Hi guys, thanks for all the advice! I'll be sending off the letter 1st thing tomorrow morning!! Hopefully this can all be sorted out in time for Christmas!

Thanks everyone for your words of welcome! I've added my problem to the Debt Collection Forum (hopefully, it's in the right area)! Best regards, Eddie

Hi everyone, About 2 years ago I fell behind with payments on my credit card (obtained through my bank Lloyds TSB). The account was moved to collections and I arranged a repayment plan with the bank (£100 per month). A couple of weeks ago (mid September), I received a yellow 'warning' letter from AIC saying that I owed £6k and would need to call them and speak to one of their representatives (who's name was included on the letter). I rang up AIC, asking to speak to the named contact. I was referred to another person, who became my case handler (for want of a better phrase). He informed me that my payments had become erratic and that the bank would no longer accept payments from me. I told him that as far as I'm aware, I hadn't missed any payments and as I had received no correspondance from my bank saying they had passed my account to a debt collection agency, I would have to contact them to see what the situation was. I contacted my bank and initially told that as far as they could see, they had been receiving my payments and they couldn't see why my debt had been moved. Anyway, to cut a long story short, I finally got through to the Debt Recovery department at my bank and they confirmed that they had passed my debt to AIC in MARCH, 6 MONTHS AGO, but they couldn't give me a reason why, as their records showed I had never missed a payment. The only change I had made was that I used to pay the £100 in one go but after I got a new job that paid weekly, I started making weekly payments of £25. They advised me that I would need to go to AIC to negotiate a new repayment plan. I went back to AIC who told me that they're not there to arrange payment plans but to settle the debt. They made me an offer of £3000 (half the debt) and that was the only option I had. They said the offer would stay on the table until the end of the month but I had a week to agree (by 13th Oct). There's no way I'll be able to afford the £3000 so I'm fearful that they'll take me to court to sort out some arrangement, which will give me a CCJ, and affect my chances of getting a mortgage, etc. Ever since I started paying back my debt 2 years ago, I've never missed a payment. I've got my life back into order. I've managed to get myself credit (credit card and store accounts) which are very well maintained. Basically, I've been building a history of good credit. Now I'm afraid that with this action, it will set me back. I've got a couple of issues, firstly, why was my debt passed to AIC (and why wasn't I told at the time)??? and also, why would AIC wait 6 months then demand the balance in full, even though I haven't missed any payments??!! A worried customer. Eddie

Hi there, I came across this site a few days ago after receiving a disturbing call from a debt collection agency (more about that later). Reading through some of the threads has been a real eye opener and calmed my nerves about a lot of things. This is a great site, made by the people for the people. More power to you, looking forward to 'chatting' with you all. Regards, Eddie