Cahoot and Consumer Credit Act

[hopkinson]

I have sent a letter requesting a copy of the credit agreement and a full breakdown of the account including any interest or charges applied. They have replied within 5 days with a copy of the Cahoot Credit agreement for a flexible loan duly signed by me and them. I cannot see any reference to APR or interest rate charged - is that right? They have also not sent any information on the breakdown of the account? Can anyone give advice?:-?

[Fred Bassett]

I have sent a letter requesting a copy of the credit agreement and a full breakdown of the account including any interest or charges applied. They have replied within 5 days with a copy of the Cahoot Credit agreement for a flexible loan duly signed by me and them. I cannot see any reference to APR or interest rate charged - is that right? They have also not sent any information on the breakdown of the account? Can anyone give advice?:-?

 

Hi hopkinson,

 

Are you able to scan the document (remove personal details and barcodes) and post it up here? It would help to get your question answered properly.

 

Regards.

 

Fred

[hopkinson]

Struggling to send the scanned document. I have saved as a Word document.

[Fred Bassett]

Struggling to send the scanned document. I have saved as a Word document.

 

Be careful if you post word documents in public. They can contain data tha identifies you. Look at File>Properties and see if your name is anywhere in the various sections.

 

Regards.

 

Fred

[silverfox1961]

Morning hopkinson

please try to scan again but try using the photo scanning part and then save as a Jpeg image then if you can use the following tip i stole:grin: from Fuzzybobble

 

 

It seems tricky at first, but is fairly simple really.

 

1, Scan your DCA letter/whatever you want to show on the forum.

Ideal setting is 100dpi as it's closest to computer monitor display resolution.

 

2, Save the scanned image as a jpeg

Step 2.5 Edit out any personal information, barcodes or any other comments, notes or markings around the edge of the document. Never change the original document you received

2.5, Load the saved image into MS Paint. (comes free with Windows.) Use the pain brush or spray can to remove/paint over any personal info, such as name, account number, address, etc. Also remove any barcodes, as some DCAs may be able to identify you from these.

 

3, Create an account on Photobucket.

 

4, Once you have a Photobucket account, you'll find on the main webpage little box where you can upload photos. Click the "upload image" box and then tell it where on your hard disk you saved your scanned jpeg. It will then upload the image to Photobucket and it will show you thumbnails of the images you have uploaded. Under each image there are links that you can copy and paste.

 

5, Copy the IMG link below the image you want to put on the forum. Then reply to thread on CAG. Right click with the mouse and select "paste" from the little menu that pops up.

 

6, You'll then get some text appear in your message that looks a bit like this.

 

 

When you submit the reply, the text will change into the image you uploaded onto photobucket. The text you copied and pasted is just the information the forum needs, so it knows where to find your photo and display it in your message.

 

 

Courtesy of Fuzzybobble

 

 

good luck

 

 

fox

[hopkinson]

At last I have done this thanks to some help from a colleague.

 

[hopkinson]

Is there anyone that can confirm if the above is all as it should be. It does not quote the interest rate and I am also concerned that they have not sent me any statements showing what I have been charged.

[postggj]

cant see sig box or date of agreement

have you deleated them to cover up your sig

[postggj]

cant see cancelation rights or am i blind

[hopkinson]

thanks for replying was getting worried. Signature box was there and was dated and also signed by their representative but these have been removed. There are no cancellation rights and no referral to interest.

[postggj]

not my area credit card agreements. to me it looks a lemon but dont take my word for it, plenty of people been down this road and will advise

[hopkinson]

Are there any moderaters with more knowledge that can give me some info before I reply back to them?

[duckegg]

Hi my credit agreement from Cahoot has arrived today exactly like the one above, it mentions no terms as its a flexible loan, but also it doesn't mention amount of credit borrowed?? does this mean its unenforceable? What do we do now?

 

thanks

[hopkinson]

It seems we need to know two things: 1. should the agreement have clearly stated an interest rate and 2. should it have had a cancellation clause. I have had my docs on here since last week and am disappointed that noone has come in with advice.It may be too complext. I have contacted National Debtline who said it sounded suspect but advised me to take the document to the Office of Fair Trading for them to look at. I am also going to ask advice from my employer who has an up to date legal background. I will keep you posted.

[kstaplet]

i'm awaiting my CCA from cahoot as well regarding a flexible loan - sent to coventry but got a reply from Bradford returning my PO last wee saying no charge for CCA (but no actual CCA) - original letter sent 20th November...

If/when i get something from them, i'll see if its the same as yours (sem to be taking their time though!).

[hopkinson]

have taken some advice and under the interest rates and APR section it says "The APR is calculated on an assumed credit limit of £100 when the credit limit was much higher. All other interest rates refer to withdawals or balance transfers or the minimum payment but nowhere does it give the the APR. This would come under the Consumer Credit Act as an unfair agreement or even an extortionate credit agreement and on that basis I am writing to them again to get confirmation of the APR and also ask for my statements with all charges clearly identified. I will then put a complaint straight into the OFT if I am not satisfied with their reply.

[hopkinson]

have received agreement and statement back finally. The statement shows that the account has gone from 9% to 20%interest charges. Have contacted Ombudsman who confirms they cannot do this and has advised to put in a complaint. Have confirmed to Cahoot that this is my next step and they have 28 days to deal totally with the complaint or I go forward with Financial Ombudsman

[Fred Bassett]

Hi Hopkinson,

 

You've stated that the APR is not displayed, yet in your copy agreement it clearly says "the APR for withdrawals and balance transfers is 9% (variable)" and above that it states there is a monthly interest rate of .7208%.

 

A I missing the point?

 

Regards.

 

Fred

[Fred Bassett]

Hopkinson,

 

Also, you seem to have posted the first page twice. There should be a second page with your signature on it. This probably contains the statement about cancellation rights. Your agreement seems to be identical to mine. Did they send you a second page?

 

Regards.

 

Fred

[hopkinson]

I did miss the 9% for withdrawals as I thought that the reference to the APR would be for the loan and not "withdrawal" although I soon realised that the two would be the same. Had so much trouble getting the agreement onto the thread that I messed up. However, I have the agreement which was double sided and nowhere does it say about cancellation. The second page is devoted to a column on the data protection statement and the second column says IMPORTANT-YOU SHOULD READ THIS CAREFULLY - YOUR RIGHTS. One paragraph on the CCA.One on settling early and one para which says "If yu would like to know more about the protection and remedies provided under the Act, you should contact either your local Trading Stadards Department or your nearest CAB. Then the signature box. Am I right in thinking the cancellation clause may have been in the original letter sent with the CCA. I am also pursuing,on the advice of the Financial Ombudsman, the fact that the interest has gone from 9% and is now 20% which

is within the "extortionate credit" range and that I was lured into unsustainable debt.

[mcmatty]

Hi to everyone on this thread. I have been reading these groups for a few weeks now and sent various CCA's off. As with other people, I received my PO back from Cahoot and the same agreement as displayed already in this thread.

 

Im interested to see that there's a few of us in the same boat here. It certainly looks like the APR hike is extortionate and could be the basis of a complaint to the ombudsman.

 

However I am most interested to see if one of the forum experts can take a squint at the CCA and see if we can start to pick holes here.

 

Here's hoping for some news.

[duckegg]

Hi Yes my credit agreement is the same. Is there any holes to pick? Also I have just received a credit agreement from Natwest which is signed for a balance transfer of £1800. They have then sent a copy of a letter which they say was with the new card saying the credit limit has increased. Can they do this?

[volvo62]

Hi, I have the same agreement ,the signature from the lender is dated before the date of me signing,my understanding is that this means it has not been properly executed.Like the others my interest rate went from 7% to 29%. Surely there must be a way to hit back

[bradkb]

In the same boat as many others it seems with Cahoot, started as a cheap loan, now my credit cards are offering less, shame I cannot use them.

 

My credit agreement is pretty much the same, and after scanning these forums for quite a few months its difficult to judge, if anyone can offer any advice would be much appreciated.

[hopkinson]

I have received a letter back from Abbey which says they are investigating. When that process is finished I will put in a complaint immediately with the Financial Ombudsman and see where I get.