DCA help - what next? UPDATE

Shelldean

Hi

Am looking for some more advice..... a while ago I posted about a very old debt of mine, that i have been paying. See HERE

I sent orginal CCA request on 22/01, was signed for on 23/01.
Recieved nothing, so sent a followup on 11/02 was signed for on 12/02. Followup stated account was now in dispute and I wouldn't be paying it anymore.

Then this morning i received a letter from them sent by recorded delivery.

Letter as follows.......
We write in reply to your letter dated 21 January 2009 from which we are suprised to note you are now claiming account in dispute.

We confirm we have requested a copy of your agreement from our client although in view of the age of the account this may not be available.

However you will be fully aware of your indebtedness, and teh fact out client agreed to assist you in May 1997 to repay your debt by installments and to avoid legal proceedings for recovery.

We enclose a statement of account from which you will note the above outstanding balance and in the absence of any dispute during the last ten years and liabilty admitted, any default will be assumed a deliberate attempt to avoid payment and legal proceedings considered for recovery.

A copy of your credit agreement will be forwarded to you as soon as it is made available by our client.

We trust we have clarifed the postion and look forward to hearing from you.

So what do i do now?
Have i burnt my bridges because by paying it for the last ten yrs I have admitted liablilty as they state? Ot should i wait and see if they can suplly CCA cos without it they don't 'own' the debt and theyfore can't collect? My credit rating is ok at the moment but IF they take this further i'm gonna have probs aren't i?

am staring to panic that I've really !!!!!!ed this one up, they was happy, well not happy but accepting my £10 a mth payment, what if they start demanding more? more which i can't afford to pay?

fermi

Utter twaddle. :mad: They are just trying to scare you.

Without an signed CCA containing the "prescribed terms" the court would not be entitled to make an order to enforce the agreement/debt.

That provision is from section 127(3) of the Consumer Credit Act 1974.

Ruling from the High Court/Court of Appeal.

http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Civ/2001/633.html

In effect, the creditor – by failing to ensure that he obtained a document signed by the debtor which contained all the prescribed terms – must (in the light of the provisions in sections 65(1) and 127(3) of the 1974 Act) be taken to have made a voluntary disposition, or gift, of the loan monies to the debtor. The creditor had chosen to part with the monies in circumstances in which it was never entitled to have them repaid;

They can bleat as much as they like, but with no CCA they are stuffed. And they know it.

stapeley

Please stay firm . If you can afford to pay ,carry on . Thats up to you . But do not let them bully you . It is your right to see a copy of the signed CCA .

Shelldean

If they're trying to scare me....... well it's worked LOL

the one thing they picked up on was the one thing I was worried about, and thats the fact I've been paying this debt to them for the last 10 yrs:eek:

So your advice is to sit tight and wait?

I can keep paying but only at the rate i was before I started this which was £10 mth but at that rate I'll be paying it for another 243 mths:eek: :eek: :eek: As I still owe £2430. so another 29 yrs I'll be almost 70 by then

TBH i just wanted shot of it all I've been paying this since 1992, and feel it's been a weight for long enough

fermi

You have to pay attention to their words.

"legal proceedings considered for recovery"

They can consider them all they like, but they know that without a CCA they are stuck.

If you feel more comfortable paying for a little more in case they come up with a CCA then that is up to you. But as you say, at that rate it will take 20 years!!!!

Unfortunately you cannot always say exactly what someone should do.

Knowing the actual legal position (not what they say/claim) and your own circumstances, you then have to make your own call.

Shelldean

Thanks Fermi,

sorry for being daft, ( got kids screaming while I'm trying to sort this) But to clarify.... Their Legal postion is no CCA no debt enforcment?

OK I'll wait and see what if anything they make of my second letter sent in Feb. And what happens when they try and get Febs payment in a few days.
I was paying by switch transactions:eek: but have changed my card so they "shouldn't" be able to make the transaction. Last time the card was changed ( due to expiry) they couldn't get payments. And this time the card has not only been changed but it's a new type of card. So fingers crossed they can't get their hands on my money.

Thanks again

fermi

Shelldean wrote: »

Thanks Fermi,

sorry for being daft, ( got kids screaming while I'm trying to sort this) But to clarify.... Their Legal postion is no CCA no debt enforcment?

That is what the law and High Court Judments say.

They won't like that, and will try to make you think that isn't true. But it is all bluster.

Bear in mind that if they should manage to turn up a complient CCA, then they would again be able to enforce the debt. Including taking it to court. While it looks like that is unlikely, you must consider that it might happen.

Then again even if it did go to court with a valid agreement, that is not always such a bad thing.

RAS

Hi

The debt still exists but you are not obliged to pay UNTIL they produce the CCA. And given the age of the debt, I would be very surprised if anything that meets the legal requirements ever turns up.

They can consider legal action but any lawyer will tell them they do not have a cat in hell's chance, if ther debtor defends the action.

Occasionally they get away with it because people are too frighten to defend and open and shut case, so come back if you need help.

Peekay32

Shelldean wrote: »

We enclose a statement of account from which you will note the above outstanding balance and in the absence of any dispute during the last ten years and liabilty admitted, any default will be assumed a deliberate attempt to avoid payment and legal proceedings considered for recovery.

Have i burnt my bridges because by paying it for the last ten yrs I have admitted liablilty as they state?

A CCA request is a question of whether or not a debt is enforceable. If it's not enforceable by a Court, then it does not exist, therefore questions of liability are moot.

Shelldean

sorry for the delay in replying had to take DS to ortho.

Just wanted to say thanks for all the advice.

It just that it's making me really worried wondering what they may do next, in the past when i been threatened ( for want of a better word) I've always done exactly what they've asked.

will update if i hear anything.

Again many thanks for your input

Merlinexcalibur

What everyone else said. They really are the big bad wolf to people. I am quite sickened TBH with how they do treat people when they don't comply with the laws themselves. I get similar letters from one particular DCA who cannot provide one. Even got the letter admitting they can't enforce it through court. But they still persist in making threats. Just makes you wonder, really. Obviously they don't read their own correspondence - relying too much on computers to send them out all the time - as well as anything a debtor sends them. Anyway, what everyone else said.