Thank You for the mega-prompt response JFB! I think I will take your advice (I know it's your 'opinion' etc and will not hold you responsible if it goes t i t s up!) but it seems like the most logical step. I want it over with, I hate dreading the post. At the end of the day....whether it goes to court or not, the debt still stands. I will, however, write disputing what they say about their obligations under the act and that the offer in no way acknowledges any agreement. Really Appreciate your time. xxx

Thanks JFB, On the point of 'debt avoidance'. My finances hit the skids in May and I just couldn't carry on paying what I was paying to these Creditors. At the time I wrote explaining and offered a reduced amount- They both refused and demanded I pay the the money I was falling behind with. I rang a debtline and they suggested I did the CCA request cos at the very least It'd buy me a bit of time and if they couldn't come up with the documents, they might then back-off from being quite so aggressive and accept my offer. It's funny how, now they know I know about the CCAct they send me a form to offer a reduced payment, whereas back in June, they wasn't prepared to accept a reduced payment. Half of me wants to fill in the form, get a payment schedule, the other half of me wants to force the issue. I know that's the wrong attitude to take but the b*ggers have had me worried sick. A question - If I fill in this form and make an offer but they refuse the offer can they still take it to court? Thanks Guys xxx

Hi Nail The Company is Studio (cards and gifts). I did everything you said in your first paragraph (CCA request asking for a true, signed copy, quoted the laws, sent the £1 etc). My instinct is to ignore it and see what happens, I smelt bulls**t the moment I read it. The letter felt like this to me: Dear Miss Googler We got your letter about paying this debt. We see that you made a CCA request and we breached this and we see that you know a bit about the CCAct, however, we know more than you do so we're gonna try confuse you. The laws and Acts you quoted you have misunderstood - we don't have to supply a signed true, copy - we only have to supply a sample CCA and we did that with your first order. Excuse Excuse Excuse The debt is yours and the debt is legally recoverable (they actually used this sentence!) So, fill in the form so we know all your personal details, tell us how much you can afford to pay and we'll decide if we can accept this. Stop being a pain in the a** and do as you're told. Yours filthily Studio I have already reported them to TS for breaching the time limit and TS acknowledged that to me last week, TS said "Thank You for bringing this to our attention, we will make sure we address the issue of Creditor's abligations under the CCAct at our next meeting with the company in question". I have two creditors on the go at the minute and BOTH failed to send me the CCA. The other creditor (two weeks after the time limit) sent me the 'sample' CCA (just an unsigned photocopy of their Agreement), however, I'm further along the line with the other creditor, and dealing with the DCA now. The DCA in that case told me last week they're taking me to court in 7 days if full payment isn't made (sorry, I digress). So, the consensus is to ignore? Thanks for the guidance xxx

Morning All, Did a CCA request on a creditor back in July. They failed to acknowledge or send ANYTHING within the 12 working days plus 30 day time constraints despite a reminder, so I reported them to TS. Letter from them 2 weeks ago saying they were passing to DCA so I wrote saying they'd failed a CCA request stating that I'd enter into no further correspondance until their obligations under that CCA had been met. This morning I got this letter, basically saying they'd supplied a sample CCA (which they hadn't) and that was all they was obliged to do. The letter: Dear Mug Thank You for your letter dated 21st September and I have noted your comments and opinion on your liability to us for payment of the goods supplied to you. In regards to your statements on liability under the Consumer Credit Act 1974, please note that The Office of Fair Trading and Trading Standards have acknowledged that, as defined by the Section 78 of The CCA 1974, The supply of an exact copy of the Credit Agreement that would have been signed when the Account was opened and, if required, any relevant financial information relating to the account since its inception is sufficient to comply with requests to provide a copy of the credit agreement. A sample Credit Agreement has already been provided for this purpose and full financial statements are sent to you every 28 days. We would remind you that the original credit agreement was sent with your first order when the account was opened in August 2002. Our customers are asked to sign to return one copy to us and to keep their copy in a safe place should they decide to choose repayment by credit terms instead of making an immediate payment in full for the goods supplied. Your subsequent repayment decision demonstrates that the first option was your clear and obvious choice. ------------------------END OF LETTER QUOTE-------------------------- Now I'm Lay(wo)man on the in's n out's of the CCA, everything I know comes from advice from my learned friends on this these forums and this has stumped me. In this letter they also say they wanna come to an arrangement with me and if I am experiencing hardship to fill in the 'Financial statement' enclosed with my 'payment offer' and list all other creditors. What does this mean? Thanks peeps xxx

Hi all I have an ongoing promlem and I need some advice on the next step to take. I did a CCA request on the original creditor back in June, apart from the fact that they breached the CCA by not sending within the OFT's stated time constraints for which I reported them to TS, they also eventually sent me an unsigned copy of the act (I knew I hadn't signed one). Since then the original creditor has passed me on to a DCA who wrote to me threatening all sorts of action so I wrote to tell em that as the CCA was unsigned, the debt was unrecoverable (at this stage I have to say that I do intend to pay the debt, however my offers of weekly payments have been ignored-they want the whole lot-now). This morning I have received a solicitors letter informing me of notice to commence court action on behalf of their clients the DCA within 7 days. I have a couple of queries from the Guru's of this board who know so much more than I do: 1. Is the solicitors letter a 'frightener'? 2. Are they, knowing the CCA is unsigned, likely to start court action? 3. Any suggestions on my next step? I am dead scared, the solicitors letter has really shaken me and I fear a knock at the door. Any advice ever so greatly appreciated. Thanks x

Hi Leisha I did the 'Unfair Bank Charge thing' in June. My charges were no where near yours but still none the less unfair. I just asked my Bank to withdraw a charge of £30 as this had been levied against me for a 2pence overdraft for 2 days. Within three weeks they offered me £130, £30 for the charge and £100 to basically put the matter to bed so to speak. This I was more than happy with as I've never had more than two charges over six years. Like Mike said, write to your bank requesting your Bank records sending the £10 cheque, give them a period of time in which to comply. Tot up the charges then go to the Letter Template Library to find the letter you need and sit back n wait. Never loose faith, they will give in (eventually). I hope you get a good result cos I know how tough it is adjusting to life after a spilt. Good Luck!

Thanks for everyone's input-very much appreciated. To Andrew1-Thank You, will give that a go. I spent the whole of yesterday swotting up on the Consumer Credit Act as well as reading some really useful threads in this forum on exactly this subject and I think I've pretty much got it now. I have reported them to TS and I got a letter from TS y/day saying that they're investigating the breach. The fact is they breached by sending the CCA 10 days after the 12 + 30 days and to top it nicely they sent a photocopied, unsigned agreement. They've had me pooing my knickers for four months with their threats n phone calls, NOW I'm gonna play with em! Thank You all. ETA: Can I just add a big thanks to StoneLaughter. Even tho she/he hasn't posted here it was a direct result of reading her posts that I eventually got my tiny brain around the Act. I found her/his posts extremely helpful/enlightening! and would advise anyone with this problem to take a look at StoneLaughter's posts.

Hi Elsinore, Thanks for replying. I wasn't sure how much info to put in, being my first post etc. The two lenders are both Home Catalogue companies- Studio and Next-I mentioned only one agreement, this refers to Next, they sent me the unsigned CCA copy. They refused to accept my offer but continue to write to me and phone twice a day (I don't answer). They are saying unless I pay the amount I am behind (which amounts to £600) they will pass me to DCA in the next few days and will no longer trade with me (boo hoo!!). Can I state that I have no intention of NOT paying but I made an offer and they refused so the National Debtline advisor told me to ask for the CCA (if anything just to buy me time). I was pretty sure I hadn't signed one and just wanted to strengthen my hand so to speak and they have confirmed to me that I was right by sending an unsigned copy. The other lender-Studio- is pretty much the same situation, refused my offer so I asked for my CCA, I am awaiting the CCA now. So, really what I want to know is; Having not signed a CCA, does this afford me any rights? What happens when they pass me to a DCA, do the same rights apply? What step should I take now? :? Once again Thank You. P.S. As I said before I have no intention of not paying, however, my main worry/concern/annoyance is that month by month they have been charginging interest and late payments fee's which total about £50 a month. I requested that they freeze this but to no avail.

Hi all. Four months ago my financial situation took a hit and as a result I had to revise all my outgoings. I called National Debtline and they gave me (excellent) advice. They advised me to write to two of my creditors and explain my financial situation and make an offer and ask them to reduce or freeze interest. I did this. They both refused my offer and refused to freeze interest but kept on charging late payment fee's. I called National Debtline again and they advised me to write to both creditors requesting a signed copy of my original Consumer Credit Agreement as ststed under the Consumer Credit Act. I sent this request on 27th June, they cashed the £1 on 4th July. On Saturday(19th August) after writing again reminding them of their obligation (ie 12 days/one month) they sent it. However, it is unsigned by me (I know I didn't sign one) and is just a copy of their agreement. Please can anyone advise where I stand or what my next step should be? ANY help is so Appreciated. Thank You.