Credit Cards Write them off!

Unenforceable Credit Card Agreements? Truth or Scam?

Whether it’s to spread the cost of an expensive purchase over several months, treat ourselves or to gain points towards a reward item, UK consumers are using credit cards more than ever – and owing close to £180 billion as a result. The balance has historically been heavily weighted in favour of the lenders who have been allowed to increase interest rates at will, charge any amount of fees they choose and increase credit limits without having us sign new agreements. A recent report by the Citizens Advice Bureau ‘Daylight Robbery’ looks at the extent of the problem of ‘extortionate credit’ and has as one of its conclusions:-

“This report argues that the existing legislation on extortionate credit is neither effective nor accessible to consumers. The current ‘test’ that determines whether a credit agreement is extortionate is heavily weighted in favour of lenders. Moreover, the test can only be invoked if a borrower is prepared to risk heavy legal costs in taking the initiative and making an application to the court.” This is no longer the case! You don’t have to risk heavy legal costs in taking the initiative. Its no-win-no-fee! And you certainly won’t have to go to court. Most lenders do not go to court and even if they do your solicitor will attend for you. If your credit card was taken out before 7Th April 2007 it is regulated by the Consumer Credit Act of 1974. This law requires ‘proper execution’ of the finance agreement you signed. It is not properly executed if it does not contain all the prescribed terms and conform to the regulations made under section 60 (1) of the act. It is in breach of the act. There is a long list of prescribed terms and regulations which credit finance agreement must adhere to – see below. Crucially you must have signed a document containing ALL the prescribed terms as described in the 1974 Act. If not your finance agreement is not enforceable without an order of the court and section 127 (3) requires the court to dismiss the application for the enforcement order. It may be considered ‘irredeemably unenforceable’. The Act was so complex and difficult that many lenders were caught out by its detail or simply chose to ignore the requirements of the law.

The Process

1.You need the account number of the cards you are claiming for. If doesn’t matter if you don’t have the agreement as your claims manager will request this from your lender.

2. Sign a request called a Section 77/78 which gives authority for your claims manager to request the information your lender holds on the account together with your original credit finance agreement.

3. Write a cheque for £10 payable to your lender so that your claims manager can request your credit finance agreement and account file.

4. NOW YOU WAIT! Your lender, under the Data Protection Act has 16 days to comply then is given a seven day warning – then another 28 day warning. In total 51 days! So be patient. At this point some lenders employ ‘dirty tricks’ in an attempt to delay matters. It is important to keep a record of the time scales involved and it may be quicker if YOU also request a copy of the agreement you signed. Keep checking with your claims manager to see if the information they need from your lender has been supplied.

5. When the lender sends back your account details claims manager will then be in a position to ‘audit’ the agreement. Some claims managers use ‘in house’ solicitors belonging to the company; some use a ‘panel’ solicitor who works for several claims companies and some use ‘auditors’ trained in assessing finance agreements. The audit of a credit finance agreement is straightforward. It is checked against a list of prescribed terms and regulations and scores as a ‘breach’ or ‘compliance’. You must have signed an agreement showing for example;-the annual simple and compound interest rates for purchases, balance transfers and cash advances together with the APR. It is not acceptable for these to have been supplied in a separate document. Your audit should show exactly why your agreement is non compliant.

6. If your agreement is unenforceable it will be allocated to a solicitor who will be responsible for your case. If you wish to keep a clean credit history it is best to continue making payments as although the agreement is unenforceable and therefore you cannot be required to make anymore payments, lenders put default marks on your file anyway. Some claims management companies claim to have any adverse credit marks removed and some do not. This is a grey area at the moment and it is important to discuss it with your solicitor first. If you want to keep your credit file clean keep on making your monthly repayments. Although you will possibly not get these back.

7. You sign a ‘conditional fee agreement’ with the solicitor who lodges a breach of the 1974 consumer credit act with your lender and prepares the case for court. You will not pay any costs than the intial fees.

8. It is unlikely that the lender will go to court. You may be made offers of ‘substantial reductions’ such as 60% off your balance. You must inform your solicitor of any correspondence with the lender and take advice. If you do accept an offer without consulting your solicitor and taking his or her advice you will become eligible to pay your solicitors fees. This is because the solicitors’ costs are funded by claiming against your credit card lender. If you receive an offer of a reduction in the balance rest assured it is a matter of time until the lender writes of your debt!

Wipe Out Credit Cards Debts

Wipe Out Credit Cards Debts

In the case that you have a lot of credit card debts, nearly all your income may go towards the payment of your bills. This is a very difficult situation for you to be in, and you should find a way that helps you to wipe off your credit card debts.

Being in debt is a very unfortunate situation, where you may find yourself in a vicious cycle that getting out of may seem almost impossible. The good news is that you can actually wipe off your credit card debts and breathe a sigh of relief.

Whether it is your own poor spending habits that have landed you into trouble, or any other reason, you can wipe off your credit card debts when you use a good debt management solution. And in order to find the most ideal debt management solution, you will need to use the services of a good debt management company. This is where we come in to help you out.

When you use the help of a reputable company, you will be able to wipe off your credit card debts within a short period of time.

If you want to wipe off your credit card debts, you need to use a company that will check your personal status individually in order to give you a solution that is specifically designed to solve your own problem. Every situation is different and needs to be solved differently. One of the major things that are taken into consideration to help you wipe off your credit card debts is to check your own financial condition. This is what will make it possible to find a method that you can implement without difficulty. In case a solution that is prescribed to you does not take this issue into consideration, you are likely to end up with something you can ill afford, which means that you will not be able to carry it through.

Depending on your individual circumstances, you may go for either a secured debt management solution or an unsecured one. In order to pay even lower interests, you may need to go for debt consolidation in your bid to wipe off your credit card debts. But you need good advice first of all.

Is Life without Credit Cards possible? Write Them Off!

Credit Cards

Is life without credit cards possible? Yes and No. Yes, I believe that it is but it will take quite sometime to get to the stage in most families. Credit cards make buying things not necessary very easy and can get a person deeper and deeper in debt than they ever wanted to be. We have become a society of want, want, want instead of what we need, need, need. Credit cards are great for emergencies that come up and you do not have the money at the time, i.e. vehicle repairs or an appliance purchase.

What we need to do is come up with a monthly budget for things we NEED such as groceries and electricity. Find a way to set aside an amount of money each month for emergencies and then if there is any money left over then buy what you want or think that you need. Think twice before buying that brand new car that probably costs more than your family makes with payments that put more strain on your budget than it can handle, thus your needs go on a credit card. Smart buying and budgeting can help greatly.

Most people think that they cannot survive without a credit card but they are wrong. Being deep in credit card debt can be a real strain on the family and if one worries too much about how to get things paid for they can possible get sick or just be so uptight about life in general that one tends to forgot to enjoy life. You did not get into this situation overnight so do not expect to get out of it overnight. It will take some time and by sticking to your budget you will one day be able to survive without the need for a credit card.

No, some people live on such a tight budget that even a car repair or appliance purchase is out of their reach without a credit card. Credit cards are good things IF they are only used in cases of emergencies. People with credit cards tend to forget that and start purchasing things that are not emergencies. In today’s economy it is almost impossible to buy certain things that we NEED without the use of credit. You must remember that you if only use your credit card for emergencies you will need to redo your budget to allow to pay off the credit card as soon as possible. It is possible to use a credit card wisely and not get deeper and deeper in debt.

If you have credit agreements taken out before April 2007 there is a new unenforceable credit agreement claim which is becoming more and more known about here in the UK. It is possible to have your credit finance agreements –agreements such as credit cards, store cards, secured and unsecured loans, car finance agreements, and those with payment protection insurance ( PPI) ‘audited’. They may not comply with the terms of the 1974 Consumer Credit Act and if they do not they are unenforceable credit agreements. This means you can claim to have them written off. That is the balance completely cleared. For NO FEES a solicitor with handle your claim. This is on a no-win-no-fee basis so it is risk free.

Are Your Credit Finance Agreements Unfair?

Unfair Credit Finance Agreements

There is a NEW financial claim which is set to sweep across the UK! It has been discovered that many finance and credit agreements signed before April 2007 have been written in such a way that they breach the terms of the 1974 Consumer Credit Act and this makes them unfair agreements. It is possible to have any agreement you have ‘audited’ by a solicitor to check the contract to see if it complies with the 1974 Act or whether it is, in fact an unfair agreement. If is does not you can apply to your lender to have the whole balance written off. I have done it and I know it works! So how is it possible?

Most of us have some kind of credit finance agreement.. In fact over 50 million of them are signed every year. So it might be a surprise for you to know that as many as 80% of then may be flawed in some way and that up to 20% may not be worth the paper they are written on. We are lead to believe that the banks – these huge financial institutions so much in the news these days, know what they are doing. It might come as a shock to you that they actually don’t appear to.

It’s all down to the Consumer Credit Act of 1974. This Act lays down very strict terms and conditions which MUST be written into the contract YOU sign. The interest rates must be correctly stated and correctly calculated for example. Often this is not the case. This makes it an unfair agreement. If you have taken out a credit card, store card, car finance or any other kind of loan or finance agreement before April 2007 you may be able to claim to write of the debt using a solicitor who works for you on a no win no fee basis.

Is it a scam? No it certainly is not. There have been many successes to date. It is not debt management, IVA or bankruptcy. So what is the process? Briefly. your solicitor asks your lender for a copy of your credit agreement. Then it is ‘audited’ to see it does or does not comply with the 1974 Consumer Credit Act. If any breaches are found your credit agreement may be deemed an unfair agreement. Your solicitor writes to your lender on your behalf saving you time and stress of having to do this yourself. The process takes about nine months to a year depending on how quickly your lenders reply to requests made by your solicitor.

There are thousands of people who are having problems with debt and a company who can help you to write off your debts is surely a good thing.