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The Consumer Credit Act 1974

Credit Cards and Unsecured Loan Write Off – How does it work?

What is the Consumer Credit act 1974?

The official long title is:  “An Act to establish for the protection of consumers a new system, administered by the Director General of Fair Trading, of licensing and other control of traders concerned with the provision of credit, or the supply of goods on hire or hire-purchase, and their transactions, in place of the present enactments regulating moneylenders, pawnbrokers and hire-purchase traders and their transactions; and for related matters”

The Consumer Credit Act of 1974 was brought about to protect UK Consumers, however, the terms that allowed the consumer protection were not clear and therefore for years the Credit Industry was allowed free reign with little resistance or challenge from consumers.

These unclear terms of protection have now been changed as a result of the Consumer Credit Act of 2007. This makes it clear to all parties that Consumers can challenge a Credit Agreement if they believe it to be unfair. If proven to be unfair and unenforceable then they may be able to have theire credit card or personal loan taken out before April 2007 written off.

Our specialist financial compensation claims solicitors can check, audit or review your agreements and confirm if they are unfair or indeed unenforceable. If you believe you may have taken up an “Unfair Credit Agreement” they can handle the whole process for you including if necessary taking your Lender all the way to Court.

Our team of solicitors combine their knowledge and experience in finance with their Legal Panel’s expert legal advice to ‘Audit’ your credit agreement.

They can check that your agreement complies with the prescribed terms defined in the Consumer Credit Act of 1974. The Consumer Credit Act 1974 exists to protect the rights of lenders and borrowers who are in contract with each other.

Millions of credit agreements, ranging from credit cards to loans may be in breach of the Act and may be deemed to be unenforceable. Where a borrower’s agreement is declared ‘unenforceable’ he/she would not be required to make any future repayments and may have the debt legally written off.

What can I claim?

Irrespective of whom your credit card or unsecured loan provider is, so long as the balance is over £1,000 we could help. Once signed up our specialist team will obtain and ‘Audit’ your agreements and they will then guide you through the rest of the process.

No matter how many credit cards, store cards or loans you have they could help with them all. If your case meets the qualifying criteria the balance of your credit or unsecured loan could be written off in full.

In Debt Solutions invites you to visit Challenge Your Agreements under the Consumer Credit Act 1974 to find out if your agreements qualify.

Frequently Asked Questions.

Q. How long is a claim expected to take?
A. Approximately 12 months. Some may be sooner and more complex cases may take slightly longer.

Q. Who does the client contact if they have a query?
A. Their Claims Consultant.

Q. What do we do if the loan is in joint names?
A. Make sure you both sign Account Holder 1 & Account Holder 2 on the forms.

Q. Can a client submit one claim now and then another later?
A. Yes.

Q. Which lenders have breached the Consumer Credit Act?
A. No particular lenders, all Credit Agreements from any lender can be investigated.

Q. What if the lender keeps contacting me?
A. Forward all written correspondence to The Claims Warehouse.

Q. What sort of credit cards/loans can you claim on?
A. Any credit card/loan with an outstanding balance of £1000+ (Credit Cards, Store Cards, Personal Loans, Secured Loans, Home Improvement Loans, Car Finance, Loans to pay-off other loans)

Q. Are there specific lenders that you have a better chance with?
A. No it would appear that all credit agreements may need investigating.

Q. Are there any back-end charges?
A. No, we do not charge back-end fees on UCA claims. When we win your case we claim our costs from the other side.

Q. What if I’ve lost or can’t find my original documents?
A. Don’t worry we request original copies from your lender or credit card company. They have a duty to release them to us, with your authority of course.

Q. Can I pay using the same credit card that I’m about to make a claim with?
A. No, this is not possible.

Q. What if the lender contacts me after I put a claim in?
A. Our solicitors will deal with the lender from the beginning of the dispute until its conclusion.

Q. Can I accept an offer?
A. Do not accept any offers made as you could be liable for costs and the offer will likely be a lot less than your claim.

Q. Are you a regulated Claims Management Company?
A. The Claims Warehouse Limited is regulated by the Ministry of Justice in respect of regulated claims management activities. Its registration is recorded on the website www.claimsregulation.gov.uk. Registration number CRM15365.

Q. I owe more than £25000 is there still a claim?
A. There is no upper limit. We can investigate to determine whether you have an unfair relationship and a claim for potentially thousands in compensation.