Next Defaulted £40 - now trying to fob me off

KSM1

Hi all,

I've been browsing this forum for quite some time, and actually using some of the advice been given here.

and alas it is my time to come for some help....:A , I don't know what to do, have i got a leg to stand on?

Okay to set the scene.

02/10 i brought a bed (£200) from Next online, and i think they automatically put it on finance. Once i got the bed, i realised it wouldn't fit in my room (i literally sleep in a closet.. think of harry potter, yes, its that small!!). So then i returned it, and i thought that was the end of that. Now 2 months ago i signed up to experian credit expert and saw "Next directory" in a red default - the amount £40!!!

Now I am sure I did not receive any letter stating I owed them £40, so i phoned them to check if this is right, they apologised as i said they did not give me any notice and i asked them to send me a letter of any information they had. I then received a letter stating that the debt has been satisfied although they cannot remove the default because it was "factually correct".

So I took some advice from this forum and sent a letter to them as follows:

Date:

Customer Number – ***

Dear ***

After recently obtaining a copy of my credit file from Experian I was concerned to note that your company has placed a "Default" notice against an account in my name.

Further to this both I do not have a recollection of ever receiving such a notice, and when I phoned yourselves you sent me a letter stating that the balance has been paid in full.

I therefore require you to substantiate this data at your earliest convenience.

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 ****.

2. You must supply me with a signed true and certified copy of the original default notice

3. Any deed of assignment if the debt was sold on

I would request that this data is provided to myself within the next 28 days, if you are unable to provide this data then I must insist that it is removed from my files as unsubstantiated.

Yours faithfully

And today they sent me a letter, as follows: it seems as if they only supplied me with a credit agreement, not what i asked for, which was the original default notice (sorry for the quality, hopefully you can read it)

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sorry could not post direct links, as I'm a newbie, but if you could copy and paste that into your browser that'll be great!


So could some one tell me what i should do now. They have supplied the default notice have they?? have i still got hope?

I am sorry if i sound like I'm asking a lot of questions, i am truly grateful for any help whatsoever.

Thanks everyone!!

KSM1

Any one got any info?

fermi

Presumably you were entitled to return the bed at that stage? What is the £40 for? Charges? Return costs?

The letter you sent is pretty useless. They are not required to provide you a copy of any default letter under the consumer credit act.

However, when recording a default they should be able to be substantiate if asked.

- What the default was for and how the sum owed but not paid accrued.
- Evidence that you were notified of a possible default on your credit file. That may be sent with a formal default notice under the CCA, or it may have been in the T&Cs of the account when you took it out.

If you believe that you shouldn't have been defaulted for this sum, then you need to fundamentally dispute the 2 points above. Making requests under the CCA will get you no-where, as they don't have to prove this under that law.

Instead dispute totally that you defaulted and that the default is an accurate record under the Data protection Act.

See page 19 onwards of this link on how to complain..

http://www.ico.gov.uk/upload/documents/library/data_protection/practical_application/credit_explained_leaflet_2005.pdf

With that you are depending and dispute on the basis of the fundamental principle under DPA that anything on your credit file should be accurate and up to date. Plus that falsely recorded info may amount to defamation.

KSM1

Thank you for replying.

This default was a delivery charge which i didnt get notified of, nor any reminders, which is why i didn't pay.

So shall i send another email saying to provide me evidence of any notification (default notice) before issuing the default on my account?

I am totally new to this, I am totally dumbfounded by this

I am unsure, however on how to prove i didnt get a reminder, they cannot fabricate one and say "we sent you this" can they?

give_them_FA

If they didn't bill you for it or tell you about it they can hardly complain you didn't pay it. I doubt a reputable company like Next would fabricate evidence over £40, they are not Scotcall, lol!

How long between delivery and return? Did you unpack the bed or return it still wrapped as soon as you realised it wasn't going to fit? I won't say the obvious, lol.

KSM1

i unpacked it realised it wouldn't fit repacked it and sent it back straight away, would have been about 3/4 days between arrival and departure.

Just arch they're so dumb, i phoned them up and they were sorry we didnt send a notice...hmm but now I'm feel like I'm screwed:(

happy_bunny_2

Send them a formal complaint, signed for. If they fob you off ou can take it further

give_them_FA

KSM, according to my reading of the Distance Selling Regulations, if an item is returned, the consumer is NOT liable for the carriage or postage, (both ways!) this has to be borne by the supplier.

They should not be charging you for carriage if you exercised your rights under that legislation to reject the goods.

Soph86_2

I believe those distance selling regulations only apply where the seller doesn't say up front who is liable for postage - I suspect there is a returns policy in their catalogue so it wouldn't apply

give_them_FA

No, Soph, I have checked. The cost of transporting the goods forms an integral part of the contract which the consumer is able to cancel without giving a reason. That can't be overridden. What often happens is that suppliers don't like paying the delivery costs on abortive sales and try to make the consumer do it.

I know because I once sued a company that refused to accept my claim for return postage on an item and got my money.

In short the regulations envisage that the consumer should not be out of pocket at all over a distance sale.

nottoolate

give_them_FA wrote: »

KSM, according to my reading of the Distance Selling Regulations, if an item is returned, the consumer is NOT liable for the carriage or postage, (both ways!) this has to be borne by the supplier.

They should not be charging you for carriage if you exercised your rights under that legislation to reject the goods.

no. they just have to say in their t&cs who is repsonsible for paying

Soph86 wrote: »

I believe those distance selling regulations only apply where the seller doesn't say up front who is liable for postage - I suspect there is a returns policy in their catalogue so it wouldn't apply

yes