Sorry if this is seen as hijacking your thread, but I asked in another area and received no replies. I had a call from some bailiffs the other week, but hid and pretended I wasn't in, though watched them through the window. They dropped a card through the box and said they'd called and I now owed them £25 quid odd for the missed visit. The guy then got back in his car, waited outside watching the house for 10 minutes, then returned to my front door. I pretended I wasn't in again and he posted another card saying he'd made a second visit, and that's another £25! OK, so the lesson learnt is not to ignore the bailiffs, but I'm hopping mad at the sneaky trick they employed to screw more money out of the system. Anyone got any ideas about challenging this, given that I've got no documentary evidence of this apparent foul play? Also - regarding possessions - as long as everyone in the house knows to say to any calling bailiffs that all items in the house belong to and were bought by other family members, with the only possessions owned by the debtor being their clothes and bedding, surely they can't take anything unless they can prove otherwise? Doesn't work if you live on your own though! ;-)

Brilliant, thanks for that. I've had a quick peek through my statements and cannot find it. :-/ I'll have a second look. I know I'm missing the odd one or two - what's the betting it's from one of those! Over at the LloydsTSB forum someone's found you can search up to three years back for these things online. No such luck with Barclays. Maybe it's time to swap banks.......

I have luckily only been charged a few times for going overdrawn, and only once in the last six years. However, this one instance was just for a few hours (overnight while the banks were shut, when my online payment wasn't processed till after a direct debit had been taken). Grrrr. Was I cross. I complained but they obv didn't wanna know. I've tried searching using my online account but can't find the date it happened - it was well over a year ago. I've got all my old statements for several years, but not sure what I'm looking for - what do they refer to it as? Is there a typical amount it would be for? (I think it was £25 or so) I know it's only a small one, but if I can inconvenience them with a stupid petty claim, I will! ;-)

Is it worth mentioning also that if you really did have to go, the small claims court is usually just a small room off the main court, with only the claiment (you), the defendant (bank), a judge and secretary (to take notes) sitting round a table. I always envisioned it as being like something out of Judge Judy, but it's actually far less terrifying!