Help composing letter to solicitor, please?

[Hopeful1]

Thank you Rory. One of the main reasons i requested the agreement and sent a S.A.R was to see if i could find info related to a warranty they're adding to my account. I have ordered white goods in the past and am assuming it's for one of those. However, if my account is in arrears, would they still allow me to make use of the warranty if for example the washing machine needed repairing? I cannot find any info related to this.

 

I have continued to make payments on this account. I am disputing charges, but am happy to pay the true balance.

[rory32]

However, if my account is in arrears, would they still allow me to make use of the warranty if for example the washing machine needed repairing?

Not sure about that. I think you need to look at the t&c's of the warranty if you can. There may be a clause that makes your warranty void if your not up to date with payments.

[Hopeful1]

In addition to the mainstream debt i hold, i am ashamed to say that i have also used various payday loan outfits both online and in shops. I would advise anyone new to this, to avoid these loans at all costs. I took each loan to tide me over with the intention of paying it straight off, but it never happened. There was always another problem looming.

 

Anyway, on the positive side i have been working hard to pay these terrible loans off. Since joining this site i have cleared 1090.00 to 3 different companies. I have also successfully negotiated a full and final settlement with an online company, that did not include interest or rollover fees, thanks to some info i found after searching on this site. The negotiation was based on Section 138 of the CCA in relation to extortionate credit bargains. I still have 2 smallish amounts to pay with 2 other companies, which i have also negotiated a final amount not including interest or rollover fees.

 

I never would have had the confidence to do this prior to CAG. CAG truly is saving my sanity.

 

[rory32]

Well the positive list is now a lot longer than the negative one. Glad things are looking a lot brighter for you financially

[standingupformyself]

Oh Hopeful. It is so good to hear your confident news. I really am proud of you. It's amazing how you have been able to gain information from this site and use it to your advantage.

You just get caught in a trap don't you? I have not used these payday loans myself, but I certainly can relate. A few years back my hubby was working away a lot, and in theory earning a pretty decent wage. However each wage packet included expenses from the week before, hotel bills and petrol etc, all of which were needed to pay for next weeks hotel bills and petrol, and so it goes on.......... We ended up getting the cheque in the post on a Thursday or Friday, we had a bank account without even a small overdraft, Abbey National refused to help us regardless of how much money was going through the account each month. Therefore each week I was toodling into the bank and paying out ten or twelve pounds to "rush" the cheque through. I was on first name terms with most of the bank staff! No wonder they would not give us an overdraft, we were giving them £40/£50 each month just to clear our own money! All they had to do was fill in a form, take my money, post the cheque and make a phone call the next morning. They used to even let me post the letter for them, so I could ensure it was actually posted on the day it should have been!

 

Bless them!

[Hopeful1]

Well the positive list is now a lot longer than the negative one. Glad things are looking a lot brighter for you financially

 

Thank you!! A little further down the line, i will list all the debts i started with and how far i've come since May.

 

A few years back my hubby was working away a lot, and in theory earning a pretty decent wage. However each wage packet included expenses from the week before, hotel bills and petrol etc, all of which were needed to pay for next weeks hotel bills and petrol, and so it goes on..........

 

Snap. There have been many times when my OH had not been earning for a few weeks but was then given work away from home. He had to pay all the expenses you mentioned, hence a loan inbetween. Hey ho, you live and learn.

 

A quiet post day today. Only 1 nasty from MBNA which has a had a stern reply already.

 

Best wishes all

[Hopeful1]

Grr Barclays have just been on 'phone 8.50 at night re overdraft, asking for a card payment which i refused.

 

I wrote and made a repayment offer to Barclays a couple of weeks ago, which they turned down. This month i've paid 4 x what i offered anyway.

 

Received threatening letter last week so sent budget sheet with repeat of offer which they have not responded to.

 

I explained to the caller that i wouldn't discuss matter on 'phone and assured him that if i had an abundance of cash lying around i would not be in the situation i'm in.

 

Do these people never give up? If only i could reclaim my charges the debt would be almost clear

[Hopeful1]

WOO HOO!! MBNA (OH's account) have agreed to repay what i asked for, leaving a small balance to pay, which we are happy about. i've asked for my MBNA thread to be marked as WON.

 

Can now focus on Barclays and Curlyben's favourites - BCW

[mrsc]

Hi Hopeful 1

 

did you get any help regarding egg. I know there is a responce regarding the letter you received its on the egg forum and it's something like V-day victory if you look for Mistermind really helpful and keeps you on the right track.

I do hope he doesn't mind me mentioning that he has been such a help to me.

[Hopeful1]

Hi Mrsc - yes i did find that e-mail posted by Mistermind. I am now waiting for a response. Thankfully it's not a priority as it's only a couple of hundred. In my situation though, it is definitely in the "every little bit helps" category and i won't be giving up

[Hopeful1]

QUICK QUESTION:

 

I've been paying a DCA for about 2 years for an online loan. The company that provided it is part of a large banking institution. In a response to my CCA the DCA has told me i need to go to my local branch to get my CCA and a statement of account. They are in sumamry criminal default of request. This response came after intervention from TS.

 

Is this right?

 

What are people's thoughts?

[Hopeful1]

Anyone got any advice? Been sitting on this waiting for TS to respond and advise, but nobody is answering the 'phone!

 

Please help

[MoonHawk]

As far as I am aware if you have sent them the request one of two things need to happen depending on the relationship of the DCA to the account, neither of which involves you going to any branch.

 

1) If the DCA is acting as an agent of the original creditor (i.e. the account still belongs to the OC) then the DCA, as an agent, needs to promptly pass on the request to the OC (section 175 of CCA 1974), and the OC need to then comply with the request as if it was sent to them.

 

2) If the DCA has aquired the account (the debt has been assigned to them) then they as the Creditor (definition in section 189 of the CCA 1974) need to respond to the request.

 

Best Wishes

MoonHawk

[Hopeful1]

As far as I am aware if you have sent them the request one of two things need to happen depending on the relationship of the DCA to the account, neither of which involves you going to any branch.

 

1) If the DCA is acting as an agent of the original creditor (i.e. the account still belongs to the OC) then the DCA, as an agent, needs to promptly pass on the request to the OC (section 175 of CCA 1974), and the OC need to then comply with the request as if it was sent to them.

 

2) If the DCA has aquired the account (the debt has been assigned to them) then they as the Creditor (definition in section 189 of the CCA 1974) need to respond to the request.

 

Best Wishes

MoonHawk

 

 

Thank you Moonhawk I was beginning to feel a little lonely!

 

Should i be requesting proof of debt ownership then - or should i S.A.R the OC? Would i be right to say that they still have not complied with my request? Sorry for rambling, i'm thinking out loud!

[MoonHawk]

Ramble all you like, it's your thread

 

Write back to the DCA and say if they have acquired the account then they must comply with the request as defined under section 189. If they are an agent of the OC then as stated under section 175, they must forward the request immediately or they are breaching the act themselves. Also remind them of the timescales. Then see what they say.

 

175 Duty of persons deemed to be agents

Where under this Act a person is deemed to receive a notice or payment as agent of the creditor or owner under a regulated agreement, he shall be deemed to be under a contractual duty to the creditor or owner to transmit the notice, or remit the payment, to him forthwith.

 

You can send an S.A.R - (Subject Access Request) to the original OC if you like. It depends on what you are trying to achieve and if you need the info. Never hurts to have all the info though. They can not come up with anything extra afterwards without getting in trouble

 

Best Wishes

MoonHawk

[Hopeful1]

Thanks Moonhawk. I am going to e-mail them with the info you've posted above.

 

Has anyone else been sent to their local branch to collect info?

[spiritgirl59]

Hiya Hopeful1

 

Only just seen this as I've been away.

 

I'm totally with Moonhawk on this one

 

Lloyds TSB firstly wrote to me to suggest I contact them to "make arrangements to call in my branch" to pick up the requested information when I S.A.R.'d them.

 

I had written to them in the proper manner and enclosed the correct fee (the £10) so I immediately wrote back and told them that I wanted everything posting to me.

 

Everything arrived in the post about a week later (and there was a huge pile of it!)

 

Hope this helps!

 

Love Spiritgirl x

[Hopeful1]

After reading Moonhawk's posts i sent a letter off requesting proof of ownership or a copy of the agreement. I included Section 175 as posted by Moonhawk. If they cannot provide any legal documetation, i suggested the account was returned to the OC, as they are in summary criminal default. I shall see what comes back.

 

Thanks for posting Spiritgirl - it really helps to hear how others have responded to something similiar. I've just posted a quick 'hi' on your thread.

 

Best wishes

[Hopeful1]

UPDATE:

 

1. No response from the DCA discussed in thread above...yet!

 

2. When i joined in May i sent many CCAs off, including to Weightman's (HFC). Despite missing payments i had not heard from them from before Christmas...until now.

 

I've had a short letter "in response to my recent (:o ???) correspondence we are not able to supply these documents".

 

Again i've been told to contact my local branch.

 

They've also written told that if i fail to contact Mr X within 7 days "we will have no alternative but to take further action against you". For what? This is the first i've heard from them in 9 months!!!

 

I'm guessing i need to send another letter on the lines of Moonhawk's suggestion posted above.

 

Has anyone else dealt with Weightman's??

[Hopeful1]

Life's a bit mad at the moment, so i haven't had chance to respond to Weightman's. Will do so tonight.

 

Empire (catalogue) are starting to crumble and have offered a difference between what they've charged and what OFT said was fair (??). Obviously, i am only going to accept as part payment but i how do i respond to their continued claim that they believe their charges are fair and that OFT would agree? i really would appreciate a little guidance

[rory32]

What have Empire actually stated?

[Hopeful1]

Hi Rory, thank you for responding.

 

Empire have said:

"...we do not consider our charges to be either unfair or disproportionate (they're 15.00 per hit) and they comply with guidance issued by the Office of Fair Trading in April 2006."

 

it continues..

"...we would be prepared to refund you the charge applied to your account and the guidance issued by the Office of Fair Trading. This would result in a refund of 21.00 (my claim is around 110.00 plus subject access fee 10.00) which will be deducted from your balance. As stated in my previous correspondence the 10.00 for the Subject Access Request is non refundable."

 

and finally..

"My colleague will be responding to you regarding the true copy of the signed executed agreement"

 

They haven't produced an agreement. Like many others on the site, I've been sent me a copy of a customer order card. In my last letter to them, i reminded them i was entitled to withhold payment as they are in summary criminal default, but despite this i have maintained weekly payments. I said i thought it was fair for them to deduct the charges from the balance, as i am happy to pay for the goods i received.

 

All letters now come from 'legal assistants'.

 

[rory32]

As usual they are twisting the OFT ruling. If you want to read the report it's here http://www.oft.gov.uk/shared_oft/reports/financial_products/oft842.pdf

 

Alternatively just read s1.11 & 1.14 of the executive summary as well as s1.15 and 1.16.

 

Basically the OFT did not say that a charge of £12 was fair. It's also a case of if a charge is a penaly then you are entitled to a full refund of the charge less the actual cost. They would have to demonstrate that £12 represented the actual cost otherwise it is still a penalty charge.

 

As we all know they won't disclose their true cost so you are entitled to the full amount back.

[reduk054]

Hopeful1 I note that they say "legal assistants", which could be the 16 year old tea maker / pencil sharpener, for someone in the legal dept.

Just another scare tactic!

Red

[Hopeful1]

As usual they are twisting the OFT ruling. If you want to read the report it's here http://www.oft.gov.uk/shared_oft/reports/financial_products/oft842.pdf

 

Alternatively just read s1.11 & 1.14 of the executive summary as well as s1.15 and 1.16.

 

Basically the OFT did not say that a charge of £12 was fair. It's also a case of if a charge is a penaly then you are entitled to a full refund of the charge less the actual cost. They would have to demonstrate that £12 represented the actual cost otherwise it is still a penalty charge.

 

As we all know they won't disclose their true cost so you are entitled to the full amount back.

 

Thank you for the link Rory. I've printed it all off. For some reason i thought the charges OFT quoted were 16.00. At 15.00 per charge, the catalogue is over the OFT figure of 12.00 anyway. So their self righteousness is more misplcaed than i first thought!! Wine and letter typing has been pencilled in for tomorrow night. Thank you - you're a star

 

Hopeful1 I note that they say "legal assistants", which could be the 16 year old tea maker / pencil sharpener, for someone in the legal dept.

Just another scare tactic!

Red

 

Glad i'm not the only cynic Red! Good to 'see' you - have posted on your thread. Hope you're ok