AllTheHelp's UE Diary...

[AllTheHelp]

Mint

Credit Card
Commenced approx ?? (Fairly sure pre-2007)
Approx balance £2500
Date last paid in full approx May 2009
Arrangement approx £15 per month - currently paying
Status - Defaulted
Owner Natwest - managed by Wescot

June 2017 - Sent CCA request
June 2017 - Received response - told me to write directly to Natwest as they would not deal with my enquiry.
July 2017 - Sent new CCA request to RBS/Natwest as advised by Wescot
July - Write advising of revised, reduced, monthly payment
Aug - CA received - have forwarded to Niddy to look at for me

[Joanna Connolly Solicitors]

I am also aware that those that are unenforceable could potentially be ignored but that worries me.... Also I have just made my last payment via SC and will be notifying them that I am self-managing going forward.

What a lovely neat and tidy diary

You'll soon realise that you've probably paid back what you borrowed from the original creditors ten times over with added interest and charges as the years went by. They will have got commission/fees on all the purchases you made on the credit cards too. No need to have a conscience about it.

Also remember that you never borrowed a penny from the debt purchasers who are now chasing you. They will have bought the accounts/debts from the creditors for peanuts and seek to profit from your misfortune.

I think you've 'done time' with your StepChange DMP so it's time to cut free.

There will be a lot of noise at first and some horrid letters (probably) but you can post anything and everything that arrives on your doormat on your thread to get guidance on how to react (or not!).

The phone may well ring off the hook so batten down the hatches and look forward to taking control of your debts instead of them taking control of you.

Di

[AllTheHelp]

What a lovely neat and tidy diary . Thank you!

You'll soon realise that you've probably paid back what you borrowed from the original creditors ten times over with added interest and charges as the years went by. They will have got commission/fees on all the purchases you made on the credit cards too. No need to have a conscience about it. I think my conscience is slowly starting to come round to that way of thinking!

The phone may well ring off the hook so batten down the hatches and look forward to taking control of your debts instead of them taking control of you. They haven't had a correct phone number for me for years as I changed it prior to starting my DMP so hopefully they'll be no calls....

Di

Not sure exactly how the diaries are supposed to work - hope it's ok to reply like this

[Joanna Connolly Solicitors]

Not sure exactly how the diaries are supposed to work - hope it's ok to reply like this

You're doing just fine (sorry to sound like a midwife ).

The best way to reply to a post is to quote that post and then add your comments underneath (just like I've done with your last post).

Every time you hear from a creditor you can quote your diary/history post and update it on your thread so someone can comment on your next steps.

I hope that makes sense.

The main thing is you've sent your CCA Requests so let's see what happens next.

Di

[nightwatch]

Hi ATH (Allthehelp)
welcome onboard, as Di says just wait and see what post you get from the above companys,
Post a summery of the letters received under whichever debt it is for and we will try and point you in the right direction of what to do next.

Best wishes NW

[AllTheHelp]

Thank you all for your welcome and offers of assistance and support

One question I do have.... At what stage do I cease making payments? Do I need to wait until a creditor has informed me that the debt is unenforceable or do I stop making payments if they do not respond to my CCA? A couple of put my account on hold while they "investigate" my CCA requests - should I stop payments to them?

Lastly, I was silly enough to not send my CCA's requests by recorded delivery and one DCA in particular has not responded. To be on the safe side should I resend another CCA request by recorded delivery to avoid any doubt as to whether they have received it or not?

Many thanks

[MisterK]

Hi Help,

Good luck with your journey.

Only you can decide when you should stop making payments for your particular situation, but a debt automatically becomes unenforceable if they have not replied to your request with a formal response within a certain time (I think it's about 14 days) and it then remains unenforceable until they do. That's the case whether or not they write and tell you in the meantime that they are "investigating" it.

When you get their response they might tell you that the account is "enforceable" when in fact it may not be. The best way to find out whether the agreement is actually enforceable is to send it across to Niddy for checking.

I think that proof of delivery is ideal and highly recommended, but proof of sending is better than nothing. Also you won't always get proof of delivery even with "recorded delivery" as Royal Mail don't always collect a signature. You are probably a bit exposed if there's no proof at all.

I'm not a moderator, just a fellow traveller, so hopefully these comments will be useful whilst you're waiting for a moderator to get back to you. They'll also advise you whether you should repeat a CCA request if you don't have any proof at all of sending it.

[Joanna Connolly Solicitors]

I was silly enough to not send my CCA's requests by recorded delivery and one DCA in particular has not responded. To be on the safe side should I resend another CCA request by recorded delivery to avoid any doubt as to whether they have received it or not?

The ones that have responded have acknowledge receipt of your request (depending on the wording of their letter) so no need to re-send.

Did you get Proof of Posting for the other ones even if you didn't send them Royal Mail Recorded Delivery? Proof of Posting is seen as "deemed served" in legal terms.

If you didn't, then you would need some kind of evidence that a CCA Request was actually sent if things ever ended up in court (hopefully not) especially if the creditor/Claimant denied receiving it.

How long ago did you send the CCA Requests?

Di

[AllTheHelp]

The ones that have responded have acknowledge receipt of your request (depending on the wording of their letter) so no need to re-send.

Did you get Proof of Posting for the other ones even if you didn't send them Royal Mail Recorded Delivery? Proof of Posting is seen as "deemed served" in legal terms.

If you didn't, then you would need some kind of evidence that a CCA Request was actually sent if things ever ended up in court (hopefully not) especially if the creditor/Claimant denied receiving it.

How long ago did you send the CCA Requests?

Di

I didn't get proof off posting on any of them other than two... However I assume those that have acknowledged in writing the request would not be able to deny receiving it? Note: I will not make this mistake again and will always get proof of postage.

Perhaps I should resend the ones that have so far ignored the request? I will give them another week to respond though to ensure they are definitely over the 12+2 days then I will resend with proof of postage and start the 12+2 count again.

I am due to start making the DMP payments myself from the next payment and am unsure whether I should stop some of the payments (eg the ones that have put the account on hold while they investigate) and potentially the M&S Reserve account one as I've seen from a sticky on here that it will be unenforceable.

The CCA requests were sent 2.5 weeks ago so almost reached the 12+2 days.

I'm having to remind myself to be patient with this process - I think where I have made the decision and am keen to progress things I need to remind myself that in all probability the DCA's will not respond or react as quickly as I would like!

[nightwatch]

Personaly I would stop all payments now and put the money to one side, those that prove to be enforcable can then be reinstated but maybe at a more realistic cost to yourself.If and when they send your agreements the others can wait.

[AllTheHelp]

Hi,

In the templates section that isn't working at the moment there was a template called CCA Reminder - Unenforceability Threat. Is anyone able to post this as I would like to send something to the DCA's that haven't responded prior to just stopping payments? Many thanks

[Joanna Connolly Solicitors]

The art of managing this situation is to know when to be proactive and when to be reactive. And sometimes being 'reactive' is to do nothing.

You've sent perfectly valid s 77-79 CCA Requests so until or unless they comply with your request the creditor cannot enforce the debt in court. They will (or should) know that because it's in the FCA Handbook CONC 13.1.6(8) which even goes a step further when it says the firm (debt owner) should write to tell you that it's unenforceable.

Read this > https://www.handbook.fca.org.uk/handbook/CONC/13/1.html

So I wouldn't write to anyone until they write to you and then post about it on your thread. It may seem strange at first to keep a low profile but writing letters is a habit you'll soon learn to break

You may find some of them go pleasantly quiet while they scurry around looking for the documentation from the original creditor which could take months. Some may even throw in the towel and tell you that they accept the debt is unenforceable but ask you to pay anyway. The ethical ones will close your account or if it's with the original creditor they will sell the account onwards.

Di

[AllTheHelp]

OK, on that basis I am going to send further CCA requests to those that have provided no response at all - by recorded delivery (to avoid any doubt over whether they receive it and so i can evidence if needed that they have). I can then safely assume that all the DCA's will KNOW that if they have failed to respond to my request and provide the necessary CCA that the debt is unenforceable.

I assume that those that still show on my credit file will start putting negative attributes on it rather than just "OK" which I am slightly wary of as would rather keep my file looking half decent which it sort of does now that the defaults have dropped off.

[Joanna Connolly Solicitors]

I wouldn't send new CCA Requests just yet.

As you say they have 14 days to respond/acknowledge so they may still do that. Leave it another week and then ask our opinion again when we know exactly which ones have not done what they're supposed to do.

There's nothing nasty they can do to you in the meantime so try not to worry.

Di

[Joanna Connolly Solicitors]

I assume that those that still show on my credit file will start putting negative attributes on it rather than just "OK" which I am slightly wary of as would rather keep my file looking half decent which it sort of does now that the defaults have dropped off.

I wouldn't worry about what's put on your credit file for now.

A quick glance at your thread shows that most of your debts would (or should) have been defaulted in 2009 when you stopped making your contractual payments. Those files should have vanished from your CRA files.

Until the whole lot drop off you won't find getting new credit easily anyway so be patient while you tidy up your financial situation.

In fact it's not a good idea to keep checking your CRA file because it flags up your 'visibility' and then the vultures start to circle! Keep under the radar for now.

Di