I can't believe what I'm reading! IF nuke-em's stuff is for real, I'm home and dry (but for the bad credit report). Mike

Literally? Ooo-err. Foxcub - don't talk to them on the phone - it rarely works to your advantage. Regards, MIke

Sorry - I thought better of posting. Mike

It has been a real eye opener for me. I got into trouble with cards and the like. Tried to clear them by taking out loans and extending my mortgage - with out full success. Then MBNA set MRA onto me. The first contact with them was them calling before 8am one morning. My wife answered the phone - they were so rude to her she put the phone down on them, and it isn't even her debt (and she is usually more polite than to do that). I had never heard of MRA until then - a search brought me here and I found out the truth about them. Since that time I have been lied to, threatened, harrassed and generally mis-treated - even though I have been trying to pay what I owe. Now - they have to prove to me that the debt is enforeable and I don't take calls from the DCA monkeys (other than for baiting and sport). Any goodwill the banks had with me has now gone. I wrote to my MP, fat lot of good he was. My wife volunteers at a charity which helps vulnerable young women, particularly with pregnancies. Whilst not super high numbers, there have been a reasonable number of these young women who have prostituted themselves in order to get out of the spiral of debt that unfair bank charges cause and the pressure that DCAs put them under. Banks and morality are words that don't fit together on the same page. I don't know how the bank bosses sleep at night - I couldn't, and I don't because of their bullying. Rant over. Regards, Mike

Thanks, djwigster, I don't have online banking with HSBC setup. Is 6 years the limit? I've read about claims going back to 1997. Regards, Mike

I have an over draft with HSBC - the limit was £2000 and it is currently running at about £2600. I'm not using the account anymore - I switched banks - and haven't paid anything in for some months. I'm of the opinion that the size of the overdraft is not dissimilar to the amount of charges that HSBC applied on my account. How should I proceed with this? Should I be paying a little in each month to show willing or should I leave well alone. What I'd really like from HSBC is a breakdown of all charged placed on the account, but I guess that won't be forthcoming, which leaves the SAR route. However that will return a lot of sheets of paper that I will have to go through. You advice greatly appreciated. Thanks, Mike

Err - I haven't heard of this - is there a thread somewhere? Thanks, Mike

If it were me I'd leave it well alone - deal with the ones you are being chased for and not the one that has been forgotten. With luck, it'll pass the 6 year point without you making payment or admitting to the loan and the load would evaporate. If they pop up before then, deal with it as you are dealing with your current debts. Regards, Mike

From the specs website: So, lane changing should not matter. Regards, Mike

According to this article: BBC NEWS | England | Berkshire | Car clampers could face Asbo bans Windsor and Maidenhead are considering issuingASBOs to clampers. The councillor involved gets complaints everyday about clampers and wants to do something to bring it to an end. I doubt that ASBOs will be used, but it is good that someone is looking to do somethiing about the problem and that complaining does have some effect sometimes. Mike

Thank, Mr Ton. Much more succinct and to the point than the one I posted. Regards, Mike

Never mind - its too late, now, I need to post the letter.

Thanks for that - SAR in the post tomorrow. Thanks for the info on the charging order. For some reason I thought the charging order could by-pass the normal CCJ route. Regards, Mike

Technically I don't think it is "premium rate" - they all start with 09xx abd are often £1.50 a minute or more. 0871 numbers cost more than normal landlines, but the typical charge from a BT landline is something like 10p per minute, so in a different league to premium rate. The owner of the number may get a percentage of that. The rules changed for 0870 numbers, but I think all those who were making money using 0870 moved to 0871. How a consumer is supposed to keep up with all this is beyond me. IMV another watchdog / industry body doing a bad job. Also, watch out for 070 numbers. They look like mobile numbers but cost a lot more to call and again the owner can get a cut of the call. Tempting to get one of these for when the DCAs call. Last thing on phone numbers - when calling 0800 numbers from a mobile its not covered by your minutes in your contract and is expensive. 0800Buster.co.uk: Call 0800, 0808 & 0500 Numbers Free From Your Mobile has a landline number you can call which will route you to an 0800 number. The landline number will use up contract minutes. Regards, Mike

I think the law changed a couple of years ago - I'm not sure how you should proceed with newer cards. I'm sure someone will be along in a little while to advise. Regards, Mike

There is a "do not telephone me" type template letter that you could send. It isn't guaranteed to work, though. The phoning at work is an underhand tactic! Mike

Hi, The general action plan here is: o don't talk to them on the phone; o don't send them your cards; o you have no obligation to tell them what you owe/spend; and o don't sign your letters to them. When did you start the account? You should send a CCA request together with a £1 postal order - that will put them on the back foot for a little while. Regards, Mike

I have been going back and forth with MBNA about a Virgin CC for a while. Initially I CCA'd and they didn't reply, so I stopped paying. Some time later they sent me a signed agreement with a letter stating that all the prescribed terms were there. Certainly, it was filled in by me and had my signature on it, but no mention at all of Virgin on it. I called Virgin customer services and asked for some info on the account, namely the date the account was opened. I was told 19/9/2001 (the same date as on the CCA, I think). To be honest that seemed a bit early. I then phoned MBNA customer services and asked them if I ever had a MBNA Platinum account. I did. Guess what - it was opened on the same day as the Virgin account, but was closed sometime last year, presumably because I hadn't used it as the last payemt I made to the account was in 2002. The two account numbers are different. It is highly unlikely that I'd have signed up on the same day for two cards especially as back then my finances were in much better order. So, is MBNA trying to fob me off with the MBNA-Platinum CCA as they can't find the Virgin CCA? Has this ever happened with anyone else? I really don't know how to proceed with this - I guess a SAR naming both account numbers? I was called by a MBNA person who didn't go through the security questions, but went straight into telling me the account will be sold at the end of the month and the DCA would seek a charge on my property. How can I put off the sale of the debt to give me more time to find out what has been going on? Thanks in advance, Mike

Signed.

Bump. Sorry for bumping, but I would like some input on this and the posts very quickly go down the list. Is there a better place to ask this type of question? Thanks, Mike

Further - how would I be able to check if what they have sent me relates to an MBNA rather than a Virgin card? Just asking them the question seems an unliekly solution as I don't trust them to tell the truth. Thanks, Mike

Hi, I have Virgin credit card debt. I CCAd MBNA - initially they sent some complete nonsense, but have now sent what looks to be an enforceable agreement - I'll post it later to get you opinions. My question is this: the debt is with a Virgin credit card, but the CCA is MBNA. I know MBNA underwrite Virgin cards, but wouldn't I have applied on Virgin headed application form? The copy of the form they have sent me dates back tot he year 2000. Did Virgin issue credit cards then? The reason I ask is that I probably had a MBNA card at some time - I'm wondering if they have sent me the paperwork for that account rather than the virgin account. Does anyone know the history of virgin and mbna cards? Thanks for you help, Mike

Thanks for this, Honeypot. Was this an online application, or did you call in at a branch? Regards, Mike

jump in my car - David Hasselhoff which is slightly disturbing!

Hayway, Firstly, welcome to the forum. When did you take out the credit card? Who is it with? The first thing you should consider doing is requesting a copy of the CCA (consumer credit agreement) from the credit card company. There are lots of posts on here about doing that - if they fail to provide one in 12 + 2 days, you can put the account in dispute and stop making payments. If things are tight - and they are for many of us here - this is a way that can bring things under control. I'm sure other with more experience than I will chip in. Regards, Mike