Help with a specific debt and DCA

uiop

Hi, when I was in my late teens and early 20's I was rather foolish with credit cards and debt in general with the end result being a mountain of debt which I could not afford to repay. Eventually I came to terms with the fact I had made a mistake and began prioritising debt repayments and in the past couple of years have managed to pay back many thousands of pounds but there is still a long way to go. Although I have been paying back as much as I can and managing this on my own it is becoming clear to me that i need external help and so will be posting more info on my overall situation soon as well as contacting a debt councelling company. Before that there is however a more pressing issue...

One of the debts I have was originally a credit card and there is currently £2800 outstading. When I was unable to make payments the account was closed and passed through various collection companies eventually ending up at the current DCA i am dealing with. When they wrote to me saying they would be taking legal action I called them in the hope that I could arrange a payment plan. The agreement was an initial payment of over 400 (within a short period of time) and then 100 a month from then on. At the time the initial payment was quite a lot to get but I got there, some from a little money i had set asside and the rest through selling items and for the first two months i met the 100 payments ok. On the third month i was struggling and called them to say i would send 50 initially and then 50 later (which i did) and they didnt seem to have a problem with this. So earlier in the week i got a call from one of their staff saying that i had broken the agreement and that the account would now have to be paid in full. When i queried this and said that this months payment was outstanding (set to be paid next week) and that the split payment last month was something they had agreed to i was told it would be investigated and I would be called back. At 4.50pm that day there was no call so i called them and was told that as I had broken the agreement the account had been closed and passed to their litigation department. When i explained I had called and agreed this, and that I would never have split the payment had i known there would be a problem i was told it was "unfortunate" and that my past history was taken into account as well as this problem at which point they decided to close the account.

Anyway, i was now expecting a set of court papers to arrive but this morning i get a letter from the DCA saying that another company will be calling if I dont pay within 72 hours.

The main point of this post is to clarify some questions I have after the reading I was doing today.

1) Initially I thought that when the court papers arrived I would be given the option to offer a payment plan (which i would say £100). Is this likely to be the case if it gets that far? (The DCA indicated to me that the ruling would go against me and it was likely that bailiffs etc would be sent out to claim goods to the value of the account)

2) If i understand correctly, person who is sent to my house will not be able to enter?

3) Will the home visit person be able to offer me a payment plan similar to the original arrangement?

4) I plan to call them on Monday and make an offer of £100 a month again, is there any other course of action that you guys can recommend? I do want to pay this debt back (as is the case with all of the others I have) so advice is appreciated. If it helps with any answers, i live in Scotland.

dancingfairy

I'm afraid I don't know the answers to your questions but well done for wanting to pay it all back. Hope someone with the answers comes along and hugs in the meantime.

dancingfairy

P.s when you get some help with your debt repayments -find a company who will help you for free- not sure which organisations opperate in Scotland but don't go for one that will charge you loads of money and not necessarily help you the most.

Why don't you post an SOA on here - see the sticky for details and we'll see what we think of your situation- maybe someone will have some experience which will help you - and it's free:)

GeorgeUK

Did this debt have a CCJ? (or Decree)

If not then please read the follwoing:
Template: http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?p=11636295#post11636295
Details: http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=578486

Also please only contact one of the free debt charities if thinking of sorting out a DMP - not a fee paying one.

uiop

Thanks for the quick responses.

To my knowledge there is no decree/CCJ on the debt, that is what they were threatening as the next step until this letter about a home visit arrived today. I shall have a look at your links.

As for advice on the overall situation, i absolutely intend to seek the free advice and also to post the full situation here for help. Thanks all.

EDIT: So it looks like the first thing i do is send of the CCA letter, do i send that to the DCA or to the company that they plan to send round? (It seems they are actually the same overall company from a bit of googling). This has now become priority 1 for when i get paid next week (sad but true that i have zero spare cash for recorded delivery etc til then)

If anyone has further advice on this situation it is appreciated.

Runnybabbit

Hi, from what i can gather reading through your thread, as there is no CCJ or anything issued by a Court of Law, then I am under the impression that a debt collector is NOT allowed to enter your property unless of course YOU INVITE them over the threshold. If this is wrong, since you reside in Scotland, then maybe someone with more knowledge can point you in the right direction. I wish you lots of luck and hopefully you can get this sorted.

chillysnowman

Hello,
I would advise you to phone National Debtline on 0808 8084000, I've phoned them
for advice when a creditor took us to court and they are really good and know their stuff about ccj's. They'll even send you a load of information in the post.

Hope this helps!

GeorgeUK

If you have not had any court papers let alone been to court, then the bailiffs are not involved yet. If someone does come knocking then as Babbit says, it will be a debt collector. They don't have any special rights or powers that the paperboy doesn't have. If you want them to leave you just need to say so - if they don't then they are trespassing and you should contact the police.

It is advised not to phone the DCA's as they will contantly be harrassing you once they get your number - and NEVER send anything with your signature.
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?p=11419485#post11419485

It may be possible to offer them a reduced amount as "full and final" settlement - possibly 30%-50% of what's owed.

First thing i would do though is send the CCA request with £1 postal order by recorded delivery. They will have 12(+2) working days to respond after which the debt is unenforcable (outside of court) and no payments need be made towards the debt.

setmefree

Give them this one, never sign anything always print your name, use a postal order and always sent either record or special delivery for proof of postage ..and never phone them

I DO NOT ACKNOWLEDGE ANY DEBT TO YOUR COMPANY

Request for information under the Consumer Credit Act 1974

To Whom it may concern,

Ref Number
As per sections 77-79 of the above act, I hereby request a True Copy of the Original Executed Agreement for the above account number.

It is my understanding that:-

* By law, you must comply with this request within 12 working days of having received it. I am sending this letter recorded Delivery.
* The statutory fee of £1 is required to be paid for this information, and I have enclosed a £1 Postal Order.
* In responding to my request to supply a True Copy of the Original Executed Agreement, you must also provide any and all documents referred to in it. Where this may include Terms and Conditions as varied, I hereby specifically request a True Copy of all the inception Terms and Conditions which form the original agreement, and all variations to them since. I support this request with County Court Pre-Action Protocol 4.6 ( c ) .
* Should you fail to comply with this request in any part, or exceed the prescribed time allowed to respond, you shall be in default of this act and legal request.
* Whilst you are in default, and until such time as you fully comply, -you may not pursue, enforce or increase any alleged indebtedness, nor disclose any information regarding me to any third party what-so-ever.
* If you fail to fully comply with this act and request for 12 working days plus one calendar month, you will have committed an offence under the act.

If you are unable to supply a True Copy of the Original Executed Agreement and all documents therein (and specifically the inception Terms and Conditions), I would be grateful if you would confirm this in your response within the 12 working days allowed.


Yours faithfully

uiop

Thanks all.

uiop

Hi all, i am just sorting out the above letter to send off tomorrow via recorded delivery. I have two final questions.

1) It says above not to sign anything, should i just type my name on the PC or should i use block capitals in ink on the letter? (maybe it doesnt matter)
2) For the reference number, should i use the original credit card number or should I use the new DCA reference?