Debt Managers Ltd

japanesegirl

Hi do you have an address or phone number as I suspect that they are all part of Martin Cunningham

fizzel81

po box 168
4 jamaica street
edinburgh eh36up
08700501048
hth

japanesegirl

obviously not then do you live in the north then? Maybe they allocate someone near to where you are in case they want to come and bang on your door!

who knows - have a nice weekend and dont let the b.....ds get you down.

Harassed_2

Catalogue debts are usually unenforceable in court, if you defend the action. Send the catalogue company (or whoever owns the debt) a copy of the letter below. Send it by Recorded Delivery and enclose a £1 postal order in payment of the statutory fee.

I require you to supply the following documentation before I will correspond further on this matter.

1. You must supply me with a true copy of the alleged agreement you refer to. This is my right under your obligation to supply a copy of the agreement under the legislation contained within s.78 (1) Consumer Credit Act 1974 (s.77 (1) for fixed sum credit) - your obligation also extends to providing a statement of account. I enclose a £1 postal order in payment of the statutory fee, PO Serial Number xxxxx.

Non-compliance with my request is a criminal offence under the above Act and will result in a report being submitted to the relevant statutory authorities.

As you are aware, a credit agreement that is not properly documented and signed by the customer is totally unenforceable under the CCA and therefore is a complete defence to any court claim that is issued.

Take note at this stage, that any legal action you may contemplate will be both vigorously defended and contested.

fizzel81

Thank you for the above, i will give that a go, they tried calling again this morning, i made it downstairs just as they started talking to the answerphone

Harassed_2

If you haven't signed and returned a credit agreement, unlikely they can do much. Ignore any posts (especially from the debt collectors / trolls) that say otherwise.

They may say they can go to court, but for low sums like yours, unlikely. You do have to defend any action though.

pipkin71

Am I right in thinking that the consumer credit act 2006 stipulates that the defence of an unsigned credit agreement can be over-ruled by a judge and is now no longer a dead cert in not having to pay a debt?

Pipkin xxxx

Harassed_2

Not necessarily. The relevant part of the CCA 2006 is not yet in force. It's not yet known when it will be implemented. One of the changes will be that section 127(3) will disappear so, as you say, all improperly executed agreements will be potentially enforceable. (If the court decides to grant an enforcement order).

This will not be retrospective (paragraph 11, schedule 3, CCA 2006) so will only apply to agreements entered into from the date that section 127(3) is abolished - a date which is currently unknown but could be some time this year or next year.

pipkin71

Thanks Harassed.

A friend is currently going down this route, but has an awful lot to lose if it
backfires, and from what I had heard, a judge can use his / her 'common sense' to decide if the debt is owed, regardless of whether there is a signed credit agreement.

However, as this is not retrospective, I'm assuming she will be ok, although the catalogue are now threatening dca's. Whatever the rights and wrongs of it - she ran up over £4k, knowing she couldn't repay - are the catalogue likely to pursue court action? She sent off your letter, never got a response and after six weeks received an unsigned copy as well as final demand for full payment, which currently stands just short of £5k I believe, with interest and charges added.

They are also claiming she fraudulently obtained the goods, which they are going to pursue criminally. Yet, they gave this credit limit to a single parent with 4 kiddies on income support. Is she likely to face charges over this? I don't think so, and believe they are just trying scare tactics but would appreciate your comments as you know a lot about this sort of thing.

Finally, should she now just sit tight and ignore their letters / phone calls?

Regards
Pipkin xxxx

Harassed_2

pipkin71 wrote:

Thanks Harassed.

A friend is currently going down this route, but has an awful lot to lose if it
backfires, and from what I had heard, a judge can use his / her 'common sense' to decide if the debt is owed, regardless of whether there is a signed credit agreement.

Yes, on a balance of probabilities. Given the sum involved, the catalogue may pursue it and provide proofs of delivery and transaction details.

as this is not retrospective, I'm assuming she will be ok, although the catalogue are now threatening dca's. Whatever the rights and wrongs of it - she ran up over £4k, knowing she couldn't repay - are the catalogue likely to pursue court action? She sent off your letter, never got a response and after six weeks received an unsigned copy as well as final demand for full payment, which currently stands just short of £5k I believe, with interest and charges added.

She could respond with the letter at the foot of this post. The catalogue haven't provided the information requested.

They are also claiming she fraudulently obtained the goods, which they are going to pursue criminally. Yet, they gave this credit limit to a single parent with 4 kiddies on income support. Is she likely to face charges over this? I don't think so, and believe they are just trying scare tactics but would appreciate your comments as you know a lot about this sort of thing.

They would have to prove intent to defraud. Unless they've involved the police, difficult to do so.

Finally, should she now just sit tight and ignore their letters / phone calls?

Respond with the letter below, sent by Recorded Delivery.

I am in receipt of your letter dated (date); the contents are noted. The item and confirmation that I requested from you has not been supplied.

1. I requested a true copy of the consumer credit agreement that you state exists; to which I am entitled to under the Consumer Credit Act 1974 (CCA). The supposed copy that you have supplied is not a true copy; there are major errors in the information contained therein. I would draw your attention to the following. It is an offence under Section 40(1)(c)/(d) of the Administration of Justice Act 1970 to falsely present a document as having some official character which it has not, with the object of coercing another person to pay money claimed as a debt due under a contract. It is also contrary to the provisions of the Section 25(2)(d) of the CCA to mislead the debtor as to the origin or authority of any document.

2. I also requested you to confirm whether or not you entered a properly executed and signed consumer credit agreement for the above account. This you have not done. As you are aware, a credit agreement that is not properly documented and signed by the customer is totally unenforceable under the CCA and therefore is a complete defence to any court claim that is issued. Take note at this stage, that any legal action you may contemplate will be both vigorously defended and contested.

As the information which was requested has not been supplied, take this letter as notice that both the account and the amount you claim is owed, are in dispute. They will remain so until the requested information has been supplied.

I await your response in writing,