F&F offers, DEALING WITH REPLIES

Definitely get rid of the fee charging debt management company. Pretty much half of what you pay every month goes to their pocket and not your debt. If you don't feel comfortable managing it for yourself then get a plan set up as soon as possible with the free providers (stepchange/payplan/CAP) - this in itself will help you as you will see your balances coming down quicker.

fallen2k8 wrote: »

Hello all,

I have received a reply from PRA after sending out my CCA request:

"I refer to your request for copy documentation regarding the above account.

Please find enclosed documentation received to date; we are awaiting further documents in order to complete your request. We have currently deemed this debt unenforceable which means we are not able to take court or further enforcement action against you to recover the outstanding balance.

Please be advised this does not mean that the debt has been written off, despite being unenforceable, we are still legally entitled to:

- Contact you and ask you to repay what you owe
- Pass your details onto a third party collection agency
- Continue to report your account with the credit reference bureaux

If we obtain this information in the future we will, of course, provide this to you immediately"

So basically the debt is unenforceable. Do I just stop paying them or now write a letter informing them that payments will cease as they cannot produce the correct documentation?

Any help is appreciated

The debt is 'currently unenforceable' as they haven't yet provided all required compliant documents. That does not mean it is permanently unenforceable. Don't make the mistake of thinking it is permanently unenforceable because they have not yet complied.

I would just stop paying and ignore them until they provide all required documentation and have it checked over by experts for compliance.

Edit: I meant to add that I completely ignored PRA for about a year. They kept writing and asking me to pay, and they gradually increased the discount offered to settle our debt. I ignored every letter and did not respond until eventually they got down to 10% of the balance to settle it, so I wrote back and accepted and paid. I could have ignored it because it was definitely unenforceable but I chose to pay as I just wanted it marked as satisfied on our credit reports.

fallen2k8 wrote: »

Hi,

thanks for the reply.

Are you sure that they actually have additional searching to do? Because I feel like its a scare tactic used by them to get me to keep paying/offer a settlement (basically keep me on my toes). I might be wrong though.

In a previous letter they acknowledged that they received my request for a credit agreement and even returned the £1 postal order 'as a gesture of goodwill'. They also wrote in addition to this:

"PRA cannot secure a County Court Judgment (CCJ) against you"

So what power do they now have?

I just want to ignore them confidently knowing that the debt is unenforceable.

EDIT: January2015 Did you get a similar letter to mine when you found out the debt was unenforceable?

Hi

Yes - I've been through the same processes as you. They sent me some bits, and then other bits. All the time they had not sent everything the debt was 'currently unenforceable' etc. etc. The can only send what the original creditor supplies them with and they are stuck until they have everything. In my case they did eventually send everything, including a photocopy of the original application slip signed by my husband (it was his account). They sent the original T&Cs and everything and I thought we were stuffed. However, I had it all checked out on the All About Debt website and I was advised it was definitely UE and they explained the reasons why to me.

You are completely safe to ignore them at this time as they have told you they have not complied with your CCA request and confirmed the debt is currently unenforceable. Just ignore it and don't stress over it. The ball is firmly in their court at the moment. I would not even acknowledge receipt of their letters. The reason for this is that the statute barred clock starts ticking. Yes that takes six years, but if it takes them that long to find compliant CCA documentation you then have another legal argument to counter with. I have had DCAs waiting on sending me compliant CCA stuff. They have eventually, but well over two years after asking for it. I ignored and did not pay until they provided it.

I seriously consider this like a game of strategy - and it's a case of who will fold first. Know your rights and stand your ground. The law is currently on your side and they know that.... but they hope that you don't!

fallen2k8 wrote: »

Hi,

Oh wow, so after 2 years they managed to find the correct documentation? But you also said that it was still definitely unenforceable, was there a reason for that?

Ideally, I would have loved to strike out the PRA debt completely from my remaining amount, but it seems it's not possible because the account is only temporarily unenforceable and they might come back months/years down the line. The last thing I want is to think I'm debt free, to then have PRA rain on my parade.

If they have admitted in previous correspondence that they can't get a CCJ on me then surely the debt is 100% unenforceable already, how else would they make me pay up?

Lastly, the original creditor of the PRA debt had given me the credit back in 2003 and defaulted in 2008, quite far back - how old was your one if you don't mind me asking?

Our MBNA debt was from 2002 if I remember correctly. We owed £12k and settled for approx £1.2k - but as stated before I could have completely ignored it and not paid anything. It was our choice to settle and get it marked as such on our credit files.

Although they found the documentation and it all looked enforceable when originally received, it was unenforceable as the tear off slip my hubby had signed stated "Before you sign the agreement you must read Condition 11 in the Terms and Conditions." The only thing he had to sign was a little slip. They never provided any other T&Cs before signing and so it was impossible that he could have even had the chance to read Condition 11. It was something to do with this - that was how it was explained to us anyway.

They cannot get a CCJ against you whilst they do not have documentation and they are admitting this. As I said before, that doesn't mean they won't eventually get the documentation, but even if they do it is highly likely it will not be enforceable anyway.

You need to just put this debt to one side and ignore it until such time as PRA make their next move - if they ever do.