Changes to Bankruptcy and DRO limits from 1st October 2015 https://www.gov.uk/government/news/improved-help-for-people-struggling-with-problem-debt

All, This may help some folks if this is actually the company in question's process but I wanted to check first if it was above board or not. The scenario is 2 defaults from the same creditor, which were taken over by a 3rd party, however the earlier defaults were left on file and new ones added. 2 defaults for the same account. This has been sorted but it showed some quite interesting discrepancies. The accounts had the same start start date but different default dates and amounts. I put this to the original creditor and received the following response, with account numbers removed to protect the innocent: The MMF reported default gave default dates of 2 weeks after the NoD was issued and the balances reflected those on the default notices. Credit file reports 3 missed payments then account into default, which is interesting given that one account went into default status on 2nd September, showing 3 monthly payments missed, having been opened on 5th July, less than 2 months previously. I have a suspicion that this reporting process is a big no-no. I also have a suspicion that they register a default with the CRAs promptly for the amount on the default notice then change the details on said default when they sell it on. The technical guidance the ICO supply regarding report of defaults seems to bear this out. It's also fairly interesting to note that between 2nd September and 30th January isn't 180 days. It looks like this creditor plays extremely fast and loose with the reports they provide to CRAs. The 'reporting procedure' I've been given also appears to at very least not be followed. I have presented this to the main CRA, they previously asked this creditor if the data was correct which they have, of course, confirmed. I have supplied the additional information to them and suggested they should perhaps take proactive action given the creditor has told me that they, as a matter of procedure, don't follow proper process. I would welcome the thoughts of those more knowledgeable.

Hi, I took out a home improvement loan with Barclays Partner Finance for £1000 in the UK, and the home improvement company caused £12000 of damage to my property and neighbour's properties. I filed a section 75 claim as well as a complaint to Zenith Home Improvements. Zenith did promise to rectify the problems, but have failed to deliver on those promises. Barclays seem to think that they are exempt from section 75, and have sent a DCA after me. In the middle of the dispute I emmigrated to Switzerland. I see that the Lugano convention states that Barclays are obliged to use the Swiss courts if they wish to enforce their alleged debt. However, I would like to know if I sue them and Zenith jointly for the damages, do I have to file in a Swiss court or UK court? TIA Banjo

Hi everyone, It's been a while since I last posted here, mum's been v ill and I haven't been able to participate in forums like I used to! I am hoping someone can help me. I had some debt written off in 2011 due to severe ill health (before write off I was on debt management plan). One of my creditors was a credit union with whom I had a loan (under £1000). I've been trying to get my finances sorted and when I looked through my paperwork, I didn't have any default notice from them, but they registered a default in 2011. I contacted the accounts department and asked if they could send me over a copy of the default notice and received the following reply: "Your loan was originally defaulted on 18/08/2011 due to your DMP with CCCS, it was defaulted as the payment we were receiving from them was only a token payment and not something that would be accepted in normal circumstances. In this circumstance, a creditor does not have to provide written notice that they will be filing a default, therefore we did not issue one to you." This doesn't really seem right to me, surely they have to issue a default notice regardless? Can anyone with a bit more knowledge than me tell me if what the creditor is saying is true? Thanks so much for your time. Lou

Hi, we are currently being pursued for a debt by the above three (which I understand are all the same company). The original agreement for this was in 2003, although payments were made to them through a DMC and I think the last of this would have been in 2008. The debt stayed on the credit file and we think it may have been resigned in or around 2007. However at our request as Equifax have removed this debt from the credit file. Can these people apply for a CCJ or not? does a debt become statute barred six years after the original agreement or six years after the last payment was made to the account? I plan to send a CCA letter to them but if they are able to provide a copy of the agreement would the debt be statute barred anyway if the agreement is dated 2003? I should point out the the original loan was for 800.00 and the debt they are trying to recover is over £2000.00. thanks Roadhog1

Hi fellow Caggers I'm not sure if others on here have any thoughts into this, but I'm hoping to get some help to clarify the situation on something i have come across recently, having read this as part of the lending code. 232. Customers should be advised BEFORE their debt is passed or sold to a third party by a subscriber. The intended outcome of this provision is that a customer SHOULD NOT receive any contact from the party to whom the debt has been passed or sold without having received prior notification from the subscriber of the transfer. what if the OC (subscriber) has NOT given prior notification to the debtor of the sale of the debt to a third party? if a customer received a letter from a DCA stating 'i am now the owner of this debt' and in the same envelope was a supposed NOA from an OC, would this count as the OC having met 232? thanks Thanks

The new bailiff regulations came into effect on 6th April and bailiff fees are strictly controlled and comprise of a Compliance Fee of £75 which is charged when the debt is passed by the creditor. If payment is not made or a payment agreement entered into during the ‘compliance stage’ a bailiff may attend the debtors premises and an Enforcement Fee of £235 is chargeable. Significantly, the new regulations provide that from any payment made (whether to the bailiff, the magistrate court or the local authority) the Compliance Fee of £75 is deducted first with the balance being split on a ‘pro rata’ basis between the debt to the creditor and bailiff fees. This novel approach means that unless the amount due (including bailiff fees) is paid in full, bailiff enforcement may continue and it is this point alone that has caused extreme difficulty to some ‘debt avoidance’ websites with associations to the Freeman on the Land (FmoTL) movement and 9 months after the regulations came into effect it is astonishing that debtors are continuing to be advised by such websites to avoid paying bailiff fees by paying the amount of the Liability Order or court fine only (minus bailiff fees). Despite the regulations clearly outlining how payments are to be calculated, in May/June an individual made numerous Freedom of Information requests to Local Authorities seeking clarification as to how they deal with direct payments made to them after accounts have been passed to bailiffs. Since that time many more FOI requests have been made on the same subject and the up to date position is that approx a quarter of all local authorities have received requests on the same subject. What has been the outcome of these Freedom of Information request? Typically, in the very early stages (May and June) most responses made clear that the local authorities had very little idea as to how the new regulations would work in practice but since August/September the vast majority of responses confirm that they apportion the payment as outlined in the legislation and that they advise the bailiff company accordingly (or credit the bailiff company) with the payment. PS: It is likely that there are far more FOI requests than outlined here. I have only referred to those that are available to view publicly on the FOI website: What do They Know.

Hi All. .Hope this is in the right forum but need some advice on a HP Agreement on a written off car. Got HP on a car back in June, car written off two weeks later insurance refusing to pay out ( still in dispute ) and now keep getting calls from Advantage Finance who want updates regarding the insurance. I explained it is still ongoing and one of their operators today told me as the car is written off/scrapped unless I gve then an update within two weeks they may consider going to court for a CCJ ..but obviously want to work with me on this. I am still paying their monthy payment by Direct Debit no defaults etc I have about two years left to run and £3000 left to pay. Now i have been on these forums long enough to know what hot air and threats these muppets are like but in terms of the law can they take me to court for breach of contract as they state as part of the terms I should have been insured. On a sideline regarding the insurance I took it out on the morning before leaving for work then had accident an hour later, insurance say policy started on that date but not that time as policy had not gone into force then , so my documents state that day but show a time of about 2 hrs later hence my dispute. .Where do I stand regarding the HP agreement ?

Hi All Several years ago I got into debt. With the help of the CAB I went into agreements with my creditors.after ashort period of times I was able to pay off my debt. All my credits were contacted and asked for a settlement figure. I then paid off the debt. This was 4 years ago. Recently one of the creditors, American Express through a collection agency is now asking for th rest of the balance, despite them agreeing to a settlememt figure. A collection company has started calling my new employer. I have refused to answer there first question confirming my date of birth and told them to send ke a letter, to which I have recieved nothing. can a creditor come after the balance difference 4 years later after a settlement fee was paid? I have kept all paper work and agreements. And how would they get my new employers phone number? It seems the calls come from India. Thank you for any help

Hi all, I was hoping some of you could possibly help me please. I received a CCJ claim form from a very old debt (2004) that I am 99.99999% sure is SB. The purchaser of this debt has been writing on and off now for almost 6 years. I have never called or written to them in all that time. They purchased this debt coming up to maybe 6 years ago now and the account was well into default by that time, with no payments being made for well over a year. So by my reckoning there has been no payment or acknowledgement of the debt for almost 7 years. I have done the acknowledge claim thing online and have ticked the box to instruct that I intend to defend the claim in full. By my maths and limited knowledge I have issue date + 5 days (serviced), then by acknowledging the claim I now have 14 days to get my defence in: does that seem correct? I intend to defend on the basis that the debt is statute barred (no payment or acknowledgement within 6 years), is that the right course of action? Also I doubt very much that they have the CCA from 2004 either. Now should I defend on the SB basis alone or throw in the CCA issue to? Now if they continue with the claim to court, will I have to attend the hearing? Also will the claimant have to prove to the court that they have verifiable evidence of either payment or acknowledgement? Can I demand that they provide this proof? I ask this because I have read that these people sometimes make so called 'phantom' payments to try and get away with making claims on SB debts. Sorry for all the questions and ramblings, I just hope one of you kind people can help me. Kind regards Me x

Hi, I have CCA'd AMEX re a very old card (had been paying token payments of £1 for over 4 years but can't really afford to pay all token payments as on IB so I stopped a few months ago) and I thought that I should CCA all of the CC's to buy myself some time. It was a formal request with £1 PO. Today I received a response, AMEX have returned the fee, and provided a copy of the app form, a bad and barely legible one, with a set of terms of when the card was started in 1999 (unsure if they are a true copy). They have referred me to look back at previous statements for balances! I have been paying RMA for 4 years and not once have I recieved any documentation on the balance etc, I have only ever recieved about 4 emails requesting a new I&e form (ignored each time). My question here, is that as they do not reference any compliance with s78 etc, it appears that this is not a response under the formal request for a copy of the agreement etc. I think they have not responded to the formal request as they should have done, and have the returned the fee so that they 'get away' without responding properly? Should I sent the CCA request has not been fulfilled template letter, and should I resend the payment back to them - just to be sure? I thought they had to provide a statement of account, which in my interpretation, is a balance on the account (balance recieved for other CCA requests). Any advice will be much appreciated as I have not recieved such a minimal response to a CCA yet, and I have sent over 15 in the past few years (for myself and others). Thanks me_too

Normally I wouldnt ask this sort of question but because of the way Lowell do Business and actually buy and own the debts, I think its appropriate. When paying off my Cap One Credit Card... Do I pay Lowell or Cap One? It appears Cap One no longer have the account.

Hi My parents ran into some financial difficulty a number of years ago with Lloyds TSB. Lloyds closed the accounts and my parents reached an agreement with them to pay a monthly amount on the debt. In 2012, Lloyds sold the debt to Cabot Financial. My parents continued paying the agreed monthly sum and have never missed a payment. Cabot have now written to them saying: "We can confirm that we hold three Lloyds TSB accounts in your names. The accounts were grouped as one consolidated loan, when the accounts were originally with Lloyds TSB. The payment that you were making was being split pro rata across these accounts. However, now that Cabot Financial owns these accounts, they have been separated and we now require a repayment arrangement for each account." My (terminally ill) parents don't want to deal with this at all - they've handed it to me and just want to be left alone. I've not spoken to Cabot yet but wanted some advice before I do - I guess the key question is can they change the terms of the original agreement for this reason? TIA

Can someone be kind enough to point me in the right direction. I'm after a template for a response to a creditor after an SD has been served, many thanks

I got a letter today from a Student Loans company demanding a little under £5,000. (This isn't the normal Student Loans Company but a company that buys Student Loans.) I have 3 pre 1998 Student Loans (old-style loans). After I left Uni I deferred for a year or two but then I got ill (mental health issues) and even though I wasn't earning anything/enough to pay back the loans I stopped deferring them. I got letters for a while which I ignored and after a while I even stopped opening letters that looked like bills/debt letters etc. After a while the letters stopped coming and I haven't heard anything about student loans for years and years. (Although not totally better I am recovering slowly and do now open my post!) As I haven't ever paid this debt and haven't acknowledged it for 6+ years I was going to use the Limitations Act to say they were Statute Barred. However I was searching a pile of old unopened post today to try and find more details about my student loans as the reference number on the letter is not a student loan number. I did eventually find some student loan paperwork and the 3 loan numbers I have are all different to the referance number on the letter, but the amount seems about right if you added them altogether and added some costs on. while doing this I came across a CCJ for my student loans that was decided in their favour by default as I didn't respond to the claim. This CCJ is dated 2001. I did not know I had this CCJ until today. The amount on the CCJ is about £500 less than what they are now asking for. They have not enforced this CCJ. I have never had bailiffs come round. I have only lived here and at my parents house since leaving Uni, so it's not like they couldn't find me. Now I'm not sure what to do. I can't use the statute barred route because of the CCJ. (Kind of wish I'd never found the CCJ letter - the CCJ does not appear on my credit report, so if I hadn't found the letter I wouldn't have known about it). However from reading forums online/calling helplines I have discovered that CCJ's that are over 6 years old cannot be enforced unless they go back to court again. The general consensus seems to be that courts rarely let them renew the CCJ as they should have enforced it sooner. Some forums advise asking for a copy of the original CCJ, then if they cannot provide this, they say you can the go down the Statute Barred/Limitations act route as when you do this the creditor has to prove that there's been a CCJ & been payment/acknowledgement, and as they can't do that the debt then cannot be enforced. If this is true please could someone talk me through how to do it? Doesn't asking for an original CCJ document prove that you know there was a CCJ destroying the whole statute barred argument? Or can I just request all documentation - would the CCJ be included in this? Other places advise that I should just write saying I do not acknowledge the debt and accept no liability for it and therefore won't be paying it, then wait and see what happens. Other advice was just wait till the bailiffs come, don't let them in (advisor said they have no right to come in), and then apply to court to vary the CCJ to an amount that I can afford. (They said I shouldn't do this yet, as I might end up paying money I don't have to. This is because when they apply to renew the CCJ they might be turned down). How can I tell if they have been back to court to get the CCJ renewed? Are they allowed to chase me now if they haven't already got the CCJ renewed? Would I be told if they were planning to go to court to renew the CCJ, in which case could I defend myself from it? Sorry it's such a long post, but I think that explains everything. Hope it all makes sense. I'm really confused and very stressed about this. Please can someone help me with this and advise what I should do and if possible point me in the direction of sample letters? Thank you very much

I recently used the services of an Accountant overseas in another EU Member State. During out initial free consultation they gave a quote for work, but then did not do what they were quoting for saying they could not go any further, So I was surprised to see an invoice in the post for work carried out which was the same value of what was quoted for even though, I am surprised they wanted to charge as that was not the agreement, I just think they could not be bothered. I am going to write an email contesting the invoice amount and time spent. If I decide to ignore the payment or refuse to pay, substantiating my reasons. What is the likely hood that they will chase the debt, they are obviously overseas and the amount is under £400. Thanks

This has been variously reported as Capital One and/or Aqua. I looked at the numbers quoted (last 4 digits) and they do not match either, as far as I can see. Aqua has recently changed its office and computer, and have become rather chaotic. They just charged me interest - even though they had collected the previous balance in full by DD. They used to be handled by HBOS in Dunfermline, but no more. No doubt somebody will soon work out who BHAP0042 really is. Cheers Arthur

Hi all I hope you can clarify something for me which I remain a bitunsure of. My question is in relation to the treatment of accounts oncethey have been legally sold on to a third party (and a deed of assignment hasbeen produced). What I want to know is as follows: 1) Who’s responsibility is it to produce theoriginal default notice – surely its however currently owns the debt ratherthan the original creditor? If this is the case what legislation will back thisup for me? 2) How should the account now reflected on mycredit file? At this moment in time I have a default to the original creditor,but surely this should now be changed as they no longer own the debt? 3) Also if 2) above is correct how should this nowbe updated? Should it be marked as settled or removed entirely when the newowners put a default on my file? Surely if it is only marked as settled thenthis is an extreme disadvantage to me as to all intents and purposes I have twodefaults (albeit one marked as settled) for one account? Any guidance on the above would be gratefully received. Thanks

If you get a PPC "ticket" where they use ANPR cameras, surely they need to prove that you parked up for the time in question and then exceeded their limit. Maybe the car park was full when you first went in and it took you 20 minutes to find parking. I guess if it ever went to court, this would be another defence to make them look foolish.

Reading through Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 regarding parking, section 7 & 8 refer to a creditor. Can you be a creditor without a credit licence? Would a PPC have a credit licence?

Good morning, I would really appreciate some assistance if possible. I am currently in the process of selling a property. The land registry title contains three restrictions, two of which are in my name and one in my ex-partners name, with the property being in joint names. My conveyancer has written to all three creditors listed on the title requesting settlement figures. We are currently waiting for their responses. However, I have since found out that one particular creditor, namely, ‘Shoosmiths’ have since passed on my debt/details to ‘Eversheds’ for some reason. I only found this out yesterday after contacting Shoosmiths asking why things were taking so long. I passed this information onto my conveyancer, who is obviously waiting for an official response of sorts. Can anybody please tell me how this will impact on the sale proceedings? Will Eversheds need to apply to have their name put on the title before any further progress can be made or can they simply ride on the back of Shoosmiths? Many thanks, Borris

Hi there I am wondering if there is any way that I could get the original creditors for my debts to let me deal with them rather than DCAs? I have 3 catalogue debts which have all been either sold on or passed for collection (not sure which) to Commercial Credit Services, Moorcroft and Red Debt Collection. I would like to try and negotiate repayment, but I do not want to deal with the DCA's. Is it too late now?

Lowells have placed a default on partners credit file. We moved out of our house temporary (6mths) and in this time wifey applied for a very account which as far as i gather is part of shopdirect which freemans is a part of of which we have an account very good standing i.e 5k limit £1800 used and is a long standing account. Upon trying to get a loan to carry out further home improvements she got declined. so checked credit expert and low and behold there is 5 defaults red 8's no late payments etc... As you can see the default was for £29 From what we can remember of the situation was that when she applied and ordered everything went through fine until a phone call a few weeks later asking if she is the same person they have on their records(freemans account) at a different address, to which we confirmed we was and explained we was living temporary at this address. Out of the blue they seemed to shut the very account down as there is no credit agreement on credit expert or late payments etc... my wife tried to log in to pay the £29 but was unable to log in. We then received a default notice (plus 12 charge) on our freemans account in the account section, which we have now looked into and have realised it relates to the new very account as we haven't missed a payment on the freemans for over 2 years and has the very account number, we didn't notice this at the time and thought it was just an error. What would be best plan of action? the original amount was only £29 and rose to £137 as you can probably see we have agreed to pay it of in £20 monthly payments but hadnt realised they had placed a default on CR Was going to fire a arrange payment for Default removal before I go for CCA/Dispute/SAR?? Is this the procedure most would go for?

Hi First posting here and I hope that I may find the answers: I have several creditors and I have heard some rumblings from a friend who works for one that they would like to try a 3rd Part Debt Order (as I understand this is a one shot chance of clearing my bank account but they also have to have an association with my Bank but please correct me if I have been mis-informed). My query is .... I bank with the Coop Due to a break up of a relationship and the unknowing use of certain financial facilities by my ex I have debts with Santander, Capital One, Marbles, JD Williams, Barclaycard, Bank of Scotland and Provident Do any of these creditors have an association with the Coop Bank?? If not then can I rest easy until they obtain a CCJ ... I am currently paying via Payplan Thank you in advance for any help or information that you provide

We had a limited Company and have had to stop trading as landlady didn't renew lease after 13 years. all our income stopped and the Company owes money to the dutch flower supplier. i thought we were safe as we were a limited company but in their extremely extremely small print it states that any debt is personally guaranteed for the limited company. they want to reposses my house - i have 2 small children and my husband has had a kidney transplant - help!! we are seeking legal advice but interested to see if this small print would stand up in court. we were bot served with a statutory demand last night. they said they had to serve it to both of us even though i've never even spent one penny with this flower supplier. any advice very gratefully received....... we have known the guy for 20 years and the bailiffs just keep telling us that they will force the sale of our house.