Credit Card and Loan Debt - Unenforceable Credit Agreements

The Government introduced The Consumer Credit Act 1974 to provide specific Consumer rights for people and to protect them from Lenders. The Consumer Credit Act sets out strict guidelines for the establishment, content and procedures of all credit card, loan and many other agreements. These must be followed by law by all Lenders in this Country.

The 1974 ACT states that if a Lender provides credit using an agreement that does not fully comply with each of the conditions of the act, it becomes an unenforceable Credit Agreement. This means that the borrower will in turn not need to repay the outstanding balance and could even be entitled to a refund of payments and compensation.

The Consumer Credit Act and other Government Legislation details the exact content and format a Credit Agreement must use if a Credit Agreement is not to become an unenforceable Agreement. However, because of changing legislation and Legal new presidents the lenders regularly and often carelessly changed the content of the Credit Agreements they use.

It has come to light that over the years, some of the many often inexperienced people used by the Lenders to draft or amend their Credit Agreements have made errors by failing to include all of the content required, in the exact format required by Consumer Credit Act Law.

This area of Consumer Credit Law is relatively complex, however in simple terms some of the areas which can make Credit Agreements become unenforceable Credit Agreements include:

1) NON PROVISION OF PRESCRIBED TERMS
The Lender failed to include in the agreement all of the information they were required to. This puts them in breach of The Consumer Credit Act.

2) INAPPROPRIATE EXECUTION OF AGREEMENT
The Lender failed to provide an agreement in the format allowing correct execution putting them in breach of The Consumer Credit Act.

3) MISCALCULATION OF APR’s or THE TOTAL AMOUNT REPAYABLE
The Lender did not use the correct method to calculate the Interest Rate or the total amount repayable thus putting them in breach of The Consumer Credit Act.

4) NON PROVISION OF ALL RELEVANT DOCUMENTATION
The Lender is unable or unwilling to provide complete copies of the original signed agreement along with its supplementary documentation. This puts them in breach of The Consumer Credit Act.

5) NON DISCLOSURE OF COMMISSIONS OR FEES

The Lender did not disclose all commissions and fees paid or received in connection with the consumers agreement. Thus putting them breach of The Consumer Credit Act.

6) MIS-SELLING OF ANCILLARY PRODUCTS
The Lender inappropriately included an ancillary product with the Credit Agreement. This would put them in breach of The Financial Services and Markets Act 2000.

Click here to find out more and if your credit agreements qualify.

NON PROVISION OF PRESCRIBED TERMS | Consumer Credit Act 1974

One example of a Lender potentially breaching the Non Provision of Prescribed Terms part of the Consumer Credit Act is when a Lender: requires you to sign a Credit Card or Loan Agreement, but provides you with a separate booklet containing the Terms & Conditions of the AgreementSection 61 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 which states: ” A regulated agreement is not properly executed unless-” “a document in the prescribed form itself containing all the prescribed terms and conforming to regulations under section 60(1) is signed in the prescribed manner…”

Therefore, by providing you with an Agreement to sign and the Terms & Conditions of the Agreement in a seperate booklet that you did not sign, your Lender may have breached the Consumer Credit Act.

The growing number of people trying to persuade their Lenders to write off their unenforceable Credit Agreements, has forced Lenders to make a stand against individuals. Therefore, it is now unlikely you will be able to do this for yourself, unless you are prepared to take your Lender to Court and risk loosing thousands of pounds in Legal costs.

However, if Solicitors conclude that your Credit Agreement is unenforceable they will offer to accept your case on a No Win No Fee basis. Solicitors will then formally demand that your Lender agrees to write off your Credit Agreement and refunds previous interest payments.

If your Lender refuses, Solicitors will take them to Court to force them to comply. Solicitors will often ensure that no adverse credit information is registered against you, you will not become liable to pay any Legal costs and you will keep 100% of the compensatory damages awarded.

The author invites readers to visit write off unenforceable Credit Agreements

INAPPROPRIATE EXECUTION OF AGREEMENT | Consumer Credit Act 1974

One example of a Lender potentially breaching the Inappropriate Execution of Agreement part of the Consumer Credit Act is when a Lender: requires you to sign a Credit Card or Loan Agreement, but does not include a signature box for themselves to sign and therefore be able to properly execute the Agreement.Section 61(a) of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 which states: “A regulated agreement is not properly executed unless-” it …”is signed in the prescribed manner both by the debtor or hirer and by or on behalf of the creditor…”

Therefore, by providing you with an Agreement to sign that does not contain a signature box that the Lender can sign in, your Lender may have breached the Consumer Credit Act.

The author invites readers to visit Write off your Credit Agreement

MISCALCULATION OF INTEREST RATES or AMOUNT PAYABLE | Consumer Credit Act 1974

08/02/2009 by Kerry

One example of a Lender potentially breaching the Miscalculation of Interest Rates part of the Consumer Credit Act is when a Lender: Details on the Credit Agreement that you originally signed the incorrect Annual Percentage Rate (APR)Section 20 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 which states: “…Regulations containing such provisions as appear to him appropriate for determining the true cost to the Debtor of the credit provided…” and “…Regulations so made shall prescribe-” “…The method of calculating the rate of the total charge for credit.”

Therefore, if the APR displayed on the original Credit Agreement that you signed differs from the actual APR calculated using the method and formula stipulated by the Secretary of State and The Office of Fair Trading, your Lender may have breached the Consumer Credit Act.

If you would like to read a “simplified” guide on the way in which APR’s should be calculated, you can read the 64 page guide issued by The Office of Fair Trading on behalf of the Secretary of State by clicking here. Alternatively, you can read the non simplified statutory Instrument “The Consumer Credit (Agreements) Amendment Regulations 2004 (2004 No.1482)” by clicking here. Solicitors choose to utilise the very latest software program when evaluating and auditing their Clients Credit Agreements in order to determine the actual APR, the real interest rate and the total charge for credit relating to a Clients particular Credit Agreement

The growing number of people trying to persuade their Lenders to write off unenforceable Credit Agreements, has forced Lenders to make a stand against individuals. Therefore, it is now unlikely you will be able to do this for yourself, unless you are prepared to take your Lender to Court and risk loosing thousands of pounds in Legal costs

However, if Solicitors conclude that your Credit Agreement is unenforceable they will offer to accept your case on a No Win No Fee basis. Our Solicitors will then formally demand that your Lender agrees to write off your Credit Agreement and refunds previous interest payments.

If your Lender refuses, Solicitors can take them to Court to force them to comply. Solicitors will often ensure that no adverse credit information is registered against you, you will not become liable to pay any Legal costs and you will keep 100% of the compensatory damages awarded.

The author invites readers to visit write off unenforceable Credit Agreements.

NON PROVISION OF RELEVANT DOCUMENTATION | Consumer Credit Act 1974

One example of a Lender potentially breaching the Non Provision of Relevant Documentation Post Agreement part of the Consumer Credit Act is when a Lender: is requested to provide a copy of your Credit Card or Loan Agreement but fails to do so within one month.Section 77(if it is a Loan), 78 (if it is a Credit or Store Card) or 79 (if it is a Lease Agreement) of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 which states: “The creditor under a regulated agreement…” must …”after receiving a request in writing to that effect from the debtor and payment of a fee of £1, shall give the debtor a copy of the executed agreement (if any) and of any other document referred to in it…” and “…If the creditor under an agreement fails to comply with subsection…” then “he is not entitled, while the default continues, to enforce the agreement; and if the default continues for one month he commits an offence”

Therefore, whether the Lender has lost the Agreement or refuses to provide a copy of the originally signed Credit Agreement and any accompanying Terms & Conditions, your Lender may have breached the Consumer Credit Act

If your Lender refuses, Solicitors will take them to Court to force them to comply. There is no additional cost for this service, Solicitors will often ensure that no adverse credit information is registered against you, you will not become liable to pay any Legal costs and you will keep 100% of the compensatory damages awarded.

The author invites readers to visit write off your Credit Agreement

NON DISCLOSURE OF COMMISSIONS OR FEES | Consumer Credit Act 1974

One example of a Lender potentially breaching the Non Disclosure of Commission or Fees part of the Consumer Credit Act is when a Lender: pays a commission to a third party such as a Finance Broker or a division of the Lender located in a foreign country in recognition of their assistance in the Lender providing a Credit Card or Loan Agreement. Section 155 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 which states: “…In the case of an individual desiring to obtain credit under a consumer credit agreement, any sum payable or paid by him to a credit-broker otherwise than as a fee or a commission for the credit-broker’s services shall for the purposes of subsection (1) be treated as such a fee or commission if it enters, or would enter, into the total charge for credit.”

Therefore, where a Lender provides a Borrower with a Credit Card or Loan and does not disclose a Commission they have paid to a third party or another division of themselves, a Lender may have breached the Consumer Credit Act

The author invites readers to visit write off unenforceable Credit Agreements.

MIS SELLING OF ANCILLARY PRODUCTS | Payment Protection Insurance

One example of a Lender potentially breaching the Financial Services Authority Rules, which represent statutory Rules under the provisions of Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 is when a Lender: makes compulsory or recommends an Insurance Policy that is not suitable for your needs or does not obtain sufficient information about you to know if it is suitable for your needs.Rule PRIN2.1.1(9) of the Financial Services Authority which states: “A Firm must take reasonable care to ensure the suitability of its advice and discretionary decisions for any customer who is entitled to rely upon its judgement”

Therefore, by providing an Insurance Policy that was not suitable for your needs in conjunction with your Credit Facility, your Lender may have breached the provisions of Financial Services and Markets Act 2000.

The author invites readers to visit write off unenforceable Credit Agreements.