demanding full payment

bgray

I ran into arrears with my Barclaycard and it was passed to 1st credit. My experience with them ran along the lines that appear to be so familiar with people on this site with them being aggressive, rude, refusing to accept any kind of negotiation, telling me they would make me bankrupt etc.

I requested a copy of the CCA and I heard nothing for a while. I then received a letter from Connaught collections telling me to pay in full immediately. I sent a letter to them and to 1st credit saying I had requested the CCA and had not received it.

I have just received the copy and they are now demanding payment in full in the next 7 days as there is now no reason for me not to pay it.

The debt is for just over £3600.

I am paying off my other debts and the other 2 companies are happy as I pay on time and they are coming down.

So what do I do now? I am wanting to get my debt down and I am working on it as shown in my other 2.

I also never received anything in writing from Barclaycard that my debt had been passed on and the first I knew about 1st credit was when they called me then eventually a letter arrived. I have no proof whatsoever that 1st credit now own the debt apart from them just saying "oh we have your debt now"

rog2

If 1st Credit did NOT provide you with a true and compliant copy of the original executed consumer credit agreement within 12 working days of receipt of your request, and £1 Statutory Fee, then they are 'In Default' of their obligations under the Consumer Credit Act, 1974.
Whilst they remain 'in default' 1st Credit can NOT continue 'Collection Activity'. NOR can they pass your details to a third party, in this case Connaught, for collection.
Send Connaught a copy of the 'FORMAL NOTICE - ACCOUNT IN DISPUTE' letter that you will find on post 7 of the following thread:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=963087

gfplux

Hello bgray,
Well one thing you and they know and that is you are not going to give them "just over £3600"

So IF you acknowledge this is your debt you have to get them to negotiate with you. You know what you can afford. They know how much they will except (perhaps they bought the debt for 15% of the value, who knows)

How are your general finances, good,bad, middling.
How is your courage/spirit to fight, good, bad, middling

You have to "work with them" to get some idea where your strength is in comparison to theirs.

On their side (the guy on the phone who works on commission) they want a result. You have to find out what they will except.

Let us know how you feel about this.

Also look at http://www.cccs.co.uk/ t

gfplux

Sorry my post crossed with rog2

If you have some money then rog2 tactic can buy you time to put together a potential settlement amount.

rog2

gfplux wrote: »

You have to "work with them" to get some idea where your strength is in comparison to theirs.

Whilst accepting that the OP may, or may not, wish to 'deal with this debt' in any one of the many ways that are available, the debt is 'in dispute' and 1st Credit are 'in default' and had no legal right to pass the OP's information to Connaught Collections - who are, also, well known for their complete disregard of the OFT Debt Collection Guidelines.

Whatever the OP's intentions towards the original 'debt' (IF one exists) the one clear fact is that the OP does NOT need, nor has he/she any legal obligations, to "work" with Connaught.

bgray

I am happy to work with companies and clear off my debt. I am 4 months away from completely clearing 1 debt, inside 12 months of clearing off a second and I pay those agreements on time and the companies are happy with my progress.

As far as I am concerned my debt stood with Barclaycard. What I received today was a photocopy of what I signed with Barclaycard when I took out the credit card. I was more than happy to work with Barclaycard on getting back on track however after agreeing to send in an income/outgoings breakdown they decided to wash their hands of it within days of me agreeing to do this. I only discovered this part when 1st credit called me. I then called Barclaycard to find out what was going on to be told they couldnt help me as I was no longer their customer. (without telling me who I was now a customer of)

If someone can prove to me who I owe the money to then I am happy to come to an agreement with them on paying £x a month however threats and abuse and talking to me like I am a piece of dirt like 1st credit did gets my back up.

I am unable to do a one-off payment settlement as I have just been given support by family to start my own business so the monthly payments is the way to go for me.

Thanks for the replies....they are giving me more things to think of.

rog2

bgray wrote: »

I then called Barclaycard to find out what was going on to be told they couldnt help me as I was no longer their customer. (without telling me who I was now a customer of)

If someone can prove to me who I owe the money to then I am happy to come to an agreement with them on paying £x a month however threats and abuse and talking to me like I am a piece of dirt like 1st credit did gets my back up.

As things stand, and with 1st Credit being 'in default' you are, now, in the driving seat - so to speak - regarding this 'debt'.

You should have been notified, by BARCLAYCARD, that this debt was being passed to a DCA. As they are not being co-operative with you, you can issue a SAR (Subject Access Request) to Barclaycard. Under the terms of a Subject Access Request, Barclaycard must provide you with ALL information that they hold on you - this should include details of who the debt was passed on, or 'sold' to.

There is, unfortunately, a Statutory Fee, of up to £10, for a SAR, but it should resolve your worries as to who actually 'owns' this debt:

http://www.ico.gov.uk/what_we_cover/data_protection/your_rights/how_to_access_information.aspx

You might find it beneficial to talk with one of the Debt Counselling Charities:

• National Debtline - https://www.nationaldebtline.co.uk/ - tel. 0808 808 4000
• CCCS - https://www.cccs.co.uk/ - tel. 0800 138 1111
• A Debt Adviser at your local CAB

The above organisations will be able to give you free, professional and impartial advice on your problem.

Good luck.

Jesthar

bgray wrote: »

IIf someone can prove to me who I owe the money to then I am happy to come to an agreement with them on paying £x a month however threats and abuse and talking to me like I am a piece of dirt like 1st credit did gets my back up.

I am unable to do a one-off payment settlement as I have just been given support by family to start my own business so the monthly payments is the way to go for me.

I have to confess, whilst I am GREAT believer in paying your way and not running away from debt (thankfully I have nothing other than my Student Loan), and therefore I advocate paying back creditors, I do not extend that philsophy to the independent debt collection companies.

As far as I am concerned, these parasites are nothing short of extortion racketeers who buy up borderline or outright unenforeable debt for peanuts in the hope of bullying money out of people who don't know their legal rights. Therefore, if I ever did wind up in debt, I would try to pay back original creditors as long as they kept the debt with them, whether or not they had the legal paperwork. Once it have been passed on to a DCA, though, all bets would be off, as I would have never owed them a penny had they not bought the rights to 'enforce' the debt, therefore if they have no legal right to enforce it, why should I pay them?