Unenforceable Credit Agreements

simon_templar_2

A quick glance at this section would provide the OP with the answer to the question? Why do new posters ask the same question? Is it too much trouble to read the other threads? All of them start with same style question. It would have been quicker for the OP to read them rather than type out the question.

hdangergirl

Hi Everyone,

Ok I need some serious help, I got an email a while back from a company saying they could get rid of my credit card if I recieved it before April 2007 stating that the law had changed and that a solicitor from there company will do it for me, but then i realised that they wanted me to pay £500 and other costings, I then thought well if they say they can do it 100% so can I and that brought me to several different forums and when reading and seeing that there are many people doing the same thing but doing it themselves, I thought to give it a go at doing it myself........

I found a template requesting my CCA from Barclaycard on the 15th of December 2008 with £1 postal order I was to give it till the 5th of January for a reply and never heard anything. So I came back to the forums and it said to send them a second and final letter giving them 30days to send me my CCA or an explanation of why they couldnt. They sent me the terms and conditions, with my statement stating on the letter they dont have my CCA . So i left it and on the 4th of February my debt should of been unenforcable. In the time from the 15th December till the 4th of February I must of received 10 phone calls from Barclaycard asking for there money.

Today the 7th of February I recieved a phone call from a debt collecting company called Merces and the man was quite rude saying I owe the debt, I spend the Debt and I will no matter what pay the debt, I stated that I did not receive my CCA and he said to write to them again which I refused because they had ample time. I feel as thought Barclaycard are trying to scare me into paying this debt. He even threatened to send debt collectors round.He also stated im incurring interest every month.I thought this was against the law.

Ok so I am a bit worried now and dont know what to do, Can anyone please advise me, what if I do get Debt collectors at my door and do I stick to my guns? Reality is I have spent it but If there is a law stating i dont have to pay it If there is no CCA then why should I, also if I add up what I have paid I have paid them more then double of what I owed.

Ok So can someone with experience in this matter help me out PLEASSSSEE!!

Thanx a mil
natasha

fermi

Only time for a quick post. Sorry.

Assuming that you were struggling to pay this anyway, you would be much better off posting this on the

---

> Debt-Free Wannabe board.

The replies you get here are likely to be less than helpful.:rolleyes:

rayukman

Hi I have just joined. Has anyone come across a legal way of way of writing off credit card debt.

I have just come across a company who claim that they can legally write off debt, because of a loophole in the law.

According to what I was told, cards issued pre 2007, were governed by a version of the consumer credit act that had flaws, that allow for this type of debts ot be wiped clear.

Love to hear from anyone who has had experience, good or bad.

Thx

Ray

hur575

No it is not true, save your money!

rayukman

thx for that. Do you have experience of this 'loophole'.
Where did you hear that it does not work?

thx

cifpower

So you spent the money you borrowed but do not want to pay it back?

kiora

There is no such thing as a credit card loophole, you payback what you owe, simple as :mad:

hur575

rayukman wrote: »

thx for that. Do you have experience of this 'loophole'.
Where did you hear that it does not work?

thx

Check the consumer action group site

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/general-consumer-issues/163571-credit-loophole-scam.html

If they can’t do it no one can, a lot of companies have claimed that for upfront fee but we still waiting to hear of one success stories. The above forum managed to clear default from credit files legally, and they say it is a scam I take their word for it.

Kylie

A Panorama documentary revealed how growing numbers of people are escaping their consumer debts – by finding flaws in the paperwork.

The programme speaks to a British law firm which claims that it is successfully writing off one in four of the consumer debts it deals with.

Top 100 law firm Stephensons says it has had 1,000 credit card and loan debts written off – many as a result of simple flaws in the credit agreement paperwork.

And Panorama shows that some debtors are taking on the banks themselves, without outside legal assistance.

Borrowers Basil and Amanda Rankine have had £37,000 in debt written off by studying their credit agreements and then challenging the lenders.

The Rankines say that, if they include debts that have effectively been frozen, the total is closer to £100,000.

The programme looks at how an entire industry has emerged, offering to find flaws in borrowers' credit agreements – and therefore getting debts paid off.

Solicitor Andrew Leakey of Stephensons said: "Of the agreements we see, we think about one in four may have a problem under the Consumer Credit Act of one sort or another.

"The ones that we see are often being filtered by other people – so it's about possibly one in ten (that could be written off).

"It can be how the loan was sold or indeed how charges have been put into the paperwork... in the wrong place, that kind of thing.

"The other warning flag is if a lender is asking you to resign an agreement. There maybe a reason that they're doing that – they may be trying to correct a problem that's already there in the existing paperwork."

However, he warned that simple errors such as spelling mistakes or incorrect dates probably would not be enough.

"You need to show some prejudice – and probably serious prejudice... that will then assist you to show that it's an unfair relationship.

"Inappropriate policies, interest rates that are too high, difficulties that a particular clause has caused, such as hidden legal fees – those kind of things."

Basil and Amanda Rankine first started researching the possibility of writing off debt after the collapse of their mortgage brokerage company left them with debts of £120,000.

They studied the Consumer Credit Act, which lays down rules for lenders – and had their first success with an HSBC credit card.

"I wrote a letter to HSBC, thought I had everything correct, sent it off," Mr Rankine said.

"A few months later they said, 'We're prepared to write the balance off'. That was about £10,000 on the HSBC credit card."

HSBC wrote it off because they had lost the paperwork.

Realising they were on to something, the couple tried the same procedure with several other lenders, highlighting a long list of flaws in the credit agreements.

They were amazed when some of these lenders also agreed to write off their debts.

"Some would say they couldn't find a copy of the agreement, so they were prepared to write it off. Others would just say they're prepared to write it off without giving an explanation – they wouldn't commit themselves and say this is the point that was wrong," Mr Rankine said.

Encouraged by their £37,000 success, the Rankines then decided to take on some of their other lenders in court.

But they had pushed their luck too far. A High Court judge threw out their case accusing them of deliberately trying to wriggle out of debt.

However, as some lenders had failed to claim their money back during the case, these lenders could now take no further action.

This meant the Rankines had escaped tens of thousands of pounds more in debt payments.

But there was a nasty sting in the tail for the Rankines and a warning to others planning to go a stage further, and take lenders to court.

Having earlier proved it was possible to escape debts through writing loophole letters, the Rankines were hit with a £100,000 court bill – effectively leaving them back where they started.

Sir Roy Goode, who was instrumental in the creation of the Consumer Credit Act, confirmed that, as the credit crunch bites, the act, originally designed to protect the consumer, is now being used by borrowers to escape thousands of pounds in debt.

"The rules relating to the formation of agreements are extremely complex. It is very easy for a creditor to make a little slip.

"Indeed in some respects some of the rules are not very clear. So any slip that is made entitles the consumer to refuse to pay unless the court gives leave to enforce the agreement."

Typical credit agreement flaws include: whether the agreement has been signed; if the APR is accurate and in the right place; whether the agreement has been lost altogether.

However, the British Bankers' Association warned that the costs of borrowers failing to pay their debts will be passed on to other customers.

"It is unfortunate when some people look to the loopholes to get out of credit agreements... because the money that they don't repay has to be repaid by the rest of us," it said.

(BBC Press Office)