This topic was closed on 10 March 2019. If you have a problem which is similar to the issues raised in this topic, then please start a new thread and you will get help and support there. If you would like to post up some information which is relevant to this particular topic then please flag the issue up to the site team and the thread will be reopened. - Consumer Action Group

This topic was closed on 10 March 2019. If you have a problem which is similar to the issues raised in this topic, then please start a new thread and you will get help and support there. If you would like to post up some information which is relevant to this particular topic then please flag the issue up to the site team and the thread will be reopened. - Consumer Action Group

When we switched to N Power elec 5 years ago, in the 1st year they sent us a huge bill to pay. As we couldnt afford to pay in one go we asked for a meter to be put in so we could keep tab on what we were using and they took £2 a week towards bill. They then increased this to £10 a week from Sept 2009 (without telling us and i only found out the other day after ringing them to see why we were using double the elec than what we used to). The original debt bill started coming down and we got a bill this month for just over £200 left to pay from the original debt from years ago. A man came to read the pre pay meter on thursday and the units were more than what they had estaimated on bill and the bill we got today has now gone back upto £700!!!! I told the woman the other day that the meter man had been and would this change the amount in any way and she said no, that each time we top up it sends them a reading of what we have used. If my calculations are right, if we had a debt and money comes off it every week for the debt, and the electricity we use comes off the meter, surely they shouldnt be increasing our bill??? Im going to ring them on monday but was wondering if this has happened to anyone else or if anyone has any advice? Thanks Michelle x

Our mortgage is with Northern Rock and a few years ago when my partner was unemployed, we fell behind with 3 payments and they demanded the full amount back or court action. in the end it was decided we could revert back to usual paymentsif we did a tomlin order. This is the first month in over 2 years that we need to ask for a payment break just for 1 month. Do you think the tomlin order could stop our request going ahead? Any help would be great x

Aktiv Capital say they have a debt of mine for £230 which is from 2000 or 2001. It was taken out in my old address down south which I no longer lived at, at the time the credit was taken out. They have no info on what was taken, which store etc, just that it was for something called time retail. The first time someone contaced for this was in 2005, somehow they traced my name to my nan and grandads house and phoning them( they got the number from bt). I have told them numerous times that it is not my debt and it looks as though fraud has been commited but they are not interested. When I bought my house a few years ago, they started sending the letters to my new address, even though I rung to dispute, the letters just wont stop. They send the account to every debt agency under the sun, Im just sick of the harassment by letters and now scotcall have sent a letter that they are sending someone to my address this week. An advisor at Aktiv spoke down to me last year and she said unless I can get a copy of the council register from my mum and dads from 2000-2001 with my name on, then i am liable for the debt and that it must be mine. I said that my name wouldnt have been registered anywhere as I was in between addresses. What can I do? Surely after 7-8 years they have no right to harass me still when its not my debt? The constant harassment must have cost them more than what the debt is....... Any help would be much appreciated thanks xxx

Just got back now and it went our way!!! We were in the room with judge about 5 mins, he just said to pay what usual monthly pyts were plus an extra £30 pm to cover arrears. no rep from black horse even turned up. When we originally asked for the court date to be changed the other month I sent a letter about why we had fallen behind on payments ie unemployment and blackhorse not helping us and this seemed to have gone in our favour as the judge said he had read it and knew we couldnt afford to pay all arrears in one go. Im made up. we get paid weekly but the judge said we would have to pay one amount a month, we said whens best for blackhorse, the judge was smiling saying he decides when we should pay and not blackhorse!! and we start paying from october. Couldnt have gone any better. Were made up. x

gotta go, ill post outcome later. thanks anyway

we are prepared, we have all the bfigures, what we have paid etc What time is the hearing? 12pm Did you admit the sum when you returned the Acknowledgement of service or Defence? yes How much was the initial loan? 12k but with interest works out 17.5k How much did you pay? 6.5k How much were (default or penalty) charges? to date they are £1200 Was there any Payment Protection Insurance? no as self employed so told wouldnt help me if i had

spoke with national debt line and they didnt give us any good advice, just sent us a pack saying fill i&e in and send to court and some photocopies saying its upto judge to decide what happens, we had to ask the judge to postpone the last court date as we couldnt make it. Black horse/secheri clark and mitchel solicitors originally said we cant postpone as they have too many court cases (but it was granted) and new date is today. So we are representing ourselves, we sort of know what we need to say but dont know whether the judge will listen about unemployment period, that the car needed 2k of work doing to it, and the provident loan interest was so high we missed car pyts. In May this year we contacted black horse and said we would start payments again and asked for the reference number to pay to, they said they wont give us the details as its going to court. We asked again in July and they said the same, so we were unable to pay anything. I dont if this is any good to mention but last year when we hit teh difficulties we asked if we could pay weekly and they said no, it has to be in one lump sum.

Black horse taking us to court today for return of goods (car) as we fell behind with payments due to becoming unemployed for 2 months last year, they wouldnt help us reduce pyts and having to get provident loan of nearly 2k to fix car. They have added £1200 charges and interest onto it as well and want us to pay the court cost of £335. In the print they have put they will accept usual payments we used to pay but also a substantial amount each month to cover the charges. We can affprd the usual payment but cant afford anymore to cover charges at moment as money is tight. Any advice on things to say when in court or anything I should know before going there? thanks

national debt line said to contact the solictors about changing the date. We asked and they said no! Ive sent all the paperwork back with a covering note saying what the sols said. just hope thats ok

I know someone who has dealt with mercers and they offer repayment plans for customers with difficulties to pay 1% of the balance for 6 mths then to be reviewed again. Not sure what your balance is but they stop interest after 2 payments which could help a lot as the balance will be frozen otherwise the balance will just go up every month with interest. I dont know how big your balance is and whether this info will help you. from what ive heard, the reason some companies dont accept token payments anymore is because the debt is not being repaid back enough and they are getting so many letters and complaints at not accepting token payments its taking time to reply personally. Do you know how many months arrears your account is in? and what % of the balance have you offered as full and final?

Hi, has anyone not attended a court hearing but been allowed to continue making monthly pyts to the creditor? Ive got another thread on here about not being able to attend court as were out of the country on this date, Ive filled in all the info on the court forms and i&e and enclosed a covering letter about the reason we fell behind due to unemployment and that blackhorse wouldn't help. I have also given our debit details for weekly standing orders to be set up which will cover the usual monthly payments. Do you think this will help us keep car and continue with payments? the solicitors have said they are not attending either and its not compulsory for us to attend but national debtline have said cancel the holiday and go to court? any advice or info would be great

i have just filled out the claim form for the courts with the income and expenditure which shows we can continue making the original pyt amts. I have also enclosed a statement about whats happened, why we fell into debt from unemployment and that black horse wouldnt except anything lower than mthly agreements. This is because we cant make the court date. So you think that will be ok?

thanks for the advice. We contacted national debt line who said that we have to attend the court date, even though we are abroad with family, they said to cancel the holiday or see if sols can post date court date. Called Sols and they said they cannot canx the court date as they have too many people they are taking and no spare slots, and that we dont have to attend the court as they dont, they just send the documents to the court and dont actually have someone there, and that we can send our documents too if cant make it. Does this sound right? or are they trying to get one over us? just read national debtline infopack and it says if we dont go the court, the courts will usually say to give car back??! Any help again would be great:-?