Help with a default

Getoffmycloud

Hi


I could really do with some help regarding a default notice I have just found on my account from Gothia.


Back in 2013 I had an account with H&M, was late with payments and it was passed to a debt collection agency, namely Gothia, who put the default on my account. I don't remember them sending me a default notice so I sent the following letter which I found on the internet:


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 continued 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 cheque in payment of the statutory fee

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

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

They wrote back and said that because the account was settled and closed in January 2014 they are not required to supply the credit agreement. However they did send me a copy of a default notice, but it is from H&M, not Gothia, and it isn't signed by anyone.


So my questions are:


1. Is it a legal Default Notice when it was actually issued by H&M, but Gothia have recorded it on my credit file?


2. Is it legal where it hasn't been signed?


3. Surely they should still have to send me a copy of the credit agreement even if the account is closed?


Any help very gratefully received.


Many thanks

fermi

You are not the first and won't be the last to find that letter, which contains a fair amount of old ballhooks!



1. Yes it is legal. That must be sent by the original creditor in nearly all cases.

A default notice sent to you under the Consumer Credit Act 1974 is a separate thing to a default on your credit file. They both use the word default, so people mix them up and assume they are the same thing.

2. Yes. No requirement for it to be signed.

3. No. If there no no sum left payable under the agreement then the duty to supply a copy under s77(1).

Getoffmycloud

Hi Fermi


Many thanks for your quick reply. The default notice I have been sent does state "default notice served under section 87(1) of the Consumer Credit Act 1974". Does this mean they shouldn't have put a default on my credit file?

fermi

No, because as said, that notice under s87(1) has nothing to do with a default on your credit file.

To quote the ICO.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/68473912#Comment_68473912

CRA Default on a credit file Vs default under the CCA

I was not sent any default notices, should the default on my credit reference file be removed?

In most cases, the answer will be ‘no’, provided that adequate fair processing information was provided when the account was originally opened.

It may help to explain that a “default” on an individual’s credit file does not mean that an individual has been defaulted under the Consumer Credit Act; essentially, the same word is being used to describe two slightly different things (which can obviously lead to some confusion). Instead, a “default” on a credit file simply means the lender considers the relationship between itself and the individual to have broken down.

Therefore, whilst it may be a requirement of the Consumer Credit Act to issue default notices, there is no DPA obligation on a lender to issue a default notice to individuals before marking an account as being in default on their credit file. Although we advise that it is good practice to issue a notice, lenders will often have provided individuals with fair processing information about defaults and notices in the terms and conditions when the account was opened. Provided this was the case, then it is likely to satisfy the “fairness” aspects of the first principle.

Getoffmycloud

Do you think I have any hope of getting it removed?

fermi

Already been through this in a previous thread I think?

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5202787

Getoffmycloud wrote: »

Do you think I have any hope of getting it removed?

Unlikely, especially going about it with letters like the one in this thread, as they will instantly know that you don't really understand what you are writing.

Getoffmycloud

Many thanks for all your help, the thread you refer to was actually a different default which I did manage to get removed. I'll try the same route again.
Kind regards

fermi

Good luck then.

If you are relying on the s87 notice, then you still may not have any luck because as said it has nothing to do with whether a default on your credit file is valid.

Sometimes though you can get lucky if a collector etc is unsure of their legal ground themselves, and they remove it to be on the safe side. It's just the exception rather than the rule nowadays.