DCA returned my £1

[EchoOne7]

Hi all - long time lurker and reader of the excellent guidance here and I've encountered a situation that I've not seen anywhere before.

I sent a proof of debt letter to Robinson Way and it was received and signed for. They've returned the PO back to me with a typed, undated compliment slip saying they're writing to me to explain their procedures. They've even undated their franked envelope - I assume to try and muddy the waters in respect of dates.

Do I
a) fire off another letter now acknowledging their return of the PO advising them that the original date of my request remains valid or;

b) wait for their additional letter explaining their procedures before replying or;

c) do nothing until after the 12 day period for production of the documents?

I'm concerned it's a delaying tactic by them to try and give them more time to find what documents they may (or may not) have.

[Bill-K]

Re: DCA returned my £1

Hi, EchoOne. I assume that you know the difference 'twixt a 'Prove It' letter, and a CCA s.77-79 request. Which of the two was it that you actually sent ?

I have a feeling that you may have sent £1 with a 'prove it' letter, in which case, they have acted quite fairly, IMO.

If it was indeed a s.77-79 request, though - then they are still obliged to comply, whether they returned your £1 or spent it on crisps.

It's important to know exactly which type of letter you sent, I think.

[ODC]

Re: DCA returned my £1

This is par for the course for RobbinscumWay, They will send you some toilet paper claiming that its not their responsibilty to comply with your CCA Request and advise you to write to the Original Creditor. All total ******** of course

[EchoOne7]

Re: DCA returned my £1

Thanks Bill, it was the 77-79 letter I sent.

[Angry Cat]

Re: DCA returned my £1

You should wait for letter explaining their procedures!

Have you had a welcome letter stating that the account has been assigned to RW?
Who was the original creditor?

In reality RW have had a legal request served upon them and should either comply or, forward the request to "the creditor".

Robinson Way play games...

[EchoOne7]

Re: DCA returned my £1

Thanks.

I did get a welcome letter a while back followed up with 18 calls in 24 hours. It was an Egg credit card but RW are claiming its Barclaycard.

[labman]

Re: DCA returned my £1

There's two ways of looking at this, and it depends largely on what you want as a result from it.

Yes, RW have a duty to pass the demand on to the OC and get what you asked for. Bearing in mind RW are eating the s*1t at the bottom of the debt collection pond, I imagine this debt has been through several other agencies first. You can return the £1 to them and insist they comply.

The other schoolof thought is that you take the £1 back and send off to the OC to see if it exists. If you do, follow it with the CPUTR letter in case of court action - post up and I'll give you a copy.

It may well be delaying tactics, but failure to comply within 12 days doesn't magically make the debt go away. Contrary to popular belief (including among the DCA's) it doesn't even place it in dispute. In practice it means enforcement action stops until they can comply. Once they can comply, or conjur together a reasonable reconstitution they're away again.

If you really want your CCA, send to the OC. If you want to delay, send it back to RW.

As for them quoting B'card, that is somply because B'card have bought Egg now, so all Egg cards are now under B'card (there may be a few yet to change over).

[Angry Cat]

Re: DCA returned my £1

Thanks.

I did get a welcome letter a while back followed up with 18 calls in 24 hours. It was an Egg credit card but RW are claiming its Barclaycard.

OOH, Robinson Way must have a penchant for Lemons!

Barclays bought the EGG Card:
BBC News - Egg credit cards bought by Barclays bank

One would have thought that RW would have known?
But of course, these debt buyers are provided with little or no information about the distressed Barclays portfolio.
Thus they end up with EGG on their face!

[Guest]

Re: DCA returned my £1

Hi

Yes to all the sbove, but just to clarify,"halting enforcement action" does not mean thaat they cannot continue to pester you for payment nor does it mean that they cannot issue a default notice and commence proceedings.

Some may argue that the 77- request have been renderd usless by Carey, at least for the purposses of halting the DCA in its tracks, unfortunately i would have to agree.

Peter

Peter

[labman]

Re: DCA returned my £1

Indeed Peter, as I put in post 7. Those days are past! Realistically most DCA's do tend to delay enforcement while they try to find a CCA, but they do not have to.

[Guest]

Re: DCA returned my £1

Indeed Peter, as I put in post 7. Those days are past! Realistically most DCA's do tend to delay enforcement while they try to find a CCA, but they do not have to.

I think that if you are after halting DCA action you need to make some positive assertion along with your requst, this would then put the account in dispute.

[labman]

Re: DCA returned my £1

Agreed! The DCA's suspend enforcement for say 30-40 days. Note the word suspend, not stop. They are quite within their rights to continue enforcement, but seem to do this as a goodwill gesture, and some are so daft, they seem to exist pre Carey!

[charitynjw]

Re: DCA returned my £1

http://www.oft.gov.uk/about-the-oft/...dit-agreements

Unenforceable credit agreements

Borrowers and hirers are able to ask creditors to send them information about their credit agreements. If information is not provided within 12 working days, the debt becomes unenforceable until they get the information they asked for.
Sections 77, 78 and 79 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 outline the information creditors must provide to debtors under fixed-term, running account and hire agreements.
Under these sections a debtor can pay £1 to get:

• a copy of their agreement
• copies of some of the other documents mentioned in their agreement
• a statement of account.

If this information is not provided within 12 working days the debt becomes unenforceable. This means a creditor:

• cannot:
  - make the debtor pay the debt before they're supposed to
  - get a court judgment against the debtor
  - take back anything hired or bought on credit, or take anything used as security in the agreement.
• can:
  - ask debtors to pay what they owe
  - send a default notice
  - pass information on to a credit reference agency
  - pass information on to a debt collector
  - sell the debt to someone else
  - take the case to court.

[labman]

Re: DCA returned my £1

Lol - I've just used the above on another thread!

Is my credit agreement legally unenforceable?

There has been a lot of publicity surrounding the ability to get out of debt by going through credit agreements with a fine toothcomb in order to spot any breaches of the regulations. In other words, looking for ways in which credit agreements may be rendered legally unenforceable. As mentioned in the previous section, the various Consumer Credit Regulations are very strict on what information must be presented, when it must be presented, and the order and manner in which it is to be shown. If any of the required information is missing, the supplier may be in breach of these regulations. However, amendments made to the Act in 2006 closed this loophole, so now a court can still enforce a credit agreement even if the creditor has not complied.

Before this gets heavy I'm playing the DCA and playing devil's advocate!

[Bill-K]

Re: DCA returned my £1

Good on ya, Labman. Indeedy, and in all fairness, perhaps - it was a loophole which was often exploited for the wrong reasons. Unenforceability should not be seen as a "Get Out of Debt Free" card - but rather as another tool in the consumers' meagre armoury. A means to an end - and NOT an end in itself.