Up to 100,000 claims for the cancellation of credit cards and consumer debts are to be put on hold by Judges in England and Wales.

Many of the claims have been generated by claims-handling firms, who argue that according to the 1974 Consumer Credit Act, (CCA) debts are invalid if lenders have not kept the correct paper work.

A spokesperson for the Consumer Action Group said “If you write to the lender under the CCA and ask for a ‘true copy’ of a loan agreement, if they are unable to supply it in the required time, then it becomes an unenforceable agreement”.

A few claims will be selected for a test case in the High Court, to find a way to deal with the large numbers involved. This means that all other cases will be on hold until the relevant issues have been decided. No deadline has yet been set for a decision.