The Consumer Credit Act (CCA) gives you the right to be sent a copy of your credit agreement and a statement of your account for most loans, credit cards, catalogues, store cards and Hire Purchase agreements.
CCA agreements are important! If a creditor can’t find it then:
- you can’t get a CCJ for the debt; and
- you may decide to stop paying the debt.
Sometimes asking for a CCA agreement is a good idea, but not always.
Contents
When should you ask for a CCA? And when shouldn’t you?
Sometimes a CCA doesn’t apply
In the following situations, there is no right to ask for the CCA agreement, so don’t bother:
- debts where there already is a CCJ (if you have just found out about the CCJ you need to look at your options for “setting it aside“, not send a request for the CCA agreement0;
- overdrafts (but do ask if a lender combined your overdraft with other debts into a single amount);
- tax debts or many household bills;
- pre 2008 loans for more than £25,000;
- mortgages.
Court action
If the creditor is seriously threatening court action, always ask for the CCA agreement.
BUT if you have been sent a Letter Before Action/Claim (this is a formal letter with attachments including a Reply Form), use the Reply form to request the CCA, don’t just send the template letter as described in this article.
AND if you have been sent a Claim Form (N1) by the court, the case has already started. At this point it is urgent that you also submit a defence to the claim, you cannot just send off the CCA request. Talk to National Debtline or post on the Leagal Beagles forum about what to do asap.
But when you already have a CCJ for a debt, it is too late to ask for the CCA agreement as the creditor doesn’t have to send it.
Contacted about a debt that is not yours
If a debt collector says you owe money but you don’t recognise the debt, you should send them a Prove It! letter saying you dispute the debt. Here the CCA is only part of the picture. You may get sent a copy of the CCA in answer to this – if the name and address on the agreement are yours and you did live at that property at that point, it is good evidence. But keep focussed on the fact that what matters is proving who the borrower is.
It’s too early
It shouldn’t be your first thought if you are having trouble paying a debt to the lender – you need a payment arrangement or a debt management plan. The original lender can usually easily find the CCA so it just wastes your time asking for it.
Asking for the CCA normally only works if your debt has been sold to a debt purchaser – unless the debt is very old.
It’s statute-barred – or may be soon
If you haven’t been paying a debt for years and you aren’t being hassled by a creditor, you need a good reason to ask for the CCA agreement. It may be better to wait and see if you are contacted and then ask for the CCA, as then the debt is more likely to be statute-barred.
But when you are contacted about a very old debt, you should think first if the debt is statute barred, Talk to National Debtline on 0808 808 4000. They have a template you can send to the creditor saying the debt is statute-barred. This is simpler than asking for the CCA agreement.
But if the creditor comes back with a reason why it isn’t statute-barred, then your next step should be to ask for the CCA agreement.
Hoping to settle debts
If you have a windfall such as an inheritance and you have had a lot of debt in a DMP for several years, settlement offers are a good idea.
But think about asking for CCA agreements before you make these offers. Because you don’t need to pay them anything if they can’t produce the CCA.
Wanting to reduce the time a DMP takes
This is a very good reason to ask for the CCA.
But if it’s very early in the DMP it can be better to make an affordability complaint first. Especially if the debt hasn’t been sold to a debt collector yet.
Thinking about bankruptcy, a DRO or an IVA
Where insolvency (DRO, IVA or bankruptcy) looks necessary, it can be a waste of time asking for CCA agreements, unless not paying those debts would make the rest manageable.
How to ask for your CCA agreement
There is a template letter to ask for your credit agreement in this National Debtline factsheet. That factsheet also has a lot of information about CCA agreements and if you have any problems with one, talk to National Debtline.
This is not the same as templates asking for a copy of your personal information or making a Subject Access Request. If you want to find out if the debt is enforceable, use the specific CCA agreement wording in this template.
Some points to be careful about:
- ask the current creditor for the CCA agreement, not the original creditor;
- you have to send a cheque or a postal order for £1;
- send the letter recorded delivery, keep a copy of it and the postage receipt.
Also read the rest of this article first! You need to know what you will do if the lender sends you the agreement and what if the lender doesn’t.
What happens if they don’t send the CCA agreement?
If you don’t get a copy of your CCA agreement within 12 working days of asking, the creditor can’t enforce the debt in court until they do send it to you.
It’s very common for it to take more than 12 days to find the CCA esepcially if the debt collector has to ask the original lender. Don’t get excited because the 12 days has passed, it means very little in practice.
I suggest waiting two or three months before you decide they can’t find the agreement and decide to stop paying them.
“Legal but not enforceable”
The letter from the creditor saying they haven’t found it yet should be clear that the debt is no longer enforceable but it still legally exists.
The creditor can ask you to pay the debt but the creditor can’t do anything if you don’t. They can’t hassle you to pay it. A polite letter every 6 months or a year is fine – frequent letters, texts or phone calls aren’t. This isn’t usually a problem in practice.
In any letters or emails asking for payment, the creditor should mention that the debt is unenforceable. Here is what I suggested to a reader who was getting letters that left off this important fact: “Debt collector can’t prove it’s my debt but wants payment”
Here are some more implications of the debt being legal but not enforceable:
- if you claim a PPI refund, this may be set off against the balance you still owe.
- the debt can still be sold to another debt collector. Make sure you keep all the CCA agreement letters or emails so you can just tell the new creditor you asked for the CCA agreement on dd/mm/yy and you won’t be paying anything to the debt until it is produced.
- you may be able to leave the debt out of an application for a Debt Relief Order so it won’t count towards the maximum debt limit. Talk to your DRO adviser about this.
- see below for the effect on your credit record.
“So I can just stop paying?”
If you want to stop paying the debt, then you could stop after 12 working days. But many CCA agreements are produced in the next few weeks. So, unless you can’t afford the monthly payments, I usually suggest not stopping it immediately. Leave it a couple of months.
If the debt is in a DMP you will have to tell the DMP firm to stop paying it. Send them the letter from the creditor saying they can’t locate the agreement.
You may find the idea of not paying scary. If you do, talk to National Debtline about this debt and the rest of your financial situation. It helps being able to talk to a friendly expert!
There is a small chance that the CCA agreement could be found much later. This seems to be rare – if the debt collector hasn’t found it in the first few months the chances of it turning up later are very low.
“The creditor hasn’t said it is unenforceable”
Occasionally, a creditor will tell you they can’t produce it, but you are still legally liable for the debt. This is true, but worded carefully so many people may be misled. If they cannot produce the CCA agreement, the debt is unenforceable in court.
Sometimes the creditor goes into a lot of detail about how you have been paying, so the debt isn’t statute-barred. Also true but also irrelevant. You weren’t suggesting the debt was statute-barred.
In this sort of situation, tell the creditor that you are not disputing whether you are liable for the debt or whether it is statute-barred, but you would like the creditor to confirm that the debt is currently unenforceable as they have not produced the CCA.
If the creditor persists with this 9which is unusual), make a complaint and then send the complaint to the Financial Ombudsman. Here is the story of a case involving an old HSBC debt, where HSBC had to pay compensation for not admitting the debt was unenforceable.
“What about my credit record?”
Is this debt still showing on your credit record? Check all three credit reference agencies to make sure.
If it isn’t there, it will never reappear, whether you pay it in full, in part or just stop paying.
A debt marked as defaulted will drop off 6 years after the default date:
- it will not drop off sooner because the CCA cannot be found;
- the date will not be changed so it drops off later;
- the balance is not normally be set to zero because the CCA cannot be found.
When the debt does not have a default date, if you stop paying now, a default will be added and it will then drop off in 6 years. Not good news! Read What should the default date be? and ask the original creditor to add a default date back years ago.
A default will NOT be deleted if the CCA can’t be found. And you shouldn’t want that to happen – it would mean the record would stay on your file for ever if you stop paying.
The whole debt will NOT be deleted if the CCA can’t be found. The debt still legally exists, even though it is unenforceable in court, and the creditor is entitled to report your credit history accurately for it.
“Should I offer a low settlement amount?”
Some people decide to offer a low settlement amount. I don’t think this is a good idea. You don’t need to do this! Not paying them anything is a perfectly good response in most cases! It is very rare for a debt to resurface later.
A lot of creditors simply reject the low offer, even though you think it is sensible. They know that if they refuse you may decide to give them more. You cannot make a debt collector accept this low offer or complain they are being unfair if they don’t.
If you really want to make a settlement offer, stop paying them for a few months and then make the offer. That shows they can choose between your low offer and nothing.
The only time when you should try to get the debt settled is if it will still be showing on your credit record in a year or two when you want to apply for a mortgage. Then getting the debt marked as satisfied will help your mortgage chance a lot. But if the debt is no longer on your credit record or is dropping off soon, there is no need to do this.
What if they do send the CCA agreement?
How can you tell if it is right?
You have to be sent a “true copy” of the agreement – this doesn’t have to be a photocopy of the original agreement. It must be legible and it must include:
- your name and address when the account was opened;
- the creditor’s name and address when the account was opened;
- the terms and conditions of the account at that time, including the cost of credit (the Annual Percentage Rate), when you have to make payments and your cancellation rights; and
- any other documents that were mentioned in the Terms and Conditions.
It doesn’t have to have your signature on it. If you opened the account online you may have signed it “digitally” and there is no document with your physical signature – this is perfectly legal.
If you aren’t sure what you have been sent is correct, ask National Debtline about it or you could post about it on the Legal Beagles forum.
This may sound complicated but it normally isn’t, Usually either the creditor admits they can’t find it or what they sends you is fine.
What should you do when the CCA agreement is found?
This depends on why you were asking for the CCA agreement.
If the creditor has started a court case (you have been sent a Claim Form) then you may have hoped that the CCA agreement could not be found. But now you have it, that is not a possible defence so think if you have another defence. Talk to National Debtline about your options.
If you were planning on making settlement offers to some debts and were hoping the lack of a CCA agreement could get this one settled very cheaply, that has been ruled out and you need to proceed with a more substantial offer.
If you are fed up with having to pay this old debt for many more years, look at your alternatives. If you have more luck with some other debts turning out to be unenforceable, can you now pay more to this one? Or is it time to look at insolvency or other options?
Summary
In summary, asking for the CCA agreement is an uncertain process that can take months. If you have a lot of debts, make sure you are looking at the bigger picture, as well as thinking about the individual debts.
Can you really offer just £1 to a debt?
Could a Debt Relief order help you?
When to ask for a debt write off
Shawn says
I have a company called QDR Solicitors saying I owe a debt to Safetynet Credit. I don’t remember ever signing up and from what I googled safetynet credit went bust. I told them i have no recollection of dealing with them and they have sent me a credit agreement dated september 2019.
What are my options?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
do you still not remember this?
have you asked for a statement of the account?
do you have your bank statements from that period?
shawn says
I don’t have access to the bank statements and no i still don’t remember it.
Whats a statement of the account, does it prove anything?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You should be able to get your bank statements going back 6 years, even from closed accounts. Talk to your bank or your previous bank.
Your bank statements will show no deposits from Safetynet Credit
a Statement of Account will show what payments have been made to and from the account.
I assume the Credit Agreement has your correct name and address for 2019 on it?
shawn says
I’ll talk to the bank.
Yes correct name and address.
If there’s no safetynet how are they saying i owe safetynet?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
They will have been sold the debt by safetynet before Safetynet went into administration
Elise says
Hi, I’ve been following your help and suggestions for requesting CCA from debt collection agencies and just received this response from Lowell:
“due to the age of these accounts and the retention period that has passed, we are unable to request further documentation. If you would like to see if the original clients still hold these documents, you would need to request this from them directly. You can do this by submitting a Subject Access Request to Next and NewDay Ltd, in accordance with data protection legislation. If you do make a Subject Access Request to them, please let us know so we can manage your accounts accordingly.”
Does this mean they can’t enforce the debt from Next and Newday? Or shall I try request this from them directly? The debt is from 2016. Thanks for your help in advance.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You do NOT want these documents to be found so under no circumstances should you ask Next or Newday for the CCA agreements.
If Lowell cannot produce them then the debt is unenforceable and you can simply stop paying. I suggest you tell Lowell that you will not be making any further payments as the 2 debts are unenforceable. Keep a record of any communications they send you but can the ignore them (exception – if you are sent a letter Before Action (see https://debtcamel.co.uk/letter-before-claim-ccj/ for exactly wehat this looks like) then you should not ignore that. But this is very, very unlikely.)
Andrew says
Hi Sara,
I have recently made CCA requests to Halifax and M&S Bank, the debts come to ~£14,000 being paid via a step change dmp at a cost of £180/month. Halifax replied within a week to say they are unable to provide a copy of the original terms of the agreement, should I still wait a few months to see if they find one? M&S Bank haven’t responded at all and the request to them was made over 3 months ago, should I make a follow up request to them or just stop paying? I asked step change to remove them both but they seem very reluctant to do so and the advisor I spoke to didn’t seem to know what a CCA request is, all they have done so far is put a pause on the Halifax debt for 6 weeks.
Thank you.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
was this a very old Halifax debt? did they say they no longer had it or that they would look for it?
M&S – the request went by letter?
Andrew says
The Halifax account was opened 2002, the M&S one 1985. The letter from Halifax reads “We are unable to provide a copy of the original terms of the agreement. We are aware that until we are able to provide a copy of the original terms of the agreement, we will not be entitled to enforce the credit agreement.” Both requests were made by letter and sent by recorded delivery.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ok so you can show that to Stepchange and insist they stop paying Halifax.
M&S – phone them up and ask why they have not responded to your request for the CCA. Ask them to confirm that until they do the debt remains unenforceable in court.
do either of these debts still show on your credit record?
Andrew says
okay I’ll do that, they are still on the credit record, the M&S one defaulted December 2021 and Halifax February 2022.
Thank you.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
the debts will drop off in Dec 207 and Deb 2028 whatever happens.
Tim says
Hi Sara
A number of months ago I submit CCA requests to 9 Debt collection agencies. I’ve been in a DMP for over 6 years. 3 have sent me documents.
One with Link for an old MBNA account, paperwork looks good.
One with Cabot for an Aqua debt – they’ve sent me a copy of the original competed application and a credit card agreement that does not contain my details. Is this enough to determine it’s enforceable?
Finally another response from Cabot for a Zopa loan which is a bit more complex. Originally they wrote to say they couldn’t produce, but a couple of months later they sent me a copy the ‘loan contract summary’ it’s an unsigned document, not even an electronic tick box signature. But as it was originally a P2P loan it’s classed as ‘non-commercial’ and so Zopa have stated that it’s excluded from some of the procedural regulations in the CCA Act, specifically no obligation to provide info under section 77. They now say it’s enforceable.
I have two questions here… Wouldn’t they still need a signed credit agreement? And although the debt was originally a P2P loan when it was defaulted Zopa sent me a ‘notice of assignment’ advising that the Zopa investor loan had assigned to Zopa limited all their rights, title interest and benefit to the loan contract. So does that not mean that at the point it should revert to a commercial loan agreement?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest you talk to National Debtline on 0808 808 4000 about the Aqua and Zopa debts
Dan says
Hi, one of my DMP debts was sold. I requested the CCA and the replied with “we do not currently hold all of the documents for this debt, but we have requested these from (previous provider).
What is advised in this scenario? Should I continue to pay them whilst I wait for the documents to materialise or should I stop paying money to them now?
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I normally suggest carrying on letting the DMP pay them for another 2. Then ask the creditor to confirm that the debt is currently unenforceable, then ask the DMP provider to remove the debt from the DMP
Dan says
Thanks, I will continue for another 2 months then if I don’t hear from them with the required documents I’ll speak to the dmp company as well.
Dan says
The second debt company has written back and they also don’t have the documentation, they have said they will request it from their client. I will wait 2 months as you advised and then contact them asking if the debts enforceable. Thanks
Emma says
Hello,
Is it likely that the PRA group will have the CCA paperwork? Is it worth asking them? I have a DMP with stepchange.
Also, if I defaulted on 21 October 2020, when do they leave my credit record if my DMP doesn’t finish until September 2027?
Thanks
Emma
Sara (Debt Camel) says
How old is the account now with PRA, when was it opened?
If a debt has a default date showing on the credit record, it will drop off 6 years after that. Whether it has been repaid in full, partially satisfied or is still being paid in the DMP
Emma Lance says
They bought the debts in 2022.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Sorry I wasn’t clear, I meant to ask when the original account with the lenders was opened? Was it a credit card?
Adam says
If a CCA cannot be found by a debt collection agency, should they give back what they have received?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
no.
Scoobie says
Hi Sara,
In the last two weeks, I have Link financial asking me to contact them to pay a debt. I stopped paying them in Feb 2020 when I asked for CCA and none was found. It was on two credit cards, around £16K when I was going through hard times and racked up the debt. I only contact them to give them my change of address. The last contact was in Feb 2021 with my new address. What would you suggest that I do in this case? Should I ignore the letter or respond? If I don’t contact them, could my debt be statute-barred? Thanks for your help.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Well it can’t yet be statute barred if you last paid in Feb 2020 (unless you live in Scotland?)
If you want to know whether giving them your address will have reset the statute barring clock, I suggest you talk to National Debtline on 0808 808 4000.
Did the letter say that the debt was unenforceable?
Scoobie says
Hi Sara
The letter did not say that the debt was unenforceable.
It said they have been unsuccessful in contacting me to discuss the account and want to discuss my intentions and agree an affordable repayment plan to clear outstanding balance.
Any suggestions on what to do here?
I live in Wales, so I will follow your advice to call national debtline.
Thanks for all your help
Sara (Debt Camel) says
My inclination would be to ignore it until it is several months past being statute barred, but why not ask National Debtline?
There is only one letter you must NOT ignore and that is a Letter before Claim (it may have other headings eg letter of claim, Letter before action, etc). This is described in this other article https://debtcamel.co.uk/letter-before-claim-ccj/ and it has some very specific firms attached which have to use the exact wording. I do not expect you will get one, but if you do, you have to reply to it using the ReplY Form
Scoobie says
thank you so much Sara!
appreciate all the advice and suggestions.
Eoin says
Can I clarify the position on credit file and unenforceable debts? I am aware if no CCA is found the debt is still legal but becomes unenforceable, I am also aware of the 6 year rule from the date of default. My question is does the default marker disappear after the 6 years or does the entire record of the debt disappear. My objective here is to get my credit report as clean as possible and I am unsure if any unforceable debts remain on my report indefinitely.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The record for the debt is deleted after 6 years, not just the default.
There is also no special marker that says the debt is unenforceable.
Clyde says
I have everyday loans in my dmp, it’s a 2019 debt so before the rebrand. I know I won’t get a refund etc but as it is before they went to evlo, are they likely to still have my cca? I defaulted early 2020. All of my debts in my dmp were defaulted in 2019/2020 so have either dropped off or are due to drop off next year. Am planning on hitting them all with cca requests when they drop off. Most are debt collection agencies like Lowell. Everyday loans is one of the bigger debts, my dmp is due to run until 2046 (madness) so if I can get most unenforceable my dmp will finish a lot sooner! Don’t pay a huge amount for my dmp – £43 a month for £10K debt and that’s already a struggle
Sara (Debt Camel) says
as it is before they went to evlo, are they likely to still have my cca?
Has this been sold to a debt collector? Evlo is just a rebrand, marketing fluff, it is still the sme company that it ever was.
Am planning on hitting them all with cca requests when they drop off
Do this now, there is NO reason to delay. Being off your credit record has nothing to do with the likelihood of the CCA being produced.Also it’s possible that asking for the CCA may mo longer work at asome point as the governement are looking at changing the law.. so get requests in now.
£43 a month for £10K debt and that’s already a struggle
are you buying or renting?
Clyde says
I own my home, it’s a private mortgage with parents so no “real” creditor”.
The loan with everyday loans was to pay off an onstride debt and “extra for Christmas” these were the words of the lady in the everyday loans office. I think I’ll try and ask them for the cca anyway. It’s not with a debt collector no, they’ve accepted the token payment from payplan. I don’t remember signing anything, I just supplied bank statements etc.
I’ll get the requests off to the other agencies this weekend.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You don’t have to sign a CCA agreement.
Clyde says
We own our home but it’s a private mortgage to parents so no official debt. My husband pays the mortgage payment to my parents.
Everyday loans don’t sell to a debt collector, they agreed to the dmp straight away.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Well you can ask Evlo first the CCA, but they may well be able to produce it.
Do you have Recent debts that are not in the DMP?
Scoobie says
Hi Sara, thanks so much for helping me previously. I received a letter from Link Financial yesterday advising the following: “we have been trying to reach you to discuss your account as we want to see if we can help to bring your account back upt to date or agree a payment plan. If we do not hear from you or receive a payment within the next 14 days, we will pass your account to our reconnection team, who will assess your account for a home visit”
Can they do that? they have not provided any agreement when asked, its been 5 years since I last paid them and only contacted them in 2022 with a change of address, they do not say that the debt is unenforcable etc.
What is your advice/guidance please? Really appreciate this.
Many thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest you carry on ignoring this UNTIL you get sent a formal Letter before Action/Claim – see https://debtcamel.co.uk/letter-before-claim-ccj/ for what one of those letters looks like, they can have various headings but they always have to include a Reply Form in a fixed format which that article describes.
You may never get one of those letters, Link may just be bluffing.
If someone turns up at your house they have no right of entry at all. Open the door and tell them politely that the debt is unenforceable and you will not be talking to them about it.
Scoobie says
thanks so much!
Jane A says
Hi Sarah,
I’ve had one of these letters too but it went to my mum’s address (I lived there for a while). I don’t want to give them my new address but I don’t want them to call at my elderly mum’s address either!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Tell your mum that she doesn’t have to open the door to them. But she can just open the door and politely say she can’t talk about your affairs and she doesn’t know when you will be around.
Jane A says
Hi Sarah, you helped me in 2021 with considerable credit card debt by asking for the CCA. I have been able to settle all of the debts bar one which was originally an MBNA credit card now with Link (has been for years). They were unable to produce the CCA so I stopped paying and aside from an annual Letter, I haven’t heard from them. Now they have started writing to me again. Two letters asking me to contact to discuss the debt and one today which says if they don’t hear from me within 14 days, I may get a home visit. None of the letters state that the debt is unenforceable. What should I do? I’m thinking they may turn up over Christmas! Latest letter does mention a substantial discount to settle but I’m wondering whether they are just trying to get something rather than nothing as the debt is not enforceable?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest you carry on ignoring this UNTIL you get sent a formal Letter before Action/Claim – see https://debtcamel.co.uk/letter-before-claim-ccj/ for what one of those letters looks like, they can have various headings but they always have to include a Reply Form in a fixed format which that article describes.
You may never get one of those letters, Link may just be bluffing.
If someone turns up at your house they have no right of entry at all. Open the door and tell them politely that the debt is unenforceable and you will not be talking to them about it.