argos card services/bcw group/cabot

[gavv8]

I wonder if anyone can shed some light on my situation.

My debt with argos was passed to bcw group about a year ago who i agreed to pay monthly and set up a direct debit, i then received threatening letters from moorcroft resulting in a warrant of execution despite still getting phone calls and demands from bcw group.

After several weeks of threats from both companys and arg cards themselves saying that i should be paying bcw and not moorcroft and only after 3 warrants from moorcroft ( the last one being called off by moorcroft because they said that the time limit to collect on the debt had run out) did the debt return to arg cards who said on the phone that they were 'assigning' the debt and would notify me in due course.

i paid the monthly instalments up till november 2006 to bcw when i received a letter from argos saying that the debt has been assigned to kings hill no1 ( a division of cabot europe), so i cancelled the dd to bcw and awaited a letter from cabot with instructions of how to pay them.

I have not received any letters from bcw since november and have received nothing from cabot, but have had repeated, increasingly threatening calls from bcw group who claim they are collecting on behalf of cabot???.

Surely cabot would try to collect on the debt themselves wouldn't they?.

At the last phone call bcw said they would be sending a 'field officer for full payment of the debt' and said i was just 'stalling' and 'trying to get out of paying' ( a particularly nasty sounding young man).

If anyone can make sense of this and maybe suggest a course of action i would be very grateful as i am extremely confused.

[claire78]

I would suggest writing a letter to Argos card services (enclosing copies of any correspondence) outlining the situation.

 

I would send copies of this to bcw and cabot, so that they cannot claim to be unaware of the situation. I would continue paying bcw until another comoany confirms that they have taken over the debt.

 

Hope this helps

[Guest The Terminator]

I'd also take a note of this:

 

26 Conduct of business

 

(1) Regulations may be made as to—

 

(a) the conduct by a licensee of his business; and

 

(b) the conduct by a consumer credit EEA firm of its business in the United Kingdom.

 

 

(2) The regulations may in particular specify—

 

(a) the books or other records to be kept by any person to whom the regulations apply;

 

(b) the information to be furnished by such a person to those persons with whom—

 

(i) that person does business, or

 

(ii) that person seeks to do business,

 

 

and the way in which that information is to be furnished.

 

Could end up with them losing their licensee

[lookinforinfo]

Gavv-what a mess! You must be at your wits end trying to sort out who to deal with.

The first thing is to realise that BCW are not bailiffs-they have no legal powers, nor can they enter your house. So if one of their muppets does come round, do not talk to them, or deal with them, other than to say you will only

deal with Kingshill, and then ONLY BY LETTER-NEVER,EVER ON THE PHONE.

 

Next send a CCA request to Kingshill. You will find the letter in the General debt section, and in the first sub section that contains all the threads that

are called "sticky", the last one by Barracad has the letter you want [it is

letter N]. Send it off to Kingshill with a £1 postal order and send it recorded

delivery.

By law they must respond within twelve working days [plus allow a couple of extra days to allow for the post] with your original signed agreement with

Argos. Until they have complied with the Act they cannot pursue you for the debt [and that goes for BCW too]. They tend not to be able to manage it in

the time, so if they still have not delivered within another month, then they have committed a criminal offence. And must obtain a Court Order before

they can enforce the debt. So that is Kingshill, Cabot and BCW out of your

hair for a month normally at least. Keep a record of when they contact you

whilst Kingshill haven't complied, to show to ypur local Trading Standards

office. Another reason why you should only deal by letter with them-you need

solid proof of what they are doing and saying.

 

Next, send an sar to Argos-you will find that by looking in the FAQs on the first page of the forum, and follow the guide. This will give you info on how

the debt has been worked out, including any unlawful charges that have been applied [again, that is in the faqs section] and you can reclaim those, thus

bringing the debt down in size. It should also show whether Argos had employed both BCW and Moorcroft to collect for them at the same time-this

is against the OFT guidance on debt collection. You will also learn when the

debt was assigned to Kingshill and how much the debt was on transfer. [when

you get the CCA response from Kingshill it should contain details of how much

the debt is now, so you can query the figures if they don't agree].

 

Have you retained copies of the letters from Moorcroft threatening you with

all those warrants-and did you pay them any money? Have you kept most

of the letters from all the bloodsuckers, ar was most of done by phone?

From now on, the first time any of these muppets phone you, tell them that you will only deal with Kingshill, as they are the owners of the debt-and you

will only deal with them by letter. Do not get into an argument, tell them if

they call, just once, and then put the phone down. And whenever they call

back, put the phone down, or leave them talking to themselves and walk

away from the phone.

 

Kingshill and Cabot are our little furry friends on this forum-they are wll known. To show you how you can go from being hectored and bullied to having the whip hand, take a look at this thread in the General Debt section-http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/general-debt/36665-cabot-again-urgent-help.html

where you will see how Tbern started off in pretty much the same way as you, and now is in such a strong position it is hard to believe. It is a longish

read but should help you to deal with them and put your mind at ease.

 

Please try and answwer the questions I have asked as there may be grounds

for you complaining about Argos, BCW and Moorcroft. But do get the CCA

off asap-that stops them all and gives you some peace for a change.

[gavv8]

I have kept letters from bcw and all the letters regarding the warrants from moorcroft, i did pay two of the warrants but not the third as i got argos to admit that moorcroft didn't own the debt and thus moorcroft withdrew the warrant but only after the county court baliff phoned them directly.

To be honest 90% of the correspondance i have had with argos/moorcroft/bcw has been phone calls and i have heard nothing at all from cabot .

I will send of the cca's tommorow but i can't help thinking that even when you try to do the right thing, these bloody people still seem to want to make your life a misery, almost like they are enjoying it.

Moorcroft in particular were nasty, threatening and rude and i'm still convinced that i paid over £300 in court fees for nothing because of them.

P.S many thanks for all the advice, you are all shining beacons in the dark.

pp.s Phoned argos but they said they no longer had the account on record and hung up..nice!.

Also phoned bcw who said they are not interested in monthly payment any longer only full and final payment.

[gavv8]

-----

[gavv8]

Have posted cca requests, recorded delivery to bcw and cabot today.

Still haven't heard anything from cabot and nothing in writing from bcw in 3 months, i didn't even get my usual wednesday phone call from bcw today...

Its quiet.. too quiet.

[NailPost]

If you get a phone call from bcw tell them the matter is in dispute and you cannot comment on it until it has been resolved in writing. Then put the phone down.

 

If bcw ring back and act in an aggressive or aggrieved manner - in other waords they are rude and bolshy - ask for the muppets name and position within the company. Then write and report the t*** to the company stating in no uncertain terms further calls will be recorded (logged or taped) and the matter referred to the apporpriate authorities - telephone watchdog body, trading standards, OFT, anyone you care to think of.

 

That will set them thinking and you may never be bothered by them again.

[gavv8]

I'm still not sure what bcw have to do with any of this as cabot own the debt and i have the letter from argos to prove it and yet still silence from cabot!!!.

I'm really not bothered who owns it just as long as someone makes there mind up and lets me get on with paying the debt.

[gavv8]

Posted cca request to bcw on wednesday received reply today!!

This is how it reads.

Dear mr ****

i write with regards to your recent communication concerning the above account.

I would advise that we do not hold copy credit agreements at this office as we are not the creditor, under the circumstances your postal order for £1.00

is returned herewith.

However, i would advise that i have placed this account on hold and have asked my client to forward the documents to you directly.

please do not hesitate to contact us on 08717001551 should you require any further assistance, you can also e-mail on general@bcwgroup.com

yours faithfully

david irvine

admin dept.

 

So for anyone who was in any doubt, yes buchanan clark & wells are bcw group plc.

[gavv8]

12 days is up tommorow on cca request to bcw and cabot, i have checked on the post office website and cabot have signed for the letter but if nothing turns up tommorow what then?

I did receive the above reply from bcw but that is meaningless.

am i ever likely to get a response from cabot or is this just going to drag on forever.

any ideas?

[gavv8]

Received letter today from cabot!!! hurrah!

It basically say's that they are investigating the account and have requested a copy of the credit agreement from arg card services and that it may take anything from 21 days to 8 weeks! to get the relevent paperwork and that i should bear with them and try to be understanding about the time it takes to sort these things out.

My heart bleeds.

[gavv8]

And cabot look so professional on the website!!!!

[Seahorse]

Received letter today from cabot!!! hurrah!

It basically say's that they are investigating the account and have requested a copy of the credit agreement from arg card services and that it may take anything from 21 days to 8 weeks! to get the relevent paperwork and that i should bear with them and try to be understanding about the time it takes to sort these things out.

My heart bleeds.

 

Bear with them, my ar*e. 12 days and then report them to trading standards. Another 30 days after that, and it gets worse for them. Get the Information Commisioner's Office and uncle Tom Cobley and all involved.

 

Strange how they all helpfully say they will try to get the agreement, but then deny later they have to comply with the CCA. Chancers.

[lookinforinfo]

Gavv, bear in mind that they have two days plus twelve WORKING days [no

weekends]before they are in default.

[gavv8]

Cabot have until 28th march, then 42 days is up.

have not heard a peep from bcw so i guess they were trying it on.

They (cabot)still own the debt even if they don't make the deadline, and if

they do eventually get a copy of the credit agreement the process will begin again, but at least this time i will be better informed and better prepared thanks to the good people of the CAG.

[gavv8]

Received photocopy of application for argos card with my signature on today so maybe cabot is'nt asleep after all!!

i guess i'll have to start negotiating again and get this debt back on track.

[pmhcfc]

Received photocopy of application for argos card with my signature on today so maybe cabot is'nt asleep after all!!

i guess i'll have to start negotiating again and get this debt back on track.

 

Why? What good is a copy of the application form ?

[gavv8]

I thought that the copy of the application form is basically a credit agreement as other than that and the statements i received from argos there is no other paperwork to disclose, surely the fact that i signed the application, argos accepted it and i did not cancel the agreement during the 'cooling off period' means the agreement is lgal and binding.. or have i missed something.

[pmhcfc]

I thought that the copy of the application form is basically a credit agreement as other than that and the statements i received from argos there is no other paperwork to disclose, surely the fact that i signed the application, argos accepted it and i did not cancel the agreement during the 'cooling off period' means the agreement is lgal and binding.. or have i missed something.

 

An application form is proof of only one thing- You applied for a card..Nothing more, nothing less. It is a long long way from being any sort of credit agreement.

[gavv8]

So given that, would should be my next course of action.

[gavv8]

This is what cabot said in the letter.

dear mr ****

 

we refer to previous communication regarding this account

 

please find enclosed a copy of the application form for this account

 

if you still dispute ownership of this account, we will need proof of address for sept 2003 in the form of a copy of a tenancy agreement,utility bill, bank statement or an official document. you will also need to report this matter to the police and obtain a crime reference, which we require along with details of the police station and reporting officer

however , if you now recall this account, please contact us to discuss a suitable repayment plan that is in line with your current financial situation, we look forward to hearing from you.

 

emma robertson

customer relations dept.

[pmhcfc]

This is what cabot said in the letter.

dear mr cook

 

we refer to previous communication regarding this account

 

please find enclosed a copy of the application form for this account

 

if you still dispute ownership of this account, we will need proof of address for sept 2003 in the form of a copy of a tenancy agreement,utility bill, bank statement or an official document. you will also need to report this matter to the police and obtain a crime reference, which we require along with details of the police station and reporting officer

however , if you now recall this account, please contact us to discuss a suitable repayment plan that is in line with your current financial situation, we look forward to hearing from you.

 

emma robertson

customer relations dept.

 

First of all edit your name off of the letter (this public forum remember) secondly, what they say is utter boll*** .. and thirdly, I've asked a moderator to move this thread to where it belongs...the Cabot thread..There's going to be quite a number of people on there that will want to see this....For now (re Cabot) do nothing..nothing at all....once this thread moved, you'll get many more replies from other CFC members--welcome to the club ..the Cabot Fan Club

[Seahorse]

Exactly!!! Do NOT send them anything in reply just yet. They do NOT need any of that nonsense. They seem to be asking you to prove that if it wasn't you who signed the application form (and that's all it is remember), it must have been someone stealing your identity.

 

These idiots are just trying all sorts to get you to admit you to a debt, and it's just not going to happen.

 

(Although, if I received a letter like that, I'd be tempted to write back along the lines of, the only police report you're likely to see is when I take action against CABOT's criminal activity. NO, I'm NOT advising you to do that!!!!!)

[mcuth]

I've asked a moderator to move this thread to where it belongs...the Cabot thread..

 

Tis done - moved to the Cabot forum.

 

Cheers

 

Michael