Signed. Wish you success!

I doubt if Cabot Financial will send the heavies in without knowing your circumstances. As Dx100 says, they're not bailiffs but just middle-men. You may need to communicate with them at some point to let them know, as you said in your first post here, that you are not unwilling to pay, just unable to pay at the moment and certainly unable to pay much at all until your circumstances change. If you contact National Debtline or StepChange, an advisor will talk you through how to communicate with the people who are collecting on behalf of LTSB (if you need to do so). However, this is a long time ago - how long before a debt can be barred?

Hello BHB. I think you might like to call StepChange - there website is http://www.stepchange.org/ and they have a freephone number for you to call. Phone them on Tuesday morning and they will give you lots of good advice. I do believe you won't have to pay everything all at once and StepChange will even give you advice on how to pay just £1.00 per month until your circumstances improve. Give it a go and I hope you feel much better after speaking with them. PS: Step Change is not a DCA, it is a charity which gives advice on how to manage debt, like National DebtLine. They do not charge you for their advice.

On the face of it, it sounds like M&S might have been owed money by the PREVIOUS owner/occupant of your house whereas the the people to whom M&S sold the loan are chasing you, the CURRENT owner/occupant, so yes, possibly they are barking up the wrong tree. Probably no harm in contacting Step Change who give free advice about debts, but you'd need to explain to them your position. Since it does not seem to be your debt, I cannot be absolutely certain they will sort it for you but they might know who would be able to help. PS, edited to add, I wonder how successful the people chasing you can be when what they are hoping to achieve is settlement of a debt that a) belongs to someone else and b) is over six years old ...?

Hello "ST" and welcome to CAG. Sorry to read about your plight. No point in delaying - go down to your local CAB and ask to speak to someone who can give you expert advice about how to deal with your situation. Debt counsellors can be very helpful. I have taken advice myself from the Consumer Credit Counselling Service ( Step Change) as soon as I lost my job. They advised me how to discuss my situation - though I was not in quite the same level of debt, I was just expecting to have difficulty paying some bills - they will be able to advise you on how to pick apart the financial tangles and knots you are in at the moment. The sooner you get some advice, the sooner you will start to make your way out of the maze. Wishing you more happiness soon.

I was so saddened to receive the terrible email pointing me to this thread. Sorry that Martin was only with us for such a relatively short time - he wasn't even allowed the full three score and ten - so unfair. I send my condolences to those who loved Martin. He will be missed by many but everyone who knew Martin and worked with him should be proud to have done so. Rest in peace Martin.

I found this article by the OFT - its opinions of exclusion clauses etc - very interesting http://www.oft.gov.uk/shared_oft/reports/unfair_contract_terms/oft311.pdf I hope it might give you some ideas on how to solve this issues. Perhaps someone with legal knowledge might appear and offer better advice soon. Wishing you success.

Thank you Locutus. I take your point. I know what you mean by "templatey" - it appears as if I had taken the wording from a textbook example which could be rather generic and not specific enough to support my particular argument. I shall use your wording when I reply to their next objection - which will come after Christmas, no doubt. Thank you for your constructive criticism. This is very helpful.

I have sent an email on 22nd December and backed it up in writing. Here is the email reply: "Thank you for contacting us about the price rise announcement. I realise that you aren't happy with the increase in the price of your monthly tariff. Just so you know, we're increasing the tariff price by 3.2% effective from 28 February 2013 because of inflation. Price increases are never welcome and this isn?t a decision we?ve taken lightly. We have to make a change and increase our prices in line with the current RPI. We have avoided putting our prices up as long as possible (even when all our competitors have been raising theirs). But we can't put it off any longer. However, it will help enable us to continue to invest in the services that matter to our customers while still offering value for money, such as priority moments,O2 Gurus, O2 WiFi and O2 Recycle. This change is only applicable to Monthly Line Rental Charges which means everything else stays the same including charges for calls, texts, bolt ons and data. This change is reflected in our Terms and Conditions which states we may increase our charges from time to time. If we increase our charges, we have to let you know at least 30 days before the charges are due to go up and we won't increase the Monthly Line Rental Charges more than once in any 12 month period. If you cancel your contract now then you'll be charged an early termination fee. This is because you'll be cancelling your contract within the contract term. I appreciate your understanding with this matter. Kind Regards MY REPLY TODAY, 24.12.2012 Thank you for your reply. The wording of clause 5.3 is "5.3 You can end this Agreement without having to pay the Monthly Subscription Charges up to the end of any Minimum Period you have left, if: (a) we increase your Monthly Subscription Charges by more than the Retail Price Index (RPI) annual inflation rate at the date we notify you of the applicable price increase" ... therefore, I am taking advantage of the protection this clause offers customers. Yours sincerely

Hi Mike Obviously, it is up to you if you wish to close your account with O2 or not. The way I see it, I need to have a phone and would like to treat the matter as carefully as I can, bearing in mind I don't wish to paint myself into a corner, so to speak. I have done two things: 1. I have given the required period of notice so no penalties should be payable and also, no question of loss on my part should arise when I give them the required notice period. They ask for 30 days and that is what I have offered, should they decide to keep the increase in place. Clause 5.3 (a) is clear about cancellation rights and the fact that no further payment should be made if the increase goes above RPI in force on the date when the advice of incraese was given. 2. I have kept the door ajar in case they will consider keeping my account as it was first agreed when I signed up for it - this would encourage me to perhaps consider another contract once this one comes to a close on the agreed date. My hope is that I have shown reasonableness in case it does go any further and whether my notice to the bank is placed or not, if they take money without my permission, that would in fact be theft and they would be found guilty if I took the matter further. I don't want it to go down that route. In an ideal world, O2 might agree to keep my account as original and I may continue to enjoy the use of my phone. I had to post the letter before the post office closed at 12:00 noon on Saturday so barring a few minor grammatical tweaks, the letter has been sent. I hope you will succeed in your bid to close your account, if that is what you prefer, and that you will find a suitable alternative quickly. Wishing you complete satisfaction! Merry Christmas.

I'm still reading with interest ... and probably so are many others who DON't post ...

I notice the amount of time elapsed between Lee's message of 6th NOvember and yours, Nagasis, of 21 December. Nearly six weeks and still no progress. More strength to your elbow, Nagasis - wishing you a satisfactory outcome soon.

Thanks Locutus. I have put a draft of my letter which will be sent to them today, on the other thread of the same topic. I have found out how to email them so will do both. I don't wish to chat online as I doubt it will achieve much and cannot be as easily traced as written communication.

Hi Mike - I think they use the words "pre-paid post" Anyhow, here is a draft of my letter which will be posted today - any suggestions for improvement welcome: "Dear Sir/Madam Name: Name Surname ADDRESS: Street, Town, Postcode Home Tel: 01000000 O2 mobile: 07000000 Account: 1 1 1 1 1 0000 I would like to exercise my right under the General Terms and Conditions Section 1, Clause 5.3 (a) to end this contract. You have sent a text message to my mobile phone yesterday, 21st December 2012. Your text informs me that the monthly price will be increased by 3.2% which is ABOVE the RPI prevailing on the date when you advised me. On that date, the RPI was 3.0. I am giving you 30 days' notice of my intention to close this account and will advise my bank not to allow any more payments to be made to O2. I shall be following up with a written letter sent by post to confirm this email. In case you may wish to consider honouring your side of the contract by NOT imposing any increase on my monthly charge until JUNE, I may reconsider my position. I would be interested to hear from you by 10th January 2013. Yours faithfully NAME Home Tel X X X X X

Yep! So it was. Thanks for sharing this information. I shall be writing today too. The only thing is, I shall have to take it tomorrow to the post office and have it sent by recorded delivery because they will try to claim they have not received it otherwise....

I can also add that the O2 Complaint Review Service is at O2 Complaint Review Service P O Box 302 Dunstable LU5 9GN

You don't need to worry about that, just write it out, something like this: "w. ons. gov. uk / ...." Let's get you up to 10 anyway ...

I received an update by text via my phone and the words: "Pay Monthly tariffs are going up in price. From 28 February 2013 they'll increase by 3.2% in line with inflation as at December 2012 when we made the announcement." today on my account page of the O2 website. It clearly states December and also 3.2% ...I'd say ... knee deep ...so far.

Even if theey "announced" the change on 11th (December?), the latest RPI known was the one published in late November and this was 3.0%. This means that whichever way they argue it, they are still above the RPI ... keep up the good work GravityGuy!

5.3 You can end this Agreement without having to pay the Monthly Subscription Charges up to the end of any Minimum Period you have left, if: (a) we increase your Monthly Subscription Charges by more than the Retail Price Index (RPI) annual inflation rate at the date we notify you of the applicable price increase; Note the words "at the date we notify you", which, in my case, is TODAY, 21st December and therefore the 3.0% RPI stands. I believe GravityGuy is in the same situation as me, having just been told of this increase, AFTER the October date when O2 decided to send out the mass email to all their customers. The way I read it, they are NOT " in the clear".

Thank you GravityGuy. I see from the Office for National Statistics (www . ons. gov.uk) website updated 18 December that "The Retail Prices Index (RPI) annual inflation stands at 3.0 per cent in November 2012, down from 3.2 per cent in October..." which means that the increase IS above the RPI and so the claim would hold. I shall definitely make an enquiry with this in mind and see what O2 say.

When I signed up with O2, about 18 months ago now, I was told in no uncertain terms by the sales assistants, that the cost will remain the same throughout the term of the contract. This was the strong point in their sales patter - the reliability of this charge being the same constantly to help you budget for the duration of your contract. I was (foolishly) persuaded. May I ask whether this constitutes a breach of contract if they now decide to increasse the charges in spite of having made verbal promises via the sales staff to keep to the same price every month for the duration? If there is a clause that allows them to do this, would this constitute an UNFAIR contract? After all, I am required to pay IN FULL the complete remaining cost of the remaining months should I decide to leave O2 and even then, after payment has been made, I would need to give a month's notice AND not enjoy the service any more from that day onwards. Should I complain to OFCOM? I shall, of course, be complaining to O2. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.