Well, its been a little over a week since I sent the letter, the phone calls stopped on Monday (18/06) - a little after 4 days after I sent my letter and I have heard nothing from them as yet. Hopefully (and in an ideal world) this is over but I suspect that they are either investigating or, have closed the account and are looking for the next sucker to flog the account to... Whilst I shall be glad of the rest, I was thinking that in my response to their response of advising them to seek legal advice against HSBC for breach of contract for selling them a clearly stat barred account on the basis that the consideration (of the contract) in this instance my alleged debt is unenforceable and thus meaningless rather than actionable and collectable, just for my own giggles

Again, this is a case of me looking at & believing what is written on the statement. How many calls in a day constitutes harrassment? I am currently up to 6, though I am unsure of how I am going to prove it. Hopefully this shall stop shortly after they receive my complaint letter.

Oh the pain of it... I am in the nasty habit of destroying anything older than 5 years grr @ self! The final statement in the batch they sent over does show a zero balance (back in 2009 when HSBC closed the account) but Lowells have explained this as being zero-ed in prep for its sale. I still find it boggling why it has taken three years from when the account was closed to when Lowells finally made contact. I also find it odd that dca's would take-on debts that are clearly statute barred or is it more of a case that they shall attempt to pursue until the debtor states as such that they finally give in?

I intend to follow all the advice; Lowells have already called me 3 times before 12. I shall send them I stifley worded letter of complaint advising that the alleged debt is both in dispute so they are in breach of reg 3.9(j) of the oft guidelines and so collections activity must cease with immediate effect, that the debt is not mine and I do not acknowledge the debt and finally thta the debt is statute barred under the Limitations Act 1980 and as per Silverdale, I shall request all communication to cease lest they wish for me to take my complaint to the fos. My intention is to just ignore them thereafter though I am unsure of how to handle their rebuttle's not least that I suspect most communication to be call based as opposed to letter which may make it difficult to take my complaint further.

I know you were trying to confirm and like you, once the statement is no longer available to the account owner, I too wouldn't be surprised if they started to 'add' transactions in the hope that individuals do not notice; admittedly, whilst I do remember the visit to the branch, and changing my address (it was actually quite a nice autumn afternoon, about 18 degrees, nice and sunny - for Pontypridd) I actually cannot remember making the payment, this also seems especially strange as the only bank accounts I have ever had open and active are my personal account with Barclays (opened and in use pre-uni) and my Lloyds TSB student account. I cannot fathom for the life of me why I would make a deposit to HSBC.

Thank-you everyone for your advice so far. Silverdale, yes the deposit is showing on the statement and (despite it being some time now) the degree to which I alluded to was Law with specialism in (get this) consumer and contracts - its just that I have now spent several years in business intelligence and am a little flakey in the area; in short, I have a very good memory (lawyers) memory. I think that as Mike has pointed out, this could be a new one maybe? in the DCA's trying to circumvent the statute barred and to revive the debt or at least the clock and then trying it on in the hope that their victim (probably the correct terminology since they are mostly vampires) just accepts and pays. I'm guessing that there really is no 'real' way in being able to cause the debt to go away, HSBC cannot pursue in any way except for continuing to ask for it, dca's can try to collect but they only need to be told that the debt is unenforceable for them to pass it back, the biggest threat right now is suppose I get the default removed from my file (if there is one), what is to stop HSBC from registering another one?

How do I seek to limit the damage done by my own error of agreeing to make payments towards the debt? Whilst I maintained during the call that the debt isn't mine, and was thus following their advise that clearing the balance was the only way that I could remove it from my credit file, I did make a payment of £1.01 on 08/06/2012 - my concern is that this would be taken as my accepting the debt (despite me saying that I hadn't) and would thus remove dsb defence as they would seek to rely on this to prove: i. That I accepted the debt was mine ii. That I made a payment towards the debt and so the 6 year clock would begin from then. This would be even more the case if they 'lost' their recordings wherein I continuously made it clear that the debt wasn't mine and that I am not accepting it; it would then literally be a case of my word against theirs with a tiny yet very significant payment of acceptance. I'm guessing this is more a case of shot in foot and the only defence I can rely on is to cause HSBC / Lowells to prove the debt is mine.

Thank-you everyone. I have regularly checked my credit files Experian & Equifax, there was nothing on them in April, neither has anything ever been registered at least as far back to 2006 - may have to re-check now though. I was thinking was this dsb based on no activity and my last payment towards the debt being Oct 2005 though I wasn't sure as to whether dsb would come into effect from Feb 09 when the account was closed - also seems strange that it has taken 3 years for the debt to come to me. I shall put through a SAR to HSBC and I shall be contacting Lowells by post to advise that I do not accept the debt, to advise them of the OFT guidlines during a dispute (per rdm) and that I believe the debt is statute barred. Whilst the statements were originally printed by HSBC, they were sent to me from Lowells with the letter I first spoke of wherein they are saying that they do not see any reason for my non-payment. Just to be certain, I presume that where no proof exists that the debt is mine or if the rules concerning dsb have been met then any threats made by Lowells are just that and they have no legal recourse? Also, whilst I had no default listed against me in April, could Lowells or even HSBC still register one against me now and if so, how do I go about removing it?

Hi Guys, This may be simpler and really I am looking for confirmation that I am going in the right direction but: In October 2002 I took out an £800 12 month loan with HSBC; with no bank account, HSBC opened a new account from which to take the funds. I finished paying the loan in October 2003 (just after I left for uni) and as far as I am concerned, this was the last time I used the account until October 2005 when I for some reason (not sure why), I deposited the amount of £37.52 - not sure as to the precise nature of the amount, but I do remember the purpose of the visit to the branch was to gain some mortgage literature. I also remember at this time changing my address to reflect my uni address (when I left for uni, I left my parents house permanently). Fast forward to February 2012, I was contacted by Lowells about an outstanding debt of £327.52 owed to HSBC - it seemed very random given that HSBC had not contacted me in the past regarding this so I advised Lowells that until Lowells / HSBC can prove the debt was mine, that I shall be disputing. Lowells informed me that they would go and request the statements from HSBC. I remained in regular contact with Lowells who informed me that they were still waiting on the statements. Finally, on the 9th June, the statements turned-up, the trouble is, HSBC had sent 60 pages of statement starting from statement page 034 dated 19 July 2005 which starts with an opening balance of £227.37 and nothing else. Lowells have written in their letter that "they see no reason why they are not entitled for me to pay the debt" so I called them and advised that a balance brought forward does constitute proof that I rang-up the debt providing them with a couple of scenarios one being that I could have decided to take-out student possessions insurance with them, then cancelled within the cooling-off period and that this debt could therefore be for a first payment that was never refunded but without the missing statements, we will not know what the debt is for; I should add at this point that I did receive a zero-balanced loan statement so I know it is not for this. Lowells advised that they did not expect HSBC to hold statements back any further than 6 years whereas I said that until HSBC can prove that the debt is mine the balance shall remain in dispute. Lowells did say whilst I was on the phone that the account was defaulted in 2009 and that HSBC would have been contacting me for some time before, yet the only address HSBC have ever held for me was my parents address, this seems odd to me since I changed the address in 2005, 2006 and 2007, also, I advised them that my parents sold their house in 2006 so should they have tried to send letters, it was likely that the mail would have been returned (hopefully). Unfortunately, due to a mistake of my own, the plot thickens. I know how this can look but, the previous evening 08/06/2012, I had received a letter from Lowells asking for the amount for which I contacted the and advised that I had not yet received the statements. I then entered into a dialogue with the girl during which point whilst I persistently disputed the debt, I asked about the default, now being on hold, and could it be removed until investigations had completed, she advised not but she also advised that one possible solution to cleaning my credit file would be to begin payments so that it would "look good on my file" and then to claim the amount back if the debt subsequently proves to not be mine. Being straight after a particularly long day and my mind not being in 'alert' mode, whilst I continued that the debt was in dispute and she too accepted this, I accepted this proposition which the following day Lowells sought to use against me as "my accepting the debt"; I have since cancelled my payment arrangement citing that HSBC need to prove that the debt is mine but Lowells are still seeking to rely on my acceptance of a payment plan as grounds that I accepted the debt. Even though during the course of the call (the second call once the statements had been received 09/06/2012), Lowells sought to control the call I maintained my position that I shall dispute the debt until it is proven and it is likely that this would also be a court's position should we go down the legal route. At this Lowells said that at least for now, if I am disputing the debt then collections activity shall commence though it is currently not in their interests to go legal - yet. I want to know where I stand with this and whether I am in the right or does a balance on an account with no supporting evidence that the debt is mine constitute a recoverable debt? I also want to know where I stand with the 'accepted' debt and also, what would be the best course of action regarding the forthcoming collections activity and finally, in the circumstances with HSBC unable / unwilling to provide any supporting evidence that I owe the debt, is it legally enforceable? -- I should add, that whilst the statements open on page 34 [19/05/2005] with an opening balance of £227.37D, with exception to the £32.57 I deposited in October 2005, the final balance of £327.52D is solely made-up of their interest over the next 4 years.

Thanks guys, I knew it was probably a long shot just does seem a little frustrating that it came to this particularly had I been made aware of the issues - basically, despite my sending the funds to Tesco and their statement showing as accepted, Tesco was claiming that I hadn't made any payments since May 2011. You've heard it all before, you may have thought it even, but it does seem too easy to screw around with people's credit files, and the postal rules of a letter is considered to be accepted from the moment it is posted rather than once accepted by the intended receiver doesn't help too much either. To go to your point about speaking extensively over the phone regarding my debts [dx], you are right but after this incident with the mail, I am finding it easier to record the phone call and to advise the agent that the call is being recorded rather than place any faith in the postal service, not that I have any fears about the company receiving my letter, rather, I don't expect to receive a reply - its as though RM is now being managed by the Italian postal service... Oh, and no, having worked in call-centres as a student and learning its true value and worth, I would never touch PPI; and in this case, again, Tesco have been good and did try to help - no charges either. Just bad luck.

Hi guys, this story comes in two parts, either way, I really need some help as to sorting out the mess. Before we begin, the background is: In June 2008 I took out a 60-month £10k loan with Tesco at £198 per month; I made every payment to Tesco without fail until October 2010 wherein, to enhance my career (fed-up of serious under-payment) I took a lower-paid job though a serious error of judgement on my part ensured that I could not maintain my payments with all of my creditors. Having missed four payments with Tesco, they accepted my offer of £40 pm until June 2011 where they agreed that they would review and extend the agreement for an additional 6 months where, should I not be in any position to bring the account upto date, they would have to default it. I moved house at the end of June 2011 to house that whilst it had been correctly registered with Royal Mail, the Land Reg & the Council as a new and complete property, it had originally started life as an annexe of the property to which it is joined. The problem: Short Version: Between them both, actions of both Royal Mail & my next-door neighbours [i believe] have resulted in my account being defaulted with Tesco, the debt has been passed-out to Westcot at a rate of £300 pm to run from January 2012 to September 2013. Long Version: Aware that the review period was now upon me, during the change-of-address phone call, I advised the agent that I had now secured a much higher-paid role and that whilst I was not yet in a position to increase my payments either back to the £198 pm or greater though I expected that I would be in a position by October 2011; the agent accepted this and agreed to extend my plan. As a result of unforeseen payments, I wasn't able to increase my payments and as a result of very long hours to complete project work, I neglected to contact Tesco to advise them of this - MY ERROR - I accept full responsibility of this. On the 21st November, I received a statement of arrears from Tesco dated 19th November 2011 which prompted me to contact them to resolve the current issue during which time they advised me that they had already written to me about my account with the following: 09/09/2011 26/09/2011 09/10/2011 - pre-Default letter 19/10/2011 - Default Notice 06/11/2011 - Letter before Action 16/11/2011 - Formal Demand Letter The trouble is, that I have not received any of the above letters and Tesco had made no attempt to contact me by any other means but mail. Back in September, both our and our neighbours mail was incorrectly delivered, upon redelivering the mail, we asked had they received anything for us - they are number 25, we are number 27 and the house next to us is number 30, they said they had had some post for 27 but "not knowing where it was, they had returned it". Each time the regular postman is away, the post goes missing. Having checked with Tesco, they have confirmed that they did send the mail to the correct address and had not received it back as returned mail, but as a result of the great number of letters sent out warning me of the impending default they would not be prepared to remove it unless I entered into a payment plan of their making; trouble, when going through their income & expenditure form, I was more or less caught off guard in trying to provide a correct expenditure as I did not have my figures in front of me - I knew I had more expenditure than we had gone through but wasn't able to remember what it was for so was trying to explain this but as I had nothing to back it up with, they refused to accept it, when I did finally locate the figures, I asked [during the same phone call] if we could start over with the correct figures, Tesco advised that this would not be possible due to the presence of the other i&e and that the account must now default & be sent to recoveries who would then have the power to put into place a new plan. *** So, apart from not trying any other form of communication, Tesco did try to contact me by the book. I am currently paying £300 pm to Westcot who I have no qualms with. What I want to know is, whether there is anything that can be done eg actions against Royal Mail for incorrect delivery of mail that has resulted in a possible breach of the DPA in allowing another to potentially read my mail (and know my affairs) or, whether Tesco can be convinced to remove the default as it was placed due to the errors of Royal Mail and as can be shown by Westcot, that I have entered into an acceptable payment plan for which no payments have been missed. Your help would be greatly received on this. Steve

Thanks slick I really wish it were that simple. I already do bank elsewhere, a second conversation with collections had put the figure at 50 pm to cover the interest and reduce the balance by a measley 10 pm. Unfortunately due to the nature of my work ( I work in a regulated industry) I cannot go down the debt collections / ccj route for fear of losing my job. Can you explain how I go about opening negotiations with the bank about repayments where no additional charges are levied.

Right, so I contacted the collections team and was advised that as a result of Barclays charges I now needed to pay £190 in order to bring the account back under its overdraft limit, failure to do so in the next 10 days would result in the account being closed and legal action being taken to retrieve the full balance amount. I made a promise to pay the amount by 01/09/11 to prevent any further action to which Barclays agreed, I also paid £40 there and then to cover the additional interest charge being applied to the account the next day. I made a payment of £200 on the 1st September which was more than my promised amount by £10 but when I contacted the phone banking team this morning (to order a new card as they had blocked mine) I was advised that my account currently stood at £2730 over as a result of additional charges and interest. Where do I stand with this? It seems to me that Barclays is determined to keep me in the red, clearing this interest will almost certainly not stop additional charges being applied next month which would then most likely result in fresh interest and charges being applied and then the same to the following month and the next and so on in the same manner as it has for the past 3 years which has ultimately led to me being in this situation. So for an opening balance of £3201 I actually only needed to pay £501 to bring the account back in order but having made the following payment amounts: 50, 50, 80, 180, 180, 180, 40, 200 I have actually paid £960 which is £459 more than required and yet I find that I need to pay still more to bring the account to order. Is this right / fair / legal? It seems to me that on the one hand they are telling me the amounts required to bring the account in order and yet on the other placing / keeping measure in place to ensure that this goal is never reached. Aside from all the other charges and monies paid that I want to retrieve (I shall be pursuing for more than the statutory 6 years) I at the very least would like to see this additional £459 returned. Also, I was always under the impression that the purpose of collections was to help you / prevent you from going further into the red by preventing you from using the account but also to reduce / block additional charges from being applied to the account - this is so with other banks - I should also add here that whilst not entirely related to this post 4 years ago I had issues with Fitness First, I had already advised them of my intention to cancel my account and stop my direct debit; everytime I stopped my DD well in advance of the next payment, Barclays allowed the DD to continue to go out stipulating that they 'couldn't' stop the DD despite even cancelling it in branch - are they really monkeys? One final point, I was always under the impression that the banking laws stipulated that a creditor / bank is duty bound to provide a statement of affairs, I haven't received a statement for months (Barclays does have my correct mailing address) and haven't received notification that my account is currently £30 over the overdraft and having blocked my bank card, I also have no access to online banking - they are effectively preventing access to my account. Do have grounds for breach? Where do I stand overall? Do I have legal grounds here? Have Barclays breached our contract / agreement by causing me to pay more? Should I continue to make payments to try to bring the account in order?

If we go back to the original post, they had been taking more to cover their charges but without first advising / agreeing this with me first [which would explain why we were left with far less money than we had been expecting] this aside, I find it difficult to swallow that despite their taking more money, they still decided to add further charges on the 7th July that caused me to break the agreement and to have had to fork out 220.00 for the final payment (180.00 + additional 40.00 interest). This is more than them having their cake and eating it. I have decided to play ball for a while - to take the moral high-ground and accept the fact that for the moment, I have no choice but to pay-up to prevent them closing the account and asking for the full amount; but, I shall still pursue this as I do feel that it was a result of their actions that I am in this situation in the first instance. Steve

Its a current account