Barclaycard, Wescot & some other debt collector!

nickine

I closed my Barclaycard account in 2002 after racking up a £1400 bill (give a card to an 18 year old!!). Barclaycard passed on my bill to Wescot who I came to an arrangement with to pay a token fee of £10 per month on the agreement that I would pay NO INTEREST on the debt.

This has been merrily ticking over and when my salary increased I increased payments to £20pm.

In December 06 I received a letter offering a reduced balance if I settled but I was shocked to see that I had a balance which was substantially higher than that which I had calculated.

When I called to ask for an explanation they explained that of the £20, £7 was being swallowed by interest!!!

She advised to put my concerns into writing to the Barclaycard team at Wescot which I did immediately.

I received an automated response on 15 Jan 07 stating that no payments would be taken until resolved.

In may 07 I wrote again as I had still received no resolution and payments had still been collected. I advised that I had instructed my bank to stop any further payments.

So 8 months have passed. A letter arrived from a new company this morning stating that I owe almost double what I had originally calculated I owed. They knew nothing of Wescot and the arrangement with them as the debt had been referred to them from Barclaycard in Jan 08. Wescot refused to discuss anything with me, referring me to Barclaycard. They wouldn't even explain why they didn't respond to my letters.

Problem is, I have none of my old barclaycard statements or the original agreement.

So now I'm sitting here pulling my hair out, heavily pregnant and about to go on SMP. There is no way I am going to be able to afford to settle and I refuse to pay off a debt which is made up of interest which should not have been added.
Sorry for the long post but if anyone has any advice at all I would really appreciate it!!

hooby_groovy

Do you know if Westcott are acting on behalf of Barclaycard, or if Barclaycard have sold the debt to Westcott?

nickine

to be honest I'm not sure. the very unhelpful bloke from Wescot who I spoke to refused to give anything away and just said that it had been "passed back" to barclaycard.

stapeley

OKay , we can sort this out !. BARCLAYCARD get DCA to collect bad debts .If that DCA fail to collect payments ,BC often recall the account , then simply pass it another DCA . The thing to now do is concentrate on the new DCA , forget BC for now . They will not deal with you now its gone to a DCA . Keep all leters recieved and keep copies of letters sent . DO NOT SIGN ANYTHING . DO NOT RING THEM ! NEVER GIVE THEM YOUR NUMBER . AND MOST IMPORTANT NEVER EVER PAY BY DEBIT CARD .

The next thing is to send a CCA and Notice of assignment request ! This will put the account in dispute. Nothing can be done on the account until a copy of a signed credit AGREEMENT is produced. I will advise further after you have read my post LETS ALL ASK FOR OUR CCA . GOOD LUCK

nomoneynomoney

Hi nickine - it seems you don't know who you should be paying and you disagree with the amount they are requesting. I think you should ask for a copy of your consumer credit agreement. Have a look at the thread "lets all ask for our cca" which you will find on this forum.
Send the letter to the person who is asking for payment and see what they come up with.
You will find a copy of the letter on national debt line website. Write on the letter I do not acknowledge any debt with your company. You will need to include a postal order for £1 and send the letter special or recorded delivery. Do not sign your letter.
They are obliged to send you the information within a set time period -12 days plus 2 days for postage. After this time the alledged debt is in dispute and they can not contact you to pay it or add on any charges or interest.
Depending on whether they come up with the documents or not then you can decide what to do.
You will receive plenty of advice on this forum so please don't get upset and worried. Gather your information and then make your choices.
I'm not an expert on this so others may come along with some advice for you but I think sending for the CCA is a good 1st step

nomoneynomoney

Hi Stapeley
why never pay by debit card

nickine

I love a positive attitude.
So now I'm a bit more hopeful what is this cca? (sorry, shows how green I am to this)
Unfortunately I had already phoned them but luckily my phone died before I said anything incriminating but they do have my home number (I screen calls so it's no issue) I am worried that the letter they sent appears very DEMANDING!!
Can you give me what I need to hit them where it hurts?

stapeley

This can be sorted out so please do not stress out ! look after yourself and your bump ! These DCA can not do anything to you , and if it ever went to court , you will never be ordered to pay anything you can not afford . SO please post back with any questions

stapeley

There are cases where DCA have taken out a larger amount than agreed or even extra payments . I,M currantly in dispute for £12000, and none have come up with a signed copy of an ENFORCEABLE AGREEMENT .

G-G_4

stapeley wrote: »

OKay , we can sort this out !. BARCLAYCARD get DCA to collect bad debts .If that DCA fail to collect payments ,BC often recall the account , then simply pass it another DCA . The thing to now do is concentrate on the new DCA , forget BC for now . They will not deal with you now its gone to a DCA . Keep all leters recieved and keep copies of letters sent . DO NOT SIGN ANYTHING . DO NOT RING THEM ! NEVER GIVE THEM YOUR NUMBER . AND MOST IMPORTANT NEVER EVER PAY BY DEBIT CARD .

The next thing is to send a CCA and Notice of assignment request ! This will put the account in dispute. Nothing can be done on the account until a copy of a signed credit AGREEMENT is produced. I will advise further after you have read my post LETS ALL ASK FOR OUR CCA . GOOD LUCK

Do what he says! :T

stapeley

I know its a long thread but hour or so reading may save you THOUSANDS . GOOD LUCK