Statute barred advice please!

CH0C0H0LIC

Hiya Guys, I've been a lurker but some of your posts have got me thinking!

My partner who I've been with a few years, took a loan out when he was with a previous partner. He made repayments on the loan until he lost his job and she chucked him out leaving him homeless. He's spent quite a few years floating from place to place and either living with friends or subsequent partners but there was a long gap between him making his last (non-default) payments and the payments we now make to Lowells.

It's possibly been a 6yr gap but he has no paperwork from that time and tbh I'm lucky if he can remember what he's had for breakfast, let alone a loan from way back!

I've seen people talking about CCA's etc and I wondered if someone could direct me to a thread that explains it fairly easily (I'm feeling a bit thick these days, my brain isn't what it used to be lol) or indeed if someone could advise me in this thread please. It would help immensely

Would I have to request info from Lowells or from Lloyds where he initially took the loan out with? I saw something somewhere it said about asking for a transactions list and not statements so the don't charge me extra, is that right?

I don't have a good relationship with Lowells because I don't roll over and do what they ask, they always try to speak to my partner cus he agrees to things he doesn't understand, whereas I stand our ground. He's given me authority to act on his behalf and he just passes them onto me if they ring/write. This is why I need to do it right, I don't want to stop paying until I've worked out whether it is statute barred because I don't want to default on the repayment plan (if you know what I mean)

Sorry I've rambled! Thanks for reading.
Sarah x

GeorgeUK

Hi Sarah.

You're correct that a debt may be statute barred even though payments have recently been made. If there is a period of 6 years (5 in Scotland) where payments are not made and there is no written acknowledgement of the debt (and there is no CCJ), the debt becomes statute barred. If payments reatart ofter this time, the status of the debt does not change and it remains statute barred.

For the CCA, you could request a copy of the CCA, but they are allowed to provide you with a reproduction that doesn't have any signatures. It would only be if they took you to court that they would need to provide a copy of the original. One way around this MAY be to send a subject access request to the original creditor. If they don't have a copy of the original agreement (and it has all the required terms for it to be enforcable) then there is very little chance that the DCA will be able to get their hands on a copy.

This may help explain a little more about CCA's. Not sure how you would go about checking if the debt is statute barred other than possibly issuing quite a few SAR's.
Details: http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=578486
Legislation: http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1496721
The user never-in-doubt also posted a thread with various template letters you may be able to utilise.
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=2060575

nandj_2

Hi Chocoholic,
Will go down the CCA option in a mo for you.
First of all, it's the Leeds losers (Lowell's) who have to prove the debt exists and is enforceable, not you or your partner, but because you have made a payment, unless you can prove that a 6 year gap between payments exists (5 years in Scotland), then it starts the clock ticking again.
Fire off a CCA request to Lowell's, include a £1 postal order and print your name, DO NOT SIGN, the reason for that is to stop any copy and pasting of your signature onto an agreement, and there is no legal requirement for you to provide a signature, also send by registerred post and keep everything for your future reference.
Here's the letter for a CCA request....

---

Dear Sir/Madam

Re:- Account Number 4563210025897412

This letter is a formal request pursuant to s.77/78 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974. I require you to provide me with a true copy of the credit agreement relating to the above account, together with any other documentation the Act requires you to provide.

I expect you to comply fully and properly with this request, within the statutory time limit. You are reminded that should you fail to comply with my request, the provisions of s.77 will apply.

If it is your view that you are not the creditor, s.175 of the CCA 1974 applies in the case of a simple assignment, and places a duty upon you to pass this request to the creditor. In the case of an absolute assignment, you are a creditor as defined by s.189. If you contend that you purchased the rights but not the duties of any agreement, you are reminded that s.189 of the Act is clear that an assignment is of both rights and duties.

Your attention is drawn to ss.5(2), 3(b), 6 and 7 of the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 (CPUTR).

I enclose a postal order in the sum of £1.00, which is the statutory fee. Note that these funds are not to be used for any other purpose.

If you are unable to comply fully and properly with this request, you should confirm this in writing at the earliest opportunity, and certainly within the statutory time limit for compliance, and return the fee.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours faithfully

---

To stop the Leeds losers from telephoning you in future and trying to bully your partner, next time they ring, just say "IN THE FUTURE, EVERYTHING IN WRITING ONLY" and hang up.
Send them the telephone harrassment letter below...

---

Dear Sirs
Harassment by telephone

Account Number: XXXXXXX
I am writing in relation to the quantity and frequency of telephone calls that I have received from your company, which I deem to be personally harassing.
I have verbally requested that these stop, but I am still receiving calls. (Delete if necessary)
I now require all further correspondence from your company to be made in writing only.
I am of the view that your continued harassment of me by telephone puts you in breach of Section 40 of the Administration of Justice Act 1970, and the Protection from Harassment Act 1997.
If you continue to harass me by telephone, you will also be in breach of the Communications Act (2003) s.127 and I will report you to OFCOM, Trading Standards and The Office of Fair Trading, meaning that you will be liable to a substantial fine.
Be advised that any further telephone calls from your company will be recorded. (**Even if you don‘t yet have recording equipment!!**)

Yours faithfully,


[NAME HERE]

---

You can include this letter if you wish in with the CCA request.

NandJ

nandj_2

Part 2 - lol

Lowell's have 12 + 2 days (working days) to reply to your CCA, the +2 days is for posting, if after this time you have not recieved a reply, then you can legally stop payments because the account goes into dispute, I do have a dispute template letter if needed, just PM me.
It may also be worth sending the original lender a Subject Access Request (SAR), but these can take upto 40 days and cost £10, so lets go down the cheaper route first.
Even if they do reply with a CCA, post it up to see if it is enforceable.
One word of warning about the CCA route, even if the account goes into dispute, it does not mean that the debt goes away, it just makes it unenforceable until they can produce a CCA.
But in my personal opinion, if they can't produce one now, they never will
Best Wishes with it
NandJ

CH0C0H0LIC

Thanks George and nandj for your advice, it is definately his debt but we are not sure whether the break between payments stopping and restarting were over 6yrs or just a few months short. I will take alook at those links you have posted and hopefully get a letter in the post this week. The agreement isn't what i initially was interested in it was the payments made before he defaulted on the account I wanted to see, do you know if they provide that info under a CCA request? He also told me today that he had some form of insurance policy on it but when he lost his job the insurance company refused to make the payments so God knows what was happening back then!
Thanks again for your advice x
Sarah x

GeorgeUK

The CCA request is only to see what was on the credit agreement - it doesn't even get you a copy of the original.

If you want to see the transactions, you should be sending a subject access request (SAR - cost £10), which under the Data Protection Act allows you to see all data they hold about you - including transactions. The SAR sjould also allow him to see a copy of the original credit agreement.

If he thinks that the payment protection insurance (PPI) was missold, then he may be able to reclaim this.
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/reclaim/

CH0C0H0LIC

Thanks for that George I'll get a SAR sent off asap and go from there. I won't raise my hopes but if something good comes out of it I'll see it as a bonus!

Thanks again x