Need advice with Default from Simply Be

[BigIan]

Hi All,

 

After having a re-mortgage declined recently due to a poor credit rating I checked both my partners and my own credit history with a couple of agencies and found some defaults registered against us. Not realising we had these and following similar threads on here I sent of a few letters to the companies involved asking for more info, copies of the credit agreement and Default Notice etc. along with the £1 statutory fee.

 

I have just received a reply back from one of these companies, "Candid Collections Limited trading as Simply Be", this is an old catalogue account. They have replied back with a full history of the account and what they call a "re-constituted" copy of the credit agreement. The strange thing about the credit agreement is that there is no signature from me on it, only a signature from Simply Be, additionally there is no date on the agreement. They state in the accompanying letter that they do not need to provide a copy bearing my signature. Is this correct? Surely they need to prove that I accepted the terms and conditions otherwise they could just fabricate this sort of document for anybody?

 

The other thing is, they appear to have completely ignored my request for a copy of the Default Notice and not even mentioned it in their accompanying letter.

 

I am going to respond and chase them for the Default Notice, but is it worth progressing the credit agreement issue with them or do they not need to provide it?

 

Cheers

 

Ian

[BRIGADIER2JCS]

Hi Welcome to CAG,

 

They are correct they do not need to provide the signature.

Under a CCA request you should receive 1. A copy of or a reconstituted credit agreement 2. A statement of account.

 

Was this account opened online?

 

Default notices are not routinely stored just recorded in their records as sent on a particular date, if you require further documents you must make a Subject Access Request under the Data Protection Act 1998 which will provide with all data relating to the account, there is a £10 statutory fee the creditor has 40 calendar days to reply, there is a template in the CAG library for you to amend to suit.

 

A recon agreement, should consist of your name and address at the inception of the agreement and the creditors name and address, the terms and conditions at inception of the account and those in place when the account was closed/terminated., this backed by evidence of use of a credit facility eg statement showing payments to it will be admissible in a court.

 

A SAR should be addressed to the Company Data Controller.

[BigIan]

Hi Brigadier2JCS

 

Thanks for the fast response.

 

In our original letter to them we requested three items:

 

1. True copy of the alleged agreement

2. Signed true & certified copy of the original default notice

3. Deed of assignment if the debt was sold on

 

So from what you are saying the copy of the credit agreement with just their signature and no date meets the requirements of the CCA statutory request? I can understand what you saying about the statements, i.e. if they provide statements showing my partners use of the account then acceptance of the T&C's is implicit, so I won't continue down that particular route.

 

I'm not sure if the account was opened on line or not, does this make any difference to the agreement?

 

I was reading through these threads:

 

 

• /forum/showthread.php?67055
  
• /forum/showthread.php?91966
  

(sorry can't post links yet due to my low post count)

 

And it looks to me like they should have provided my partner with something to prove that they actually sent a default notice before registering the default?

 

Should I progress with this point or send off a SAR first to see if the SAR response contains the info?

 

Thanks

 

Ian

[BRIGADIER2JCS]

As to the deed of aqssingment this in not available to you as it is the confidential contract between the creditor and the debt purchase and is usually only available if production is ordered by a judge.

 

If the account was opened on line the ''tick box'' is accepted as a signature.

The Default notice gives a debtor a period of time to rectify/remedy the cause of action, failure to remedy results in the default being placed without further notice.

 

The SAR is the only way you will get any further information.

[BigIan]

OK then, SAR it is.

 

Does anyone have any experiences dealing with Candid Collections / Simply Be?

[BRIGADIER2JCS]

Don't worry about them just get the SAR done!

[BigIan]

Consider the SAR done (just need to post it recorded delivery in the morning) , I'm wondering how awkward this particular company is with this sort of stuff. Can I expect them to go through the usual delaying tactics of proving my identity, continual delaying letters etc.