CCA - what should I look for?

lmclean100

Hi

Well, I've now received two of my CCA requests back. What should I be looking for to know if they are enforceable?

Afraid I don't have a scanner but I could type what is on the info they have sent.

I suspect that they have sent copies of the application form is that a CCA? Sorry if I'm being a bit dim.

L

RAS

IS MY AGREEMENT ENFORCEABLE (Via section 127(3) CCA1974).

PRESCRIBED TERMS FOR THE PURPOSES OF SECTIONS 61(1)(0) AND 127(3) OF THE CONSUMER CREDIT ACT 1974 Taken from schedule.6 (1983/1553) regulations

(If you just want to find out, skip the bits in between the stars it’s just some extra information)

*****What do we mean by unenforceable?

In the Consumer Credit Act section 127 there is a provision for making an agreement unenforceable if it does not contain certain pieces of information.

Subsections 1,2,3,4 state which pieces of information these are, and everything mentioned there must be included within the body of the agreement, if one is missing the agreement is unenforceable.

How does unenforceable differ from enforceable with a court order only?

When an agreement is unenforceable it means that the court or the judge cannot make a ruling on it. The court cannot make it enforceable.

When an agreement is enforceable only by ruling of the court it means that the agreement can be stopped by the debtor but the court has the power to re-instate it and allow the credit to continue to enforce. *****

The Prescribed Terms are these:

A Amount of credit

A term stating the amount of credit

B Repayments

A term stating how the debtor is to discharge his obligations under the agreement to make the repayments, which may be expressed by reference to a combination of any of the following:-

(a) Number of repayments;
(b) Amount of repayments;
(c) Frequency and timing of repayments;
(d) Dates of repayments;
(e) The manner in which any of the above may be determined; or in any other way, and any power of the creditor to vary what is payable.

C Rate of interest

A term stating the rate of interest to be applied to the credit issued under the agreement

D Credit limit

This may be a term or the manner in which it will be determined or that there is no credit limit.

---

Which of these applies to you depends on the type of agreement you have?

For a Running Account (credit card) agreement

BC and D Apply

For a Restricted Use Debtor Creditor Supplier

• Where the dealer is the supplier and the creditor is the one providing the finance.
• The money can only be used for the purpose it is given.
• There is no interest on the purchase (the cash price is the same as the total price)
• And there is no advance payment

A is applicable

For a fixed Sum Credit Agreement

A conventional credit agreement with none of the above restrictions

A and B apply

For a Hire Agreement

B is Applicable

This post only covers section 127(3) of the Act agreements can also be unenforceable by contravention of sections 1 and 4 this will be the subject of the next paper.

Please note that these Prescribed terms where not changed in any way by the 2004/1482 Amendments although the form in which they appear on the agreement was. Subsection127(3) was repealed on the 6th of April 2007 so that unenforceability due to 127(3) will only apply to agreements executed before that date.

lmclean100

Thanks RAS.

I've got a feeling that they have just given me the bits out of the application form. Although one does have the credit limit on it.

I'm a bit confused. I took out a card with BHS (a storecard) which was 'managed by' GE Money, about three years ago they changed the storecard to a credit card. I don't remember getting any forms to sign about this and I certainly never asked for it. BHS then changed who provided their store cards to another bank sometime last year and GE Money sold their interests to Santander earlier this year. The CCA they have sent refers to the storecard. Which bit should I be looking for in their CCA, or should I just ask for all the info they have on me?