Hi, Thanks for your reply. The balance is £3450, they will accept £2760, so a reduction of £690.00. The debt dates back to 2007 (approx. £11,000 owed at the time) when my partner and I were experiencing financial problems. We were in a DMP with CCCS at the time initially paying approx. £35 a month on this debt. Egg then took the Second Charge on the Property After a CCJ at Northampton County Court was set at an unrealistic amount of £160 per month which we could not afford pay. Whilst we did appeal against the amount the CCJ was set at, and subsequently had it reduced, because we had missed the first payment the Charging Order was granted. Over the years we have sorted things out and slowly increased the monthly payments. I have been paying £200 a month off the balance for quite some time now, but want to get if from around my neck. Is it wise to get them to confirm removal of the Charge, and confirmation they will update my Credit File accordingly? Thanks.

Hi, I have a debt previously owed to Egg banking, now transferred to Britannica Recoveries. The debt is secured with a Second Charge on the property and managed by Drydens Solicitors. A family member has offered to loan me some money which I would like to use to pay off this debt. I have spoken to Drydens and they have sent me a letter stating they will accept a slightly reduced sum and “consider your liability for the outstanding debt settled”. However, they have made no reference to the removal of the Second Charge with the Land Registry. I am unsure of the process for removal of the Charge. Do I need to get confirmation in writing that they will remove it? Any advice would be gratefully accepted. Thank you.

Hi, The machine is about 5 years old. We took out the extended warranty with Domestic & General as we knew the machine would be used daily, and hence more likely to develope problems. We have had repairs carried out under the warrenty in the past, but have always dealt direct with Domestic & General, and have never had a problem. We have always had an engineer out in a few days, and always with the parts needed, therefore, the machine has been repaired straight away. I think their relationship with Comet in dealing with repairs on their behalf is quite new. It's been a complet farce from the first call we made to them on the 22nd March to be honest.

I have a Hotpoint washing machine that is insured for breakdown with Domestic & General. I have recently made a claim on my policy and contacted Dom&Gen on the 22nd March to reporting the fault. I was told to telephone Comet who deals with engineer callouts on behalf of Dom&Gen. When calling Comet I was told the first available appointment for an engineer to visit was the 4th April, almost two week wait. When the engineer finally called he informed me that he did not have the parts needed for the machine, and would not be able to complete the job until Friday 13th April. He told me that they normally carry parts that commonly need replacing, but did not on this occasion. He also said that Comet have laid off loads of engineers, and as such, they could not cope with the volume of work that they had. I was contacted by Comet again on the 11th April and informed that the parts were unavailable and they had no future delivery date. At this point I had been without a machine for 3 weeks. I made a complaint to Dom&Gen, who have been more than competent in dealing with this issue as far as they can. I was contacted by one of their complaints managers on the 12th April and offered a new replacement machine providing I pay the entire outstanding premium on the policy. They offered to waive the delivery charge of the new machine, and even pushed the order for the new machine through so it was dealt with that day. Due to the volume of washing we do on a daily basis I thought it would make financial common sense to pay extra to purchase a better machine with a larger capacity drum. The machine that met my requirements was one that Comet did not keep in stock, and therefore had to be ordered (Yes, unfortunately Comet also deal with replacement machines for Domestic & General). I was told delivery would take a couple of days. I was contacted by Comet on Monday 16th April, and told the machine would be delivered Friday 20th April. I arranged to take a day off work to wait for the delivery. However, I receive yet another call on the 18th April from Comet informing me that the machine had apparently become “damaged” and they cannot deliver another until the 26th April. When I protested and asked to speak to someone more senior I was told that there was, apparently, no one more senior in that department to complain to. And if I wanted a machine any quicker to pick one that was in stock, even though none of them met my needs. I contacted Comet customer services who were absolutely no help. then found an email address on this website for a Bob Dark, management team at Comet and sent an email of complaint, asking Comet to reimburse me for the five weeks cost of laundering my clothes and the loss of a day’s wages today, Friday 20th, when they were supposed to have delivered the machine. I was contacted today by one of Comets customer service representatives’ basically saying “sorry but there is nothing we can do and we will not pay you any compensation”. My partner is a nurse so need uniforms washed daily on a high temperature. I have no family near, so have been either using a laundrette at a cost of £7.50 a time, or travelling 15 miles to my parents for them to wash for me. If I do actually get the machine next week will mean we have been without one for 5 weeks. That’s 5 weeks of time, money petrol, and effort taking washing to the laundrette or family. I know the insurance for the machine is with Domestic and General, but as I see it they have done all they can to resolve the situation. Ultimately the problem is with Comet. What are my chances of getting any compensation from Comet for the cost of laundering, and days lost wages for the day they were supposed to have delivered the machine? Thank you for any advice you can offer.

Hi, I'm looking for some advice regarding SAR and possible PPI. My Partner had two MBNA, and a Marbles credit cards taken out in 1999. We were experienced some financial problems in 2007 and entered into an IVI, all three accounts included. The IVA was completed in 2008. All three cards had PPI on them, added when the acounts were opened. However, we no longer have any of the documentation relating to the accounts other than account numbers. I was wondering what our chances are of getting all of the statements for the accounts back to 1999 if we SAR them. Any advice would be gratefully accepted. Thanks

Hi, I’m looking for some advice regarding life insurance sold with mortgages. My in laws took out a re-mortgage on their property in 2003 with HSBC. When they took out the loan they were sold a life insurance policy as well, I’m not sure at the moment if it covered anything else like critical illness etc. as they have lost the policy documents and we are waiting for copies from HSBC. At the time of taking out the mortgage my mother-in-law was 62, and on long term disability benefits, and my father –in-law was 60 and also on benefits following an accident, he is also main carer for my mother-in-law. In 2005 they sold their home and moving in with us due to deterioration of my mother-in-laws health. The mortgage was paid off with the proceeds of the sale. At this point they made an appointment at the bank to put their account in order and cancel unwanted direct debits etc. When they told the lady who dealt with them that they wanted to cancel the life policy for the mortgage she informed they that they should keep it running as it would give them financial peace of mind should one of them die. She told them that on death the policy would pay out £40,000 for each party, so they kept the policy going at a cost of £60.99 per month. Last week they went to the bank about another issue, but also checked the relevant issues of their life policy as they are both some 6 years older now. They were informed by the bank that the policy only related to mortgage they had settled 6 years earlier, and the policy depreciated with time, in line with the reducing sum owed each month if they still had the mortgage. He said that even if it would pay out now it would only be worth £6,000 each, and finishes next May as that’s when the mortgage would have been paid up. They are both utterly devastated by this news, having paid £4086.00 into a policy for the last 6 years which has turned out to be of no use to them. They have raised a verbal complaint with the bank, and have received a letter saying “they will look into it”. However, I feel it needs addressing with a much firmer stance than just waiting and hoping. Do you think they have a chance of claiming back this money? And if so can they add interest charges on top? Any help would be appreciated. Thank you.

Hi Could anyone tell me if you could claim back loan payments retrospectively when you know that no credit agreement exists? And if so is it possible for a business loan? My friend owned a small business (Ltd Company). He took out a small business loan back in 2004 and was sold payment protection which he couldn’t use and didn’t want, but was told that was the only way to get the loan so he agreed at the time. Back last year he made a claim to the bank to reclaim the payment protection which they agreed to after he was able to prove it was of no use to him. The bank said they couldn’t simply pay the money of the existing loan but needed to start a new one for the total owed minus the PP. on the day he went to the bank to sign the new agreement it wasn’t available but the transfer when ahead, they said they would post the agreement for him to sign but he never received it. The loan was paid in full several months ago. However, my friend has been experiencing financial problems for quite some time and struggled to repay the loan and other debt. He has ploughed approximately 10-15K of his own and his family’s money into the business over the last two years or so. He has now decided to call it a day on the advice of his accountant. It was a small café business run from leased premises. He received some interest from a third party to take over the lease so sold the fitting for £2000 and used the money to pay off his electricity, water, business rates etc. Now the bank are chasing him for money (overdraft of £5500), saying he signed a personal guarantee. He was aware he signed one when he took out the original loan and was under the impression the guarantee referred only to that. However he acquired a copy from the Companies House web site yesterday and it states “all money and liabilities, whatever, whenever and however incurred by the Company now or in the future”. So that obviously means he is liable for the full amount. He is currently out of work and unable to pay this debt which they are demanding repayment of immediately. I was therefore wondering if he could argue that the loan payments were taken without authorisation and without a legally sound agreement in place, and use it as a bargaining tool to reduce the figure. Any advice would be gratefully appreciated. Thank you.

My friend has spoken to the bank today and they have stated that he signed a debenture for the original bank loan he took out in 2004 and apparently this included the overdraft facility. They have sent him a printout of a security schedule: Date Security Property/assets XX May 2004 Joint & Several Guarantee Given By Mr XXXX and Mr XXX £17,000.00 XX May 2004 Fixed Equity Charge over property The original loan he took out was for £15,000, does that mean that the guarantee on the overdraft would be £2,000, if so would he be within his rights to pay back just the £2000? I forgot to mention that he had a business partner at the time the loan was taken out but he resigned his directorship and handed over his share of the business to my friend approximately two years ago. Would it also be worth him doing a Subject Access Request for a copy of the guarantee? thanks again.

Hi I was hoping to get some advice regarding the situation my friend has found himself in. He is/was a director of a small limited company and held a business bank account with HSBC with an overdraft of £5000, and a business credit card with a £1000 limit that was paid in full each month. The business has been struggling for the last two years or so, with my friend ploughing a lot of his/his close family’s money into the business. His accountant completed his end of year accounts recently showing a significant loss of over £8k I think. He advised my friend to basically call it a day on the business and close down. The business was a small café running from a rented property so didn’t have any fixtures, fitting etc of significant vale, so he has not been able to wind up the business formally. He received some interest from a third party who wanted to take on the business so he sold the fixtures and fitting for £2k and used the money to pay off his outstanding electricity bill, business rates, water etc. However, he still has the £5000 overdraft plus the total owed on the credit card which has also been debited from the bank account making a total outstanding balance of £5800.00. He was advised by his accountant that he would not be liable for this outstanding debt as it was a limited company. However, he has received a letter today from the bank threatening court action and bailiffs etc if he doesn’t repay the outstanding sum within 30 days. They are stating on the letter that he signed a debenture on the property. He can’t remember signing this document, and doesn’t know what “property” it relates too. The only debenture he remembers signing was for a business loan several years ago when he was a sole trader, before becoming limited. Another question I have is relating to the business loan. As I said it was taken out when he was a sole trader, at the time he was told he had to take a payment protection policy with it. Two years ago he successfully reclaimed all the costs for the payment protection as it was unfairly sold to him. HSBC wouldn’t simply deduct the payment protection from the loan they said they would have to pay off the existing loan and start a new one minus the payment protection. The loan was paid in full back last year but my friend never signed a credit agreement as it wasn’t ready when the transfer took place, he was told they would send it in the post for his to sign but he never received it. I was therefore wondering if they become unreasonable with the request to pay the overdraft as he obviously hasn’t got that sort of money he could legitimately make a request for the money paid to the loan to be refunded? Could he also so a subject access request to se a copy of the debenture? Sorry it’s a long winded post, any advice would be gratefully accepted. Thank you.

Hi everyone! A friend of mine has taken on a leased business premises. He was advised by his landlord that he would need to arrange to have the electricity supply reconnected as the previous tenant had not paid his bill prior to his business failing. My friend phoned Scottish Power who supply the premises and they are insistent they will not reconnect the supply until he pays them £2500 as a holding deposit because of the previous tenant, they have also told him he cannot change supplier. This is a new business venture and he doesn’t have that sort of money to give them. Does anyone know whether they can make a demand for that sort of money or force him to continue to use them as a supplier? He has no connections with the previous tenet and has a new lease agreement. I can’t see how they can penalise him because of the previous tenant. Any advice would be gratefully accepted. Thank you

Hello! I have posted a few questions in the past regarding Egg Banking plc and Drydens and have had some good advise so was hoping for a bit more help again please!! I had a loan account with Egg Banking dating back to 2004. In 2006 I began experiencing major credit problems and entered into a DMP with the CCCS. At the time Egg agreed to accept the reduced monthly payment of £43.07 that the CCCS had put to them. I then received a letter from Dryden Lawyers acting for Egg indicating they intended to peruse a Charging Order on my property (which is jointly owned). I filed the relevant paperwork from the County Court including the income & expenditure which the CCCS had compiled and sent it back to Dryden’s as requested (in hindsight I should have sent it directly to the court!)The hearing was held in Northampton so there was no possibility of me attending because of the distance. The Judgment for Claimant determination was set at a totally unrealistic monthly amount of £164.06, this was in March 2007. I then asked for a redetermination at my local County Court. The redetermination was heard on the 24 May 2007, after the first payment for the initial determination was due, the Judge at the redetermination agreed that I should pay the amount initially set out by the CCCS. During this period Dryden’s had applied for an interim charging order on my property, but as the redetermination hearing had agreed to the monthly payments I was initially paying and with all payments up to date I presumed that the charging order would not be enforced. However, because I had failed to pay the difference between the amounts initially set in Northampton Court (164.06) and the amount I was originally paying (43.07), a difference of just £77.85 the charging order was granted at a further hearing which I attended. I was of the understanding that because I was appealing against the initial determination the payments would not have taken effect until the appeal was heard, how wrong I was!! Both my partner and I had several creditors all of whom were being paid through the DMP. As there was no prospect of my financial situation improving in the foreseeable future I filed for Bankruptcy in October 2007, my partner entered into an IVA because he had collateral in the property where as any collateral I had was taken by the charging order. Both the Bankruptcy and IVA have now ended It has been over a year since the redetermination and I have been paying the monthly amount that was set out by the judge. However, today I have received a letter from Drydens stating the following “Our client previously placed this matter on hold in light of your financial circumstances. As you have not notified us of any changes in your circumstances, our client has asked us to review your situation. We attach an income and expenditure questionnaire for you to complete. Please note that our client is no longer prepared to hold this matter in abeyance and your payment proposals are required. As you are aware, a Final Charging Order was obtained on the 27 June 2007, the debt is therefore secured against your property”. I am currently a full time university student and work part-time approx 16hrs per week so my proportion of the household income is much less than my partners. I have completed the income & expenditure form and made a revised payment offer of £100 each month. I was however wondering the following: 1. If they choose not to accept the revised payment what further action can they take? 2. Because the initial determination that allowed the charging order was set at an amount that I was never ever going to meet could this be appealed against retrospectively? There would seem to be a huge disparity if one judge can set a payment of £164.06 whilst another sets it at £43.07 from exactly the same income and expenditure breakdown? Could I ask how the first judge came to the decision that I could afford to pay £164.06?I was wondering whether Dryden’s presented all the paperwork at the hearing in the certain knowledge that I was never going to be able to meet a payment over the amount that I was initially paying. It seems completely unjust that the charge was granted not because I wouldn’t pay but because I simply didn’t have enough to pay it. Sorry for the long winded explanation. Any advice would be gratefully accepted, thank you!

(((Bump)))

Yes the account had a CCJ due to the shortfall of the initial monthly payment that was set at the Judgment of Claimant hearing. It is maddening, as I said it was only granted because of the shortfall of that one payment, obviously if I knew that the initial determination was still upheld until the redetermination was heard I would have paid the shortfall, but I was of the understanding that it would have been put on hold until the redetermination had been heard.

Hello all I’ve posted on hear in the past regarding my continued relationship with Egg Banking and Drydens. I had a loan account with Egg dating back to 2004. In 2006 I began experiencing major credit problems and entered into a DMP with the CCCS. At the time Egg agreed to the reduced monthly payments that the CCCS had put to them. I then received a letter from Dryden Lawyers acting for Egg indicating they intended to peruse a Charging Order on my property (which is jointly owned). Having filed the relevant paperwork with the County Court and providing them with a breakdown of my income and expenditure which the CCCS had compiled the Judgment for Claimant determination was set at an unrealistic monthly amount, this was in March 2007. I then asked for a redetermination at my local County Court. The redetermination was heard on the 24 May 2007, after the first payment for the initial determination was due, and although the Judge agreed that I should only pay the amount initially set out by the CCCS, I had failed to pay the difference between that amount and the amount the initial determination had set for that one payment, this difference was £77.85! I was of the understanding that because I was appealing against the initial determination the payments would not have taken effect until the appeal was heard, how wrong I was!! Therefore, because of the shortfall of £77.85 for that one payment the Charging Order was granted at a later hearing. As there was no prospect of my financial situation improving in the foreseeable future I filed for Bankruptcy in October 2007, my partner entered into an IVA because he had collateral in the property where as any collateral I had was taken by the charging order. Both the Bankruptcy and IVA have now ended. It has been over a year since the redetermination and I have been paying the monthly amount that was set out by the judge. However, today I have received a letter from Drydens stating the following: “Our client previously placed this matter on hold in light of your financial circumstances. As you have not notified us of any changes in your circumstances, our client has asked us to review your situation. We attach an income and expenditure questionnaire for you to complete. Please note that our client is no longer prepared to hold this matter in abeyance and your payment proposals are required. As you are aware, a Final Charging Order was obtained on the 27 June 2007, the debt is therefore secured against your property”. What I would like to know is can they insist I pay more each month even if a Judge has set the payments, as I said previously I have paid the amount set out in the redetermination each month without fail. I am currently a full time university student and work part-time approx 16hrs per week so my proportion of the household income is much less than my partners. Sorry for the long winded explanation. Any advice would be gratefully accepted, thank you!

Thank you for your help, it's much appreciated