How to Legally Write Off Credit Card Debt

Did you know the average Brit has over £10,000 of unsecured debt? Those credit cards, store cards and loan balances all add up, and if you only ever pay the minimum repayments each month, you’ll find paying them off could take decades. You may even end up never being able to pay them off. Yet there are things you can do to tackle this – including using the law to write off debt and any balances that have not been administered by your lenders properly.

So what are the options?

Well, there are a few solutions available such a Debt Management Plan, an IVA or a Trust Deed. These allow you to freeze the interest and charges, then pay one low payment each month until the end of the term when the outstanding debt balance is written off. Your credit rating will be affected though and you may struggle to gain credit in the near future.

However there is another alternative. An alternative that could allow you to write off debts in a fraction of the time ... read on....

The power of the 1974 Consumer Credit Act

Since 1974, the Consumer Credit Act has protected us by regulating unsecured lending below the value of £25,000. In 2006 this was amended by the government, which resulted in solicitors and lawyers immediately spotting a clause in the amendment that opened the doors to everyone being able to write off debt if it was taken out before April 2007. Why? Because many credit card and loan companies had simply not bothered to obtain the correct documentation that was required.

So if you have a credit card or loan that you took out before this date, there is a possibility you could write off debt that has not been administered properly if you challenge the lender. This is referred to as an 'Unenforceable Loan Agreement' because without the correct documentation the loan is 'Unenforceable'.

So how do you go about proving an 'Unenforceable Loan Agreement'?

Simply, you use the law to prove that your credit card or loan contract does not comply with the '2006 Consumer Credit Act amendment' and is therefore not legal. This legal ‘loophole' means your lender cannot force you to pay back the loan and the court will order your lender to write off the entire balance in full.

Is this a scam?

It may seem too good to be true and of course many people regard anything that is too good to be true as a scam. However, the truth is this is not a scam and sometimes good things like this do happen! The Consumer Credit Act was put in place to protect consumers and you are only using the law as it was meant to be used – for your protection.

Who can help me prove I have an Unenforceable Loan Agreement?

Although you may not be a solicitor and do not know the full extent of the law and how to use it to your advantage, you can start the ball rolling by writing to the lending company directly. In the meantime, you can then get the advice and help of someone with experience in this field to carry on with your case.

There are many firms out there offering this service, some of the legal (such as solicitors) and some of them non-legal (such as advisory companies). However it is tough to know how professional they are and it is not helped by the various ways they take payment for helping you. Some firms will charge a fee upfront to look at your agreement and assess if it fits the 'Unenforceable' criteria. Others will only charge a fee if they have won the case for you and the deal is complete. And yet others will offer you a discount if they can check the unenforceability criteria of more than one of your debts. Bottom line, you will have to pay for this service, but it will be a drop in the ocean compared to how much you could get written off.

How do I know if I qualify?

Use our Free Debt Calculator here to see if your debts qualify. We’ll even help you find the right company to help you get on the road to a debt-free future!