Thanks for your advice. The guy on the phone did ask if I am with the same insurer and I said no and he said it will not affect my premium but I can see this could be a trap. The guy will call later again to speak to my wife to confirm and I guess I will tell him we don't want to put a cliam through.

I got a call from a company claiming to be solicitors (Clinch Solicitors) dealing in personal injury claims. The guy knew that i had had a minor accident 2 years ago (and I was at fault), the date of the accident and that I had my wife and son in the car with me at the time. He said my wife and son were allocated a payment for discomfort as they were with me in the car and if they don't claim it, after 2.5 years (3 weeks from now), the insurance company will claim it back. Now I am totally confused why my insurer at the time did not tell me about this!!! At one hand I do not mind having some extra money but I am scared if this company could cause any sort of damage (financial) by taking DOB details for example. I have explained to the guy that at the time of accident, no one was injured but he insisted the payments are for the discomfort caused by the accident to the passengers i had in the car at the time. Can anyone please help advise what to do. Should I go on and allow them to claim the money or is there any risk in doing so for me and my wife?

It is a second hand general dealer. I did not test drive it (my mistake I know) I paid with my wife's debit card

I bought a used Ford Galaxy from a dealer in Chigwell as a part exchange and while driving the car back home I discovered that the heating in the car doesn't work. I also discovered 2 days later that the engine overheats and that I couldn't lock the car and also it kept loosing power as if the turbo function was switched on and off. I took it to the mechanic who suggested that the water pump and possibly thermostat may need replacing and the remote locking and immobiliser is further work. So I rang the dealer and complained that I have these issues who initially tried to put me off but I called too many times and he eventually said we will fix it for you. So I drove the car all the way back to the dealer who then sent me to another place for fixing it. I spend the whole of that day (taking day off work) but the guys couldn't fix the heater and advised me to leave the car and they gave me my car back which I had part-exchanged with them to drive away until the new car is fixed. Its been nearly 3 weeks and I have ranged god knows how many times and the car is still not fixed. I asked for a refund but they refused to say that they are repairing the car for me. Where do I stand legally with this and what should I do. I am really stressed... many thanks for any help/advice.

i have paid penalties and had late payments not sure of PPI though and can't remember the amounts either .. i wonder if i could repair my credit file by paying a small final payment ..

I found the last payment by looking through past paper work from MnS where they sent me a default notice in around Nov/Dec 2009. I have requested a statuary credit report from Equifax a few days ago but haven't received it yet. The last time I sent a CCA request for the same card (can't remember to which DCA) they did send me the actual application form with my signature on and the copy of agreement, although there is no way either me or MnS can prove that the copy of the agreement is actually the one I signed because my signature is only on the application. Anyway I don't know how strong or week case they have against me and if they had a strong case why have they not gone into court for it so far or do they ever do so is another question. Do you still suggest I should send a fresh CCA to the "latest" DCA (i.e. Credit Security)?

hi, it took me a while to read through various docs and also to find out my last payment. I took the card in Oct 2005 and the last min-payment I made was in Oct 2009 which means unfortunately it won't qualify for statuary barred. In the past (an year ago) I had received a 50% final payment offer spread over 3 months from one of the DCAs out of many so far (fenton cooper). This suggests that I could possibly make a much smaller offer (5-10% may be) but i just don't know how much i should offer and whether i should offer it to the DCA or MnS.

Thank you all very much ... i need to check as you all suggested that last payment date which may not be as i think ... but because its been so long i can't exactly remember ... i guess the best way would be to check my credit file right ? I shall do that soon and will update this thread .... @rebel11: thanks for the comprehensive list of info ... i shall read through it one by one ...slow reader regards

hi, i have had an M&S card with outstanding balance since I stopped paying back about 6 years and I have been unable to pay it back due to ongoing financial difficulties. I ahve been contacted by DCAs one after the other and lately a company called Credit Security has been on my nerves with threatning letters/calls. Due to this debt, I have got bad credit rating for a while now. I had once sent a CCA request to M&S and they sent me the agreement. I then sent them a SAR in return to which they sent me a form to sign which I never did. I am now thinking to somehow get this debt off my shoulder but although I have work I am still struggling with my finances every month and go overdraft often. I am thinking to borrow a small amount off my family/friends and get the DCA/M&S to agree on a full and final figure to settle the debt but I do not want to speak to the DCA on phone as they sound like thugs. I need some guidance on how to approach this and how much to offer etc. my total debt on the card is £5000+. Many thanks

Ok I think I am going to send them a 'prove it' letter. Thanks to everyone here... I will update this thread when I hear from them back.

Thing is why has GE or Santander never contacted me ... Why DCA (Moorcroft)??

Also why is Santander reclaiming GE Money's account It is all so confusing ... I read santander probably bought GE Money but Is there no legal obligation for anyone of them to let consumers know what is going on?

Yes they did issue me with a new account number. The DCA is Moorcroft Debt Recovery Ltd. I don't remember re-signing the agreement again.

The DCA is Moorcroft I am not sure what is a default notice. But first they sent me a letter saying that they are agents of Santander and that the records show that their is a balance of £10XXX.XX to be paid and they have been provided my address by a credit reference agency and that if I believe that I am the a/c holder then i should contact them. The second letter titled "important information - possible letigation" talks about the calling them or legal action and any additional changes they may incur if they go ahead with the legal action. Also states they have confirmed my address with a public utility provider. Now how the hell do a utility provider give away my address to someone? The third letter now offers £120/month as a repayment option or recommending to their client to proceed with legal action.

In 2007 I borrowed £10k from GE Money. I started paying the agreed installments through a Direct Debit. On the 3rd installment I noticed they had taken £100 in access to the agreed monthly installment. I spoke to them on the phone and after asking all security questions the lady asked me if i had taken £25K? which I denied. The lady eventually said that will fix the issue from then on and refund me the excess amount. The next month they took out even more (£200 approx in excess) than the previous installment. I rung them again. This time the representative, after asking all security questions, said to me that because this was the last/final installment of my loan thats was why it came up to so much. I denied and explained what had happened. He/she then went away and came back by saying that there has been some problem and they will have to close the account and issue a new account number and that they will refund me the excess amounts together. He/She also advised me to STOP the DD until they have fully investigated and fixed the problem. For the next 2 months they used to call me and take the monthly payment over the phone through my debit card. Then they called and said that the issue has been resolved and the DD will be reinstated from next month and I agreed. Since that day they neither called nor re-instated the DD ever. I changed my address twice during that period and I used to call them and update my details but they had never complained about any non-payments. no phone no letter ... nothing.... Time went on and now a few weeks ago i got a letter from a DCA acting on behalf of Santander!!! claiming a similar borrowed amount as that of GE MONEY... Since then I have received 3 letters from the DCA claiming legal action etc. This time they are offering re-payment of £120/month or otherwise recommending to their client to proceed with legal action .... Sorry for my long description... but I need some serious advice on what to do please ??