A Little Advice

w1ck3d

Hi all Forum Buddies.

I had a chat with a friend over a pint last night, and they came out with a problem. They have not been paying their CC. They offered MNBA an amount they could afford, and MNBA refused this, so no payment made. They receive approx 5-6 calls a day :eek:

Now they have told me, that it has been passed to a court ( they are showing me all the paperwork tonight) so this bit of info is a bit grey at the moment.

Now my questions are:

Can a CC Company put a charging order on your house?
If the CC Company refuse their offer, what to do now?
Can I talk to them on their behalf ( they are in a right pickle and struggle to talk properly)


They are a very dear friend, have been for years, so want to offer help and support, like a prop really.

Oh, the debt is only £13K. MNBA wanted £300 per month, but they can only afford £100 per month. Seems reasonable to me ?

Many thanks if you can provide advice, just so I have something to go on when I see them tonight.

Best Wishes on this Sunny Day

Sorry just wanted to add. Up until 1yr ago, they where squeaky clean, always paid on time, this should go in their favor, is that right?

w1ck3d

Anybody

mouldydc

I honestly don't know the answers regarding what CC companys can do ... BUT! the lovely people at CCCS are very helpful and give great advice. http://www.cccs.co.uk/
You can probably contact them on behalf of your friend. Unfortaunately, good behaviour in the past is quickly forgotten when payments are missed.

i'm pretty sure that, with an Statement of Accounts (think that's what they're called) https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/806277 CC comps have to accept an amount that can be afforded, and there are letters than can be written to stop harrassment elsewhere on the forum.

Sorry I can't give more detailed advice, but good luck to both of you - it will be okay. Promise.

w1ck3d

hi Mouldydc

Many thanks for your reply. Done some digging around on google, and have found some interesting info on what dca's can and cannot do.

One comment made me laugh

DCA's are nothing more than glorified Milk Men. Milk Men also collect money at your door.

Here are some links that some might find interesting:

http://www.goingdebtfree.co.uk/debt-collectors-and-your-rights.html

http://www.goingdebtfree.co.uk/steps-when-debt-collectors-call.html

http://www.goingdebtfree.co.uk/lies-told-disreputable-debt-collectors.html

king100

Can a CC Company put a charging order on your house?

Yes they can, If i wanted I could put a charging order on your home if you owed me money.

If the CC Company refuse their offer, what to do now?

How old is the CC, send off a CCA request see if they have correct paperwork.


Can I talk to them on their behalf ( they are in a right pickle and struggle to talk properly)

w1ck3d

Thanks King100.

They have had the CC for donkeys, up until 1yr ago, all payments was up to date. Then they got admitted into hospital, got very very sick. MNBA didn't give a monkeys nuts about all this, so it just went on and on and...well you get the picture.

So the DCA should have a copy of the Credit Agreement, and I should ask for this? What happens if they don't have it, or am I opening up a can of worms here?

I take it that I could speak to them on behalf, if they gave permission? I say they are in a pickle. Basically depressed and really stutter on the phone, cannot do confrontation.

Thanks all

NeverAgain_2

Even assuming no interest, the debt would take 11 years to pay off at £100 a month, so you can see why MBNA are not keen on that.

You mention charging orders, so I assume your friend owns his own house, or at least has decent equity in it.

MBNA may or may not know about that, but £13,000 is a sum worth chasing, so it's better to come to a deal with them if you can.

w1ck3d

Thanks Neveragain.

That's what I thought as well. Yes they do own their own home, although the equity would cover the the cc, if they have already defaulted, surely the mortgage company would be a no no anyhow?

They offered £100 for 12 months, then review it. Next Oct2012, they finish paying for the finance off the car, which frees up £300, but still MNBA said sod off we want it now.:mad:

I hope it is with a DCA, as they seem to be for fruitful that the cc companies themselves.

As a tester, do you think it is a good idea to ask for the CCA, just to test the water?

So can I just confirm something, just to ease their mind. If they haven't gone as far as a ccj, the DCA CANNOT nab their car, nor put a charging order on the property. This is their main concern at the moment.

Many thanks

Mr_Max

Hi W1ck3d

Just wanted to clarify something for you, as I used to work for a Debt Management firm.

MBNA "strictly speaking" cannot put a charging order on a house. They can instruct the courts to do this, but this is a lengthy process for them and they will only go down the court route once they've tried every other reasonable option, and they won't go for a charging order without going down another long path. I know it seems like a really picky point, but I found that unless I clarified this to my clients, they would panic that a charge would be placed the next day by MBNA. So don't worry about that.

MBNA can only accept a certain percentage of the payments or the debt as a monthly payment when you make an offer. I can't remember what it is right now, and it's probably changed, so ask them. They'll tell you. Unfortunately, they cannot accept a penny less. The person isn't being a pain when they say this, they physically cannot accept this. In which case, it'd be better to not worry. Keep paying anyway (DON'T give any debit card details whatever you do, they'll just take everything. They can't legally do it, but don't think that is a barrier).

They'll pass to a DCA who will freeze interest and charges. Then you can offer your £100 a month towards the debt and they'll most probably accept it with a SOA attached.

You've probably found out your last point, but yes you can talk on their behalf. You'll most probably need a written letter of authority from your friends. Make sure you know what you're talking about. MBNA aren't the worst of the bunch (in my experience) as they never tried to fob me off when I worked for my clients (although they probably realised I also knew what they could and couldn't do) but just read up. They'll tell you anything to get a payment.

And good luck. Keep us posted how it all goes.

king100

SEnd the DCA a CCA request letter. I dont have links but Fermi will be able to link to it.

Basically it asks for a valid CCA agreement.

You send it and wait 12+2 days, if nothing appears then you dont pay anything until it does.

This approach will affect your friends credit rating, but the original default date will stand anyway and that alone will take 6 years to clear.

king100

Any chance do you know if he has PPI on his card?