Did you take a reading (or were you provided with one) of the water meter when you moved into the property in December 2008? If so check it against the current reading and give UU a call with both these readings and see what they come up with as being the water usage for the property for those dates and also remember the charges for sewerage and also the standing charge - payable in advance - the previous occupant may have asked for a refund of the standing charges from when they moved out to when the bill was next due. Feebee_71

rsdmom, I am guessing from the post that you are in the US. The majority of people on this site are from the UK and so you may find it difficult getting information from this site to help you with your problem. I wish you luck getting hold of copies of your medical records and seeking a new doctor to treat you. Feebee_71

Connif, Many thanks for the advice, I will get on the phone in the morning and let my friend know the situation. I know it will take a load of weight off their mind, they told me they thought that this court paperwork would lead to a bailiff turning up and taking the tv and anything else of any value in the property. Feebee_71

Are the amounts they are giving on your bills estimated usage or confirmed? I ask because when I moved into my 1 bed flat (first resident in a new build property on site of a previous property with the same address and also a flat) Three Valleys Water decided to keep the property listed as a 2 double bed flat with 4 adult occupants - though they never asked for information about property size or occupants - and they also decided to set the meter reading for when I moved in at 0. However, I took a meter reading when I moved in and a photograph of the meter using a date stamped digital camera so I could prove reading when I moved in. The reading was actually 7 cubic metres - a big difference!! When the first bill arrived - an estimate - it was for a usage of 77 cubic metres of water when in fact the reading on the meter was only 11 - so a total usage of 4 cubic metres. In all it took over 18 months of arguing with the water company over the phone and taking meter readings every 3 months to prove I was using what I was saying I was using and not what their computer programme said I was 'supposed' to be using. Through all this I refused to pay bills I knew to be estimated and wildly wrong and so, once it was all sorted out, I was presented with a bill for a considerable sum and it took more arguing to get them to let me set up a DD for the account. Now, almost 4 years on, I have only just surpassed the usage they tried to claim on the very first bill but every 6 months they send me a bill saying they are increasing my monthly DD amount to cover the increase in usage - though nothing has changed since the previous bill was issued - except perhaps their prices!!! I now pay just £10/month and am still in credit at the end of every billing period. Do keep a watch on what they are up to though as they may be making assumptions about the usage for your property!! Feebee_71

Asking this for a friend................. Friend recently in hospital from end March to last week - problems with liver and health in general but not relevent to question so to carry on - got home from hospital to a letter for 2 Council Tax installments being late - April & May - letter dated end of April and giving 7 days from date to rectify arrears. This week - tuesday - friend went to post office and paid off arrears and intended to pay June amount next week when paid. Yesterday friend received a summons in the post to appear before local court on June 10th for non payment and summons demands full amount of this years CT plus costs if found against them. Any advice I can give friend and suggestions on how it can be got back on track now friend out of hospital and able to pay monthly installments again? Only thing I can think of was telling friend off for not getting me to make payments for them. Feebee_71

Thanks for that Cerberusalert, I will get the CCA in the post with a £1 PO. Feebee_71

Ok, So it has been a couple of months since I posted on this thread and I thought I would update you all with what has been happening. I never got round to sending the agreement request off because I had to go out of the country and then, since I got back I have had to deal with the death of my nephew in an accident and also being in hospital myself - I have only been out less than 2 weeks and to be honest I forgot all about sending off the request - I know, my bad!! When I came out of hospital I had a letter from Muck Hall offering me approximately 35% off the debt balance if I paid it off immediately but, being in hospital I had missed their date for actioning it. Then, today I have received another letter from them stating a repayment plan must be agreed in the next 7 days and "as a gesture of goodwill, their client will accept the amount by monthly installments so long as the standing order mandate is completed and signed and returned in the next 7 days. On receipt of the signed mandate Muck Hall will not take any further action against you providing you do not default on payments." (direct quote) Now, I have never acknowledged any debt to Muck Hall and they have not received any confirmation that they are writing to the correct person for the account. Also, as they tried offering a discount for payment in full would people think they don't have the necessary paperwork to enforce the account or to prove they have the right to collect it? Has anyone else received this type of letter from Muck Hall and is it one of their usual threat-o-matic machine letters or something new? Feebee_71

I know my local council is arranging to check up on every household who claim single person discount to confirm their entitlement - they have not said how they are going to check up on these households, whether it will be a visual check or whether it will be a case of knocking on doors and asking if more than one person lives at any given address. In fact, when asked, they were quite evasive about how they will be carrying out these checks. I live alone and have nothing to worry about but, as I live in a secure controlled block I don't know how they will assess which property they come from. I would agree with the suggestion that it is better to get in touch with the council involved and let them know you are staying there but that it is a temporary arrangement and you will let them know when you leave again. Make it clear you are only visiting for a prolonged period of time. You wouldn't want to find your friend has their entitlement cut for the whole year. Feebee_71

Would it work if you sent Fitness First a CCA request or an SAR request? Hopefully that way you will get a copy of the agreement you signed with them as it involves credit (in the form of the 12 payments they are trying to reclaim from you). Feebee_71

Another useful group of people are nurses - I had my re-application countersigned by a colleague from work (we are both registered nurses) and I know other colleagues have performed this service for non-related friends. Feebee_71

It would help if you had posted the PCN so those site members with knowledge can look as it and tell you if it is legal. Feebee_71

If you were entitled to choose a speed awareness course then it would be detailed, along with how to go about booking it, details of those drivers entitled to attend (and those who are not entitled - at 41mph in a 30mph limit area I doubt you will be eligible as usually it is offered to those drivers who are marginally over the 10% + 2mph over the speed limit grace limit). If the information you have been sent doesn't include this information I would think you are not eligible to attend one of those courses. Feebee_71

Would be helpful for those knowledgable about parking tickets to be able to see the actual ticket (front & back) to know if there are any things in it that make it unlawful. Also, it may not be a legitimate penalty charge notice at all but a totally unenforcible invoice from a private company. Feebee_71

When you started paying Scotcall and Activ Kapital for these old debts had there been a continuous period of 6 years (or 5 in Scotland) when you had not paid anything towards the debts or acknowledged them to anyone contacting you about them? If this is possible then there is a strong possiblity that the debts have become statute barred and, although the money is still owed for the original debts, there is nothing that can be done to force you into paying anything more to anyone - unless there is a CCJ registered against you. Feebee_71

Thanks again, I will do that tomorrow as I can't get to the post office today for a postal order. Feebee_71

Thanks Mr.Ton, I would like to see Meritforce conducting a doorstep assessment seeing as I live in a multi-occupancy block with secure entry doors and they are unlikely to get past the outside door!! Feebee_71

Hi 42man, Sadly it is not over 6 years. Probably more like 4 as it would have been while I was still at my old address and I have been here for more than 3 1/2 years. They cannot even claim to have sent letters to me at the other address as it is my parents house and they always pass on post delivered there so this really is the first thing I have received from them regarding this account. Feebee_71

Mackenzie Hall have sent me a letter today with lots of pretty red writing on it. The first bit is in red capital letters DOORSTEP ASSESSMENT And goes on to tell me that despite repeated efforts to try and contact me, they have still not received a response. As a result they MAY have no option but to sanction a doorstep visit to my property by their field collectors Meritforce. And that alternatively they MAY advise their clients to issue a Claim against me in my Local Court (capital letter in middle of sentence is their exact typing). Then they go on to spout more in red to head sections telling me what MAY happen if judgement is granted and again, what MAY happen for non-payment after judgement. Of course they then give me the option to send payment within the next 72 hours to avoid any of the above actions or alternatively to call Phillip Woods on his office number (not a premium rate number). Now, given that this is the first time I have received anything from Muck Hell, I don't know what type of steps they have, allegedly, taken to try and contact me. I do know what it is in relation to and it was a catalogue account to Studio that I had at a previous address so will not have paid to for more than 3 years (so still not SB) and not registered at this address. I am sure I never signed a credit agreement with the original company as it came about from a send off for goods and then we set up the account when we send you the goods. The pursuers are listed as being Express Gifts Lts and the original creditor are listed as Studio (the only bit I recognise as someone I have previously had an account with). Do you think it worth me CCA-ing Muck Hell to see if they have the authority to collect on this account or what should I do? Feebee_71

Buzby, Thanks once again for the words of warning, and wisdom, regarding the card. What I may do, if they let me (and I did last year with a different provident one to the one mentioned before), is to secure the account with cash on boarding and then later in the cruise use the card to pay off a portion of the amount accrued without the need for having the card compromised. If all else fails then I will take money out of my bank account in Madeira and settle the account in euros. Feebee_71

Buzby, I don't want the card for car hire - it is mainly to set against the cabin account onboard the cruise ship I am travelling on. When I used the term reverse credit card I was meaning one like the CashPlus card or the Virgin card, that I could top up rather than the type that the provident card is where it has a fixed starting balance and cannot be 'topped up' once the money on it is spent. Feebee_71

Hi Rory, Thanks for the info. CashPlus is the card I had been given details of and I was hoping someone would come along and say positive things about them - I thought I wouldn't name the product I was looking at. The only concern I have is that the travel company I am going away with (and the reason I have to try and get a credit card) do say something about not accepting pre-pay credit cards but I know in the past I have used a Provident pre-loaded fixed limit card with them once in the last year and not had any problems. I am hoping to put a couple of hundred pounds on the card before going away and then registering the card when I check in for the holiday and will keep my fingers crossed that they won't turn it down for being registered against the account. If it is I will whip out the email I have from them accepting that not everyone has the type of cards they accept - they take Visa debit but not switch/maestro (their wording), solo or pre-pay, though as I say I have had experience of them taking my Provident fixed limit card less than a year ago - and will simply set the cabin account (I am off on a cruise) up with a cash deposit. I already have the acceptance letter from CashPlus so will take it to the post office tomorrow and pay the fees and get the wheels in motion for getting the card delivered. Have you used the card abroad and has it been easy? I may make some purchases with it while away. Feebee_71

Hi, I am wondering if anyone can help out with an enquiry. Hope this is in the right part of the site - have been looking for somewhere to post it and thing this is the best place. I am in need of a credit card for travelling purposes and have got a poor credit history, rather than getting caught by a CC company charging the earth in fees and interest, I have been looking for a credit card where I can load it with cash and then use it in the same way as a standard credit card. I have found some details of available products on the site money expert (apologies if I am not allowed to mention this other site and will remove the reference if needed) and wonder if anyone has got experience of these products. I don't want to find that I load money onto one and then lose it because I have not chosen a product wisely. I realise this is not the usual type of information sought here usually but coud really do with some help so I don't get fleeced. Feebee_71

Paul, Firstly don't speak to them on the phone again - they could tell you all sorts of things but there will be no record if you try to hold them to it. If they phone again simply refuse to answer their security questions and insist they contact you only in writing. Secondly you need to know they have the right to collect on your account - to do this you have to send them a request for a CCA (a request to see an enforcible copy of your original credit agreement) this will cost you £1 but will probably get them off your back for a while. Someone will be along in a minute with either a template letter or a link to one. Remember NOT to sign the letter and use a postal order or get someone else to sign a cheque to go with the request - this will stop the DCA getting hold of your signature. How old is the account? When did you take out the loan with the Abbey? When did you last make any payment to the account or acknowledge the account in writing? The answers to these questions are important as they will give people on here an idea about how likely it is that there is an enforcible agreement on the account. Feebee_71

If you receive anything from Calders today it is more likely to be a phone call than a knock at the door - take a look at the wording, they do not say they will call ON you just they will be calling you. If they do ring simply refuse to answer the security questions and tell them you do not deal with financial matters over the phone and anything they want to say to you should be put in writing. Feebee_71

loobyloo35, You really need to post the CCA agreement that they have sent you so that the clever bods on here can give you of their wisdom about whether it is enforcable or not. Feebee_71