings with this DCA as they do seem not so bad compared to a few i have dealt with.

Any advice, help would be so appreciated.

 

Thanks

 

Louise

[diskmandave]

bump

[Dave44]

As DCA's go they are not to bad.

I have had dealings with them. Stick to your guns and offer what you can afford. Don't run yourself short just what you can afford. If possible pay by Standing Order. If the person you talk to won't accept your offer write to Nataly Hollinworth. Complaints Manager or e-mail [email protected] Tell them you want to make payments but the person you have spoken to will not accept them.

Good luck

[loulou78]

Many thanks. They do seem more reasonable than most i have dealt with. I think i can probably afford £50 a month. I think that does seem a reasonable offer.

 

Many thanks again.

 

Louise

[Guest Mincemeat]

Have you sent them a s78 CCA request letter? (asking for a copy of your agreement) There are a couple of points I would like to bring up. You state you've already been dealing with Blair Oliver Scott (BOS - internal HBoS debt collection), in my experience Legal and Trade usually work for, not purchase, debt. It would be prudent for you to see if they have the necessary paperwork to progress against you in court. Have a look at the s77/8 Consumer Credit Act 1974 letter in the template library and send it off. This costs £1 and usually makes Legal and Trade run away. If they are initally stating they will accept £1200 would make me think they don't have the paperwork.

 

Also, look through your statements for penalty charges. You may well be able to reduce the balance further by claiming these back. If you don't have all of your statements, send off the Subject Access Request letter from the templates library with a cheque / PO for £10.00.

 

There is alot of gumph written on this site with regards a s77/8 request under the CCA. Just take it as read it will give you some breathing room until they are able to furnish you with the SAR results.

 

The reason you would send those two letters (signed for first class, at £1.04 postage each) is that it will make it clear if you have an obligation to pay it back at all. This is a roll of the dice and you may roll a 6 and be able to walk away from the whole £1800.

 

Lets see what other people think?

[rory32]

If requested, the DCA is legally obliged to send you a statement of account (which will list all charges). This is free.

 

I would agree with mincemeat about sending them a CCA request.

 

Did you receive a Fair Processing Notice from them and a Notice of Assignment?

[loulou78]

Hi

Thans for the info Mincemeat

. No i never recieved any of what you mention above rory32. All i recieved was the standard you owe money, please pay as soon as you can or contact the office.If not then we'll carry on and take action. What exactly are Fair Processing Notice and Notice of Assignment. Sorry i am new to this.

 

Thanks for your advice

[rory32]

Fair Processing is the first principle of the data protection act. By not providing you with a fair processing notice they are in breach of the act.

 

A notice of assignment needs to be sent to you to identify that the DCA has the right to act for the OC and have entered into a contract with the OC. Otherwise they could just pick up your details out of the bin and write to you saying you owe us x amount of money.

[harrythehawk]

Deffo send a CCA, I did and they backed off immediately and sent my cheque for £1 back, were acting on behalf of Studio who they returned the papers to

[Guest Mincemeat]

I have had L&T send back my cheque too, for an AA car insurance premium (of all things). This is a possibility, but depends on the type of assignment they hold.