Someone check this for me...

sgx.saint

Hey All.

Got a letter that I'm about to send that I want having the once over. Normally I wouldn't ask but im cramming a lot into this one letter....

I received a card through my door the other day from Mercers saying that I would be receiving a visit from one of their representitves. It looks quite genuine and not a standard scare tactic as it provides a date and time.

However, in at least two previous communications with the company I stated that all corrospondance must be in written format only, basically to keep accurate records for legal purposes if it ever came to that.

I also stated that any contact therefore after this letter by phone or in person would be viewed as harrassment under The Administration of Justice Act 1970.

Therefore today, I have wrote a letter to them advising them to cancel this planned home visit. I also am increasing my offer of repayment to £5.

Have a look at the letter and let me know what you think .... Oh almost forgot, I also want to offer Mercers a F&F on this account. Is it best to send this seperate or should I just include it on this letter as another section?

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Three matters concerning the above account

1. Updated Repayment Proposal
I am presently repaying the balance on this account, in principal, at the pro-rata rate of £1 per month. This repayment rate has and was calculated using the same method that the County Court employs. I am however delighted to inform you that due to a slight temporary increase in my student support arrangements I am now able to increase my offer of repayment to £5 per month effective of the 20th January 2007. December’s payment of £1 will still be made on time and may I again take this opportunity to remind you of my request for a Standing Order mandate to be sent to me. I have requested a Standing Order mandate on numerous occasions and I have yet to receive any acknowledgment.

Furthermore, I again echo my request that you freeze any interest or charges which are currently being applied to the account so that I am able to effectively repay the balance in principal. Any interest or charges you add to the account just compound the situation and are effectively making it extremely difficult for me to repay my debt to you in principal. I would be very grateful if you acknowledge this and as such freeze all interest and charges.
If my financial circumstances improve, I will be in contact with you within two weeks to inform you of any changes. Please do not contact me to discuss the account in relation to increased repayments as I will regard this as harassment under ‘The Administration of Justice Act 1970’. I am repaying what I can within my means, and as mentioned I have used the same pro-rata calculations that the County Court uses.
In summary, I am fully committed to repaying the principal balance outstanding on my account and I therefore hope you will accept my increased offer of repayment and I appreciate your assistance in this matter.

2. Communication
In previous letters and correspondence that I have sent to you, I clearly stated that all communication between me and Barclaycard/Mercers Debt Recovery was to be in written format only. This was so that an accurate record of our communications could be kept by both parties for legal purposes. I stated that any repeated contact either by telephone or in person would be regarded as possible harassment and a breach of the ‘Administration of Justice Act 1970’. However, yesterday I received a card through my door from your company advising me that you would be sending someone to visit my home. I would advise you against this course of action based on my previous requests to keep all forms of communication to a written format. I therefore request that you cancel this home visit immediately; any representative of your company visiting my home will not be acknowledges and turned away. Your representative has no legal rights of collection and I again advise you to terminate this visit as it will be a waste of your company’s money and time. Repeated visits or cards to my home again will be treated as possible harassment and copies of all correspondence including yours will be submitted to the relevant authorities. This will be relevant to your fitness to hold a licence under the Consumer Credit Act, whether or not it results in prosecution. If you wish to discuss the account with me, then I urge you to contact me by letter.

3. Legal Action
You have previously stated in correspondence your possible future intentions to commence legal action if I do not offer a ‘satisfactory’ repayment schedule or amount. I would like to again address this issue by stating that the method I have used to calculate the above offer of repayment is the same method used by the County Court. Moreover, I would suggest that your refusal to accept my above offer could be viewed as unreasonable and we would ask the court to consider this matter with reference to the Overriding Objectives. The commencement of legal proceedings under such circumstances could be counter to the ‘Overriding Objectives’ of the new Civil Procedure Rules. You will be aware that the Overriding Objectives underpin everything the court does. Moreover, paragraph 4 of the Protocols Practice Direction states that in cases not covered by an approved pre−action protocol, the court will expect the parties “to act reasonably…….. in trying to avoid the necessity for the start of proceedings”.

Xbigman

I would make the renewed request to freeze interest a separate numbered point.

Don't mention an F&F yet, get that £5 payment agreed first.

Sign of saying something positive like 'I look forward to recieving your considered reply'. It give them the hint you want more than a computer generated letter.
Regards



X

jessicamb

Sounds good to me

sgx.saint

Thanks for having look. Good point regarding the interest.

rog2

Good letter Sgx - Remember that debt collectors have NO RIGHT OF ENTRY to your house, neither do you have any obligation to be there at the time or date that they wish to visit. They are already acting in contravention to your perfectly legal request that they conduct ALL communication in writing.
Good luck. :beer:

sgx.saint

Thanks for that Rog2 .... really appreciate your kind words.

I am now writing a Full and Final settlement letter that I would like you peeps to have a look at.

Its a bit different because I have combined the issue of penalty charges with the F&F letter.

Have a look and let me know if you think it will work ....

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WITHOUT PREJUDICE

We write with reference to the money which you are claiming on the above account. We can confirm that we are unable to offer to pay the money which we owe in full. However, I can raise £75 and I want to offer this an ex−gratia payment in full and final settlement of the account.

I fully believe that it is in your best interest to accept this offer as my current financial situation is unlikely to change for at least the next 4 years, due to me being in full-time education and not having a sustainable income. I have attached to this letter a copy of my current income and expenditure with details of my current pro-rata repayments to my other creditors. As you will be aware in my previous letter to you, I can only afford to offer you £5 per month repayment in respect of this debt for the foreseeable future. I therefore reiterate the above genuine offer and hope that you will accept this as full and final settlement.

Moreover, due to recent media coverage on bank charges I am now aware that you, Barclaycard have been charging me, charges, that are contrary to the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999. Schedule 2 (e) of the said regulations gives a non-complete list of terms, which may be regarded as unfair, such as a term that requires me as a consumer who fails in his obligation, to pay a disproportionately high sum in compensation.

I believe that your charges are disproportionately high and therefore they are contrary to the Unfair Terms in Consumer Regulations 1999. In addition I believe that your charges are a Penalty. Penalty charges are irrecoverable at common law. The precedent for this was Dunlop Pneumatic Tyre Co Ltd v New Garage and Motor co Ltd [1915] AC 79.along with Murray v. Leisure play [2005] EWCA Civ 963 It was held that a contractual party can only recover damages for an actual loss or liquidated losses. It is clear that your charges do not reflect any actual and or real loss. Therefore in respect of my above offer of Full & Final settlement, I have also taken into account the charges which you have been applying onto my account.

This offer is made on the clear understanding that, if accepted, neither you nor any associate company will take any other action to enforce or pursue this debt in any way whatsoever and that we will be released for any liability. We also request that, if accepted, you will make an entry on a credit reference agency file relating to the above account as "satisfied" in full.

Payment can be made within two weeks of receiving your written agreement of this offer and will be made by a third party into the relevant account.

I look forward to your considered reply.

sgx.saint

Quick bump

rog2

Perhaps you could say that 'This offer is a limited offer and if I do not hear from you within the next two weeks, I will withdraw the offer and use these funds towards my other debts.'
Might make them react a bit quicker.

sgx.saint

Thanks again Rog ... another good idea