Mbna

[Worried6]

I have received a letter from MBNA insisting that I make a payment to my account otherwise they will insist that I disclose personal assets and income.

Could anyone tell me what this means?

I wrote to MBNA on 4th October and asked that they freeze interest and charges on the account and suggest a fixed payment schedule for me. I also asked that they stop telephoning me. I had no reply until now.

Even so I have received any number of telephone messages to my home and to my workplace but am wary of entering into any informal agreement with them.

This has happened after a DCA 'Aegis' had harrassed me for weeks.

 

Advice appreciated.

[42man]

Hi Worried and welcome to the CAG forums.....i'll move your thread to the Debt Collection forum as I am sure you will get some useful help and advice...

[dx100uk]

firstly i would register with the mbna online a/c site

then change all your phone nubers to 0's [using the correct format] that might stop all the calls.

 

then i would fire of a telephone harrassment letter from the templates section and send it registered or recorded delivery.

 

it might well be an idea to SAR them too, you must have lots of charges you can reclaim, that should put the A/c in dispute & stop them passing it around.

 

lastly, NEVER talk on the phone, request all comms via letter

 

good luck we are all with you.

 

dx

[Worried6]

Sorry to be late getting back - at meetings all morning.Thankyou for the advice. Last night there was another letter which arrived in a baby pink envelope and not showing the MBNA logo. It was an offer to help me get back on track! They are offering to discuss a reduced payment programme after I make a one-off debit card payment by 26th Nov. They mention the possibility of a reduced settlement on the account, and imply that some of the debt may be written off. This is of no consequence to me since I cannot afford to repay anything at the moment.

I am glad that I didn't start talking on the telephone and I will not in future. They have started now using my work number to try to speak to me so I will definately use the 'harrassment letter' template.

I have no intention of paying anything by debit card either.

As you say I have also years of charges with MBNA though I only have statements back to 2006 (after the fees reduced to £12). Should I send a SAR + a request for a CCA?

 

Best Regards

Worried

[maroondevo52]

Should I send a S.A.R - (Subject Access Request) + a request for a CCA?

 

If your thinking about re-claiming the charges, send the SAR .

 

Regards the CCA request.

 

A debt becomes unenforceable under the CCA if a creditor does not supply a true copy of the signed credit agreement within 12 working days of it being requested.

 

The debt remains unenforceable for as long as the creditor fails to produce the signed credit agreement – this means if they produce the agreement some months down the line, they are quite within their rights to enforce it. They do not need to take any further action to enforce the debt.

 

It's either one or the other, not both, it's looked on as false-enrichment when claiming back charges from an account with no CCA.

 

Regards.

 

Scott.

[Worried6]

That makes sense. I will send the SAR asap.

 

Thanks a lot

[Worried6]

Hi There,

 

I have just had a dose of the doubts that I sent off the SAR to the wrong address for MBNA. It is always difficult to pick up consistent postal addresses from letters received from these companies.

I intend starting a charges reclaim from Capital1, RBS and Tesco so I'd appreciate any advice to ensure my letters go to the correct place.

 

 

Worried6

[fedup74]

Hi worried:) Did you use the Stansfield House Chester address? I would always use the Head Office address which is normally found at the bottom of your correspondence.

[Worried6]

Thanks for getting back 'fedup74'

 

I used the PO Box 30 - Chester Business Park address taken from the top of the letter. Maybe to be safe I will resend the letter to the registered office as well.

Meanwhile I have received another letter from MBNA (interspersed with numerous calls to my mobile). This time they ask me for a payment of a small sum £139.46 by Debit Card to ensure that they can offer me a reduced payment programme and discuss a write off of a significant portion of the credit card balance! Obviously they ask me to ring immediately to discuss.

Am I right in thinking that the SAR should place the account in dispute and prevent further action being taken?

I am getting a bit bogged down in the advantages/disadvantages of sending a SAR vs CCA.

Sorry for the ramble. I am having a really bad day.

 

Regards

[42man]

I think you will find that these are redirected in the internal mail.....and no the SAR does not put the account in dispute, all you have done is made a request for information and they have to provide this in 40 days....the CCA request and failure to provide it within 12+2 working days should and if you state it so, put it into dispute....

[Worried6]

Hi All

 

I have just had another letter from MBNA - this time they threaten me with CCJ but also go on to say that if I contact them they will reduce the balance of the debt outstanding and possibly review some of the charges on the account so far. They request a debit card payment of £63.53. I wonder how they come up with these amounts? Last time it was ££139.46!

I sent a CCA and a Telephone Harrassment letter by recorded delivery on 11th December. It was registered as received on 15th December. This latest letter from them is dated 12th so did overlap.

Should I respond again to point out that the account is in dispute and refer to the CCA? They are definately adding charges to the account wholesale now.

Maybe this is a tactic of debt collection to ignore the letters you send and just keep at you to get a response.

They also threated to send a collection agent to my house- has this happened to anyone else? My husband is ill and doesn't know about these problems. I am worried sick that he will find out and suffer a relapse.

 

All advice and support appreciated.

Thank you in anticipation.

 

Pam

[fedup74]

Hi Worried they are talking cow poo! They want you to ring them so they can hassle you for money. They will not reduce your debt, they will not look into taking charges off your account they will just keep sending you letters asking you to ring them. A CCJ is a long way off and if they did take this route a judge will only order you to pay an affordable amount. My bet is the next letter you get will be to say they are selling the account off as bad debt. Jeez they are like programmed robots- they have a script to follow. Don't worry about someone coming to your house you have as much chance of seeing that baby pink elephant flying. If they do there is a letter you can show- they have NO RIGHT to call at your house without making an appt- you're not going to do that are you? Have you payed anything as they only received your letter on 15th they still have time to send it yet. Don't let them spoil your Christmas by worrying- it doesn't matter what you do or say, MBNA will continue to ride roughshod. So stop worrying please you will get lots of support here:)

[atwozee]

Hello there Worried6 – welcome to CAG – please try to remain calm – difficult under the circumstances but believe me it serves no purpose whatsoever other than to make you feel worse.

 

Okay – it’s highly unlikely that MBNA will send anyone out – this is a threat to scare you. I had one and nobody came out – there is a letter you can send to stop them sending a doorstep caller – I’ve put it at the end of the thread. You are probably worried about discussing this credit card account with your OH and that’s only natural – I was the same and tried to hide it – the best thing I ever did (after finding CAG of course) was to sit down with my OH and go through it all – that felt like a massive weight off my mind but it wasn’t easy – we all get embarrassed/stressed about our debt problems but once you realise you’re not alone you start to take a different view - not easy if your OH is ill I know.

 

I am assuming that this credit card is quite an old account – MBNA aren’t very good with agreements so let’s see what turns up as a result of your request. The calls might go on for a while and you have to keep writing to them and demand that they contact you in writing only – unfortunately when you stop making payments against any debt the creditor will try to get you to pay – this is part of the process and we all go through it.

 

Things to stay focussed on:

 

Is the agreement enforceable? – you won’t know this until the result of your s78 request shows up – when it does scan it in and post it up for advice.

 

Were you missold ppi – if you were then claim it back – regardless of whether the agreement is enforceable.

 

Most people come to CAG in a bit of a panic – once you’ve done some reading you realise it might not be the end of the world you thought it was. Just try not to expect a quick end to the situation because it can drag on.

 

Here’s the doorstep caller letter:

 

Dear xxxx

 

Account Ref xxxx

 

Please be advised that I will only communicate with you in writing. I have noted your repeated attempts to contact me by telephone over the past few weeks/months and these have been duly logged by time and date.

 

Furthermore, should it be your intention to arrange a “doorstep call”, please be advised that under OFT rules, you can only visit me at my home if you make an appointment and I have no wish to make an appointment with you.

 

There is only an implied license under English Common Law for people to be able to visit me on my property without express permission; the postman and people asking for directions etc (Armstrong v. Sheppard and Short Ltd [1959] 2 Q.B. per Lord Evershed M.R.). Therefore take note that I revoke license under Common Law for you, or your representatives to visit me at my property and if you do so, then you will be liable to damages for a tort of trespass and action will be taken, including but not limited to, police attendance.

 

Yours faithfully/sincerely,

[Worried6]

Hi Again

 

Thankyou both for your replies and moral support. I am panicking I suppose Christmas highlights the mess you've got into and though I have read a lot I have lost confidence. When my sensible head is on I know that refusing to pay something is bound to result in pressure but then I get another letter and I over react. Hopefully this will get better.

I have a similar letter writing issue going on with old friends 'AIC' and they have also been sent a CCA, ignored it and have written to me again threatening a doorstep visit. I'll send the template letter to them as well.

So thankyou for that.

One thing I have noticed re AIC - you write to head office in Glasgow and then you get letters back from Caversham, Reading!

The latest on is entitled 'Notification of Intened Visit'

I am going to talk with my oh soon about this - it is better in the long run but I've been a coward. Also he had a nervous breakdown about 1 year ago and is well on the mend. I need to tread carefully.

meanwhile thank you for helping me through this difficult time. This site is a godsend.

Be in touch I'm sure

 

Pam

[atwozee]

AIC – ha ha ha – bunch of idiots – I sent them packing a while ago – I actually spoke to one of their ‘collectors’ (even though you should never speak to them on the phone) he got so frustrated with me that he hung up.

Keep your spirits up Pam – maybe you should tackle the subject with your OH by having a conversation about unenforceable agreements and then mention that you’ve requested to look at yours – that’s how I did it. Once the OH could see that the agreements were unenforceable they were much more at ease.

Have a good xmas and try not to worry.

[Worried6]

Hi Atwozee

 

That is so reassuring. It's amazing how you calm down when you find out someone else has been in the same situation and are still alive and kicking.

I like the sound of broaching this with my oh by talking positively. He is a rebel at heart anyway and will probably like the sound of taking on a debt company.

Do you think I should reply to AIC at either of the addresses or just ignore them as I have been doing. They are probably naffed because I had the telephone number changed recently and they lost track of me.

 

Thanks Again for getting in touch.

 

Happy Christmas

Pam

[atwozee]

To be honest – I would wait until MBNA have either complied with your s78 request or are in default of that request. If they comply and the agreement is unenforceable then AIC and anyone else for that matter can (politely) naff off – if they default on your request then the same applies.

One thing I’ve learned is that you need to apply a little bit of patience to the situation and deal with each bit as it unravels – that way you keep your sanity.

MBNA work a system and treat everyone the same – don’t take it personally because you are quite right there will always be someone out there who has had the same letter drop through the letter box.

 

Happy Xmas

[Worried6]

I'll try to take a step back from this and use what I am learning now. I guess everyone tries too hard at the start because it is such a new situation. I never knew what sort of an industry debt collection was before now.

I'll take a few deep breaths when the next envelope arrives.

 

Thanks again

P.

[sleepingdog]

Hi worried, as you are now aware you are not alone with debt problems or indeed with MBNA. I went through all the same phone calls and letters from them 30 months ago , in fact it was lies ,lies and more lies that they told me that caused me to bury my head in the sand for ages. 30 months on I still own my home, have not had a collector come to my door,have not been issued with a CCJ, and better still have not paid MBNA a penny apart from the £1 for my CCA which they still havent provided. Take note of the advice from people on this site and make your own mind up on how to proceed ,but do not believe most of the threats that MBNA issue they will try anything to scare you to phone them and make payments over the phone.

asI

[Worried6]

Hi & Hello Sleepingdog

 

Again this is reassuring. I am still at the early stages of this and even though I have so much more knowledge from CAG I just can't stop the awful sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach when I open the letters.

However today I feel better and will try to relax over the holiday period.

I am going to ignore MBNA meanwhile - at least until the 12 days has passed for the CCA request.

 

ATB

 

Pam

[palomino]

I'm going through this sort of thing on behalf of my wife. While I have had some reasonably civilised telephone conversations with MBNA be aware that they tell lies. You have to insist that everything is written down.

 

As to their address, sending it to 'MBNA, Chester' should ensure delivery. They are so big that everyone in Chester knows MBNA (and a very large number of them work there).

[Worried6]

Many Thanks Palomino

 

I am insisting on letters only from MBNA. I find it very stressful to have calls from people like this. I think I have managed to stop the frequency of calls meanwhile so we'll see how that goes. I think the last two letters I have received are templates that they send out to everyone at a particular point in the process. I noticed that the amounts quoted and my details are copied in. I am definately ignoring them until the time limit is up for response to the CCA.

Hopefully I will have the where withall to continue this next year. I have a couple of other credit cards which are being chased as well so I know I will need more help and advice.

Hopefully I will be in a position to reassure others as I learn more about handling these people.

 

Thanks Again

P.

[davey77]

I had the same from MBNA and it's all meaningless. No 'field agent' called and after writing to the Assistant Vice President of MBNA i had this response which proves that to them, you are just a number. So don't take anything they say personally for although their letters look like they are writing to you personally, you are only a number on a computer screen to them.

 

Contact from MBNA to Davey77 for 2008 = 2 letters, one of which was an invalid default notice. So much for all the threats!

 

http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t42/davey77_2007/VICEPRESmbna1.jpg

http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t42/davey77_2007/VICEPRESmbna2.jpg

 

http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t42/davey77_2007/SeniorVicePMBNA.jpg

Edited December 23, 2008 by davey77
spelling

[Worried6]

Hello Davey77

 

Thanks for the information and the example letters to read. I notice you had already provided a financial statement - I have not done this I have only requested a copy of the CCA. I suppose this means that in their view I have made no attempts to work with them. Do you think that I should do that after/if they produce a valid agreement?

ATB

P.

[davey77]

I didn't know anything about CCAs so didn't get mine off for months. Hence being co-operative at the start back in 2006.

 

By my calculation your 12 working days for the CCA will be up on the 31st Dec? As that is so close, i wouldn't bother giving them too much information like financial statements. Most likely they will not send an agreement in time (enforceable or otherwise) before the deadline and after that they will be in default of your request and you won't be obliged to supply them with any information about yourself until that (potential) default is remedied.

 

If they produce a valid agreement... well, lets see what they come up with first!

Edited December 23, 2008 by davey77
spelling (again)