Hi Jaws,

I think it's time you got a basic bank account so you can start to rebuild your life.

The Cooperative bank do a basic bank account ( cashcard ) which does no credit checks.

It's called a Cashminder but you'll need an address and some sort of proof of where you are living. You'll need to go into the branch ( as long as none of your old debts are associated with them ).

This card lets you do direct debits and pay online...etc.. But is no frills..

You don't get an overdraft either and you mustn't go into the red.

I think this should be your first logical step to start getting back on track.

Sounds like all your debts are statute barred anyway.

I hope that helps.

Regards,

Stormski

PS: DCA's and banks have a lot to answer for.

Hi,

Just an update on my issue of JSA not being payed...

I rang up and what happened is i had a 'new person' when i signed on.....and they forgot to update the details on their computer that i had been in etc.

So they will be paying me tomorrow.

I thought i would update this in case it happens to anyone else.

Can't believe this can happen in this day and age but at least it is sorted.

Regards,

Stormski

Hi,

I was due to sign on the 8th....which means my payment was due to go into the bank on 11th....

I also noticed i had a weeks payment one week early and wondered what it was...( and yes i got stressed about it so looked here ).

Now me and my partner signed on the 8th ( joint claim )......and haven't had a penny since...

When is this payment supposed to actually hit the bank account?

It's now 2 weeks since the 'half payment'.....and we are down to literally...£20...for electric.

This has caused chaos as i had tried to organise payments so everything tied in...and now it's all messed up and i have had to cancel direct debits for priority bills.

Can anyone answer my question?

I am thinking of walking down job centre to ask..( tried ringing but it is impossible to get through to a human being ).

Regards,

Stormski

Hi,

Thanks for the replies...

Going to fill out the ellens budget sheet this weekend and work out what is left.

Pretty sure there won't be a lot but i do want to pay this off...so will probably offer £20 every 2 weeks ( after JSA comes in this will pay normal bill plus £10 arrears ).

As i said before my girlfriend isn't bothered about a CCJ as Halifax has already assassinated her CRA wise.

We're going to admit the claim but i'm a bit hacked off the way they went down the court route so quickly so they can add another £50 to the bill thus wiping out the payments ( we were on monthly already ) that we've already made.

On a side note...we owe £68 to BT so i'm just going to set up a standing order for £1 a month until we get back on our feet ( they cut us off ).

I presume this is ok....won't ever deal with moorcrap who are trying to add £12 per letter ( fleecers ).

My girlfriend is pretty happy that i deal with everything...she's shy and if she had to deal with this on her own..it would break her.

Regards,

Stormski

Hi CitizenB,

No...haven't filled that one in...will do it tomorrow....

I'm more worried about the house....as although she owns it ( i am not on deeds )...i did put a substantial amount of money on doing up the gardens etc... ( all my money not hers ).

Regards,

Stormski

EDIT: We do have a solicitors agreement that anything i spend on house is still mine...for my own interests...

Hi,

Been an avid viewer of the forums for some time as it gives fantastic advice...

Here's the story anyway...

My girlfriend has had a MCOL from yorkshire water for the whole year ( we're not on a meter ).

..because we both started on JSA and couldn't pay it for 2 months as we were waiting for the claim to go through...

As we were a couple of months late..

..( due to just trying to keep the lights on )

they went straight down the court route...

Claim is for £265

Solicitors £50

Court Fee £15

Now....i've acknowledged service for her ( it's in her name only as it's her house )....

Now my next step is...i have to fill in the form before the 28 days is up offering how much to pay...

Council tax arrears are only taking £3.50 a week ( as we didn't claim until we were really desperate as my work went pete tong ) out of the benefits...

So my real questions are...

1) How much do i offer on the form to send to yorkshire water?

2) No way on earth can we pay the whole lot...so looks like she'll get a CCJ...( she's not bothered as she doesn't want credit ).

3) She owns her house outright.......implications....

4) Generally any other advice you can give...

I realise we're going to have to admit the claim....more of a what to do next.

( We're not into the last 14 days yet...first 14 days passing soon )

So advice appreciated...seems very harsh...to kill someones credit...for 6 years..for 2 months...when money has been none existant.

Regards,

Stormski

PS: We haven't got a phone ( and use a friends internet )

Personally...i wouldn't believe it for a second...

Call my cynical...but there you go.

Regards,

Stormski

Hey I like that one who cares, Nat West are looking for Mrs Hippy who skipped last year, (see my thread) had a letter for the occupier asking where Mrs Hippy was now,,,, have started a competition for the best reply. could well be up there... excellent

Mrs Hippy.....currently working in the International Space Station...haha..like to see them post there.

Regards,

Stormski

Hi. I was hoping to receive a bit of help regarding a claim from Arrow Global Guernsey Ltd today.I received a defence pack this morning stating I owe some money (under 5k, over 3k) with regards to a regulated agreement between myself and Natwest. That I have failed to make a payment in accordance with the terms of the agreement and a default notice has been served.

Trouble is, the only thing I can think this might be for is a very old credit card (perhaps over 6 years ago), that I was chased by various people for, before I responded with a request for the original cca agreement, to which I never received a reply and that was the last I heard. I also disputed the debt at the time and I'm fairly sure it was removed from the relevant credit agency (equifax or experian)

However, I am unsure as to whether to completely defend all of the claim and whether or not to challenge the jurisdiction. It is for Northampton, but I live much further North and have done for a long time.Any pointers would be most helpful.

Greetings,

I believe the jurisdiction part is if you are in another country...not a different part of the UK...

So you should defend all and not question the jurisdiction.

Statute barred is an absolute defence anyway...but you need to make sure it is.

I'm sure others will be along to help soon.

Regards,

Stormski

I find when dealing with DCAs that they dont want anything other than 'payment in full' so I am wondering if they are on a higher commission if this was the case.

 

I think two things would help this so called 'industry'

 

1. Ban the selling of debts completely

2. Scrap judgement by default - if neither side submits a defence the case is dismissed without leave t appeal, many cmpanies, especially banks so it seems, use this to get round a 'difficult delinquent debtor'.

Greetings,

This seems to be the main problem....Banks claim tax relief for the 'full debt' after inflating it as much as possible...and simply don't care about the circumstances of the debtor.

They then sell it on which means someone else hounds you to pay a debt that has already been claimed for tax relief....

Banks should keep their debts...and actually converse with the debtor to a satisfactory conclusion..

Regarding DCA's....they shouldn't exist at all..just another arm of a very corrupt industry.

The whole way things work needs reforming...selling of debts should not be allowed. Especially if they have already claimed it back off tax...Once they claim tax relief...the debt is wiped.

And the credit reference agencies aren't much better either. Now mainly used to 'punish' people who are usually in a bad position already.

Regards,

Stormski

Alternatively, put their puerile letter back in their envelope and put it back in the postbox marked RTS not known at this address.

 

So you owe shallowfax £75?

AND you are still banking with them?

 

You need to get a seperate bank account before they offset your account to pay your OD.

The Cooperative bank do a basic cashminder account with a debit card.

Halifax are idiots...and you need to transfer everything to a new account.

If you don't have any accounts with Coop ( ie: you don't owe them ) then a basic cashminder account is perfect.

You may need to go into a branch to apply ( do not ask for overdraft )...you get online banking ( it is slow to update so take notes on outgings )...

But it is a good little account and you can get this..even with bad credit.

I hope that helps.

Regards,

Stormski

Personally...i would ignore..

But if you are really worried about it...SAR the original creditor...to find all the unlawful charges, PPI etc...

Then work out if you owe them or they really owe you.

( others will be along to help soon i am sure )

Regards,

Stormski

Can you imagine the cost of sending ''polite reminders'' to

perhaps thousands of account holder,the individual must

manage their personal finances and not expect others to

constantly baby sit them.

Hi,

Managing finances in this economy is not easy.

I went from 45k a year to JSA in one foul swoop ( and no i didn't work for the financial sector ).

Granted this was about 10 years ago. Been hand to mouth ever since due to the industry i am in ( leisure ).

Having that sort of crash when the economy goes bump...There is absolutely nothing you can do to manage it.

I can see an influx of civil servants coming onto this site in the imminent future. I bet they thought they had a job for life..

How wrong they were.

Regards,

Stormski

Hi,

You will get all the info here you need.

In fact far better information than any fee paying dmp will give you.

The usual advice is to start a thread on each debt giving as much info you can on it.

ie:

Original Creditor, type of debt ( credit card / loan / overdraft, etc ), how much is owed roughly, date taken out, whether it is now with a DCA etc.

Then others will be able to assist you on the way forward.

Regards,

Stormski

Hi,

Well it is still worth trying to get to a Co-Op branch to make sure that they are going to try and open the 'correct' account.

Also, once it is open..you can pay money in at a post office ( and withdraw ) as well as at ATM'S.

As advised above..it is a good idea to keep a diary of what is in the account as it does tend to take a few days for the online banking to update with the correct figures...and you don't want to be falling into an unauthorised overdraft ( even though they should really never let this happen...bit sneaky ).

Regards,

Stormski

Hi,

If you have no dealings with the Co-Op you can get a basic cashminder account.

It would be best to go into a branch for this and do not ask for an overdraft.

You get a debit card with this account and online banking.

Even with bad credit you will get this account.

Great little bank account.

Regards,

Stormski

Greetings again,

I know i might have been a bit 'outspoken' but i see all the letters..i don't even let my girlfriend read them.

The banks ignored absolutely everything that wasn't a legal request from her...including complaints...and then threw her into the 'fish pond' of DCA land.

I'm glad to have 0 credit. Legal loan sharks are just as bad as the illegal ones.

Any phone calls i answer..and get 2 words once i work out who they are.

Looking forward to the claim forms if they ever do turn up..which i doubt very much.

Especially halicrap and farcleycard.

Regards,

Stormski

Hi,

I've not been on for a while..but since i took over the 'opening' of the threatograms...for my girlfriend she's a lot happier in herself.

I wish this site existed when i was nearly hounded to death after the split of my marriage nearly 10 years ago and i always log in everyday just to see the news etc.

Ceeatp just made me log in properly and say something. There is nothing worse than someone giving misinformation. He's not the first...and propably certainly not the last 'troll' from a DCA.

Regards,

Stormski

Well said Brig,

Nice to see you are still here.

Stormski

i agree that the letters sent out by certain DCa's are full of empty threats and incorrect consequences. this does need to be resolved and i think it is something that the OFT are continuously looking into. i did not mean to offend anyone by saying the letters on the site are ineffective, thats not what i meant, i was merely saying that the different letter might have registered more with those dealing with them.

Most of the letters on this site are to correctly get the information that the 'alleged' debtor needs to know and are written to get that information via proper lawful methods.

creatp...you owe me £10,000....pay now or else..

See..anyone can say that.

Now if you want to discuss this..start your own thread.

Stormski

PS: I won't tell you it was 1 pence...and i've added £9,999 in unlawful fees and interest dragged out over just under 6 years before i claim.

Yes, I have been in the industry previously. and that is something I picked up from admin staff (who will deal with incoming letters)

Troll....go away....

You are not wanted here...and nor is any other pond life.

Stormski

PS: Maybe they should start another thread and leave this one alone

Don't feed the troll!!!

These so called 'debts' are usually riddled with unlawful charges...the real creditors usually prefer to 'ignore' all letters and feed it to the pond **** so they can get tax relief.

This is the case with 3 of my 'girlfriends' debts...i've worked out they actually owe her..

I ignore all DCA's...just not interested.

If and when they ever bother to put a claim form in then a nice counterclaim will happen.

Until then...not a chance of getting a response.

Regards,

Stormski

Greetings,

( Rant On )

I really can't see the point of using a 'company' to do the work for you...when everything you need is here..

Writing a few letters is not hard work. In fact..most of the letters are already done for you..

The fact you are using companies that charge a fee AND you are still posting on this site..is bemusing to say the least..

If you want to throw your hard earned money away...i'm interested in some.. ( cheeky )

Seriously...you are paying someone that is probably getting most of their info from this site anyway...what a waste!

( Rant off )

Regards,

Stormski

Hi,

Sounds like their gonna try and clean you out...

NEVER give bank details out..always standing orders.

Regards,

Stormski

Hi,

Go into the branch to get the cashminder..if you ring them...they'll try to get a normal account..which you will probably be refused..

Take passport and utility bill..fill the form in the bank. Do not ask for an overdraft..or you will probably be refused..( you don't want one anyway...overdrafts are rip offs now )

Regards,

Stormski