Murky Hall letters

[SteveEX9]

Hi, new here and unsure of a few things regarding debt issues. I am being chased by MH regarding a loan that was taken out in late 2006 and on which I have not made payment for two years. During that period I also had a year unemployed and couldn't have paid during that period anyway. Notwithstanding that, MH say that they have been asked to chase me by the original lender - are they required to provide proof of this? Also, should they provide an original agreement signed by me? Also, the loan was taken out over six years ago - is it therefore statute barred or does that six year period only count from when the last payment was made? Thanks.

[FlamingParrot]

Re: Murky Hall letters

Hi and welcome!

Hi, new here and unsure of a few things regarding debt issues. I am being chased by MH regarding a loan that was taken out in late 2006 and on which I have not made payment for two years. During that period I also had a year unemployed and couldn't have paid during that period anyway. Notwithstanding that, MH say that they have been asked to chase me by the original lender - are they required to provide proof of this? Also, should they provide an original agreement signed by me? Also, the loan was taken out over six years ago - is it therefore statute barred or does that six year period only count from when the last payment was made? Thanks.

The six year period starts after the last payment, not the time you took out the loan so, sadly, you still have another 4 years to go, unless you are in Scotland.

You could send MH a CCA request and see what they produce. Who was the loan with?

[FlamingParrot]

Re: Murky Hall letters

Hi, new here and unsure of a few things regarding debt issues. I am being chased by MH regarding a loan that was taken out in late 2006 and on which I have not made payment for two years. During that period I also had a year unemployed and couldn't have paid during that period anyway. Notwithstanding that, MH say that they have been asked to chase me by the original lender - are they required to provide proof of this? Also, should they provide an original agreement signed by me? Also, the loan was taken out over six years ago - is it therefore statute barred or does that six year period only count from when the last payment was made? Thanks.

Send MH a CCA request and see what they come up with. They will have to go back to the original lender to get the documents. Send the letter by recorded delivery with a PO for £1. Sign using a computer font rather than your real signature to be on the safe side. They have 14 days to respond. As this account was started before April 2007, it will be unenforceable unless they are able to provide an agreement with all the prescribed terms. :thumb:

At this stage you should be careful not to acknowledge the debt, if you receive any letters from them, do post them up here before you reply to them.

Dear Sirs

Account No: xyz

I hereby formally request a copy of my Consumer Credit Agreement, pursuant to s.77-79 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 (CCA1974).

If it is your view that you are not the creditor, s.175 of the CCA1974 applies in the case of a simple assignment, and places a duty upon you to pass this request to the creditor. In the case of an absolute assignment, you are a creditor as defined by s.189. If you contend that you purchased the rights but not the duties of any agreement, you are reminded that s.189 of the Act is clear that an assignment is of both rights and duties. Your attention is drawn to ss.5(2), 3(b), 6 and 7 of the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 (CPUTR).

The OFT has stipulated that 'sections 77-79 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 outline the information creditors must provide to debtors under fixed-term, running account & 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

In line with the above, please find attached my £1 payment, which is the statutory fee - note that these funds are not to be used for any other purpose. I look forward to hearing from you within the statutory time limit (12 + 2 days).

Yours faithfully,

[SteveEX9]

Re: Murky Hall letters

Thanks both, will do as you suggest and feed back. Much appreciated.

[SteveEX9]

Re: Murky Hall letters

The loan is via NR who have at least once offered a 50 per cent discount.

[SteveEX9]

Re: Murky Hall letters

Hi again both, I have received three letters new from MH all referring to their 'client' as Northern Rock. I have written to them using the template from Flaming Parrot above (thank you) and will post a copy of any response on here.

[SteveEX9]

Re: Murky Hall letters

I have received an offer to settle for 50 per cent of what they say I owe - is this normal?

[ODC]

Re: Murky Hall letters

An offer of 50% discount is excellent and very good news. Its usually a sign that they do not have unenforceable agreement.

[FlamingParrot]

Re: Murky Hall letters

I have received an offer to settle for 50 per cent of what they say I owe - is this normal?

Sounds promising, means they don't think they can come up with the agreement. :grin:

Let's see what their reply to your CCA request is, from your posts above, it's not clear if you sent it only on May 13 or back in April. They should reply within 14 days. Have you checked the Royal Mail site to see if your CCA request was signed for? Just out of interest.

[PlanB]

Re: Murky Hall letters

The loan is via NR who have at least once offered a 50 per cent discount.

Was this a secured or unsecured loan or part of Northern Rock's "Together" product? Have you seen this story about their defective loans where they have now agreed to pay over £270 million in compensation to borrowers. Could yours be one of these

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-20754265

[SteveEX9]

Re: Murky Hall letters

Hi all, It was not part of a together agreement though I did have one of those in the past, but no longer. I have a reply to my CCA request (sent on the 13th May) which says the following: 'We have contacted our client for a copy of your agreement and statement of your account. Your account is currently on hold. Please be assured that no action will be taken against you. Should we not receive the relevant proof from our client within 40 days we will close your file and return the file to our client. Our client will then decide what step to take.' The £1 postal order was returned with the letter. Does the 14 day rule apply as above mentioned by Flaming Parrot or is that just 14 days to simply reply rather than produce the evidence? Thanks again.

[CleverClogs]

Re: Murky Hall letters

The silly idiots have mixed up their deadlines.

The 40 day deadline applies to a Subject Access Request, under the Data Protection Act.

[SteveEX9]

Re: Murky Hall letters

Thanks - I assume that means that they'll just screw it up then timewise and there'll be nothing they can do? I was under the impression that it was 14 days for a request as you imply.

[FlamingParrot]

Re: Murky Hall letters

Hi all, It was not part of a together agreement though I did have one of those in the past, but no longer. I have a reply to my CCA request (sent on the 13th May) which says the following: 'We have contacted our client for a copy of your agreement and statement of your account. Your account is currently on hold. Please be assured that no action will be taken against you. Should we not receive the relevant proof from our client within 40 days we will close your file and return the file to our client. Our client will then decide what step to take.' The £1 postal order was returned with the letter. Does the 14 day rule apply as above mentioned by Flaming Parrot or is that just 14 days to simply reply rather than produce the evidence? Thanks again.

That's just the result we were looking for! :clap2:

The account is on hold while they get the documents from their client, that's standard DCA response because they always need to get back to the original creditor to obtain the documents.

As Cloggy said above, they have got their timescales mixed up between the 40 days allowed for a SAR and 14 days for a CCA request. In theory, they should provide you with the documents within 14 days rather than just 'reply', in reality, especially when you are dealing with a DCA, they usually take longer than that. The account will be unenforceable until such time they (or their client) respond with something compliant. :thumb:

[FlamingParrot]

Re: Murky Hall letters

Thanks - I assume that means that they'll just screw it up then timewise and there'll be nothing they can do? I was under the impression that it was 14 days for a request as you imply.

It is, see my post above.