threatened with litigation

[gordon42]

Hello everybody, today I recieved a letter from HFO services saying that that my case had been "pre-qualified for litigation" and that I would have to pay a lot more when their lawyers took me to court and got a judgement against me and I would be liable for the court costs and their legal fees.

The "debt" is from barclaycard and consists of 7 £20 late payment charges, the interest on those charges and a further charge of £8 for sending it to administration bringing the total to £152.91p .

In jan 2005 I sold my house and payed off all my debt( including barclaycard) however when i went to collect my mail a few months later I found I still owed £10.75p to barclaycard due to reach my account that day I went to the bank immediatly and payed it,however when i finally got round to informing barclaycard of my new adress I was informed that I now owed £144.I asked for some explanation and they sent a printout showing the charges and interest listed above,I did nothing untill I got a phone call from moorecroft asking me to pay £152.91p.I told them I would not be paying as the charges were unenforcible in a court of law and the banks were actually refunding these charges to anyone who took them to court.Moorecroft asked me to put it in writing which I did and also sent a copy to barclaycard.

I heard nothing more until december 2006 when hfo services contacted me,asking for payment.I phoned them and gave the same explanation.They also asked me to write them a letter which I did.

A few months passed and I recieved a copy of my credit card agreement with barclaycard but no explanation,just a note saying "as requested"(I had made no such request) a couple of weeks later I got a copy of a statement showing £10.75p and a charge of £20 owing(also as requested) then the phone calls started again,a different chap to whom I had to once again explain my position,he passed me over to his superior and I had to explain to her as well.I also asked that any further comunication be made in writing,as a result I recieved a letter from her saying that she had reviewed my case and I could be entitled to a discount,but only if I replied in the next 5 days.I ignored this letter and last week recieved another phone call from the new chap who did not seem to recall my reasons for not paying,I refused to explain again and told him to read his notes.I also said that I had absolutly no intention of paying any money.

Today another phone call from the chap,befor he could say anything I told him to send me a letter,he asked if I had recieved a letter and I said no and put the phone down,then I went down stairs and got my mail which included a letter from hfo saying that I had been "pre-qualified for litigation".

So what happens next?

How do I respond to a summons?

Any advice will be very welcome.

Thanks in advance.

Gordon.

[djweeble]

Write to Barclaycrab telling them the account is in dispute, the reasons why, and what you require them to do, i.e. unlawful charges, remove them or else....

 

CC the letter to HFO, and tell them that no action can be taken until the dispute is settled, and they should refer the case back to Barclaycrab.

[Curlyben]

Right then, first off take a DEEP breath.

Ths is all smoke and mirrors and basically total cobblers.

"pre-qualified for litigation" sound like you have won somthing

 

Next SAR B'card and start the process for reclaiming the charges.

Then send HFO a DISPUTE letter.

Just inform them that the balance of this account is in dispute with the original creditor and that no action will be taken until this is resolved.

They should then back off and wait for the dispute to be settled.

They probably wont so when they start asking for manoey again hit them with a CCA to ensure that they have the legal right to collect on this "debt".

A CCA means they must prodiuce the original credit agreement, without which they CANNOT chase for money.

[rory32]

Hi Gordon,

This is not a summons - this is a letter from HFO attempting to scare you into paying.

 

Have you sent Barclaycard a SAR? This will list all the charges on the account which you can claim back including interest. I'm sure it will amount to more than they say you owe them. Put THIS ACCOUNT IS CURRENTLY IN DISPUTE at the top of the SAR.

 

Also send a letter to HFO informing them that the account is currently in dispute and you expect no further correspondence from them until the dispute is resolved.

You may also wish to include this in your letter to HFO

 

The Office of Fair Trading provided a Code of Guidance that is in relation to Debt Collection: OFT 664 Response to consultation paper and final guidance on unfair business practices dated July 2003

 

Deceptive and/or Unfair Methods-

2.8 Examples of unfair practices are as follows:-

k. Not ceasing collection activity whilst investigating a reasonably queried or disputed debt.

 

If you continue in your pursuance of this account I will have no other alternative than to report you to both, The Information Commissioner, Trading Standards and The Office of Fair Trading.

[rory32]

Curly beat me too it

[gordon42]

Thanks for replying so quickly chaps.

I was afraid it might come to this,but I was a bit dubious about reclaiming charges I havent actually paid,but I am sure I did pay some charges so I could reclaim those and get these charges removed at the same time.

I know that the letter is not actually a summons,merely the threat of legal action,but would they actually take me to court? I f the banks are refusing to justify the charges ,would they allow a debt recovery agency to try? And does hfo need to justify penalty charges to get a court judgement against me?

Cheers Gordon

[rory32]

And does hfo need to justify penalty charges to get a court judgement against me?

 

They can not get a court judgement when the amount owing is in dispute. They can not lawfully take any legal action on an account that is in dispute.

 

The purpose of claiming back the charges is to change the balance from one where you owe them money to one where they owe you money.

[gordon42]

The purpose of claiming back the charges is to change the balance from one where you owe them money to one where they owe you money.

 

Aha,a light switches on in my head:D

 

Cheers Gordon

[diskmandave]

Good 'ere innit !

[gordon42]

Good 'ere innit !

 

oh yes

[Curlyben]

Curly beat me too it

You must be getting old there rory

[rory32]