Pre 2007 CCA - reconstructed?

bennyhill_2

HI there, sorry if this has been asked lots of times before, I did have a quick scan but couldn't see it answered:

I have lots of creditors (10/11) and a rather large debt, all of which went into a DMP in June 2007. The credit agreements were all taken out way before 2007. Legally can a DCA or creditor reconstruct a CCA where the agreement was taken out pre 2007 or do they have to provide a copy of the original document?

The creditors are as follows:

MSDW/Goldfish (credit card - now with Cabot Financial)
Barclaycard (branded credit card - now with Cabot Financial)
Egg (credit card - now with Apex)
Lloyds TSB (current account - now with Apex)
Barclaycard (credit card - now with Allied International Credit)
Santander UK PLC (Cahoot unsecured loan - now with Wescot)
Lloyds Loan (unsecured - now with Moorcraft)
Barclaycard (credit card - now with Moorcraft)
Lloyds Bank (credit card - now with Wescot Financial)
Tescos (credit card - now with Wescot Financial)

Thanks in advance.

fermi

In response to a s77/8 request they can reconstitute the agreement if they have records that are sufficient to allow that to be done honestly. In other words they can reconstitute, but they can't just make any old thing up. While it doesn't have to be an exact replica in all ways it must contain the actual terms you would have signed and as varied.

sourcrates

As fermi says they can be reconstituted using information they hold on you, usually the terms in force when you opened the account, will not be the terms in force now, so unless they have a copy of the original terms and conditions, they may fall down.

If the original agreement is not available, the creditor may just say so, or they may attempt to cobble one together, however, it's one thing complying with the CCA request, but what they supply may not be enough to stand up in court.

There are no hard and fast rules, sometimes they back down straight away if no agreement, on other occasions they fight to the death, it's a case of "suck it and see" really.

bennyhill_2

Thank you guys, much appreciated.

National_Debtline

If you want to know whether they actually have the original signed agreement or not you could make a Subject Access Request under the Data Protection Act. They can charge you £10 but you’ll know exactly what they hold on your file.

James
@natdebtline

bennyhill_2

National_Debtline wrote: »

If you want to know whether they actually have the original signed agreement or not you could make a Subject Access Request under the Data Protection Act. They can charge you £10 but you’ll know exactly what they hold on your file.

James
@natdebtline

Thank you for this - I've had 3 letters back so far advising no CCA can be found. I assume (perhaps wrongly) that if they've advised no CCA can be found that it would be prudent to seek SAR's for each of the accounts where this is the case.

The 2 incorrectly dated default markers should be gone within the next 2 weeks, and so all trace of all these 'old' debts will be gone from my CRA files. Again I assume if that is the case, that my chances/ability to gain credit with non sub-prime market accounts is likely to improve?

National_Debtline

bennyhill wrote: »

Thank you for this - I've had 3 letters back so far advising no CCA can be found. I assume (perhaps wrongly) that if they've advised no CCA can be found that it would be prudent to seek SAR's for each of the accounts where this is the case.

The 2 incorrectly dated default markers should be gone within the next 2 weeks, and so all trace of all these 'old' debts will be gone from my CRA files. Again I assume if that is the case, that my chances/ability to gain credit with non sub-prime market accounts is likely to improve?

If they’ve told you that they can’t find the CCA agreements they should be truthful about it. I suppose it depends on how much you trust them though.

The SAR would force their hand in supplying any documents they do hold so it’s up to you whether you feel it’s worth the fees. I’d suggest seeking some legal advice if you want to question the enforceability of the debts.

Once the defaults have dropped off your credit file they’ll no longer be a factor in credit scoring so you may see a general improvement in your ability to obtain credit. There are normally various factors which creditors look at when they create a credit score for you though.

James
@natdebtline