My Barclaycard CCA?

[happilyeverafter]

I sent a fee reclaim letter off to Barclaycard on 17th July using the MSE template letter and interest calculator and got a reply on 23rd to say they think their charges are 'tranparent and fair' but will be refunding the full £240 plus £30 interest which I'm over the moon with.

 

I found this site a few days later and sent off a CCA request with the £1 postal order.

 

I've received two replies. One is a letter stating

 

"I write further to your letter requesting a copy of your executed agreement for the above account.

 

The information we must provide to you under the terms of Section 78 is prescribed by the Consumer Credit Act 1974 and by the Consumer Credit Regulations 1983. Under section 78 we must supply you with a copy of your executed agreement and with a statement of account which is practical to refer.

 

The current credit limit it £amount

The current balance is £amount

The next minimum payment of £amount is due on date

 

PLease note, a copy of your current Barclaycard Credit Agreement will be sent under separate cover.

 

You will be recieving your next statement shortly which will provide you will full details of your account.

 

This completes our obligation to you under Section 78 of the CCA 1974.

 

Yours Sincerely

 

Name

They've then attached some pages that don't relate to my account and could be anything. The first page states "02/04-08/04 Executive Agreements for Gold Mastercard, Graduate Visa, IBCM Gold, IBCM PLatinum, IBCM Visa, PLatinum Mastercard, Stockton Mastercard, Student astercard"

 

None of the pages have my signature on or any of my details just pages of their 'conditions'

 

Then sent another letter which has states this is a copy of my terms and conditions and this is like an updated and more concise version of the first one.

 

I was expecting something that I signed agreeing to APRs etc etc. Is this legal or have they sent the wrong thing?

[slick132]

Hi HEA,

 

If you read other threads here in the BC forum, you'll see a huge number relate to users trying to get sight of their credit agreements, without success.

 

See what others are doing and, if you then have Q's, feel free to ask.

 

[happilyeverafter]

Thanks Slick.

 

I've just been reading other threads in this section but I can't make much sense of it. I need a super idiots guide!

 

The account is not in dispute and I make the min pay every month. Should I be sending a letter back to them? If so which one? Sorry to ask so many questions but this stuff is very complicated!

[slick132]

Hi HEA,

 

Sorry, but there are no shortcuts and you'll have to do the reading yourself to get a true picture of what users are doing and how BC are frustrating their attempts.

 

Will the refund of charges make much of a dent in your a/c balance.

 

Are you hoping there's no valid credit agreement so you can question whether the debt is enforceable.

 

Are you still using the card. After sending them the CCA request, they will usually drop your credit limit to stop any further spending.

 

See here for a possible reply to them about their failure to supply a copy of the agreement - http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/barclaycard/167584-barclaycard-no-cca.html#post1821561

Edited August 9, 2009 by slick132

[happilyeverafter]

There is still over £3000 owed on the card.

 

I haven't used the card for over 18 months, just been paying minimum payments. We had a bad patch two years ago where I was off on maternity and OH lost most of his income, we lived off credit for a year, got in a mess and have been climbing out of it since. I missed a fair few payments on the card but have since caught up.

 

I guess I'm looking at any ways to reduce the amount of debt we have. I'm going to keep reading this forum as I've spent hours tonight and it's not much clearer so I'm hoping there will be a lightbulb moment and it will all become clear.

[300]

Do the reading, then make your friends asking informed questions :¬), they will respect you more and you really have to understand the situation for yourself as everyone is in a different position

[slick132]

Hi HEA,

 

Haha, it'll take more than a few hours to get up to speed.

 

A couple of things that may help you:-

 

1. BC do not usually send out your credit agreement in response to a CCA request. They are side-stepping this by responding in the way they have to you already with Terms and Conditions and a "Statement" of how your a/c stands at present.

 

2. They say by sending the T&C's, etc they have fulfilled their obligations under CCA1974.

 

3. While you continue to pay BC the monthly payments, nothing will change. They'll NOT consider the a/c to be In Dispute and they'll not send you the agreement.

 

4. If you decide to withhold payments because you believe you are entitled to, BC will ignore your views and pursue you for payments using their DCA's.

 

5. Some users are trying the CPR strategy but this is still in the early stages. Read more about this at Link No2 in my signature below.

 

[happilyeverafter]

Slick thanks for taking the time to reply.

 

I've spent 6+ hours ploughing through so far and there is a lot to take in. I've been reading the CPR strategy this afternoon (huuuge thread!) and it sounds a very viable option.

 

Right now I'm wanting to send a follow up letter saying I'm not satisfied this meets the S78 requirements and giving them a further opportunity to produce this before sending a SAR. At this point and still no CCA I'd then be looking to go down the CPR route as I think that shows I've take reasonable steps to obtain the CCA.

 

Does this sound like a half decent plan?

[slick132]

Yes, use the letter I linked in post #4 above.

 

A SAR will not get you the agreement based on experience to date.

 

CPR route is a possible next step.

 

An alternative is to simply stop paying until they produce a credit agreement. They'll hound you to hell and back but, ultimately, if they want you to pay, they'll have to take you to court. And, to do that successfully, they'll have to produce a valid credit agreement.

 

The risk is that you'll get a Default Notice and a judgement against you if they DO have a valid agreement that stands up in court.

 

Think it through and maybe read this too - http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/dca-legal-successes/170484-fairbyblue-mbna-restons-court-46.html#post2347177

 

Please be aware, however, that cases have gone against CAGgers as well.

[happilyeverafter]

I thought the SAR would prove to a judge, if it came to court that I'd tried every avenue to get the information? I wasn't expecting to get the CCA from there based on what I've read on here.

 

The idea of withholding payments scares me when for all I know they could have an enforcable CCA. However I feel very strongly that BC shouldn't be allowed to withhold this information from me.

 

Is there any pattern to CCAs historically. I took this card out in 2004, does anyone have any knowledge whether the majority of them in 2004 were/weren't compliant?