Does anyone make regular payments to overseas relatives using the MoneyGram On-Line service? If, like me, you do then you may not be aware that for every transaction that goes from the UK via their clearance agency in Ireland, MoneyGram first puts through a transaction for £1.37 presumably to 'validate' the debit/credit card being used. If this transaction is cleared by the card operator, the actual transaction is then put forward for clearance. Six times in the last three months I have had transactions blocked by the card operator who sees the sequence as a possible fraud operation. Apparently, there is nothing to indicate that the £1.37 is a 'test' transaction and as such it then sits in your card account waiting for MoneyGram to claim it - after 10 days it is cancelled by the card operator. Why £1.37 ? No idea. UK mail order companies sometimes use the same procedure, but with an amount of one penny. The process makes a mockery of their 'money in 10 minutes' claim since it can often take a couple of hours to get the transfer cleared. I emailed a complaint that wasn't answered and I have now put my complaint in writing to them. I'll let you know the outcome. Luckysandpiper

I have already recovered penalty charges from this bank and after a 12 month fight aided by FOS I have recovered the non-existant PPI on this loan. Maybe that is why they have chosen to 'play' with me in this matter. However, I fear it is really just a case of non-communication between one set of zombies and another.Once sharkly always sharkly, if you get my drift.Had I not missed the March installment, it would have been paid off by now and whether or not they default me is of no great consequence to me. As a result of their actions back in 2007 my credit rating is shot to hell anyway, but I will be a thorn in their side for as long as possible.regardsLSP

I missed a payment on a loan from an infamours bank. One week later I wrote offering a revised repament plan which was accepted immediately. I have made all the due payments in accordance with the new arrangement. A section of the bank seems to be unaware fo this since they keep mailing 'Arrears' letters based on the original payment regime, and their latest threatens a 'Default Notice' if I don't pay these arrears. Can they legally do this with an agreed repayment plan in place ? They have ignored all my protest letters so far. Luckysandpiper

I am in a similar position to you in that I found out in March that I could no longer keep up the installments on a loan I have with them. As soon as I found out I wrote outlining the problem and offered to pay at a little over 50% of the previous rate. I had their acceptance IN WRITING at the beginning of April with a new repayment schedule. HOWEVER, the day after the missed payment I started to receive telephone calls, initially from 0845 numbers all attributed to Barclays Bank. At the and of March I stopped getting these and assumed all was well, but shortly after the first new installment was paid they started again from a machine with a number beginning 01213.... and they have persisited until the end of June. I logged each of these calls by time/date and they now number 109 in total. I have sent a complete list of these calls to the OFT with a brief outline of the case, not that they can help in individual cases, but it swells what might well be a substantial dossier on Barclays Bank. I have also told Barclays that if they persist I will cease all payments and let them explain themselves in court. They have now registered the affair as a formal complaint (with a number) and have also registered my reply to that as another formal complaint (with a number). There seems to be an ongoing competition between Collections in Manchester and Lending Operations in Leicester as to who can create the most havoc.

Re: Continuous card authorities. You are correct - they are VERY difficult to cancel. You need to be able to give your bank copies of any WRITTEN information that you have cancelling the transaction with the supplier concerned. I suffered this problem when my card details were 'leaked' to some iffy websites overseas who used a different name each month for the transactions. It took me six months to convince my bank to refuse to honour the debits. AND NEVER, NEVER, NEVER, EVER PAY A DCA BY DIRECT DEBIT. LSP

Not quite true Brokebutnotbeatn, my question was NOT what should I do, I have had a few years' practise at doing that - courtesy of CAG.My question was What Should I Expect Next from this DCA? How big will be the 'bruiser' that rings my doorbell to 'persuade' me to settle up, or do they just make idle threats ? This was the crux of my question aimed at anyone with experience of dealing with this particular DCA. LSP

Given that I have already done a CCA request complete with £1 PO on 1st Credit, which brought to light only the 'invitation' application form for a visa card, which is why the account is in dispute, surely the preferred option would be to 'enlighten' the Lewis Group and inform them of a gross breach of OFT guidelines. While the account is in dispute, 1st Credit have no business in passing it on to another DCA for enforcement. LSP

I'm not quite sure of the relevance of that, Brigadier - I defaulted on this debt with Barclaycard back in 2008 and that's on my file along with four other defaults from the same peroid. Three of those are now sorted leaving this one and one other, also in dispute over paperwork. What I was trying to ascertain was whether they have any 'tactical signature'. Telephone harrassment using automated calling is the first MO to surface, and I survived some three months of that with Mercers a few years ago.LSP

For the first time ever, I have received a dozen phone calls in the last few days which Google tells me come from the Lewis Group (a DCA). They seem to be chasing a debt for 1st Credit, who in turn bought it from Barclaycard way back in 2008.My last contact with 1st Credit was back in 2009, when they failed to produce a copy of the signed agreement with Barclaycard, supplying only a copy of the application form instead.The Lewis Group are talking of sending someone to see me looking for 'full settlement' of this 'seriously overdue account'.It would seem that 1st Credit are now slipping back into the ways that caused the OFT to censure them on 25 Februaury 2009 - then it was Connaught Collections doing the 'dirty work'.Has anyone any experience with dealing with the Lewis Group that they would like to share with me ?LSP

I 've just had a call from this number and they called themselves PENTAGON UK which Google tells me is a debt management company. LSP

I just did. LSP

I fully agree with you, VictoriaHeather, I think that my thread has run its course. It has made people think, and provoked many opinions, but now is the time to get on with fighting these DCA bullies. Thank you everyone. LSP

Quite so, Brigadier - quite so, Sir. LSP

As the one who started this thread back in the year dot (it seems like), it has been interesting to see the different reactions of CAG members.I confess here & now to being a 'won't pay' - why ?, because I am not prepared to be bullied, and I am not prepared to accept the right of a DCA, that has 'bought' my debt from the OC, to collect it from me without some documentary evidence of that right.Show me the agreement, and I'll pay up to the best of my ability. It is that simple. Start to threaten me, and I'll see you in court and plead abject poverty.LSP

PGH7447 - I am willing to bet that I could name the Bank or affiliate, and the DCA concerned from what you have written. I am glad to hear that you still managed to get a mortgage and credit. I have obtained (but not needed) credit WITH A PROPERLY EXECUTED AGREEMENT of which I have a copy, but was turned down by my new bank for a £50 increase in my overdraft.One can only relate one's own experiences. LSP

For what it is worth, I read on here about 18 months ago when Barclaycard sold my debt to another DCA, that the going rate was 10p in the £pound. I am still saying to them that I will pay, at most, double that which I believe they paid.I STRESS THAT THIS IS HEARSAY, but given that I was offered a 50% discount within 3 months of the sale, I consider it to be fairly near the mark.If you have a repayment plan in place that costs you £1.00 per month, stick with it. Don't be bullied into paying more if you cannot afford it. At worst, a court would uphold your agreement, IF THAT WAS TRULY ALL YOU COULD AFFPORD.15 months after I started to repay my debts, I fould that I couldn't continue at the current rate. I simply wrote and told everyone the facts with a current budget statement, and reduced the standing orders - no-one stuck out against me.A golden rule NEVER PAY BY DIRECT DEBIT - it puts them in control, not you. PAY BY STANDING ORDER - you choose what to pay and when.All of this I have learned in my two years on this site, but each case is slightly different. I wish you well.LSP

Do keep in mind all of you self-righteous peeps, that when you default on a debt, a 'black mark' goes against your name with the three main credit reference agencies and stays there for 6 years - no trial, no defence, you are guity - period. Now try getting a new bank account, or getting the 'mark' removed.On the other hand, it may well be that your creditor failed to even set up a contract, let alone adhere to it - where is the punishment for that ?I know I racked up the debt, and I am 'paying for the sin' of being unable to pay it back (mainly due to the actions of an affiliated bank and its excessive charges) for 6 years. If the card issuer is unable to prove that a proper agreement was set up, why should there not be punishment for that default ?As for can't pays and won't pays, you should read around the Debt Collection Forum, SillyGirl1. I did not say it was set in concrete.LSP

From what I read these days, the Courts now sort debtors into 'can't pays' and 'won't pays'. In effect this seems to mean that the only chance you have is to plead poverty, pay as little as possible, and hope that they will get tired of collecting such small amounts.The fact that the unscrupulous Finance Organisations cannot produce copies of agreements (because they were never created in the first place) seems to be irrelevant now. Successive Governments have made this possible by diluting the original provisions of CCA 1974 to such an extent that almost any document can be created as a 'true copy' and held up to enforce dodgy debts.Why have 'morals' now ? It's more like 'us & them' !!LSP

1st Crud woke up this year, usung Mackenzie Hall instead of Connaught Collections (who were warned by OFT along with 1st Crud). Same old story, when are you going to pay? - s78 request - copy application form supplied etc. Several offers of settlement refused, now they have passed the account to solicitors.All correspondence still copied to OFT.We will see.LSP

Thank you again Locutus - nice to have the name of the CEO. My last two letters have been to the Head of the Complaints - CEO's Office, which is in accordance with their Complaints Procedure - the second pointing out that they will be paid on the first working day of next week, but WITHOUT the 'admin fee'.I am somewhat surprised that there have been no other postings on this thread, but I guess most would be on the TalkTalk forum. I cannot believe that my complaint alone has forced a re-think this month.LSP

Thank you for that, Locutus. Interesting that TalkTalk's bills dated 25 April (emailed 27 April) have a DD date of 11 May 2011 (back to square one). In addition, having cancelled my DD mandate, I have been charged a 'non direct debit admin fee' of £4.50. The response from BACS is also enlightening since the 'elapse time' is now down to 3 days. Doesn't allow much time for query does it ? I guess they expect you to telephone, as usual, leaving you with no way to record your side of the conversation. Once more, the Financial Institutions rule. LSP

I fully agree with the replies, but the salient point is not the date of the bill, but the time & date that the bill is emailed to the customer. In my case, this has been SIX DAYS after the date of the bill being issued on two occasions in the last few months. TalkTalk encourage online billing and now penalise those who decide to 'go green' and save the paper-billing charge, by giving them no chance to verify the bill before charging. LSP

Has anyone noticed that as from 1st March 2011, TalkTalk are now debiting your account on the SIXTH day after the date of your bill. They call this SEVEN days, but since they can take anything from TWO to SIX days to email you with the bill, it can be that your bank account is hit within 24 hours. BACS (Bankers Automated Clearing Services) say that with variable Direct Debits, customers should normally be given 10 WORKING days notice (14 days total) in order to be able to verify the proposed charge, and to query it if necessary - TalkTalk have shot through all that. They blame it on their acquisition of he Tiscali business, but I have refused to accept it and have issued a formal complaint against them. I have cancelled my Direct Debit arrangement with them and will pay by other means when I am happy with the bill issued (when I get it). Has anyone else picked this up and realised that TalkTalk are completely over-riding the Direct Debit Instructios to retailers ? LSP PS The Direct Debit Guarantee link on here talks of THREE WORKING DAYS notice which appears to be at odds with what is published on the BACS website.

I think that you will find that the Financial Institutions have leaned heavily on successive governments to water down the CCA requirements to the point where they (the FI's) can "reconstruct" an original agreement whether or not they actually have one. In addition, the judiciary now seems to take the view that anyone contesting a debt is simply trying to wriggle out of payment. All this means that the Debtor is punished by a default registered with the Credit Reference Agencies which is nigh-on impossible to remove, whereas, the Creditor can escape scot-free despite not having adhered to CCA law at all. Having said all that, I am still fighting 1st Credit having been through Mercers and others as you have, and it is worth remembering that on 19th February 2009, the OFT laid before 1st Credit a 4-page set of conditions which they should adhere to on pain of losing their licence. It was also the date that I sent my first letter of complaint to the OFT concerning 1st Credit, and I have copied them with ALL corespondence sent/received ever since. I also complained to Surrey Trading Standars, who immediately shunted me on to Consumer Direct (I wonder why ?) - my own TS were quite helpfull. As far as I am concerned, Barclaycard sold the debt to 1st Credit because all they had was an 'invitation' application form (copy supplied), and they did so for 10p in the £. Having heard nothing from them for 12 months, 1st Credit have now 'retained' another DCA to chase me and they are receiving all the same information that I supplied to their client(s) before them. I also have a consultative document from the OFT (from last year) wherein they say that they do not regard the passing of an account to another DCA to be 'enforcement'. They also say that where a debt is 'sold' (an ABSOLUTE assignment), they would expect the buyer of the debt to obtain a copy of the original agreement from the seller of the debt. Two years ago, I very much doubt that 1st Credit bothered with this. For what it is worth, this is my 10pence-worth. 1st Credit are now out of their 'probationary period' with the OFT, but with enough complaints (and if the OFT continues to exist) no doubt they could be brought to book once more. Meanwhile, GOLDEN RULES: PUT EVERYTHING IN WRITING DO NOT DISCUSS ANYTHING OVER THE PHONE CONSIDER MORE THAN 10 CALLS PER WEEK AS HARASSMENT AND REPORT IT STICK TO YOUR GUNS AND DON'T BE BULLIED WANDER AROUND THIS SITE AND TAKE NOTE OF SIMILAR PROBLEMS LSP

Hi JSA Strange that you should say this, since all of my correspndence shows the Edgbaston, Birmingham address that they have always used. There is no mention of a change of address. Hi DPICK This is exactly the case with mine and I will pursue your tactic accordingly. My thanks to both of you LSP