Hi I've just had a look but can't find it ....sorry. I think originally I did find it in the forum somewhere. It was something like Rachel.Claridge@mbna ...something. LOL. I'll have a look in the forum for you in a mo and see if I can find it. I think you're better off dealing with Gareth Tunicliffe though. I've got a feeling that Rachel is an assistant. ...I could be wrong but I seem to remember she dealt with my claim early on and then when they came to pay out, it was Gareth that I dealt with. ....it was so easy!! In the end I just phoned and told them I wanted the money credited back to the account straight away and he did it there and then. ...I'll try to find an address for you now.

Hi Sorry, I posted and then as usual discover this site really does have everything!!! Please could someone move my post to the Retail Stores forum (if they prefer it to be there) ?? ...also I'd be interested to hear if anyone has any other stories about Sportizus / Famous Retails. Famous Retail Memorabilia ....they have at least 14 stores across the country.

Dear all, This probably isn't the place to ask about this but I really didn't know where else to turn. I know there are some very clued up people around here so I'm hoping that there'll be someone there who can help me. In 2003 I bought a signed Gold Vinyl disc of the "Live Peace In Toronto" album signed by John Lennon and Yoko Ono. It cost £2900 from a memorobilia store called Sportizus in Cheltenham and although my boyfriend is a big Beatles fan, we did at the end of the day buy it as a bit of an investment. I'm 8 months pregnant now, just gone on maternity leave and thought I'd see if the value had increased any. If it had, I would think about selling it. So, I contacted a couple of Beatles experts who came back to tell me that the autographs are NOT AUTHENTIC. I just can't believe it. It's not only the money but the fact I've been looking at it on the wall for the last 3 yrs thinking wow John Lennon signed that ...and he didn't! Anyway, one of the people I contacted told me that Sportizus were in administration. I then found out that they had been taken over 2 months ago by "Famous Retail Ltd". Famous Retail Ltd tell me that the assets and NOT the liabilities were acquired by themselves and so that it is difficult for them to comment on authenticity issues. They say they will contact the leading Beatles Memorobilia expert (this is tracks.co.uk who also said my piece is not authentic) and they will get Tracks to check all the items that Famous Retail acquired from the administrators. They are also willing to contact the administrators on my behalf to see if they are able to assist me. This is all in a letter from their CEO to me. At the end he says "Perhaps you could advise me if this is an appropriate way for me to help progress your enquiry." So, it sounds like they don't want to take any of the responsibility whatsoever. Well, quite frankly it's not good enough, I want my money back! Someone told me that they thought the company were honouring mistakes that Sportizus had made but onbiously not in my case ...so far anyway. Does anybody out there know what I should do? ...or anyone I could contact for advise? Should I try to get money out of the administrators? out of Famous Retail? ....do you think I have a leg to stand on? Failing all that, I thought about contacting Watchdog because I think Nicky Campbell is a Beatles fan, so maybe he'd be interested in pursuing this for me. Any help would be really appreciated Thanks everyone for your time in reading this ...as I said, I had no idea where else to go. Jackie

...update. Phoned MBNA on Friday morning. Spoke to someone called Colin and asked to speak to Steve Bailey. Steve Bailey was on lunch, explained what my call was about and that I was going to put in a money claim at the end of the day and was giving them the opportunity to settle before I did the claim. Gareth Tunnicliffe phoned me back. Very apologetic ...extremely nice and helpful, he told me how MBNA disagree with the OFT etc etc .....I didn't say a word and just let him speak. When he had finished he then said however we would like to settle this today. He told me he would double check the amount I was asking for and would call me back. I asked him to add on any additional charges since end of July ....and also asked for the compound interest. He agreed ...phoned me back a little bit later and said it would all be credited to my account. This leaves me with a tiny little balance but I said I would send a cheque for that and he agreed he would close the account at my request. RESULT!!! I've not had anything in writing yet (I have asked him to confirm it all in writing) ...so I'm just waiting for confirmation. My daily telephone calls from Globalvantedge have stopped ...I'm missing them so much, I'm tempted to phone to tell them I miss them and ask why they've suddenly stopped phoning me. hehe :O) Thanks everyone ....and especially the whole site for all the guidance. This still leaves me skint but as soon as pay day arrives, I'll make a donation. Jackie

Fantastic ....well done. I expect that my account is in a similar situation to yours ....they told me they have credited it with £600 though. (I'm guessing that they've just passed on my arrears to a third party as they told me I still have to pay this) ...anyway I'll be chasing them tomorrow and Friday for a full settlement because I'm not paying a penny.

They really are unbelievable. This would make a good story for Watchdog. (see main page of forum) ...they seem to like to keep peoples accounts open despite people asking to close them. ...and then the phantom spender strikes.

hi everything I know ..I only know from reading hundreds of posts in these and similar forums, as well as all the help pages, so I'm only guessing..... ...but I would have thought that the loss is the fault of MBNA ...they're the ones who sold on your account ...and anyway they've probably made thousands and thousands of pounds out of me in the last 10 yrs, so their small loss on your account will no doubt be covered a million times over by other poor customers. I personally would ignore that ...they probably have a list of "put them off" comments and select one at random. They told me that I have "been using my account in a way that is not allowed" ...I think they were a bit desperate when they thought up that one. ...hehe

here ya go http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/bank-templates-library/25716-rejection-settlement-offer.html

I got the template out of the library on the main page of the forum. This it was with the LBA ...or the one below it.

Hi My debt is with some collection agency ...Global Vantedge I think. They phone me every day now ...it's getting quite hilarious. At first I was worried but not anymore ,.....if they had any sense, they would have written a letter to me 3 months ago telling me I had to pay up or go to court however, they haven't written to me ...although I have told them to. I then went through the stages of telling them the account is in dispute, that I'm only willing to discuss it with MBNA Chester and to pass it back to them. Now I tell them to stop harrassing me, that their 40th phone call is irritating me and that I'm not prepared to give them any information nor even speak to them. Tonight I told them that I'm going to start charging them every time they phone me. hehe ...it's great fun. Tell your friend to just say to them that she's not prepared to discuss the account with them. ...and then just carry on with MBNA. Tomorrow I've decided that I'm not even going to speak and will just put the phone down ...they always phone when I'm in the middle of something!! ....we'll see how I get on this week, I expect to have my account sorted by the end of this week.

Hi Thanks for the tip, I'm going to give them a call this week but first will drop an email to them. I like to put things in writing because I'm scared I'll trip myself up on the phone or give in to their evil threats. Anyway, I received a letter from Steve Bailey ...... He goes on about the charges and how they have always set these out precisely in their agreement ...blah blah blah ....if a customer goes over their credit limit, they are using the card in a way that is not allowed. (That's a joke isn't it ...they love letting you go just enough over your limit to mess you up) ...they think the charges are fair. They do value my custom and offer a goodwill gesture of £600!!!!!! Please note this doesn't affect payments on my account which is currently in arrears etc etc, If I can't afford the payments I should contact their debt management team. MBNA disagrees with the OFT's interpretation of the law. I like this last bit ....... "We expect you to honour the revised terms of your agreement with us. If you do not do so, we will have no alternative but to cancel your card and to formally terminate your credit agreement." .....if only!!!!!! I've asked them to do this I don't know how many times they just keep on sending out cards and increasing credit limits. So, .....next step. In my LBA, I gave them 14 days from 13.09.06 to comply fully before court action commences. They have now offered £600 goodwill. So, I'm emailing Steve Bailey in the morning accepting the £600 as part payment and telling them that basically they have this week to sort it out fully. (the full 14 days would take them to Wednesday ....I might let them have 'til Thursday / Friday). I end the letter saying that I expect to hear from them at the earliest oppoirtunity this week. So, I figured if I haven't heard by Thursday, I'll phone them. If anyone is reading this who knows the process inside out, please let me know if you think I should be handling this in a different way ...or if what I'm doing sounds fine. I also want (if I can get) this compound interest ....I'm requesting £1179 up to end July 2006 + any charges that have been made on the account since this date, ....should I just also ask them to include the compound interest??? ...thanks for your help everyone ....I feel like this could be coming to a happy ending. Jackie

Hi everyone, ...update I received a response from MBNA ...surprise surprise ...identical to the first standard letter they sent me. So, I'm sending them a letter now pointing out that if they do not comply fully within 14 days then I shall begin a claim for the full amount plus interest plus a claim under ss.7 and 13 of the Data Protection Act 1998 plus my costs and without further notice. blah blah blah. :O) hehe ....the library is great for cutting pasting and tailoring ....I love reading the letters back to myself when I've added my own touch ...makes me feel more confident and like I really mean business. (...which of course I do)

Hi everyone, Would anyone beable to help with my next step as I'm a but confused and also have no idea how the interest works. This morning I received a response from Rachel Claridge. I have got a list of charges (over limit + late fees) that total £1179. The covering letter says that they have enclosed copies of my statement information ...."if there have been any transactions on your account as a result of manual intervention, they will be included". On this occasion, they have given me this information free of charge and If this information is not sufficient and I wish to make a full data subject access request then I have to return the enclosed form with £10 cheque. (I didn't send them a cheque with the first letter). What does manual intervention mean? I assume these are all the charges that have been made on the account ...is it possible there could be anymore? ..or is there anymore information I would need from them? If anyone could help me with what to do next, I'd be really grateful. Thanks very much Jackie

Hi, Thanks for the replies. I've had several phone calls so far from one of the debt collection companies trying to make me pay up ...they're very persistent. They've not sent anything in writing yet, so I just keep telling them that the account is in dispute and that they should contact MBNA as I am waiting to hear from them. In the meantime, ...it's now over 28 days since I received the promise from MBNA that they would send me a full written response. I've emailed Gareth Tunicliffe, cc'd Rachel Claridge and referred them to my original letter and to remind them that I am waiting for a comprehensive list of charges etc etc. and I have now given them until w/e 25th August (This gives them 40 days since they wrote to me - this is because I know for sure that they were in receipt of my letter then) ...so for now, I'll keep waiting.

LOL ... I had a similar conversation with some idiot at MBNA. He was full of himself saying "Go ahead but you don't stand a chance" ....he also said that paying minimum payments is never meant to pay off a balance which I think an absolutely ridiculous statement to make ....especially when working for a credit card company ...it just makes em look even more like rip off merchants. Anyway, I took his name and when I've been successful with my claim I'm going to call him back.