This is an embarassingly simple question, but since some banks give the monthly interest rates on their statements, how do I convert this into annual interest rates?

Yes. I included it in my Halifax claim, and eventually settled for a full refund of charges plus 8%; the difference wasn't all that much. Had it got to the point of issuing a claim, I'd have gone for the full rate plus 8% on top of that, though I'm not sure how to work out 8'% of the interest they were charging me. My argument throughout was that they should refund interest paid on monies which were not lawfully owing.

Aquacard have agreed to refund all the charges I've paid on the account, plus interest at 8%. That's less than the interest I paid them on their charges, but I had to compromise eventually, and they haven't got away with much. That's a total of £322 I wouldn't have got without this site. One down and five to go! A donation will be coming in due course.

I'm inclined to do it, my only concern is whether they're likely to agree to it.

Aquacard (ie Halifax) have responded to my second letter before action by offering a full refund of charges (£240). Is it worth pushing them to make the refund retrospective, in order to deal with the issue of interest paid on money which was not lawfully owing, and return the account to the state it would have been in had the charges never been applied?

Absolutely; it was a letter from their debt collection arm demanding payment of my 'outstanding account'. If they want to reduce this by 90% out of the goodness of their hearts, who am I to quibble? I've never heard of a utility comapny offering early settlement offers anyway. It's been well over a week now, the cheque has been paid, and I haven't heard back. I think I may have got away with it!

I've been having problems myself with Equita (another bunch of [edit]), but I've encountered bailiffs before over the Poll Tax, and the advice above is quite sound; as long as they don't get on the premises all they can do is stand outside and gibber like an evil ghost. First they tried to demand £400 more than they're entitled to (there is a set scale of fees), then it was reduced to an extra £300 after I queried it. Last week they were making daily threatening phone calls, and on Saturday one came to the door, and made such a disturbance shouting through the letterbox that it brought all the neighbours out onto the balcony to see what was happening. In the end he went off with his tail between his legs, in full public view. I've Emailed the Council saying I want to make a complaint, and paid what's genuinely owing to them direct via their website. I don't mind paying what's due, but I won't deal with [edit]! [MODERATED: Please do not post libelous comments on this forum]

After a visit from the bailiff this morning, which frightened my wife considerably, I've managed to pay the outstanding tax online, direct to the Council. That should cut him out of the equation, and put an end to this. Needless to say, he didn't get in the flat, and he went away at once when I made it clear that if he did get fees he wasn't entitled to, I was going to sue.

I don't know where to put this one. Is anyone else having problems logging in? For the last couple of days, I've only been able to do it first thing in the morning.

For some reason, for the last couple of days, i've only been able to log in first thing in the morning. Meanwhile, we're getting threatening phone calls on a daily basis, but I remember from the days of the Poll Tax that if you never sign anything or let the bastards through the door, that in the end thety go away. I now have proof that he tried to charge me £106 more than his office claim I owe. I've contacted the Council about their complaints procedure, but does anyone know whetther it's worth involving the police over this?

I had a phone message from the bailiff yesterday to the effect that they're returning my cheque, so I've contacted the Council, with a copy of the letter I sent, in order to inform them that I have attempted to pay their tax. My wife spoke to them yesterday (she's more easily scared than I am), and apparently their demands have fallen from £880-odd to £700 and odd, confirming that they were trying to charge more than they were entitiled to. A letter is supposedly on the way explaining their charges, and despite threats to call today to remove property, I'm obviously not going to pay one penny of their fees until I've checked that they're kosher. Under the circumstances, do I have the right to go back to the courts with this? I assume they'd be reasonably sympathetic since I can show that I'm trying to resolve the issue. If I did, does anyone know the procedure? Would they be likely to let me pay by installments?

They aren't statements, just a bald list of charges. But I'm taking your advice to be on the safe side.

Since nobody's said it won't work, the chances are it will. The cheque's gone off, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

I've now got a breakdown of what's due from the Council, and have sent a cheque to cover their debt. Since I have no explanation of the bailiff fees, and the Council are giving me a figure £150 lower than the bailiff did, I'm querying it. That should take the wind out of their sails.

What they're offering if I ask for the full monty seems to be a set of statements. In all probablility, it wouldn't add anything significant, and I've no worries about providing ID and a cheque for £10. But I wanted to check just in case.

Customer Services, Monument, PO Box 6476, Northampton NN4 1ZN Data Protection Act disclosure request Dear Sir/Madam ACCOUNT NUMBER: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Please supply me with a complete list of transactions and charges relating to my bank account since the account was opened. Alternatively a complete set of bank statements for that period will be acceptable. Additionally where there has been any event in my account history over this period which has required manual intervention by any member of your staff or any other person, I require disclosure of any indication or notes which have either caused or resulted in that manual intervention or other evidence of that manual intervention in relation to my banking business with you. If you are unable to supply data relating to manual intervention because there has been no such manual intervention then please be kind as to confirm this in your response to this request. The same applies to data relating to the Credit Reference Agencies. You have 40 days in which to comply Yours faithfully,

In response to my DPA letter, MBNA have sent a list of charges applied to my account since it was opened, with a form to fill and return if I want all the information I asked for. Has anyone else recieved one of these, and if so, was the list of charges complete? Is it worth persisting and getting the whole lot, or should I go ahead and fight them on the basis of what I have?

I've contacted the Council for clarification of the amount still owing on the original debt (God knows how long they'll take to respond, the Council Tax office is awful), but I have worked it out anyway. I've also written to the bailiffs informing them that I'll issue payment when I get a breakdown of the sum they're demanding, and that I'm aware that there is a set scale of charges. If I don't get a satisfactory response, or they hassle me again, I'll pay the balance of the original debt, query the rest, and make a complaint.

Thanks. I hope it works, it'll save me a grand!

I've just received a demand for considerably less than I actually owe to one firm. What's the situation if I just settle it? I'm assuming I'll just get another demand for the balance, but it's as well to be sure.

I've contacted the Council for clarification of the amount, and I'll see what they have to say,. Thanks for the encouragement.

I found a useful site here: http://www.insolvencyhelpline.co.uk/debt_basics/bailiff-guide.htm#bg17. Under 'National Standards for Enforcement Agents it says 'Debtors must be notified of fees on each visit and of the fees that will be incurred if further action takes place '. They haven't done anything of the sort, merely demanded lump sums which they could have invented for all I know. So if I put my foot down hard I may avoid paying them any fees at all. Meanwhile I'm going to contact the Council and complain that their bailiffs aren't following the National Standards, and ask to deal with them directly.

I had a bailiff on the doorstep the other day over unpaid Council Tax. I've agreed to pay what he wanted, but the problem is that he left me with a demand, and no indication of how the sum was arrived at. I assume that I'm entitled to a written statement before I pay anything; is there a site out there anywhere which tells me what my rights are?

Have a look at the thread on 'Capital One Harassment'; http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=3656 . They gave me hell with constant phone calls after I told them that my problems with my payments were down to their unlawful charges. It stopped after I wrote a threatening letter and reinforced it over the phone when they called the following morning. They haven't been back since.

I've just checked with my daughters, who field most of the phone calls. I sent me letter to Capital One the day before yesterday, had a pretty sharp word with a caller yesterday, and the calls appear to have stopped. Try the same approach.