Thank you for your very swift reply. I will continue to use the resources on here but I do seem to have ruffled a few of the site teams feathers by asking difficult questions and having non conventional opinions (bless them).

I understand that consumer direct and trading standards help lines are to close at the end of March with everything passed to CAB. Will they be able to cope and is there anything else to fill the void Thanks

Thank you for the reply and I understand completely. I was just curious

Oh wow an email like that is just such a gift. Yes it must be reported.

Ok point taken, maybe I was lucky In Birmingham. The biggest problem is finding free impartial accurate appropriate advice. This is one of the things that scares the hell out of me when consumer direct are closed One last question, why he it a case of he who must not be named? we happily talk about QQ, WDA etc but are we scared of this guy?

Best of luck TomTom . I applaud you for your spirit, we need more people that can take it all the way

Sillygirl, I agree with everything you say except changing account. In my opinion you are wrong in that. If she is in debt with Halifax then yes but as she isn't there is no need. After some long and protracted "discussions" with certain members of the site team I will challenge anyting I know to be wrong, even if this means me being removed from the site

Hi Maybe I have missed something but you talkabout this payday loan company as if it were an individual. Now i know that PDL's are pond life but if this is an individual he sounds more like a loan shark to me. I have read all the posts but I have the attention span of a goldfish, has he made specific threats to you that you can show i.e in writing? If so go to the police and consumer direct (before they close). As for money by deception he hasn't got a cat in hells chance of proving that, after all you have paid back more than you owe. If you live in a city got to CAB, in my experience in a city they are better funded than my local branch who are more like the old dears on the wonga advert!

Hi Firstly I have to say that I have found HBOS acting illegally in the past , particularly since they were "saved" by LloydsTSB. In my case they refused to talk about my mortgage arrears until I had talked to CCCS , this inspite of me quoting OFT guidelines at them and telling them I was already in a DMP. Well done for sticking up for your rights. One suggestion is that your partner "loses" her card and reports it lost, a bit of a pain I know, but HBOS should the issue her with another card, different numbers etc and all SHOULD be fine. I can not see how the Halifax have a leg to stand on and a complaint should make them sit up. Make sure you tell them that should they fail to deal with your complaint , you will progress it as per their complaints procedure.

Are we talking SO or DD. If it's a S/O then the bank is talking crap. I had a problem with WDA who kept setting up a DD but not taking money. However when I wrote to them and asked them to stop, to their credit they did. In either case you need to write to your bank telling them not to accept any mandates from the company . i would take it into your bank and get a receipt for it.

Isn't it great that finally these companies are going to be forced to play ball. My only fear is that they will clean up their act (with mass publicity) until the investigation is over then retourn to their illegal ways. Lets hope I am just too much of a cynic

Interesting figures , and in my opinion a lot of potential costs missing but I guess they vary so wildly that you can not estimate them, e.g council tax, water etc. On the other hand some of the allowances seem almost generous, max of £50 a week for food cleaning etc. Min and max I can understand why, depending on where you live etc although why some people would need to spend double on food etc is beyond me . I guess this should be a framework with spaces for all the other essential bills

Oh I have confused myself now. I will leave this one in yours and others capable hands.

Point taken, I didn't explain myself well. The original poster said he had been passed on to a DMP . I am thinking he has got himself confused. I am in a DMP with a DMC. I could of course run the DMP myself.

I am a tad confused. You talk about wanting a repayment plan but not a DMP or debt management plan. If you agree to repay your debt then it could be called a debt management plan. Do you mean that you do not want to be forced to deal with a debt management company? If so you are within your rights to insist that they deal with you, refer them to the OFT guidelines on debt recovery. If they want to pass your debt onto a debt collection agency I am not sure there is much you can do about it, however they may just act on LS behalf in which case they dont need to tell you much or they could have sold on your debt in which case they have to tell you. Hope I havent confused you

Or we can help you for free if you are up to the challenge. (Do not beat yourself up if you do not feel that you can cope , I have been there, done that and taken the pills)

Thank you for your reply, I have had this conversation many times. He may be a friend but this is also his job. In my experience the CCCS have been less than professional. There is a thread somewhere where the CCCS have bullied someone and the poor lady is too stressed to make a complaint, and when HBOS start to refuse to talk to me unless it is through the CCCS then I smell a huge rat. You say that no one should make money from people in financial difficulty, in an ideal worl that maybe the case but we live in the real world so with respect I say wake up and smell the coffee. (how do the CCCS get money etc) should banks, pawn brokers , provident etc all be closed down? For me that £10 a month is money well spent. I am looking at all the options as declaring myself bankrupt will cost me money I do not have

Hi John My advice for what it's worth is to do a couple of things 1) Write by recorded delivery to their complaints address (on their website) stating all the facts clearly. Make your offer of repayment. My guess is that you ticked , or didn't untick the box for 15 charge for same day payment so you may have to pay the £100. State that you will escalate it if it is not resolved as per their website. I would also say you will be intouch with the OFT 2) If they do not reply within their guidelines as stated on the website then escalate it to the financial ombudsman (or if they do not agree to your offer) Finally did you give your debit card details ? If so cancel it NOW. Do not pay by debit card. Bank transfer is the best way or I think the website says they do paypoint etc

Thanks I only mentioned the trust because I know the O.R. can chase you for so many years after you have been discharged from bankruptcy but I guess the trust would not class as assets. BTW it would not be a huge amount of money even at this point ,mainly 1/3 of a nice 2 bed house.I find it almost embarrassing to say I would have a trust fund.

Hi guys Am after some advice. I have 40K of various debts over 18 companies. I have not worked since last april and get 67.50 pw ESA although i am appealing for long term rates. Even when I am fully recovered (I have some mental health issues, stress, anxiety,low self esteem et al) the job market is not good. I am paying £1 per month to each creditor . I have no assets. For various personal reasons my mother is putting a trust in her will for 1/3 of her estate (roughly) with me as the primary beneficiary. I am hoping that this will not come into play for many years as she is only 74. Now for the question, should I declare myself bankrupt and start afresh? My friend who runs my DMP for me on a professional basis (charges me £10 pm) says no (he is hardly making a fortune out of me) but I would welcome others input BTW I am a 46 year old male , separated but not divorced with a partner who I do not live with

This won't go down well BUT Ask them how they get the funding? From what I know they get a % of everything you pay. As for the crap of 10 years allowed where did that come from, if you payed 340 that would be over 40K which is your entire debt , so what is the point of adding IVA charges. The idea of an IVA is to clear your debts more quickly by making an offer to be paid over 5 years which gives the creditors SOME of their money back. I knopw people rave about cccs , personally I have no view other than fact based information. They may work for some people but by the sounds of it not you. If you can face it there are people on here who can help you run your own DMP with proforma letters, allowable income and expenditure as well as payplan who I believe are free. This woman needs a bloody good kicking, she sounds like the sort of **** who work for DCA not someone who works for a supposedly free consumer help service.

If you are getting late payment fees every month my guess is that you are paying at the wrong time, i.e you miss the dealine but pay before the statement is produced. So maybe moving the payment backwards or forwards a few days would help. Vanquis are a pain but they do have a default process, once this is triggered you should be able to get a repayment plan without interest or charges.

Hi I appreciate that you are very stressed at the moment but I am incensed by the treatment you received from cccs. For a start council tax arrears are a priority debt and although maybe should be listed separately they need including. If you can face it just let Cccs know the name and time of the call, they should be able to investigate without you going through the hassel of an official complaint. You may help someone less able than you. IVA rules have changed, but remember that if it fails the only way forward would be bankruptcy. Good luck...oh and btw never beat yourself up about your debts. They happened and you are now taking steps to put them right so well done. However if writing them down helps you to you then go for it

I do agree with silly girl about standing orders. But as part of the DD guarentee they have to give you notice of how much is going out and when. So if the date or amount changes they have to tell you. If this doesnt happen, invoke the guarentee. Of course the bank will try to tell you differently but fact is fact.

Give your b/f a kicking from me, (says me with more debt than you could dream about) . However the good news is if they do have a consumer credit licence they have to play fair or they could get it revoked. When you write to them I suggest that you copy in the consumer credit trade association. I sounds harsh but it is his debt and not yours so don't give your bank details or anything else personal out to them. I know you are there to help and support him but there are limits. BTW mine helps me while I am not working but will not (and I wouldn't accept) offer to pay any of my debts off