Fantastic ... thanks for that cerberusalert really appreciate it

Thanks again for your input Agent Mulder I have taken your advice and posted the letter back to the UK where my mother will then post it back 'return to sender'. I have told her not to sign for any recorded delivery letters for me etc (just in case). I had thought long and hard about the pros and cons of working out an amicable resolution to this but, since I know the lengths these people will go to, I decided to send the letter back. If I remember rightly the reason it all fizzled out before was because no one could produce the correct paperwork after I CCA'd them so it was bumped from debt collector to debt collector. After reading through the Cabot threads I guess they are just chancing their luck and do not have the paperwork either! Thanks again for taking an interest ... you have really put my mind at rest

Hi cerberusalert Aaarrrggg yes ... I completely forgot about those blinking IP's! Just wanted it sorted but without mixing my 'old life' up with my 'new life'! Even using the address they have right now as just a correspondence address would no doubt turn into a nightmare as I am not there to deal with the account so I guess, as Agent Mulder, has said ... send the letter back 'not known at this address'

Thank you Agent Mulder I guess that's one option worth looking at but I think, knowing my luck, that will cause more harm than good What's the general consensus on email correspondence?

Hi guys Geeze I have been away from here for so long that it seems I have forgotten everything I learnt. Just when I thought my life was back on track and debt free I got a letter (addressed to me but sent to an old address) from CABOT FINANCIAL saying they were going to call this week I called them and they said this was regarding an outstanding debt to Tesco Personal Finance and they said they had been trying to contact me (at my old address). Way back in 2006 I did have a debt to Tesco Personal finance and after a couple of CCA's to a couple of different debt collecting agencies I heard no more about this account ... until now that is. This has completely knocked the wind out of my sails as ... 1) I now no longer live in the UK and realise correspondence with them is not only going to be expensive BUT in order for me to be able to correspond with them I am going to have to give them my current address. 2) as they have my mothers address they will no doubt start hassling her! Nightmare ... but I see there are lots of threads about CABOT FINANCIAL so I guess it's back to the 'books'. Would appreciate any advice and or guidance right now re these guys

Hi Crocky83 Please feel free to ask questions and I hope that my answers and experiences will be of some help to you. I entered into a trust deed as I had got to my wits end -- I guess the usual case scenario ... increasing charges on top of debts that were escalating out of control and just when I thought there was no where to turn I came across the 'Trust Deed' option. Like yourself I also thought this was too good to be true but after serious consideration I thought this was the best and in truth only real option I had. My debts were around the £60,000 mark and I was struggling to cope. I had already bought my home so bankruptcy was not an option for me as I did not want to loose my home so I booked an appointment with a firm to discuss my options. As my debt was so high and as I had not long bought the house the equity in the property was not taken into consideration (because it such a small amount) so I thankfully did not have to sell. I did however, have to 'sign the deeds' over to the trust company for the 3 years as their security and had to inform them if I wanted to sell (which I didn't) so the profit from the property could go towards paying off the debt I was owe. I came to an agreement to pay a set amount every month (which, at the time, was £175) for 3 years. At the end of the three years the house was 'signed back over to me' and after I received my 'discharge' I had no further contact from either the trust deed company or the people I owed money to. As for negatives ... well I cannot honestly think of any/many. I say this only because I had already got a mortgage before I had entered into the trust deed. I did apply for a home improvement loan not long after the 'discharge' and in truth did struggle however I did manage to get a secured loan eventually. I guess I wasn't too bothered about the effect a 'Trust Deed' would have on my credit rating as it was shot to pieces anyway with all the charges and missed payments etc. So in answer to your 'does it really effect your credit rating afterwards?' question ... I honestly do not know -- as mine was a mess beforehand and the only thing I would say is it obviously doesn't help it. My experience has been a good one -- even to say the best decision I have made and the piece of mind alone was really worth it. I used to live in fear ... whether it was the phone ringing, the mail coming through the door and even if I am truthful I never used to answer the door incase it was a debt collector calling to collect a debt. These days I am pretty much debt free, well as debt free as a person can be these days so for me it was a life changing experience. I suppose if I didn't have a house and was looking to do the same again I would explore the bankruptcy option as I believe it is a one off fee and your debt free as opposed to sequestration (trust deed) where you are paying back your debt monthly for 3 years. Hope this has helped Suzy H

Hi guys Just a quick update ... had no reply to my CCA from Fredrickson International Limited re my RBoS account so have posted off my non compliance letter and am just getting my records in order to fill in the Information Commissioners Office complaint form. Suzi

Hi guys Longtime no speak Bill so sorry for posing this question on your thread ... not sure if you are still going after levied fees from accounts now handled by trust deeds but thought i'd pose a quick question as I have decided to do the same. As you know my trust deed has finished and I am a free woman (so to speak lol) and I am now at MCOL stage with AMEX. I had a letter from AMEX saying that as this account went into a trust deed I did not personally clear the balance therefore although I was charged fees I technically didn't pay them therefore I am not entitled to a refund. Just wondering if you have come across the same brick wall? Any help appreciated Cheers

Hello darling1 Yes you can lump them all together just highlight the different accounts and corresponding amounts. I received the first of my cheques on Friday and, despite a little hick up over final balanced owed, I am to recieve the full amount I am asking for (this does include interest at the rate of 29.9% which makes a huge difference to the final amount you're claiming). I see you have had previous successes so, appart from tweeking the letters and a change of interest rate, it's just exactly the same process. Good luck on your quest Suzi

Thanks guys Hopefully that's me on the home stretch now I was amazed to hear they are agreeing with and paying the interest in full considering they are disputing the existance of statements. Hmmm ... am I right in thinking ... they agree to pay all the interest I have asked for, which also includes interest from missing statements, but they're saying no statement exists hmmm very interesting lol. Anyway i'm sure there is a logical explanation for this (ok maybe not). Suzi

Hi guys Recieved a letter from Miss Gale this morning Thank you for your letter dated 12 March 2007. After checking our records I do agree that the refund amount given for £270.00 is incorrect. However, I do not calculate that you are due a further £1436.80. Please find listed below our record of charges, which show that you are due, a further refund of £48.00 and then all the charges have been fully reimbursed. I have also agreed to refund the interest charges you have calculated at £782.80. List of charges ... In your calculations you have included both, statements which have been provided and do not show a charge and statements which are not missing, but were not actually produced as no balance was held on account at that time. A charge would not be applied to the account when it holds a nil balance. Charges and interest being refunded total £830.80. A cheque for £270.00 has previously been sent to you . You are therefore due a further £560.80, which has been sent to you under separate cover and will be with you shortly. I apologise for any confusion caused and trust this clarifies matters. The reply being sent today reads ... Dear Miss Gale Thank you for your letter dated March 27th 2007 however your information is still incorrect. I have enclosed a copy of a previous correspondence detailing the missing statements. As you can see from this letter, which the Information Commissioners Office received a copy of, the missing statements are as follows: List of charges ... For ease of reading I have highlighted the missing statements in red that you have been informed are missing however as you can clearly see this does not reflect the actual data that was sent to me. If you have now found the missing statements I have been asking for or can provide evidence to reflect that my account indeed had a nil balance and therefore no statement was generated then please send this information to me so I can adjust my records to reflect the correct amount outstanding. As you will appreciate until receipt of the statements or ‘nil balance’ evidence provided I shall pursue the full amount as stated in my previous correspondence (again I have enclosed a copy of that letter along with the schedule of charges). Please also note that I have never received ‘a cheque for £270.00’ I have however received a Frasercard Account statement which appears to be in credit of £72.00 and a Debenhams Account statement which appears to be in credit of £198.00. As these accounts were paid in full and closed approximately one year ago I do not have access to these funds so would therefore request that you send the refunds by cheque. I trust this clarifies my position and I look forward to hearing from you by April 11th 2007.I understand you have agreed to pay the £782.80 interest, £270.00 and £48.00 totalling £1100.80 however, should I not hear from you by April 11th 2007 with the material supporting your ‘nil balance’ argument for missing statements then I shall continue my court claim against you for the full amount which is for Debenhams £390.00 plus £293.10 in interest and £534.00 plus £489.70 in interest from my House of Fraser account totalling £1706.80. Yours sincerely As always ... i'll keep you posted

Good morning guys Received some great news this morning -- from The Royal Bank of Scotland Group, Group Litigation, 1 Princes Street, London, EC2R 8PB. The letter dated 16 March 2007 has a cheque enclosed for the full value of my claim (£536.30 ). Really chuffed and as always ... thank you to everyone for their advice, guidance and support. Suzi

Hi beetlebum38 Ha ha ha -- I know very interesting ... the closed account faeries visited me lol ... yesterday I received a statement from GE Money (my 1st in about a year) re my Frasercard and I am £72 in credit!!! mmm bizarre so I wrote them this letter and posted it recorded delivery yesterday ... LETTER BEFORE ACTION Dear Miss Gale, Re: Account number **************** & **************** Thank you for your letter dated February 26, 2007 however I am very disappointed at the figure you have offered. I am also confused, and now looking for documentation and an explanation, as to how you have managed to ‘confirm that all arrears charges have been removed from [my] account balance’ as both my House of Fraser and Debenhams accounts were both cleared and closed some time ago. I now understand that the regime of 'fees' which you had applied to my account in relation to late payment charges, arrears letter charges and so forth are unlawful at Common Law, Statute and recent Consumer regulations. I would draw your attention to the terms of the contract which you agreed to at the time that I opened my House of Fraser and Debenhams accounts. It is an implied term of that contract that you would conduct yourselves lawfully and in a manner which complies with UK law. I calculate that from my Debenhams account you have taken £390.00 plus £293.10 in interest at your rate of 29.90% and £534.00 plus £489.70 in interest at your rate of 29.90% from my House of Fraser account totalling £1706.80. I am enclosing a copy of the schedule of the charges, for your perusal, which I am claiming and please note that this schedule includes, at your suggestion, the missing statement charges. I would also like a refund of the arrears charges you say you have removed from my accounts and, as confirmation, the appropriate supporting material. I require repayment in full of this money. If you do not comply fully by March 27th 2007 then I shall begin a claim against you for the full amount plus additional interest costs, my personal costs and all expenses occurred and without further notice. Yours faithfully, I'll keep you posted on the outcome

Just an update ... ... sent off my MCOL today however they have stepped up the pace and there are two DCA's now chasing this debt Suzy H v Moorcroft - now Wescot never mind there is light at the end of the tunnel now

Just an update ... ... sent off my MCOL on February 20th but no news yet however they have stepped up the pace and there are two DCA's now chasing this debt http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/general-debt/33496-suzy-h-moorcroft-now.html

Hi guys Got a LBA from Fredrickson International Limited LETTER BEFORE ACTION Dear Suzi THIS DEBT MUST BE PAID IN FULL TO THESE OFFICES WITHIN THE NEXT 7 DAYS OTHERWISE WE WILL TAKE IMMEDIATE ACTION. Should it be necessary to issue proceedings in the county court, (or the Sherriffs court as may be appropriate), further additional costs will be added to the balance outstanding. Outstanding balance £2603.50 Interest £0.00 Court Fees £110.00 Solicitor Costs £80.00 New Balance £2793.50 If a judgment or decree remains unsatisfied a bailiff or sheriff officer may be instructed to recover assets to discharge the outstanding debt. Judgment debts are registered by the Court. A Judgment debt or decree against you would seriously affect your ability to obtain credit in the future. Yours sincerely, I checked the 'track & trace' on the recorded delivery and it says that my letter was delivered from the Weybridge office on 20/02/07 but electronic proof of delivery is not available for this item (think this is because it is a PO Box address). I have photocopied the proof of delivery and the letter I sent on 17/02/07 so will post this off to them again along with the following letter ... Dear Sir/Madam, Thank you for your letter dated March 08, 2007. Firstly I am most grateful to you for pointing out your procedures for collecting debts owned to The Royal bank of Scotland, and I take note of your stated legal action intent. Perhaps likewise I could similarly point out some details to you. 1. I wrote to you on February 17th 2007 regarding the above account stating that this account was in dispute with the Royal Bank of Scotland and Wescot Credit Services. This letter was delivered to you on February 20th 2007 (a copy of the Royal Mail ‘Track & Trace’ is enclosed for your perusal, along with a copy of the letter sent and a copy of the ‘recorded delivery sign for receipt’) 2. The amount you are claiming from me consists of some/if not all illegal penalty charges which were added to my former account with the RBS. 3. I sent a request to the RBS for full transaction details under the Data Protection Act which highlighted the said charges. 4. I am also pursuing legal action for the recovery of the said penalty charges through the proper legal procedure and have included a request for interest at the statutory rate. In the meantime you may wish to review the contents of your own letter to me stating your intended action against me within the next 7 days. I make it clear here that this action will be vigorously defended using all means at my disposal including references to recent litigation and rulings. Yours Faithfully Is this ok to send? I'm replying as I don't like just ignoring these letters - thanks in advance P.s. Still no word from my MCOL re the same account

Hi guys Received a bit of good news the other morning -- got an unexpected letter from GE Money ... Dear Suzi Please accept my apologies that you had to escalate your complaint in relation to your Data Subject Access Request to the Information Commissioners Office. A subject Access Request requires us to send you full details of all records that you have requested. After carefully checking your details I can confirm that what we have previously supplied includes all data we have on file with the exception of your October 2004 statement, which I have now enclosed. I have also made the ICO aware of this fact. Your complaint has highlighted the need for changes to our current processes and systems, which we have now implemented. I understand that this will not resolve the issue of your missing statements for July 2003, April 2004 and October 2004 on your Debenhams Account and January 2004 on your Fraser Account. However, I can confirm that all arrears charges have been removed from your account balance. Where statements are missing we have made an assumption that a fee was charged to ensure you that you do not lose out financially. I have therefore removed a further £18.00 for each missing statement to over compensate. A total refund of £270.00 will be sent to you under separate cover. I also understand that you were sent a statement in the name of Mrs M Hilton. The data we hold on fiche is in alphabetical order and therefore statements for Mrs Hilton would follow your account information. I fully understand this should not have happened and hope you will accept our apologies. We have implemented a more rigorous checking procedure to avoid this happening again in the future. I hope this letter addresses your complaint in more detail. If you have any further questions in relation to this matter, please do not hesitate to contact me. Yours sincerely Miss L Cole Complaints Resolution Team cc Matthew Negus, Information Commissioners Office Well ... i'm quite chuffed with this as there are a lot more missing statements than quoted in Miss Coles letter so I shall for sure add on £18.00 (as per her suggestion so I do not 'lose out financially') However not so chuffed as they have removed 'all arrears charges from [my] account balance' i'm not sure how this has been achieved since both my Frasercard and Debenhams accounts were cleared in full over a year ago!!! Maybe there is another Suzi doing cartwheels this weekend because of the cleared arrears charges on her account

Hi guys Received a letter this afternoon from 'intrum justitia - Credit Management Services, PO Box 7182, Harlow, CM19 5WF' re my RBOS Tesco account ... Dear Suzi We have commenced formal debt recovery action against you to recover the outstanding balance on the above account on behalf of RBS Tesco. Unless you telephone us to agree a repayment plan within 48 hours of receipt of this letter, we may either: 1. Instruct solicitors to take legal action against you. 2. Instruct our local Collection Agent to make a personal visit to your home address to collect the outstanding balance. Yours sincerely Intrum Justitia Limited I'm going to reply to them using the same letter I wrote to 'Fredrickson International Limited'

Brilliant -- thank you Sarah Suzi

Good afternoon Sent off my MCOL on February 14th so fingers crossed for that however I have today received a letter from 'Fredrickson International Limited' (PO Box 260, Weybridge, Surrey, KT13 0YH) DO NOT IGNORE IMMEDIATE PAYMENT REQUIRED Dear Suzi We are instructed by The Royal Bank of Scotland to collect the above debt which is now seriously overdue. You have failed to pay the balance of £2603.50 which remains outstanding despite previous repeated requests for repayment. Our client now requires payment in full to avoid further action. YOU MUST CONTACT US IMMEDIATELY ON 0870 4215471 to discuss the matter further. Payment should be made to FREDRICKSON INTERNATIONAL LTD quoting our full reference. For your convenience payment can be accepted by switch, delta, credit card, or cheque. Yours sincerely, Fredrickson International Ltd. I am considering replying with this short but sweet letter ... Fredrickson International Limited PO Box 260, Weybridge, Surrey, KT13 0YH February 17th 2007 ACCOUNT NUMBER: ******** Dear Sir/Madam, Thank you for your letter dated February 14th 2007 regarding the above account. This account is still in dispute and until such times as the Royal Bank of Scotland and I come to an agreement I shall not enter into any dialogue with you. Meantime please be aware that for the above reason should you or your representatives contact me again before an amicable conclusion has been reached I will consider this harassing behaviour. Take note at this stage, that any legal action you may contemplate will be both vigorously defended and contested. Yours faithfully Suzi Is this letter ok to send or should I include previous correspondence from Wescot etc or can I now assume Wescot have passed this back to RBoS and I am back at the beginning again but now with a new DCA? Any advice and/or guidance, as always, appreciated

Hi guys Thank you, as always, Sarah for your advice, guidance and moral support it is really appreciated. Thank you also 'fantasy charges' for your link -- it made great reading . I received my ICO reply the other day -- RFA0142508 Dear Suzi Thank you for your complaint form and the further information. The decision has been taken to deal with the matter as a Request for Assessment under section 42 of the Data Protection Act 1998 (‘the Act). On receipt of a request for assessment, we are under a duty, in most instances, to assess whether it is likely or unlikely that the processing in question has been, or is being, carried out in compliance with the provisions of the Act. However, we have discretion as to how we carry out the assessment and to what action, if any, to take. The criteria on which these discretionary matters are decided are set out in our Policy on Handling Assessments, which is available on our website or from the address above. We have considered the request in accordance with this policy and we are of the view that the information which you have provided does not justify starting a formal investigation. We have therefore made our assessment solely on the information which you have provided to us. We have not made any direct contact with the data controller. You complained to the Information Commissioner regarding a subject access request you submitted to GE Money under section 7 of the Act. You notified me that you sent your request to GE Money on 23/10/2006 quoting account details **** **** **** *** and **** **** **** ****. You informed me that you received a response from GE Money dated 15/11/2006 but that it was incomplete. I note that in your request you have made specific reference to Bank statements and to charges levied on your account in the last 6 years. At the time of writing to us you brought it to our attention that despite submitting your subject access request to GE Money, you were still awaiting a full response from them in relation to your request. There are eight Data Protection Principles (“the Principles”) in the Act, sometimes referred to as the Principles of “good information handling” which data controllers are required to comply with. On the basis of this information, it appears likely that there has been a contravention of the sixth data protection principle of the Data Protection Act 1998. The rights to subject access under sections 7 to 9 of the Act fall within this principle, which states, “Personal data shall be processed in accordance with the rights of data subjects under this Act.” A data controller must comply with a subject access request promptly, in other words as quickly as he can, and in any event within 40 days of receipt of the request or, if later, within 40 days of receipt of: a) the information required to satisfy himself as to the identity of the person making the request to enable him to locate the information which that person seeks; and b) the fee. We are of the view, therefore, that it is unlikely that the processing concerned has been carried out in compliance with the provisions of the Act. This is because GE Money failed to provide you with a complete response to your request within the required time period of 40 days. You also brought it to my attention that enclosed with a letter you received from GE Money was a Debenhams store card statement for a third party individual named Mrs M Hilton. Although this particular issue does not directly affect your personal data, it does raise concerns under the seventh principle of the Act which is concerned with the security of personal data. I will now inform GE Money of the out come of my assessment. I will instruct them to respond to your subject access request in full with immediate effect, either by supplying the personal data that you are entitled to under the Act, or by contacting you to obtain any necessary further information or fee in order to carry out your request. I will also ask them to explain why you did not receive a complete response to your request and for their assurances that they will take greater care to safeguard the personal data of their customers. It may be helpful to explain that a contravention of one of the data protection principles is not itself a criminal offence and the Information Commissioner has no power to ‘punish’ a data controller. In such instances, the Commissioner will seek a resolution to the contravention and once satisfied that it has been remedied then in general no further action will be taken. Furthermore, section 13 of the Act gives individuals the right to claim compensation if they have suffered damage as a result of a contravention of the Act. If this is something you would be interested in pursuing, I would advise you to obtain legal advice with a view to taking the matter to the courts. The Information Commissioner is unable to comment or advise on any claim for compensation. Thank you for bringing this matter to our attention. Your case will now be closed. Yours sincerely Matthew Negus Casework & Advice Officer So I guess i'll just sit tight and wait for GE Money to get back in touch -- should I give them the '40 days from receipt of this letter' and then , if I haven't heard from them write to them enclosing a copy of my ICO letter? Or drop them a line now basically saying 'I look forward to their reply?' Thanks

Going to send this letter tomorrow Wescot Credit Services Ltd. P.O. Box 137 Dunedin House 45 Percy Street Hull HU2 8HF February 07th 2007 ACCOUNT NUMBER: ******** Dear Sir/Madam, Thank you for your letter dated January 29th 2007 regarding the above account. This account is still in dispute and until such times as the Royal Bank of Scotland and I come to an agreement I shall not enter into any further dialogue with you. I would also like to draw your attention to my letter to yourselves, dated November 20th 2006, and reiterate that you have exceeded the 42 days allowed by the CCA to supply data under my CCA request dated 26 September 2006. In the meantime please be aware that as you have failed to comply with my request under section 189 of the CCA 1974 I not only consider the matter with yourselves closed but should you or your representatives contact me again I will consider this harassing behaviour. Take note at this stage, that any legal action you may contemplate will be both vigorously defended and contested. Yours faithfully Suzi Is this letter ok or can you suggest anything else that you would add or take away? Many thanks

excellent -- thank you for your help Suzi P.s. as ever i'll keep you posted

Hi sarah Thanks for getting back to me I have been through the usual stages for reclaiming my charges back with RBoS and am waiting to get the money together to file my MCOL. Should I therefore write to Wescot informing them of this and also remind them that, as they have exceeded the time frame for producing the information I requested under the CCA, they'll now have to take me to court to enforce debt Suzi

P.s. they have attached a photo copy of what looks like the front page of the original application form (if that helps with your reply) Thanks in advance for any advice or guidance Suzi