Unenforceable Credit Agreements and Claims Management Companies - Guide to Making a Claim

A Guide to Making a Claim on Unenforceable CreditWhat must you do now?
Loan AgreementsIt's a simple, straight-forward process. The first thing
If you have ever had a credit card or loan, theyou must do is to decide which loans, credit cards,
chances are your agreement is regulated by thestore cards, car finance agreements you wish to
Consumer Credit Act 1974. Some very importantmake a claim for;
straight-forward information about unenforceable- Check when you signed the credit agreement. It
credit agreements and how to make a claim to clearmust be before April 2007.
your debt.- Check the balance on your credit agreement. Some
If you have any unenforceable credit agreementscompanies will handle claims for credit agreement
you could reclaim thousand of pounds. You can use ahaving a remaining balance of £1000. Some
Claims Management Company to help you write offwon't go for balances under £5000. It varies
your loan or credit card. But be careful to choose thefrom company to company. If you have cards with
right companyvarying balances it is best to find a claims
Some Claims Management companies charge fees onmanagement company that can handle them all for
conclusion of your claim of 30%, some offer a freeyou.
audit , which is not an audit but a simple preliminary- You will need to know the name of the lender, the
review, made by any company to assess if you mayaccount number, balance remaining and the year the
have a claim.credit agreement was signed.
It is not possible to guarantee you have an- The Claims Management Company will send
unenforceable agreement until it has been audited bydocuments for you to sign, a section 77/78 request
a solicitor and any breaches have been identified. Sowhich allows them to request your file from your
beware of misleading claims.lender. You will need to provide a cheque or postal
How is this possible?order made payable to your lender so they will
It is possible due to the 1974 Consumer Credit Actrelease your information.
which states that in law, certain terms must be- Once the claims manager has all the information
contained in the agreement you signed. If the loan orfrom your lender they can start the audit. An audit is
credit card provider hasn't followed these rules thena detailed examination of the credit agreement to
your agreement is an unenforceable credit agreementsee if it follows the prescribed terms of the 1974
and can be written off.Consumer Credit Act. This audit will tell you and your
You must have signed the agreement whichsolicitor what the breaches are.
contained the terms and conditions of the contract in- The solicitor will then write to your lender stating
the same document and not in a separate document.the grounds for a dispute. You will have to carry on
If the terms are not in the same document then themaking repayments until your claim is resolved if you
contract is unenforceable by your lender.want to keep a good credit rating. Although lenders
All credit agreements taken out before April 2007 areare asked not to make an adverse entry on your file
potential claims as an unenforceable agreement.while the case is in dispute, it cannot be guaranteed
Breaches of the 1974 Consumer Credit Act canthat they will not.
enable the Claims Management Company to write off- During the process you may well be approached by
your debt.your lender to accept 'significant' reductions in the
You can do it yourself, if you have the time andbalance of your card. You must not accept this but
money for a possible court case. But manycontact your solicitor who will advise you.
consumers prefer a hassle free and easy process in- Challenging the enforceability of a credit agreement
the hands of an expert solicitor which will save youis not the same as debt management, an IVA or
time, energy, stress and could save you thousandsbankruptcy.
of pounds.