Update : I phoned them this evening and got put through to Scott & Co where I spoke to quite a helpful person (I know right? Must be new). Currently on hold to GCC themselves at the time of writing. Scott & Co have told me that the account has been put on hold pending GCC investigation into the aforementioned complaint so for the next 2 weeks, there is no action on the account. I asked about making a payment on it to be told that until they've replied to them, I've not to make any payments as GCC may recall it back to them rather than Scott & Co. I guess that's where the 10% comes in. My MP replied this afternoon too saying that he is going to write to the council too, and also contact my councillor within GCC to make them aware. What really angers me is I'm lucky, I have a temp job that pays well up til I start back in my actual professional capacity, which also pays well. I don't have kids to support, I'm moving in with my partner so I have my outgoings split considerably. I know I'm lucky. But there are people out there who have really suffered under the cuts this coalition has brought in, who live in fear of appeals, sanctions, poverty and potential homelessness. Will they experience the same and not have a good income to fall back on, not even knowing if they will get sanctioned, getting food from a food bank at the best of times?! There are people out there who have killed themselves because of DWP changes, because they see no hope whatsoever. That kind of letter could easily have pushed someone over the edge. It disgusts me.

This is the letter/email I sent GCC, Scott & Co and my MP this morning: Flat 1/1... Dear Sir/Madam, I write with regards to a summary warrant that I appear to have received from Scott & Co over unpaid council tax at the above property. I am somewhat perplexed as to why I have received it, given that Glasgow City Council’s council tax call centre informed me approximately 3 months ago that council tax on this property was being deducted straight out of my ESA. I had called up wishing to make a repayment and was told that it was not necessary as I was already automatically making payments from the benefit that I received at the time and that I did not have to set up a repayment plan with yourselves. I moved from ESA onto JSA of my own free will, wishing to return to work, and given that there was no break in my housing benefit claim (which your Council administer), it seemed reasonable to believe that the same payment would be moved from ESA to JSA, especially as you were aware of the changes in order to process my HB. Clearly that has not been the case. I have been off JSA for a little over 3 weeks, with no correspondence from yourselves whatsoever besides this letter from Scott & Co. I am more than happy to make repayments on an owed debt (as I was doing, and as I offered to do). I spent most of 2013 caring for a terminally ill father who also had schizophrenia. On top of that, I also went through an employment tribunal with my former employer, believing that my career and life was over. I was signed off with stress and depression, with frequent entries in my GP notes about my suicidal thoughts. The most recent entry of feeling suicidal was around 3 months ago. I have battled against these feelings for months in order to return to work and have a better standard of living, and this has managed to raise up all my feelings of suicidal thoughts. If a person is in receipt of ESA, and fails their medical so gets put on JSA, and is in a similar scenario to me with regards to council tax debt being taken out of their benefit, will you send them a summary warrant as well? Given that the ATOS medicals have caused some of the most vulnerable in society to experience threat of poverty and homelessness, combined with the anxiety of appeal after appeal, it seems reasonable to assume that there will be others who are in similar situations to mine. Should they too expect a summary warrant because Glasgow City Council have not noticed a change in income related benefits, whilst still receiving housing benefit and council tax rebate with no break? Given that you have to look at my claim for ESA/JSA to prove it exists in order to process a housing benefit/council tax benefit claim, it is reasonable to assume that Glasgow City Council were always aware that I had moved from ESA to JSA. I am not only distressed for myself and how Glasgow City Council have behaved, but for others who may be in a similar situation, who are pushed over the edge as they do not have the opportunity to return to work and fearful of anything that may further be brought in to impact on an already meagre income. I have sent a copy of this to Scott and Co as well as my local MP, William Bain, as I am thoroughly disgusted with Glasgow City Council’s behaviour. I shall contact yourselves via telephone only to ensure the matter is dealt with quickly, however I wish this noted as a formal complaint and I will no longer deal with you via telephone in any other matter as it seems evident to me that your contact centre says one thing whilst you do another. I do believe the matter warrants a MP to be made aware of it, due to the controversies raised by DWP changes and the impact it has on citizens of this country, some of whom have already chosen suicide rather than face any more uncertainty over benefit cuts, poverty, homelessness and despair. Yours faithfully,

Hi maroon, thank you. I'm going to do that tomorrow. I am also going to email them exactly what I've discussed on the phone so that there is a paper trail and I can evidence it if they decide to play silly buggers again. Plus I'm also going to make them aware I am making my mp aware - not the first time he's been involved in my dealings with Glasgow City Council... I will update tomorrow when I have spoken to their ever so helpful call centre. Right now I'm on office hours and can't just leave the building to sit in their offices; i do have a half day on Friday if needs must though.

First of all the posters here have helped me before and I'm truly thankful to you. Secondly I hope I have posted this in the right place. I was unemployed last year and had a hell of a time with the dwp/GCC sorting out my housing benefit. My dad was terminally ill, I gave up work to look after him as well as going through a tribunal. The stress of my entire life in 2013 meant I wound up signed off and on ESA. My council tax fell into arrears which they started taking off my ESA and that was fine. I called up the council to make a repayment plan to get oh no, it's fine, we are taking it off your benefit. That was fine, as far as I was concerned the matter was sorted. Life started to normalise again, so I came off ESA and went onto JSA straight away as I wanted to go back to work. The repayments to GCC weren't coming off that, but given I had called them to be told it was in hand and there was no break in my housing benefit claim, I assumed they would just take it off my JSA as well and it was just a matter of switching benefits. I was only on JSA about 6-8 weeks before I got a job. I came off JSA a couple of weeks ago to start work, to get a letter this week from Scott & Co telling me that GCC have got a summary warrant and to call them to set up a repayment plan. I am livid - I had called GCC to do just that to be told it was fine and I was repaying it anyway! There has been no other contact from GCC besides this. The total debt I owe on the Scott & Co letter is £173. I am terrified for the impact this has on my professional life - I work in the legal field and was just starting to get my life back on track before all this kicked it right back off again. I can make repayments because I'm back at work full time, and if I had just not paid it, I could see their point,but I was. And I had made contact directly with them to sort it out to be told it was fine. Am I wrong in saying I only wish to communicate with them in writing as I no longer trust them on phone calls, offering a repayment schedule and also making a complaint to my MP about GCC? I have been through hell in this past 18 months, I have seriously contemplated suicide and they have just added to those feelings that I have tried to fight off.

Exactly - thats what has totally bamboozled me! Although the downside of it is its actually lowered my credit score because now only my credit from 2010 onward is showing. Which isn't that great either, a couple of defaults from moving around a lot 2011/12. 2008 I can understand, but 2009?

As the title says, everything from 2008/09 has disappeared off my Experian credit file. RBS default - gone T mobile - gone Vanquis - gone, settled JD williams - gone, settled With the exception of RBS and T-mobile, everything was settled - it was negative history, but its gone. All of it has gone. I'm in Scotland so I'm not sure if the SB has kicked in or something? I would think if it was ONE creditor then maybe it had been sold on, but 4 completely different organisations?

I can't have a CCJ in my employment.

Thank you! They havent bothered sending any reference number, its a joke, I am furious, I can't even think straight I am that enraged. Whats the point of setting up a repayment plan?! Companies only give take notice when you hit them where it hurts - their pocket through bad publicity! I don't expect them to actually do anything but god knows I'd google everything before committing to it as a result now!

It would honestly appear that, no matter how much you try to sort out your financial matters, there is always some vile cretin waiting out there to try and catch you when you least expect it. Please excuse me if this post doesn't make a lot of sense at first. I am in tears, I think I have cried daily for the past 8 days or so, I am honestly at the end of my tether now. I seriously do not feel like I can take much more stress. I took out a membership with Parkwood Leisure and clearly stated that I wanted a gym membership that I could cancel at any time. I did not realise it was a private gym, it looks and feels like (and has the costs similar to) a council gym and my understanding of council gyms is that you can cancel at any time. I specifically said to the person "can I cancel by cancelling my direct debit? I don't have to give notice?" and was assured this was the case. So I signed up, used it a few times before finding a better gym. I started getting phone calls demanding that I make one month's payment to cancel. I said thats not what I was sold - they refused to look into it - I said during the phone conversation that I had moved house and was no longer at my old address. They acknowledge this even now - I have had someone at their head office admit to me that their management have said they knew I no longer lived at the address. I thought that was the end of it til I happened to check my credit file. They have taken out a CCJ against me. They are now saying I was meant to give TWO months' notice to cancel which is even more news to me. I have offered to make payment as a goodwill gesture on the basis that they set the CCJ aside as they knew I didn't live at the address and have admitted that. I do not accept any liability. I know for a fact none of my post will have been delivered as the police wrote to me about something and actually called me in autumn 2012 to advise that they had had the post returned to sender! I have asked Parkwood Leisure for a SAR and advised them that I have gone to my MP. I am seeking legal action against them - I have no choice but to pay the CCJ under duress because of my employers. I have had contact from one of their operation managers, a Liyen Ashby, who takes hours to reply to any emails (despite serious complaints being made and the threat of legal action). They are the most vile company I have ever had to deal with - they are ruining my life and my career for the sake of £73. I honestly am at the end of my tether; I have never ever been someone who had great financial sense and will admit it. But I am not someone who would let something get to the point of court action - I studied law at university and work in the legal field - if I had known, I would have sorted it out. I have gone to my MP and am going to a solicitors tomorrow. I have also written letters to Andrew Holt CEO and Tony Hewitt Director as well as writing to BBC Watchdog. I just want other people to be made aware of how vile this company really is - even when it gets what it wants, under duress, it still is content to ruin someone's life. Normally I am a lot more articulate than this but I feel like I am really at breaking point and cannot take much more. I have no idea why any company would want to put someone through this. Parkwood Leisure are one of the most disgusting companies I have ever had the displeasure of dealing with in my life; I seriously do hope they rot for what they have put me through in this past while. Companies only learn when you hit them where it hurts - their pocket through bad publicity - so as far as I am concerned it is my duty to bloody make as many people as possible aware of this bunch of...

I set up a repayment plan with Vodafone. This was agreed throughout December 2012 and they agreed to remove my default as a result - they have now gone on and put a default on despite my making payments to them. I can't actually think right now or even formulate a sentence. I am just seriously so low and depressed by another matter (an illegally obtained CCJ) and this is just the straw that broke the camel's back. Apparently Vodafone care loads about their customer relations to the point they have representatives on these forums, so perhaps posting this will actually get someone to sort this matter out by close of today. I just honestly feel at breaking point and like I can't take anything else anymore.

After submitting a final stage complaint, I get an email this morning from someone else at Scottish Power who, after I make a phone call when she addresses none of the points in my complaint, tells me that it is not Past Due Credit but LCS that are dealing with my account. Nice to see the left hand knows what the right is doing at SP - two different people in the same department telling me to contact two different DCAs! When I said that this was appalling, I was told to just give LCS a phone and pay them over the phone! Trying to explain why I wanted everything in writing was like banging my head off a brick wall. Why am I going to give out money over the phone if it can't be established 100% who is even dealing with the account? I have it in writing that their complaints team told me to contact Past Due - now I am being told to contact someone else?! And they wonder why I'm beyond angry and wanted to speak to a manager... Awaiting a callback from a manager at SP with regards to this. I don't expect any better from a DCA (and PDCS acknowledged awareness of the accounts but whether or not that was a ruse to get money out of me I have no idea) but I do expect better from a big organisation like Scottish Power. Disgust and anger doesn't even begin to describe how I feel. People make bad decisions with debt, sure, but do they deserve that kind of poor treatment? I am so angry right now.

Is there an email address for Provident? Google doesn't bring me anything. I have been trying to thrash out a f&f with Provident/wescot - the former aren't replying to me, the latter said they would f&f at 50% but I haven't had that in writing. I've sent recorded delivery letters already, waited a couple of weeks and nothing. I don't even know if I should be paying Wescot as it is still Provident marking the default on my Experian. I note that some people say do not pay DCAs, so now I am a bit confused. All I want is my bloody CRA marked as Satisfied before the end of Sept. The money is sat there but no-one seems to want to take it *head desk* I found that sending daily emails to other creditors seemed to make them get back to me, so I'm now thinking it would work to harass the ones that are dragging their feet into actually replying!

I've been doing some digging and again Provident told me to deal with Wescot (I believe... I have the paperwork upstairs, it is a DCA). The DCA offered me 50% to F&F. I have written to both the DCA and Provident offering this as a F&F. Do I wait for Provident to contact me?

email bounced to Keith Anderson CEO - oh well will just have to send it recorded delivery instead. I detest SP - bunch of idiots.

thank you I do really appreciate the help I have had off this forum. Yesterday I paid off one default and when I see that turn to a little Satisfied marker I can breathe a sigh of relief!!