I have previously posted on this issue so apologies for any possible duplication, but there has been a sudden change in the whole situation that i would really really appreciate some clarity on. I have tried to be brief even though i could write a whole essay on this!Bit of background – Fell into arrears with my HP agreement, default issued and offer of repayment plan made by myself which was seemingly rejected, then court proceedings launched by the creditor which result in a Suspended Return of Goods OrderAs an aside, i had offered a revised monthly payment of £251 in the very first instance some months before court action commenced and the resulting order was for £271 per month. This makes me wonder why court action was ever necessary, particular as i have been hit with £360 in court costs and i am guessing landed with a CCJ?Also, prior to court action a 3rd party had attended my house in attempt to recover my vehicle, i was not in at the time but the agent left an unenveloped note disclosing the purpose of the failed visit. This was seen by my housemates so much embarrassment followed. I also wonder why this was undertaken given i have paid over half of the agreement so a court order is necessary for vehicle collectionI have raised a complaint to Omsbudsman primarily concerning these issues and the underhand and negligent tactics applied by the finance companyTherefore, imagine my suprise when this morning i receive an answerphone message from an agent saying he was calling on behalf of the finance company to arrange collection of my vehicle! Given that a court order has been obtained and i have paid the first agreed instalment and i have previously outlined my dissatisfaction with the previous attempted recovery and their general practices, how on earth can they do this? Particularly as on previous correspondence, i reminded them that they have no formal right to attend my property and as such any breach of this will be considered trespassing I did in fact call the agent and outlined the whole situation to him, he stated that he had no knowledge of this and had merely been instructed by the finance company to proceed. He confirmed that he would now go back to the finance company Please can anyone advise what i can do as i am so shocked by this latest turn of events?

Hoping for some advice here regarding a suspended return of goods order i have been given by county court in relation to my now terminate car finance agreement Brief background is that i feel into arrears with the finance company by 3 months and offered a repayment plan based on an increased monthly payment to settle the arrears and continue with the contract. This was not entertained and the next thing i know i received notice of a court hearing from a company called HL Solicitors who i presume the finance company sold the debt to. Again, i sent letters reiterating my proposal which were ignored. I turned up for the hearing and the ‘agent’ from HL outlined they would be willing to accept a monthly payment at only £10 p/m more than what i initially offered the finance company! I queried why court was necessary to receive the reply that it was under the instruction of their client. Judge agreed with the proposal but outlined that i would be liable for £360 costs! (is this something i can contest given that i offered a settlement similar from the outset?) Now, following the hearing on September 19th i had heard nothing from the court even though i believe it was agreed my first payment would be 1st October 2013. I had a couple of missed calls from the claimant but chose not to entertain telephone dialogue with them This weekend i have now received a letter from the court confirming the situation and the agreed payment on the 1st of the month, However, this letter is backdated to September and i have not paid the October installment so i am somewhat concerned. I have retained the envelope however that thankfully is dated so intend relying on this if necessary. To further compound my worries however, the car has developed faults that require fixing in order to ensure it remains roadworthy. This severely limits my disposable income and also my ability to pay this months instalment As a result, if anyone has any advice on the best course of action with this situation please it would be much appreciated. I need to retain the vehicle for another 6-8 months until a CCJ falls off my credit record next year so intend on paying whatever is outstanding in arrears and handing the vehicle back.

HI Tawnyowl, really really appreciate you taking the time to post up this information, much appreciated!It’s the calls at work i am mostly fretting about as my phone is answered by my colleagues when i am away from my desk.Figure i will send them a “cover all bases” letter advising them of my situation, my proposal and also a strict reminder to not contact me at work (calls to my mobile/SMS are almost second nature to me lol so that doesn’t worry me)Ideally i wouldn’t end up with too much damage to my credit file but figure i cant have everything, just need to get it paid off asap

Dear all,Hoping for a bit of advice regarding a PDL with Swift Sterling if possible pleaseIn short, age old situation of borrowing/repaying then seemingly borrowing more to cover the previous months repayment which i know is a terrible trap to fall into (needed the money to fix my car and had no other alternatives even though i knew i would most likely be in this scenario  )I am due to repay £650 at the end of the month which is fine as that is when i get paid, but the problem is that £650 is a sizeable chunk of my wages and as such, i know for a fact that i would need to reborrow to make it through the next month, thus continuing the cycleSuch is my credit rating i dont really have an alternate way of financing so to me it seems i am stuck.However, i am conscious that this situation is only going to get worse so the best way i can see is to cancel my debit card so the payment does not go out and then try and setup a payment plan with them for around £100 per monthI am really worried that they will call my work however as i may have initially given my number when i took out my first loan (such was my desperation) and from what i have read, they are extremely difficult to deal with which makes the possibility of a call more likely (something that would be horrendous as i work in a busy office environment).Therefore, can anyone advise their thoughts on my proposal or an alternate course of action please? I am intent on repaying this but cannot think of another way at present and it is starting to get me down quite a bitThanks in advance

Dear all, Hoping for some advice here regarding a car finance that fell into arrears and a subsequent court summons (will try and be brief) In short i fell into arrears for a few months, issued default then termination notice even though i constantly was in written touch with creditor offering to increase my monthly payments above the contractual rate as a means to settle the arrears. I received no acknowledgement of this apart from a request to call them to discuss. I did receive note to return the vehicle and even a visit by a debt collector on the finance companys request, but as i have paid over half i reminded them that a court order was necessary Next thing court papers are received from HL Solicitors on behalf of the finance company instructing return of goods or payment of the full amount outstanding. Within this were none of the appropriate forms allowing me to reply and no ‘evidence’ of my previous correspondence requesting an revised and increased monthly payment Again, i contacted the solicitors advising them of this and again nothing until a day before the court case i receive a phone call advising me to simply make a monthly offer at the hearing (very odd as i always planned to do this) Day of the hearing i attend court and converse with an ‘agent’ from HL Solicitors who tell me that his client will be seeking a suspended return of goods order and a monthly payment of £271. I had offered £250 previously so found it very bizarre that a court appearance was still necessary. I am of the opinion that this was merely a money making opportunity as the judge appeared to suggest i would be liable for £300 in costs which is somewhat absurd as i had from the outset attempted to resolve this outside of court Fast forward one month and i have not heard anything from the court and have only had 2 phone calls from HL Solicitors which i did not answer but presumably chasing payment as October 1st was the agreed payment date Therefore, can anyone advise how best to play this please? To be honest i am really annoyed with the finance companies for pressing ahead with court action when i have attempted to resolves this amicably. I appreciate the arrears is my fault but i had lost my job so unfortunately the car was not my main concernI do intend on paying of course and do not wish to incur any comeback from not replying. However, given i have been provided with nothing to reply to and neither company were willing to be understanding, how best should i proceed? Just wait?

Is this something i should do outside of the whole court proceedings debacle? I.e launch a separate claim?I am planning complaints to the ICO, Ombudsman regarding the non-enveloped "calling card" for breach of data protectionLooking at my statement, there is a total of £217 in charges made for unpaid direct debits, card processing charges and also £42 for recent collections activity.Will this help my cause?

Thanks for the quick reply dx and am glad someone else sees this in the same way! Indeed, i have tried and have asked a number of questions that they have never really responded to and instead just insisted that this needs to be discussed by phone - No chance! Am a bit worried that i have only sent one letter by recorded delivery Part of their court hearing 'evidence' was a statement of account detailing the transactions and it does look correct but i have my bank statements and their annual statements to double check

Hoping for a bit of advice here please, as i am really worried about the stupid mess i have got myself into regarding my car finance agreement with Moneyway In short, usual story, missed a few payments due to my financial malpractice and have wound up receiving court papers for 4 months worth of arrears totalling just over £800 .I have been in constant contact with the finance company and advised them of the situation and offered to increase my monthly contractual payment as a means of reducing the arrears. However, the usual process of warnings, default notice and notice of termination have ensued leading to the court papers being received this morning. They have sent someone round from a 3rd party to discuss this previously but i was out and the representative left a very embarrassing calling card which was seen by my housemate, but i will be persuing that with the ICO separately! I have actually just sent a letter in regards matters on this account with an enclosed cheque that would cover 2 months worth of payments a few days prior to receiving the court papers so i am intrigued as to where i stand as this would reduce the arrears to £600 and by increasing my monthly payments i could clear this by the end of the year I am obviously very worried about this scenario as the car is essential to my ability to get to work and whilst i know this is all my fault, i have been upfront with the company (via letter despite their requests for telephone conversation) and am petrified of going to court and suffering the embarrassment of friends/family asking why i have no car now! My credit rating will be so bad that i dont think acquiring a new one would be easy! The original agreement was for £12096 and i have so far paid just over half (there are some charges in there that have been levied for missed direct debits/processing charges for around £100) so i know this is why the court order is needed in order to repossess the car However, what can i do as they are requesting arrears + return of the car OR payment of the full amount outstanding (£6000 when the car is probably worth £2000) and interest/court costs Any advice would be much appreciated

Hi Guys, Hoping for a bit of advice here regarding my car finance agreement and the actions of the finance company and also recent involvement of a 3rd party (DCA) In short i have stupidly fallen into arrears on the agreement and have missed 3 contractual payments. I have wrote to the finance company explaining my current financial difficulty a nd also requested an increased direct debit payment as a mechanism to reduce the arrears over time. The finance agreement seemingly ignored my first letter as notification from them was received threatening court action etc with no reference to my initial contact. Therefore, a follow up was sent comprising of my initial letter and also reference to their court threat. I feel that as i have paid over half of the agreement and have tried resolve amicably on my initial letter, this is an unwarranted reply. In response to this letter the finance company only replied along the lines of “we thank you for your correspondence and appreciate your financial difficulties but in order to discuss please can you phone on ********”Now i know the adage to not engage on such matters via phone so have not done this and furthermore have been in the process of seeking financial advice with a view to issuing a letter reiterating my previous points and stating that i do not wish to engage in telephone conversation. Within this letter i planned to also include a cheque to cover 1 missed payment and the payment due for this month meaning that the arrears would be just over £400 (surely not enough for court action especially since i offered an increased payment plan?!) i return home from work last night and find to my absolute horror a non-enveloped “note” from a company called P&A Receivables (Asset Recovery Division) based in Sheffield advising that they had called in reference to my car and to call the mobile number of a gentleman asap. I was so livid by this as the note will have been read by both of my housemates and phoned the gentleman in question asking what exactly he was playing at. He advised (actually surprisingly polite) that he had been instructed by the finance company to pay me a visit due what they have alledgedly cited as a “breakdown in communication” (Incorrect as i have communication by recorded delivery!) what are next steps here please? I am totally disgusted that this note has been passed through my letterbox and almost certain it breaches a number of guidelines set out by the ICO/OFT so intend on the appropriate complaints. However, i am also concerned that such actions highlight the gravity of the situation as ultimately i wish to retain the car (my credit score probably wouldn’t allow a new one quite yet!) and avoid court action. Thankfully i have paid over half of the agreement but am curious on whether i should now issue a payment for half the arrears if this is the kind of tactics the finance company are undertaking

Just a quick update on this, have said the above referenced letter to Halifax and rather annoyingly just received a copy of the initial letter they sent advising that they felt their charges to be valid!Not particularly impressed so presumably that means issuing court action? Bit scary i'll admit so any pointers most welcome

Thanks very much Ims21, i will digest your well put together letter over the weekend (at work presently!) and compose a reply based on my circumstances accordinglyThanks again

Hi Ims,Thanks for the update, i have composed a draft letter to Halifax that i would be grateful if you could critique:Dear Sir/Madam,I am writing in regards your letter dated to myself dated **** in reference to charges lodged against my Halifax Credit card previously held under the above account number.You have previously provided statements on this account and by collating the charges and applying 8% compounded interest to each charge, i have calculated that i have been deprived of £***My previous correspondence to you on this matter requested a full refund of these charges to which you have declined, citing that these charges are beyond a 6 year period.I note that you have acknowledged the existence of such charges and to this effect, i would like to draw your attention to section 32c of The 1980 Limitation Act:the action is for relief from the consequences of a mistake;the period of limitation shall not begin to run until the plaintiff has discoveredthe fraud, concealment or mistake (as the case may be) or could with reasonable diligence have discovered it At no point have Halifax notified me that these charges could be classed as excessive and it is only following provision of the previously referenced credit card statements that i have been able to ascertain the exact level of these charges.As a result, i would again kindly requested a full refund of these charges and compounded interest to the total of ****If this matter is not resolved to a satisfactory standard, then i will progress the necessary court action accordinglyYours sincerely,

Hi Ims21,Essentially my whole "strategy" is based on the article below (including the previously referenced calculator that has provided me the figure i requesting a refund of from Halifax)moneysavingexpert.com/reclaim/credit-card-chargesI am aware it stipulates that you only have 6 years to claim (this period has lapsed for myself) but it is the research i have undertaken on the 1980 Limitation Act that has led me to belive it is worthwhile pursuing with my claim

Hi Ims21, thanks for your replyThe figure i have based my claim on is as per the MoneySavingExpert article on reclaiming credit card charges and the associated calculator that allowed you to calculate what compounded interest was available from the date of the chargeI figued i would just go for the highest possible amount and see how they reacted!I understand court action is the reccomended route but obviously would prefer Halifax to settle outside of this on the basis of section 32c of the limitation actAny further guidance appreciated

Perfect, will wing a letter to them asap with something along those lines and see how i get onFollowing their initial response i did think i had no scope to progress my complaint so thanks very much for giving me the guidance, appreciated