Hello! Newbie Advice...

imaliveuk

Hi there!

First of all I want to just say what a wonderful site this is - I have been lurking for a while and finally took the plunge with a few things and also decided to join this site!

I'll keep this post as short as I possibly can.

I have been paying off my debt of approx £28,000 for the last 5-6 years.

I have been doing this through CCCS who have been extremely helpful.

i now have the last $4500 to pay off and after researching on websites and here, and through a friends recommendation, i have recently sent this letter to Blair Oliver and Scott...

Dear Sirs,

Account No:

I hereby formally request a copy of my Consumer Credit Agreement, 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 any account you deem to be mine, 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 (12 + 2 days). 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 personal cheque 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 and then remove the incorrect entry from your systems.

I do, expect the main actions to be dealt with, as matter of course, and look forward to hearing from you within the prescribed timescales quoted.


Yours faithfully

It's all a bit scary for me and 14 days have now passed. I have received no reply, although I have been receiving phone calls every other day from an 0141 number which I have ignored after googling it and finding out it is from a debt collecting agency. After all - if it was important they would leave a message right?

I have informed CCCS about this and they obviously know of the procedure and they were very helpful but also said that if I decided to proceed then they will not be able support my DMP anymore as they need to treat creditors fairly. (which is fair enough)

SO.....

I just need some confidence in this!

Shall I now decide to stop paying Blair Oliver and Scott, and end my DMP with CCCS and send the next letter and see what happens?

ANY advice would be much appreciated.

Also with the original letter I also changed my address because I moved house and requested an updated statement - again, which they still haven't responded.

Many thanks!

MrsTUS

Is it worth taking the risk if this doesn't go your way?

Do you admit that you ran up said debt? If so, don't think it's fair you should pay it back the honourable way instead of trying to duck out at the last minute?

I think you've done great so far, and I just think if you know this debt is definitely yours and you spent the money, then yes, you should pay it back - and things seem to be going great with your DMP.

If it were me, I wouldn't rock the boat and I'd pay back whatever was in my means to pay if I knew I'd ran the debt up..

It really annoys me - and I am not referring to you personally - to see posts or signitures where people are almost bragging about the debt they've had written off due to certain loopholes and oversights by the lender/creditor, even though they knew it was themselves who applied for spent the money... I feel like they're saying 'haha, got me some free money'..

So I dunno, morally and for the sake of an easy life - I'd just carry on the the DMP if it were me..

imaliveuk

Hmm! thanks for your reply! (?)

Point taken but I am actually going by what I've read on here - and i certainly will not be bragging about anything. (I know it wasn't directly aimed at me)

If i can get it written off - why not? I at least expect an updated statement from them - which they have failed to provide. I don't actually know how much i need to pay off!

Anyway - i'll keep your advice in mind.

Thanks

GeorgeUK

There are quite a few threads on here about CCA requests and template letters that you can send. It may be best to ensure that you are reading the up to date legislation when making your decision about this though. There was an amendment to the Consumer Credit Act 1974 which means that the 12+2 days no longer applies and only creit taken out before 6th April 2007 is affected by this. By your post, this is the legislation that will apply rather than the 2006 Amendments, but there have been a few court cases where some things were clarified with regards to what a creditor is required to provide and what action they may take.

Right now, it is still a legal requirement that they provide a copy of the CCA, but this can be a reconstituted version without your signature and they may just put it together from data held on their computers. The only way you can really see if they have got a copy of the original signed agreement and to check if it was properly executed is to send a subject access request (SAR - cost £10)

So far all you have done is request a copy of a document, so there is nothing to be concerned about. If you were to stop making payments however, this could be when they try to play hardball. Under section 127 of the CCA74, a judge must not enforce a debt if the CCA has not been properly executed (has the appropriate signatures and terms). Not all judges are familiar with the CCA legislation so you would need to be able to argue your case IF the company decided to take it to court. This may also depend on how much the remaining debt is for.

You are quite right to keep everything in writing rather than communicating over the phone with the debt companies. Most of the debt you had will probably already have been bought by these companies for a few pence in the pound so your money isn't going to ever go back to the people you borrowed it from.

Something else to consider is that you may be able to save some money and make a full and final settlement offer (not a partial or short settlement). If there is no CCA for the debt, then this will put you in a much stronger negotiating position.