'Lost' Chequebook & guarantee card and Certegy

[mjc007.5]

Hiya,

 

Top advice already from Katpuss and 42man. The "cheques act" 1957 - obscure piece of legislation (amended 1992). My best reading of this is that all it actually does is provide the company providing you with the funds some protection against your claiming they did anything wrong or showed incompetence in paying you funds against the cheques!! I can find no mention of fraud in either this or the bill of exchange - as Katpuss says you have a technical breech of agreement with not paying as arranged but this is no more severe than if they cannot provide proper evidence of assignment (I would think).

 

The suggestion of fraud is in fact absurd - the whole premise of this "sector" is that the cheque is an IOU to repay funds loaned now at some point in the future (and in most of cases they will accept this is perpetually "rolled over" as they make much more than the sum loaned to you). To suggest fraud intent would need to be demonstrated (ie cheques were written without any hope or intention of ever paying back what was borrowed) which contradicts their business model. Where the cheques are issued as Katpuss describes or for immediate presentation to an account with the knowledge or intention that funds are not or will not be available then that is very likely fraudulent but in most cases with people caught out in this sector this will not be what has happened (despite what the companies may claim!).

 

 

In terms of dealings with these folks and your current situation would suggest -

1. No further discussion on the telephone. Personally I think often worth an initial discussion to see if there is some common ground which is contrary to establised opinion here (as long as you tell them any agreement subject to their written or email confirmation of the same). Unfortunately here it would appear their initial position is not to negotiate (and can understand your reaction to them but will prevent you from being in the position of needing to tell them foxtrot Oscar again! )
   
2. As Katpuss has suggested let CCCS do their work - refer any further communications to them, bear in mind that if they were brave enough to go to court they would get (at best) a pro-rata amount based on the same principles that CCCS and others are using.
   
3. In the meantime I would go for a CCA request and see if you can tie that up copies of any notices of assignment (amend/add to the CCA request template). Worth a shot as only £1 postal order (rather than £10 SAR), shorter time scales and my (limited) experience so far suggests that a number of these agreements are likely to be flawed (either as credit agreements or without detailing any contractual right of assigment).
   

I am applying the same principles as you (ie payment of loaned principle but not charges/interest) with some success so stick to your guns!

 

Best of luck and keep posting

[mjc007.5]

And Scarletpimpernel - got sidetracked at work so delayed in posting!