Thanks for all the responses. I know Apex of old and had already come to the conclusion that others have - they are 'exaggerating', however the paragraph in my first post is new and I wondered if others had seen it. I would contend that their profiling methods are flawed (as someone above has already suggested) as I don't have a brass razoo. I have no plans to call them as my accent when talking to DCAs is very difficult to understand and I'm very hard of hearing (although my Truecall could do with some use). Perhaps I'll write and ask them.

I've had one of Apex's letters which, inter alia, contains the paragraph - "We profile our clients' accounts carefully using external data sources and believe that you have the ability to make payments on this debt. Please contact us immediately ...." Does anyone have any idea if this is true? My view is that it isn't. If perchance it is true what external 'data source' might they be using?

Whatever you have asked for. Most people siimply ask for, and most banks interpret a DSAR as, a copy of any agreement and copies of the statements for the account. But you can ask for anything you like. In some cases they might not provide it though... My wife included on her list of items copies of all correspondence. The bank sent copies of all her letteres but not their own.

Why do you want to issue a claim? If you want to agitate then you should first lodge a formal complaint with the Office of the Information Commissioner.

One small point : the faster payments service only covers amounts up to £250. Another small point : 'payment' normally means cleared funds.

Be aware that, at the instant you are declared bankrupt, your bank accounts are controlled by the Official Receiver. They will probably be frozen until the OR does what he needs to do. On the morning of the hearing but prior to it I would withdraw all the cash you can just in case. As for the mortgage company they are obviously resigned to losing out on the shortfall. What they are referring to is that any shortfall is an unsecured debt and therefore included in the bankruptcy. The OR will be told about this (presumably by yourself in the first instance) and then any discussions will take place directly between the OR and the mortgage company.

In short it means a creditor has lodged a petition for your bankruptcy. The Bankruptcy Notice itself is merely a notice to the Land Registry - the procedures at this stage require that you are provided with a copy. You should have had advice from the court that the petition has been lodged and details of the hearing. At the hearing you should explain your plans to sell your house in detail which might forestall your being declared bankrupt. What was the debt for? Have you discussed the matter with the creditor? Is it too late to do so now?

rebel11 : the Banking Code died last November. It was replaced by the Lending Code which is much the same - except that breaches of it cannot be used as the basis for complaints to the FOS.

Quote: Originally Posted by mightneverhappen This is one of the good bits to this tale... the DJ said (and this quote is to the best of my memory) "didn't Wacksman say that if you have had the money, you've got to pay?"!! Easiest answer in the world: no! Be careful here. There might be someone called Wacksman who did say it.

As regards interest there is now a law (dammit - can't think of the name) which allows interest to be charged independently of any contractual arrangements. Something to do with 'Late Payments ...' So, yes they can charge interest.

If you read the letter carefully it doesn't actually say that the DN was actually posted. If, by chance, it was posted then it wasn't sent by recorded delivery. Nor was a certificate of posting obtained. Otherwise they would leap into action with one of these in order to prove their case. If it wasn't posted then naturally the Royal Mail wouldn't have returned it undelivered. They are hoping you will overlook these points.

Why didn't you make a claim under the PPI? It sounds as though you had a perfectly good case.

Are you paying by direct debit or by standing order? If you are paying by direct debit then the creditor can take whatever they like from your account. The direct debit rules and regulations do not permit this but there are many cases where such is ignored. If you possibly can then have this changed to standing order - which cannot be changed by the creditor. Ensure you protect yourself from extra charges by writing to both AR and your bank cancelling the direct debit authority.

Transactions of the nature you describe are not credit agreements. They are payment terms for goods/services supplied. As such the Consumer Credit Act does not apply. As a rule of thumb, if some-one provides money to you to spend elsewhere then that is a credit situation. If they don't then it isn't. There are possibilities here though - 1. Did you sign for the goods supplied? Was the hand-written list correct? Were the prices correct? 2. Sending 'the boys' round is not a legitimate or lawful form of collecting payment. Be preared for this to happen again and be ready to call the police if it does. 3. Did you, by any chance, retain the voicemail? This could prove very useful - especially in conjunction with 2. Has the prospect of legal proceedings been raised? Lastly, they are correct in saying they can charge interest.

They have said that the overdraft is covered by the normal account terms and conditions, and that a confirmation letter was sent. There is no 'agreement' regarding the overdraft and no 'correct documentation' for them to send. You could ask for a copy of the confirmation letter but it's not an essential part of S78 process. It might, however, prove interesting in itself. The issue of the £1 is something you could make something of - if it wasn't for such a small amount.

You should be able to apply to have the company wound up. I don't know much about this - there may be a minimum amount that must be outstanding. It also depends on whether the company is a Limited Company or a sole trader (or partnership)

It's secured on whatever you purchased. Until it's fully paid for then the item isn't yours.

What benefits are you receiving? You may be be exempt from the court fees portion of the bankruptcy hearing (you still have to pay the Official Receiver's portion though). Unfortunately DLA isn't one of the benefits that entitle you to the remission of court fees. If you do decide to petition for you own bankruptcy then you should take independent advice from someone like a solicitor, the CAB National Debtline or CCCS. You should also read a lot of the information (there is a lot to read!) on the government's insolvency website - http://www.insolvency.gov.uk. At the bankruptcy hearing you will be asked if you have taken financial advice from one of the bodies mentioned above, or from one of the recognised local charities that exist for this purpose. Ring your local court (details on http://www.hmcs.gov.uk) and ask for details of procedural matters, and pointers to local organisations. Do not ask for financial advice as they won't give it. My local court is quite helpful on these matters (probably because they have to do it so often). Good luck - keep us all posted on how you get on.

Capital Bank has always been a part of Bank of Scotland. If it ever had anything to do with GE Capital then it was a very long time ago. These preference accounts are very confusing. There seem to be several versions of them as well. In my wife's case it appeared to be a loan account coupled with a current account (for which a cheque book was issued).

There is no legal requirement for a NoA to be signed at all.

I use the criterion : did the lender give me some money - or at least make it available for me to use - for the purchase of goods/services elsewhere? In your case you were provided with goods and services for which you were allowed to pay in arrears. There was no lending involved.

At this point you have to seriously decide whether you want to be declared bankrupt. From your comments that would seem to be a good option as all your unsecured debts would be included in the bankruptcy. If you do decide on this route then let one of your crditors do the donkey-work - and pay all the fees. If you don't want to consider the bankruptcy route then you should have had the Statutory Demand set aside. You say you found this in some recent mail - how recent? Technically I suppose you could say you have only received it when you opened it. If the SD was delivered by ordinary post then it was not properly served - unless of course you acknowledge receiving it. You have 18 days to have this set aside, otherwise it stands.

One small point : in your first post you mention a trade account. If you mean a business account then such accounts aren't covered by the Consumer Credit Act.

Since the transfer of ownership of the house occurred such a long time ago there is no suggestion that the transfer was made to avoid repaying debts. Hence there would be no claim on the house by creditors. You should contact your local Citizens Advice Bureau for independent advice. Alternatively some solicitors will give you a free 15 or 30 minutes consultation so you could ask around your local legal firms. You could also ask the Official Receivers office for your area - about us menu.

Yes, it will be quite a long time. Bear in mind that, if your house is repossessed, then your local authority has a duty to house you so you won't be on the streets (although what your LA might provide may be much less adequate than the house you have now). Note this only applies of you are made homeless (involuntarily) in circumstances such as you describe - it doesn't apply if you make yourself homeless.