Urgent help needed with CC debt

nelson1601

Hi All

I am looking for some advice regarding a credit card account. I took out a citi card many years ago and this was apparently transferred to Opus in 2010.

Having moved address etc I never received any details of the change. I have asked Opus to provide me with a copy of the original credit agreement and did a template letter with the £1. They tell me they cannot find the original I signed and have sent me a copy of a credit agreement with Opus' details listed with my current address etc.

I thought I'd need to see the original signed agreement for them to enforce any debt collection but need a heads up before I respond.

HELP!

stephane_2

No they don't have to send you the original agreement....you are fully liable for the debt.

antrobus

nelson1601 wrote: »

...I thought I'd need to see the original signed agreement for them to enforce any debt collection but need a heads up before I respond.....

A creditor can satisfy the requirements by "providing a reconstituted version of the executed agreement". Carey v HSBC (2009)

The copy credit agreement produced by Opus might or might not meet the definition of a reconstituted version.

stephane_2

Why did you not inform Citi of your change of address...?
Why did you not inform Citi if no statement was received....?
You have stopped payments....why?
They will default the account and it will trash your credit report for the next 6 years....?
Anyway by making payments....you acknowledged that debt was yours....?

fermi

Answers --> http://www.oft.gov.uk/shared_oft/business_leaflets/consumer_credit/OFT1266.pdf

What you should get

You should get a copy of your agreement. If it's hard to read, for example a bad photocopy, ask them to send you a better version.

It doesn't have to be the document you signed, though if it isn’t, they should let you know.

The paperwork should:

• tell you what your original agreement was, and if there were any changes made to it later
• include your name and address at the time you first signed the agreement, but it doesn't have to include your signature, or the date you signed it
• include the statements about your rights that were in the agreement you signed.

You should also get copies of any other documents mentioned in your agreement, although there are some that you don't have to be given.

You should also get a statement of your account (that they have signed) telling you:

• how much you still owe
• how much you should be paying and when
• if you borrowed a fixed amount of money, from the bank or someone else, how much you have paid already.

What happens if you don't get this information?

If you've already paid off all the debt they don't have to give you anything.

However, if you still owe money and you don't get what you are entitled to after 12 working days, then your debt is called 'unenforceable' until you get the information you asked for.

What does unenforceable mean?

This does not mean your debt is wiped out. You still owe the money, and if you don't pay you can be charged interest on what you owe, be charged for not paying (these are called default charges) and it could affect your credit record.

But if you haven't been given the information, they cannot:

• make you pay off your debt before you're supposed to
• get a court judgment against you
• take back anything you've hired or bought on credit, or take anything you used as security (like your house) when you took out the agreement.

However, they can still:

• ask you to pay what you owe
• send you a letter called a default notice if you miss any payments
• pass your information on to a credit reference agency, which might affect your credit record
• pass your information on to a debt collector
• sell your debt to someone else
• take your case to court, although they won't be able to get a court judgement against you unless they give you the information you're entitled to.

Helpful tips

• You can't be asked to pay more than £1, so make sure you don't pay more.
• If your case is taken to court, you can ask the court not to go any further (called a stay of proceedings) until you get the information you are entitled to.
• If your agreement is very old (made before 19 May 1985) or if your agreement isn't available, for example if it was lost in a fire or a flood, the rules are a little bit different. In these cases you can be given a copy of what they think the current terms of your agreement are. You should be told if that's what they've done.
• Your debt could have been sold to someone else. If it has, the people you originally signed the agreement with should tell you who to contact, or tell the people they sold the debt to, to give you the information you've asked for.