Thanks for the reply. Was just concerned that they would come back with a locksmith without notice. I've actually just paid the amount due in respect of the walking possession I signed (paid online to Bristow & Sutor) Am I right in thinking the walking possession cannot be then applied to the subsequent 2 accounts that were passed to them AFTER I'd signed the walking possession for the first account? I just need time.. I will actually be able to clear the amounts on the two remaining accounts at the beginning of June if needs be. Would rather make a payment arrangement but can do it at a push.

Nothing has been seized, they knocked & I didn't answer, they put a notice through my door. Fees seem to be approx £400 from what I can work out. Just really need to know if they can force entry etc

I've got into a pickle with council tax on various properties. I should point out that I've had terrible personal issues and have bipolar hence why this situation has occurred. Will give a brief outline now. I owed council tax on a property I moved out of oast year. I had a visit from a Bristol & Sutor agent a few months back, foolishly let them into my home, agreed a payment plan but also signed paperwork which included a walking possession document and inventory of my items. I thought I was being sensible at the time as had every intention of keeping up with the plan. Have now got behind on the plan in the last month due to being ill. Today I had a visit from a bailiff in a van. I didn't answer the door but could see out of the window. He left a note afterwards declaring his visit and saying that I must pay the full balance of £1700 today otherwise they would seize goods and force entry if needed. My question is this - since the first visit, two other accounts have been passed to B&S which I have not signed anything for or agreed a payment plan on. The note left by the bailiff today included all 3 amounts. If I pay the original account off today which is approximately £500 and for which I signed the walking possession on, does he have any right to visit my property again and force entry? My common sense tells me that the walking possession was signed on the account for £500, not the entire £1700 therefore if I pay the original off, he can't seize my goods on the remainder as I haven't signed anything allowing him to? If this is the case, I will sort the remainder out in the next month. Can anyone help? I did call B&S who weren't helpful and skirted round the issue then refused to comment further and told me I needed to speak to the bailiff direct. Have tried to call him but no answer so have texted him instead but not heard back. Please help!

Hi Need some help with a logbook loan I've foolishly taken out with easylogbookloans.tv (Christian Gachet) Took it out last December and it's for 12 months so due to finish next month. I've had trouble keeping up with payments of £362 per month. Currently I'm 1 payment and a bit in arrears, this will increase to 2 and a bit payments at the end of the week when the next payment is due. I can't make up my arrears, I can probably pay one payment by the end of the week but that will mean I will get behind on other things such as my mortgage. My first question is, can I use a debt management plan in respect of this debt? I have tried to negotiate with the company directly but they have been really unhelpful. I have quoted bits of the code of practice which they are signed up to but they still seem to be making things as difficult as possible. That's why I wanted someone else to take over if possible so everything is more official. Secondly, they have been saying more or less every month that they have issued a default notice. I really don't think they have an believe this to be a scare tactic. I have asked for a copy of the default but they just haven't sent it. Their latest response when chasing this was that the bailiff who comes to repossess my car will have a copy of the default notice. This doesn't seem right..does the default notice have to be issued in advance and therefore give me some sort of notice? Thirdly I've moved..how long will it take for them to trace me? I'm not on the electoral roll at my new address. Was hoping if they were going to repossess my vehicle, it would take them a while to find me by which time I will have raised funds to pay off the arrears. Just to note that my car is worth approx £5k and my outstanding amount to the company is about £1200 I think so I'm not prepared to surrender my car. I want to pay off the logbook loan then sell my car to help my financial issues. Any help is appreciated!!

Hi Hoping someone can help! I've got a default notice on my file for a Welcome Finance loan that I took out. I missed a couple of payments due to some extreme personal circumstances at the time..silly I know but couldn't be helped. Anyway, next thing I know, they had marked the account as defaulted and gave me no warning of this. I was able to catch up with my arrears but refused to until the default notice had been removed. As far as I am aware, they have to give notice of issuing a default..is that right? I'm sure I read it somewhere!! I contacted them on numerous occasions but they weren't having any of it and were obviously keen to pile on as many charges as possible. Now the account has been passed on to MacKenzie Hall debt collectors. I've just faxed them a letter and told them I will happily pay the debt if the default is removed. Am now just thinking what rights do I have in all of this, if any? Also, I've just checked my credit report and it shows 2 payments were not made, it seems a bit excessive to record a default after just two payments late..can they do it when they like? Any advice would be appreciated. This has really buggered up my credit report and I've been trying so hard to improve it after a few years of financial recklessness when I was younger

2001...I shall wait and see what they come up with!

Hi I've made a complaint to Next regarding PPI on my Next Directory account. I do not remember taking it out and would not have knowingly done so. They have come back with a very vague letter stating it would have been taken out either by ticking a box or during a phone call but they have not stated which and have not provided any supporting evidence.They seem to just be making a general statement rather than specific to my account. I have made a subject access request but am just wondering what to do after that if they don't have the application or can't prove where I select the cover...Next have confirmed they are not covered by FOS so presumably they can just keep rejecting my complaint as they know I can't do anything further apart from court action (I assume) which I haven't the foggiest how to go about! Any pearls of wisdom? I have looked at other threads on here but from what I can see, no one seems to have had any success!

Thanks..it was paid off more than 6 years ago but luckily I have the paperwork! Have just finished completing the fos forms, fingers crossed they will look at!

Thanks, I will crack on with FOS forms then! I didn't think there was a time limit..cheeky buggers!

Hi I've made a PPI complaint to GE Money regarding an IGroup loan taken out in 2002. They have come back and said that it is timebarred under the Limitation Act 1980. As far as I was aware, for a PPI complaint to be timebarred it had to be sold more than 6 yrs ago AND they had to prove that the customer was aware that they had cause for complaint within the last 3 years. As they can't prove the 3yr rule, surely it cannot be timebarred? I'm a bit confused! They have also stated that the complaint can be referred to the FLA but don't mention the FOS - I'm confused as to what makes a complaint eligible for FOS referral whilst others are not. Can I still refer this to the FOS? Thanks in advance for your help!

Thanks for your help. Will contact FOS and hope for the best! Not sure how to go about doing a claim through the court but no doubt there will be plenty of info on here to help me decide if that's a possibility too.

Hi Just wanting some help with a claim against Colonnial now Chatham Finance. The original response I got was actually from Paragon so it appears Chatham are part of that group. The basis of the complaint is that my dad was self employed & wasn't given details of T&Cs relating to self employment plus the cover wasn't described as optional. We have the agreement and the box relating to PPI is pre ticked and it doesn't state it is optional. He had no reason to query it at the time as was told he had to have it. The sale was made in August 1999 and the credit agreement was regulated by the CCA 1974. We have a copy of the agreement which has a section relating to PPI but the box was preticked and the cover is not clearly described as optional. The PPI is shown on the agreement but the interest on the premium is not shown, so the full cost of the cover is not clear. Having submitted the complaint, we very quickly received a letter from Paragon stating that as it was sold in 1999, the concept of an advised sale did not exist and the loan was offered on an information only basis and decided for themselves whether to take it out. I responded and said that whilst the sale was not advised, they had a duty of care to provide him with full information about the cover to enable him to make a fully informed decision which he wasn't and indeed wasn't given a choice in the matter. The letter we've just received back is from Chatham Finance this time and is just a 2 liner stating 'our position remains the same, you are free to take whatever action you consider to be appropriate'. So they've not actually responded to the complaint points at all. Not sure where to go from here - in their response they mentioned going to the Finance & Leasing Association. I didn't know anything about the FLA, I just thought it was the FOS who deal with these things. Having read up on the FLA it sounds as though they don't have much clout at all. If anyone can give me some advice on my next move that would be much appreciated! Thanks

Hi Just wanting some advice on a similar situation..it seems here is the place to be! I'm helping my dad with a claim against Colonial/Chatham Finance which now appear to be Paragon as I've received a response from them. The basis of the complaint is that my dad was self employed & wasn't given details of T&Cs relating to self employment plus the cover wasn't described as optional. We have the agreement and the box relating to PPI is pre ticked and it doesn't state it is optional. He had no reason to query it at the time as was told he had to have it. We received exactly the same letter as the user on this post ie it was sold in 1999 therefore the concept of an advised sale did not exist blah blah blah. I responded and said that whilst the sale was not advised, he was not given sufficient information to make a fully informed decision and the ppi was not described as optional anyway. The letter we've just received back is a 2 liner stating 'our position remains the same, you are free to take whatever action you consider to be appropriate'. So they've not actually responded to the complaint points at all. Not sure where to go from here - any advice? I think I will start a new thread too but just wanted to post specifically here due to the success of the original poster. Thanks

Thanks for your responses everybody, very helpful! In relation to your questions papasmurf, he had just said that he wished to raise a grievance shortly before he went off sick or it might have been initially when he went off sick and he sent an email saying he would like to raise a grievance, I would have to check. The HR lady then emailed him and said she would like to have a meeting to discuss the grievance, as he was then severely ill I responded and said he was in hospital and we would deal with the grievance at a later stage so it was just left at that. We since haven't had the energy or been in the right frame of mind to do anything more about it as we have been focusing on getting him out of hospital and getting better. Prior to him going off sick in December, he had probably a couple of months where he felt like he was being bullied..things like he was told he was up for a job on the day shift (he worked nights) and then his manager virtually laughed in his face and told him he would never get it when he went for it. I think there were a couple of incidences of his manager swearing at him and shouting in his face and such like. He was made to feel like a fool. This wasn't the sole cause of his illness but I think it pushed him over the edge in terms of everything that subsequently happened. Now I'm thinking about it, I'm getting angry about it and thinking we should proceed with the grievance, it's just whether my husband is up to it really. Your suggestion of reasonable adjustment is a very good one, that makes sense to me. There's no need for them to know all the details and they are not mental health experts so I can't see what use his medical records would do but if they have specific questions, I'm happy to get them answered. Will check about the legal cover too. Thanks for the helpful information.

Hi To be honest I don't think he wants to go back which is understandable but we are thinking he deserves the sick pay he will get for the time being after all he's been through..we want to get something out of it all and just don't feel like they should be calling the shots and deciding what's what after the stress they have caused him and the least they could do is pay sick pay until his sick period is up! Not that I'm bitter about it or anything

Hi My husband became stressed with work last year as he felt bullied by one of the managers. He ended up being signed off work with stress in December and at the time told work he wanted to raise a grievance at the time and made this known to HR. However, he then ended up with severe mental health problems and was in hospital for 2 months. One of the contributing factors was stress from work. He has now been home for just over a month and has been signed off from work til the middle of May. He received a letter from work the other day asking him to go in for a meeting about his absence. I responded on his behalf and said that he didn't feel he was able to go in for a meeting at this stage and as he's been signed off til May, could we review the situation nearer that time when he may be well enough. Today we've received a letter stating they want authority to access his medical records given the amount of time he has been off. Our initial reaction was 'no' due to the sensitive nature of his illness and the events that led up to him being detained in a secure psychiatric unit. However, I've since had a look on the internet and from what I can see, if he doesn't give them access, they are allowed decided whether he should continue being employed by them regardless of the fact he has a sicknote. Can anyone advise? From our point of view we don't really want to deal with his work issues at the moment as he is still getting over his illness which was severe and we don't want them to know the details of everything that happened. Why isn't a doctors note enough and what are his rights? He has been employed with them for over 12 months and maybe had one or two sick days in the whole time he has been employed which I think is about 3 years so he hasn't got an issue with sickness etc prior to December last year. Any advice is welcome! Thanks

:)Hi Just to let you know that I contacted the Council who've agreed to make a payment plan between me and them rather than with the bailiffs and the bailiff action is on hold..they will commence again if the payment plan isn't kept to, hopefully that will never happen! The council have agreed to me paying the balance of the old property next week then the remainder for the new property til next March, I will try and clear it before then but they are quite happy with the amount that I will be paying. Thanks for your help!

Presumably if we pop it in the garage they can't break in there? I'm going to try and get something sorted this week, I've managed to make an arrangement with my mortgage company to pay some arrears off in small amount which frees up some more money when I get paid next week..I might be able to pay £500..do you think that would be a suitable part payment to stop them taking the car? I'm just worried about the 5 days business as I don't get paid til Wednesday. Our garage is full of stuff but if we clear it we could pop it in and hide it to buy some more time? Also I've just had a thought..if I try and pay the money we are both liable for, they wouldn't be able to take the car surely as the car is registered to my husband and he would no longer have the debt? I will speak to the council tomorrow. I'm just worried that I'm going to end up with the same problem with this years council tax as all my money is going to pay off my outstanding debts

The original order was £342.29 for one property with fees of £24.50, £18 & £35 added on top of that amount and for the current property £682 with £24.50, £18 & £46 fees added on top. I haven't gone to the council as we got reminders etc and I had a payment arrangement to pay the £682 but I broke it and they said they couldn't offer me another payment arrangement as I'd already had enough chances as it were. I did contact them about the £342.29 a while ago as the property was rented out from 05/03/2010 onwards so when I got the bill, I asked if that was the correct amount as it was produced before the tenant moved in. I also didn't get the opportunity to pay the £342.29 in installments..I just go a bill for the year and told it was to be paid more or less straight away. I should've contacted them at the time but it went along the wayside along with everything else.

Hi I'm hoping someone can give me some advice rather quickly. I've got myself in a sticky situation with regards to my council tax. I owed a certain amount on an old property anyway and now have an amount outstanding on my new property. I'm fully aware that it's all my fault but due to circumstances out of my control (family illness leading to lack of earnings amongst other things), I've not paid everything and I guess I've been ignoring the issue whilst trying to make payments on this years council tax bill. We've received 2 notices through the door from Bristow & Sutor regarding the outstanding amount which now total £1,215.79. I sent them a letter by fax the other day which I found on here and which said the following; "I understand Cheltenham Council has appointed you to recover my Council Tax Liability arrears for 2009/2010 which you have stated are £1238.79 including your fees. Firstly I would like to make you aware that I am fully aware of my rights and you will not gain entry to my home under any circumstances to levy goods and I know the fees allowed under statute and when these fees can be applied. Due to my circumstances I am unable to pay this in one payment. I advocate a payment schedule of 24 months with 23 months payments at £50.00 and the balance of £88.79 to be paid on the 24th month to cover the principle. I understand this may seem a long time but this is a realistic offer that is affordable to me and will allow me to pay future bills issued for Council Tax without them falling into arrears. A greater amount would cause me real and actual hardship. I am able to pay the above amount on the 1st of each month. Please advise how you would like future payments made. My personal preference is payment by Standing Order. It should be noted that I am not at any point refusing to pay this debt but only asking for a fair payment period considering my circumstances. And if you are unable to accept my offer I will place the money aside each month until such a time the council take the account back into their management, when I will make payment of the set aside money to the council. Please also send an itemised statement of account that clearly shows what charges have been added and what for, you are required in statute to supply this information and I look forward to this within 14 days. I am sending the council a copy of this letter and requesting that it be filled with my account for further reference. I hope the above meets your approval and I look forward to your timely reply by letter." I was hoping that would do the trick but I got home today to discover that a notice of seizure of goods was put through our door in respect of our car that was parked on our drive and giving us 5 days to pay. I can't scan the documents at the moment but they are exactly the same as on the following post - http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/bailiffs-sheriff-officers/266046-levy-legal.html The difference is with that post is that the car is for a disabled person and that's what the thread is about really so I haven't really got any advice from that one, hence my new post. I need to know if this is a scare mongering technique. We've not signed anything to acknowledge the seizure of goods so how do they know the car is ours? Can they actually clamp it or take it? Also the car is registered in my husband's name but only part of the debt is in both of our names. About £450 is in my name only and about £800 is in joint names. Surely they couldn't take the car as it's worth more than the debt anyway? Also I saw a list of things that were excluded from what they could seize which included a car if it is used for employment purposes..we both use it for commuting so presumably it would fall under this category? I'm not sure what to do next..there's no way we can pay it. I might be able to juggle things and make some sort of payment at the end of the month but this will make me go into arrears with other things and cause more problems. We've made an offer of payment which they've just ignored so it doesn't seem to have done any good. Please help me! Thank you in advance PS I should also point out that I've not acted sooner as the initial 2 notes through the door were posted whilst we were away.

can you post your response that you receive from rbs so I can see the exact reasons for them not upholding your complaint then I may be able to offer advice? it is also worth requesting a copy of your application and terms and conditions.

With regards to the comments, you've obviously gone to the fos with your complaint following initial complaint to RBS. You therefore may as well accept the offer as what ever the fos have decided will be 'fair'. The don't give you an actual figure as they calculate as at the date they receive your acceptance. I don't know how they calculate the amount that is paid back - if it's single premium I believe you will get the whole premium plus possibly interest at 8%.

howler - one other useful point is that you've selected ppi on your app. if you were claiming for ppi premiums they will turn you down on the basis that you ticked the box to say you wanted it - this is standard practice and TPF will just live in the hope that these types of complaints will not be referred to the FOS. However, the application says 'we strongly recommend' you take cover and if you then referred the complaint to the fos, it would be settled in a flash and TPF wouldn't have any ground to stand on. Fact! (speaking from experience)

Hi, if you've already made a claim then there's no point writing to RBS again unless you have any new 'evidence' in addition to your complaint points. Your best bet would be to go to the FOS now presuming you are within 6 months of the date of your decision letter sent to you by RBS. That said, you could also take your chances and attempt to log a new complaint with no reference to the original complaint - their admin is pretty shoddy and chances are, they won't even link it to your original complaint..believe me!! Now they are offering £750 goodwill gestures in the vast majority of ppi loan cases with no admission of liability, even for cases where the loan has defaulted etc. Hopefully you will have some luck. with regards to your payments, the amount of ppi left on your loan will depend on the term. I believe they weight the ppi more towards the start of the loan. This means that the longer the ppi has been inforce, the less the value of the ppi will be and so your payments will reduce by less, if that makes sense!

Thanks for that. I did ask for them to respond in writing but despite this, they keep trying to call me..I've stated 5 times for them not to ring me and put everything in writing but they still persist! I am at the stage where I have asked for it to be escalated to a manager so we will have to see what happens and then I will go for the deadlock letter if no satisfactory response is received.