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Default issued on debt in dispute - is this allowed?
redberries
Posts: 9 Forumite
Hi,
I signed up with a kick boxing class last year and signed a contract for a 'training programme'. I was told that each belt should take a maximum of 3 months to gain but that if it takes you longer than that then you don't pay for the extra training that it takes you to get your belt. I also signed a direct debit agreement and was told that this was just so that they could collect my membership fee every month. A few days after joining I was in a car accident that meant that I could not train for 16 weeks. I paid the membership fee during all the months that I couldn't train because I had signed the contract but didn't mind because I knew that anything over 3 months I wouldn't pay for until I took my first exam. After the 3 months had elapsed I cancelled my direct debt arrangement so that I wasn't paying more than I should. I was then offered a new job and relocated so in the end didn't train at all. I didn't ask the club for my money back and just considered the experience bad luck. I then started to receive letters from Belmont Finance saying that thet were the comapny collecting fees on behalf of the sports club and that I had to continue paying. I said that I didn't owe any more money and cited the terms of the contract saying that I disputed their claim. they continued to send letters demanding payment, now adding charges for letters. They said that the terms and conditions of the agreement I signed with them said that I could only cancel if I moved more than 15 miles away or had a permanent injury. I explained that I had moved house and they said that until they received proof of my new address I would be liable for payment. They have since issued a default on the account and thereatened to pass it to a DCA. This leaves me with 3 questions:
1. Can they issue a default on a debt that is in dispute?
2. Can they sell a debt in dispute to a DCA?
3. As I was never told that the direct debit was collected by another agency or that they had alternative cancellation arrangements does this count as a case of miselling?
Any help would be greatly appreciated and sorry for the long post.
I signed up with a kick boxing class last year and signed a contract for a 'training programme'. I was told that each belt should take a maximum of 3 months to gain but that if it takes you longer than that then you don't pay for the extra training that it takes you to get your belt. I also signed a direct debit agreement and was told that this was just so that they could collect my membership fee every month. A few days after joining I was in a car accident that meant that I could not train for 16 weeks. I paid the membership fee during all the months that I couldn't train because I had signed the contract but didn't mind because I knew that anything over 3 months I wouldn't pay for until I took my first exam. After the 3 months had elapsed I cancelled my direct debt arrangement so that I wasn't paying more than I should. I was then offered a new job and relocated so in the end didn't train at all. I didn't ask the club for my money back and just considered the experience bad luck. I then started to receive letters from Belmont Finance saying that thet were the comapny collecting fees on behalf of the sports club and that I had to continue paying. I said that I didn't owe any more money and cited the terms of the contract saying that I disputed their claim. they continued to send letters demanding payment, now adding charges for letters. They said that the terms and conditions of the agreement I signed with them said that I could only cancel if I moved more than 15 miles away or had a permanent injury. I explained that I had moved house and they said that until they received proof of my new address I would be liable for payment. They have since issued a default on the account and thereatened to pass it to a DCA. This leaves me with 3 questions:
1. Can they issue a default on a debt that is in dispute?
2. Can they sell a debt in dispute to a DCA?
3. As I was never told that the direct debit was collected by another agency or that they had alternative cancellation arrangements does this count as a case of miselling?
Any help would be greatly appreciated and sorry for the long post.
0
Comments
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It is wrong both to register a 'default' when a debt is in dispute, and to pass a debt to a DCA when in dispute.
http://www.oft.gov.uk/shared_oft/business_leaflets/consumer_credit/oft664.pdf
You can, in the first instance, report this behaviour to your local Trading Standards.I am NOT, nor do I profess to be, a Qualified Debt Adviser. I have made MANY mistakes and have OFTEN been the unwitting victim of the the shamefull tactics of the Financial Industry.
If any of my experiences, or the knowledge that I have gained from those experiences, can help anyone who finds themselves in similar circumstances, then my experiences have not been in vain.
HMRC Bankruptcy Statistic - 26th October 2006 - 23rd April 2007 BCSC Member No. 7
DFW Nerd # 166 PROUD TO BE DEALING WITH MY DEBTS0
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