Barclaycard - Debt Dispute - Help

robert4123

Hi all,

Just registered because people here seem quite savvy on financial matters. I'll keep it as simple as I can.

Have about £4000 debt with Barclaycard. Disputed it, claiming it's not my debt. I have never spent this kind of money on this card. It was used by my late father to pay rent, and since I lived with my parents it was easy to gain access to my card.

I had an informal arrangement to pay £20 each month, no interest. Until I noticed the balance was not what I thought it was, and that the debt was not run by me.

Sent dispute letter. They replied with a photocopy of credit agreement, telling me if I wanted a "True copy" (under Section 78 of CCA) to send the £1. They also said to send the required £10 for "Subject Access Request." Those who know legal terms should know what these mean.

Since I said the agreement may have been signed without me knowing about insurance, she said they could not find insurance on the account. However, I have made a request for PPI a year or so ago, and money was paid into my account. Therefore, insurance on this product existed but it was not acknowledged by this clerk.

I don't want to pay this debt, as I've never spent this amount. This card has remained frozen for a number of years. I have already contacted Ombudsman regarding this.

Please give me any advice you can on how to continue this dispute. The bank does not consider the debt disputed after this communication.

I am willing to do everything in my power because I don't owe this money.

How can I effectively dispute this debt by sending an appropriate reply?

Would the omission of a True Copy of the original TOS mean the debt will be in dispute?

Could I litigate saying that it is not my signature on the agreement?

Thanks for reading.

Alice_Walker

Do you agree that the card was taken out by yourself? If so any reference to the CCA is irrelevant, you're not disputing that you took out the card.

If you are stating your father made unauthorised transactions then that's what you need to focus on. Were these transactions made in an isolated period, were they not picked up on in statements?

You say you contacted the Ombudsman - what did they say?

[Deleted User]

robert4123 wrote: »

Could I litigate saying that it is not my signature on the agreement?

Who signed it?

And if not you, how did you end up with the card?

meer53

Did you dispute the transactions at the time ? If not, i can't see how you can dispute it now. If you had an arrangement to pay, then you've acknowledged the debt is yours. How long has the arrangement been in place ?

robert4123

Hi all, thanks for your replies.

I am not too informed on legal matters, that's why I am asking for advice to see where I stand.

The agreement was a no-interest agreement and it has been in place for a year. However, having just looked at the amount owed I am sure that I did not spend this amount.

The debt has never been disputed before.

I don't receive a statement with transaction for this card for a number of years, just the amount owed. The card has been frozen for a long time. Therefore, I don't know when these transactions were made, I just now know the amount that I supposedly owe. The statement I receive will just show an amount owed.

I initially wrote that I don't recognize the debt, but never specified that I didn't recognize taking out the card. Therefore, I assume I can still dispute that I took out the card initially and request for the true copy of the agreement.

I know that if this is not provided first in 14, then a month then the debt isn't supposedly valid.

By looking at the advice bureau I also understand that I can dispute if insurance terms were not made clear. There was insurance on the card since I received a PPI payment of approximately £300, which can be returned eventually.

I assume I can still claim that they need to send a true copy of the agreement, under section 78 of the CCA, or the debt is not valid.

If they send a copy of this agreement I can then focus on the fact that I do not owe the amount they say I owe.

I have only contacted Ombudsman today so they have yet to reply.

McKneff

You dont have any choice than to pay it. You have already acknowledged that you owe it when you made an arrangement to pay it.

You maybe didnt spend that amount of money but you have allowed someone else to use the card and not monitored the amount of money being spent on it.

What you owe could maybe only 2 or 3 months rent let alone other household bills

Have you had any contact from your parents about any of this.

bengal-stripe

McKneff wrote: »

Have you had any contact from your parents about any of this.

Apparently the father is dead.

robert4123 wrote: »

It was used by my late father to pay rent, and since I lived with my parents it was easy to gain access to my card.

Alice_Walker

You're avoiding key questions:

Do you acknowledge that you took out the card?

How long has it taken you to dispute this debt, and over what period was it accrued?

Even if Barclaycard cannot produce your own agreement, they will certainly be able to produce a reconstituted agreement, which is adequate for this purpose. Irrespective, if you did take out the card you're going to look rather foolish denying the fact.

robert4123

Hi McKneff and thanks for your reply.

Yes, my father is deceased. I know that he posed as me during phone calls to my bank, whilst I was living with my parents, and he was the one to put in place the agreement initially.

The photocopy of the agreement they've sent has a limit of just little over £1000. Where does £4000 come from?

I don't have the bank card, it has been destroyed some time ago.

Also, the fact that the agreement was in place should not constitute me acknowledging the debt.

This seems incorrect because I have a similar experience with Capital One, where a debt was in place, it was disputed, and I have not heard from them for 4 years since. There was an agreement with them too, about £20 a month, but it was disputed asking for the original agreement, which they did not provide.

The Barclaycard debt was never disputed previously. This is the first time I sent a letter claiming it is not my debt. However, in this instance they have provided what is a photocopy of the original agreement.

I assume this is not enough legally, yet the letter has led me to believe it is (i.e. We do not consider the debt to be in dispute).

robert4123

Alice_Walker wrote: »

You're avoiding key questions:

Do you acknowledge that you took out the card?

How long has it taken you to dispute this debt, and over what period was it accrued?

Even if Barclaycard cannot produce your own agreement, they will certainly be able to produce a reconstituted agreement, which is adequate for this purpose. Irrespective, if you did take out the card you're going to look rather foolish denying the fact.

Hi Alice,

I don't acknowledge that I took out the card.

However, should it be proved otherwise, I will not acknowledge raising the credit limit (in the agreement it is shown as £1710) nor spending the £4000 I supposedly owe.

This account exists since 1997, and the photocopy agreement claims I opened it when I was 19 years old.

Alice_Walker

robert4123 wrote: »

Hi Alice,

I don't acknowledge that I took out the card.

However, should it be proved otherwise, I will not acknowledge raising the credit limit (in the agreement it is shown as £1710) nor spending the £4000 I supposedly owe.

This account exists since 1997, and the photocopy agreement claims I opened it when I was 19 years old.

If you do not acknowledge taking out the card, why did you not query it when you received statements? Going back to 1997 you would have received paper statements. Why have you ever paid towards a debt that you claim was not yours?

I have never spent this kind of money on this card. It was used by my late father to pay rent, and since I lived with my parents it was easy to gain access to my card.

Four posts in and you are contradicting yourself - in your first you acknowledge that you had spent on the card, indeed you refer to it as "my card".

My advice - sort out the gaping holes in your story.