A usage meter on my PCs would be useless. I have 5 PCs in use by different people in the household all connected direct to the internet via a wireless router. The only place usage can be measured is after my router. ie by the ISP. But thanks for offering the link. Would any one buy a car with no fuel gauge, just a light that comes on when you're down to the last gallon? No neither would I.

Is there a thread for other ISPs unfair use policies? I'm with demon and only discovered they had changed my service from unlimited to a 50Gb cap when I almost hit said cap. I want to know how much I'm using but only get a usage report when I exceed 47Gb in 30days. They are, like all other ISPs, advertising unlimited* (*fair use applies) products. I think we may have more success against them if we pursue an unfair advertising charge. If the headline says "unlimited" then it must be unlimited. If they are going to apply restrictions after a defined amount then I do not feel that the advertisements are fair. Any way I'll shut up now in case there is a demon or general ISP thread that I've not found.

My god ! Poor Beryl and her family. I know I've felt that way because of the harassment I've had from Thames but I'm too much of a coward to do it. RESULT!!. Today I got a letter from Thames Credit. After six years of letters, threats and phone calls they have finally "ceased all activity" on the account. I can only assume it is because of the Trading Standards people calling them and pointing out the error of their ways. I am so happy to be able to draw a line under this matter at long last. My gratitude to Trading Standards can not be exaggerated and I can only suggest any one else who is chased by this company, especially if like me you don't owe the money in the first place, call Trading standards. With luck the weight of evidence will eventually bring down that company and all who work for it.

I've challenged them to go to court many times but they won't cos they (probably) know I don't owe them the money. There is nothing on my credit history, probably as I don't have one.

again just for my own record sent forms off to trading standards on the 19th.

No need for any replies. This is just for my own info to keep track of this. 11/06/08 Contacted trading standards who passed me over to Consumer advice who took the details and gave me a ref EE380988. They say trading standards will get back to me in the next few days.

The b*st*rds are still ringing me. Twice this week. 6 times since the 15th May. Last time just 30mins ago and I feel physically sick. I actually spoke to them on one occasion a couple of weeks back and told them for what must be the 10,000th time they are chasing the wrong person. They must be totally thick not to be able to get the message. I have then logged in my caller display and don't answer the phone when it's them but the constant calls are making me feel ill. They must have spent more on calls over the last six years that they are trying to get from me. It's only a couple of hundred quid but I will not let these criminals extort money from me that I do not owe. If it was a good sized amount it would be worth fighting but it'll cost me more to stop them than it would to pay the ransom. sorry, just felt the need to offload some of the stress.

Hi, I'm sort of back while the hsbc case is stayed (thanks OFT). I've been a bit ill and may disappear again without notice. Meanwhile here's the background. In Nov 2001 I got a letter from TC saying I owed them money from an overdrawn Barclays bank account and would I phone them about it. Oh dear, I was so naive that I did. The guy was quite pleasant and asked if I had ever lived at some address in Liverpool. I wasn't sure but think I did stay in a rented room for some weeks in that area so it was possible. He tells me about this bank account. I tell him I've never had an account with Barclays and it must be someone else. He asks me to put that in writing and I do. Then the calls start. Polite at first but insisting I owe them this money. I know I don't. I contact the police who show no interest at all as do Barclays themselves. The CAB suggest getting a solicitor to sort it out. Now here's the thing. The amount of money is only a couple of hundred quid. It would cost far more than that to pay for legal help. I don't want to brag but it's less than a day's pay for me, but I'm not going to submit to this extortion. It's still not my debt. In fact I've never been in debt in my life. After a few years the calls are really getting upsetting for both me and my wife as they had become rude and "threatening". I requested they don't call, they still do. I demanded they take me to court, they didn't. I eventually entered their phone number into my phone system and when their number comes up I don't answer it. I haven't answered them for about three years now. Their written demands go into the recycle bin. I don't have enough breath or patience to keep telling them they have the wrong guy. I was under the impression that when the debt got to six years old it could no longer be collected and so expected that in November this year they would stop calling. We have had gaps of over six months in the past. However since mid November the calls have increased in frequency and are now running at two a day. They clearly won't accept they have the wrong person. If I take them to court I would want, at the very least, not make a loss so would want to at least make up my loss of earnings, which as I say is more per day them the amount they want. I see from an internet search that they are doing the same to other people as well so I know I'm not alone. Can they still harass me after six years? What are the relevant acts that I could sue them under? Which agencies should I report them to? Sorry for going on. Nev

Thanks for that info. I looked through the thread you suggested but this loan wasn't "managed". It was clearly a bad loan as any child would be able to see that my friend was already living beyond her means and granting her a loan was a bad business move. In fact there were several loans as each time the o/d maxed out she took out a new loan which paid off the o/d and the old loan and gave her about 1000 to play with. Now, legalities aside, I can see that's lots more money for the bank as the new loan is paying off the interest, now in the form of o/d, of the old one. But the thing that hsbc did which really annoyed me was that when I set up a standing order from _my_ bank a/c to pay the loan they instead continued to take the payments from the current a/c and just re-directed my s/o into the current a/c. This prevented us from closing the current a/c for about six months. ie until we had cleared the loan. {humour cut by mod} Sorry but sometimes I get very angry at those who encourage and take advantage of people who are at risk of getting into debt.

and now for something completely different. This friend I'm claiming for had a HSBC loan. In the T&C for that loan it said (something like) - we will take the repayments from any other account where funds are available - I can get he exact words if needed. Now the thing is over the five years or so the loan was running they took he repayments from the current account, even when it was over drawn. This effectively means the loan is being paid for at overdraft interest rates instead of at the agreed loan rate. Do you think there would be any mileage in claiming that they should not have taken the repayments from an account that is already in debit? I know this could be a whole new can of worms but just felt the need to ask.

No I didn't request a hearing but today I have received a letter saying the hearing for the request for removial of stay will be on 10th Dec. Nice to see they're dealing with them quickly.

I'm waiting on a reply from Norwich Court. I sent my request for removal of stay last Friday (3rd) but got nothing back as yet. Just phoned the court and they tell me _ALL_ bank charge cases are stayed and _nothing_ is going to happen until after the OFT case.

I'm also waiting on a reply from Norwich Court. I sent my request for removal of stay last Friday (3rd) but got nothing back as yet. Just phoned the court and they tell me _ALL_ bank charge cases are stayed and nothing is going to happen until after the OFT case.

Got two letters last Friday. One from DG (first ever letter from them!) saying they are going to apply for a stay. One from the court saying it is stayed. Both dated 1st Aug. Court says it has decided to stay the case on it's own accord. I have sent of the request for removal of stay (last Friday) but heard nothing as yet. both letters can be seen at: http://nevilley.no-ip.org/nfy53/cag/pg1.jpg http://nevilley.no-ip.org/nfy53/cag/pg2.jpg

bump! Right I think thats it for now. Bundles sent off to DG and the court for the prelim hearing on the 10th Aug. I've no doubt they'll say to wait for the OFT case but at least I don't think I have anything else to do for a while. Oh and the Job in Cardiff is going OK. I just wish it would stop raining!