Credit Card Advice (debt payments) please!

wee_student_saver

Hi there,

I'm currently organising my debts and beginning to make repayments. One debt in particular has been hard to deal with.

It was with the Halifax but they referred me to Blair Oliver Scott. They wanted full settlement only, which I can't provide, so they told me to contact Westcott.

I did so and asked them for

a) Signed credit agreement
b) Deed of assignment
c) Full account statement

Westcott say I should have these and they can't provide them.

So I'm sort of stuck, I don't know exactly how much I owe, or who to. It's important I find all these details for my plan.

Does anyone have any ideas what to do?

Thanks!

Tirian

If they don't have (a) and (b) then there's nothing they can do - they're not legally permitted to deal with your debt.

Not sure about (c) - but if they don't know how much you owe then offer them a tenner until they can prove that you owe more. I think they might suddenly find out that they do know how much your account is owing ...

wee_student_saver

Thanks for that information, if they can't legally deal with my debt, what happens next? Do I just ignore their letters or those they pass on to other companies?

Also, do those documents mentioned above apply to overdraft accounts or is it just credit accounts.

I'm going through the forum now to try and get a better idea of things but there is a lot of information!

Tirian

Anyone who wants to collect a debt from you must have a copy of the credit agreement that you signed - and, if the initial agreement was not made with them then they must have a deed of assignment showing that the creditor has passed the obligations on to them.

Don't ignore the letters - find a template (or get some advice from CAB) to write to them stating that you are taking action to remedy your financial situation and that if they believe that they hold any debts owed by you then could they please send the proper documents as specified to prove that the debt exists and that they are authorised to pursue it.

Finally, note that if they are unable to produce such documents then any further contact from them will be construed as harassment and you will take appropriate legal action in response.

If it is the original creditor that is contacting you for any debt, ask them to give you an up to date statement of your account. If you find that you are having real difficulty, then go to the CAB or else call CCCS - 0800 138 1111, and they will be able to give you more detailled advice.

wee_student_saver

Many thanks for your advice!