Help with a default/cca

LilacPixie

I hope i have posted in the right place but i need some help regarding a default on my credit record.

Firstly I would like to say I am far from perfect we have a large amount of unsecured debt but we do meet all minimum payments on time without fail.

We/I joined this site after realising that we were spending far more than we earned and basically living beyond our means. I had attempted to switch cc to another 0% deal and was refused which triggered a huge LBM.

Sorry i'm waffling anyway on the advice of members here as well as posting our SOA I also requested copies of our credit reports.

When they arrived they were pretty much as expected except there was a default registered on my record in my maiden name but at our current address for £135 from a company called 'avon'.

I contacted the CRA to query and they basically said they would look in to it then responded saying 'avon' had confirmed all details were correct so nowt they could/would do and provided me with an address.

A little more advice from this site lead me to sending a CCA request to 'avon' with the usual 'I do not acknowledge this debt' letter being careful to not sign the letter.


I have received a response today and much to my surprise 'avon' is actually the cosmetic/perfume company sounds silly but i presumed it was some DCA.

Anyway i'm waffling again. their response is quite frankly nonsense. It is a copy of a 'credit agreement' made out to this address but in my maiden name dated roughly 8 months before this house was ours which we bought after we were married The signature is no where near mine either. ALso enclosed with the leter was a 'statement' of the alledged debt which shows it was an unpaid amount of £15 plus 4 £30 late payment charges and a payment slip for £135. The letter just says the look forward to receiving full payment of all amounts owed asap.

I am now struggling with the next step. Obviously £135 is not a massive amount of money and if this debt was mine and was a result of an oversite on my part i would quite happily pay it while cursing myself for being so stupid but this debt is not mine and mores the point it appears that 'avon' has manufactured a supposed 'credit agreement'

What should I do?? I obviously have the letters from solicitor/mortgage company etc confirming our entry date etc but to be honest I do not feel safe sending them such documents.

I contacted CAB today but they are short staffed and there is no appointment avaible until June, the lady was very nice a suggested I may want to contact the local police force which I did but they say that it is more likly to be a case of mistaken identity on behalf of the company concerned and not a criminal act and even if it was criminal then the complaint would have to come from the company the alledged crime was commited against and not myself who just appear to be an unfortunate 3rd party.

Does anyone have a good letter to send to 'avon' toonce again reiterate that the debt is not mine and I want it removed from my record??

Sorry for war and peace.

Miss_Poohs

Hope you get to the bottom of that - sounds very suss.

LilacPixie

Thanks Miss Poohs

It is very suss, my maiden name is not unique by any means but it hasn't been my name for 5 years now andit isn't the surname of the people we bought our home from either.

As i say £135isnot a huge amount but its the principle of it. If they had replied apologising for their error then I really wouldn't have given it a second thought but its the agreement thats annoying me. It is obviously something clubbed together by someone as I refuse to believe that someone with my first initial, my maiden surname and my DOB lived in my home before I did. Plus we have never received even so much as a circular in my maiden name here but from time to time we do get junk circulars for the previous owners.

sassybooboos

send them a copy of your solicitors completion date for when you moved in to the property. and maybe copy of marriage license to confirm when your name changed.

shinyhead

LP,
A VERY long time ago before my head became shiny I was, for a short while, an Avon rep. At no time do I remember signing any form of agreement and of course none of my customers did. I'm Going to take a look at the National Debtline site to see if there's a good letter available but I think you're quite within your rights to tell them to shove it.

Sorry, been on the ND site and no suitable letter available. What sassybooboos suggests sounds like a good idea though. Also suggest you make extra copies of these papers just in case. What you could put in your letter is is complete denial of the debt, point out their discrepancies and enclose copies of the papers as posted. You could finish off by demanding the default be removed and that you are prepared to defend this in court. See what their reaction is. Be a debt collector in reverse!

fermi

The main issue here seems to be getting rid of the default. If you can do that then you are fine.

The actual claim that the debt is owed is so ludicrous that if they attempted any legal action then a court would not only throw it out if it was challenged, they would be very annoyed with Avon into the bargain.

So you need to complain to Avon to get the default removed.

Before you do this it might be an idea to see if you can get a notice of correction placed on the default. That should stop automatic credit scoring, and should allow anyone searching your report to see that the entry is being disputed. Contact the Credit Reference Agencies to do this.

To dispute the default you first need to write to Avon with a formal complaint.

Address it to the "Data Controller" for Avon. This is the person(s) who are responsible under the Data Protection Act for ensuring that information placed on your credit reports is accurate and lawful.

Link: Data Protection Public Register entry for AVON COSMETICS LTD

Data Controller: AVON COSMETICS LTD
Address:
NUNN MILLS ROAD
NORTHAMPTON
NN1 5PA

State that if they do not correct the entry, then you will make a formal complaint to the Information Commissioner's office.

As it says below:

• Give your full name and address. It may also help to give any relevant account numbers or reference numbers to help them find your information.
• Explain what information you think is wrong and why.
• Provide any proof you have to show the lender why the information is wrong.
• Keep a copy of any letters you send.
• Give the lender a reasonable time to reply, say at least 28 days. This will enable it to investigate the problem.

Give them 28 days to correct the entry, and if they don't raise a formal complaint with the information commissioner.

See on how to complain: http://www.ico.gov.uk/upload/documents/library/data_protection/practical_application/credit_explained_leaflet_2005.pdf


To the creditor.

Q? I have my credit reference file but some of the information is wrong. What can I do?

If your query is about other credit information, you can write to the lender or the credit reference agency. If you write to the credit reference agency, it will normally need to contact the lender and ask it to investigate your complaint. You may therefore find it quicker to write directly to the lender yourself.

This will also save you having to write to each of the agencies that hold the information you think is wrong.

Writing to the lender

• Give your full name and address. It may also help to give any relevant account numbers or reference numbers to help them find your information.
• Explain what information you think is wrong and why.
• Provide any proof you have to show the lender why the information is wrong.
• Keep a copy of any letters you send.
• Give the lender a reasonable time to reply, say at least 28 days. This will enable it to investigate the problem.

If you do not get a response, you should send the lender a follow-up letter.

If, after writing to the lender or the credit reference agency, the information is still wrong or you do not get a response, you may wish to contact the Information Commissioner.

See pages 22-24 for who the Information Commissioner is and how to make a complaint.

To the Information Commissioner.

See Section 5 of the factsheet linked to earlier.

LilacPixie

sassybooboos wrote: »

send them a copy of your solicitors completion date for when you moved in to the property. and maybe copy of marriage license to confirm when your name changed.

This was my first thought as well sassy, but now seeing a possibly fabricated 'agreement' i'm starting to question the saftey of sending such documents.


Shiny I have bought some avon bits from a rep in my work before but it was always a cash on delivery type arrangment and the only thing i filled out was an order form.

LilacPixie

Thank you very much Fermi

fermi

LilacPixie wrote: »

Thank you very much Fermi

I'll be interested to hear how you get on.

As suggested, it might also be worth having a chat with National Debtline.

I've edited my post above slightly because you have already disputed with the CRAs and didn't get anywhere with them.

LilacPixie

Letter posted today to Avon.

I did contact NDL they were very helpful. The advice from them is along the same lines as from here. Write to avon once again stating that the alledged debt is not mine and request it be unlinked from any prior details that they may hold from me.

fermi

That's nice to hear.

You can have some confidence now that you are tackling this in the right way.