About 4 years ago I got into arrears with the council tax and the debt was handed to the sheriff's officers (bailiffs). The charges and additional costs were scary, but I eventually got it sorted out. This year, I have fallen behind again, not by much (about 3-4 months), but the council have charged me 10% additional penalty/ charge for being behind with payments. This comes to about £150:evil: . Now I have started on the banks, I was wondering if there was a way to either challenge the legality of the council's/ bailiff's charges and if I could possibly get these back......... I live in Scotland if that makes a difference. Any advice would be most welcome. Thanks John

I was asked for 2 payments of £10 for 2 PERSONAL accounts, although I believe they were wrong in doing this. I suppose your 2 accounts may be chargeable especially if the business account is not in your name (ie sole trader). For what it's worth, its not really a biggie as you will get it all back anyway....hopefully:rolleyes:

Do I understand this right??? When informally asking for my money back - I ask for full amount (c£3k) AT LBA - Seek only £750 including interest and costs At Legal - same as LBA or Do I stay with the full amount for the LBA? Thanks JB:?

Ok, so I think I'll write to RBOS thanking them for their invitation for a "review" I will however decline in the short term, pending ongoing enquiries etc etc. Probably a good idea to do this in writing instead of calling. Must admit, cant wait to see my statements so I can calculate how much I have paid over the past 5 years. I reckon it will be scary!!!

OK, so after reading and getting advice from other forum members, I went into the bank yesterday and handed over the DP form requesting full details of charges over the past 5 years. They are charging me £20 as I have 2 accounts...Is that right? They will debit the amount from ny account. This morning, a letter arrived (1st class) which was partially hand-written, not dated and did not have a post office frank over the top of the envelope. The letter said they wrote to me to arrange a banking "review" recently as they feel it could have been of great benefit to me...etc...etc. If I would like to make an appointment please call. The thing is, I never received that letter in the first place. Just a coincidence???? Has anyone else received this? I'm not sure whether to: a) make an appointment b) write saying that I will do a review once current "enquiries" are resolved c) Ignore it Any advice will be great.

I received Tax credits for 2 years up until 2 years ago. Despite being truthful on the forms (they asked for the previous year's income), somehow I ended up owing them about £2500. The upshot is that I have not received any credit for the past 2 years, and they tell me that I still owe them about £900. Is this fair and can I do something about it? The bottom line is that I'm pretty skint and could do with the extra cash. Any help would be great. JB

Thanks for the pointers to the relevant templates guys. Have now sent the letter to the bank asking for details of charges. This is all new to me (the whole forum thing) so thanks also for your patience

I am hearing conflicting information about the system in Scotland... Is the qualifying period 5 or 6 years? and Does the small claims court have a limit of £1000? If so, I'm not sure what to do as I reckon my claim could be around £3K HELP PLEASE!!!!!

I am hearing conflicting details about the Scottish system........Is the qualifying period 5 or 6 years? and do the small claims court in Scotland have a limit of £1000? If so, I'm not sure what do do as I estimate my claim could be anywhere between £3-5000 (I am currently awaiting a statement from the bank. help!

Where did you get the letter asking for details of the charges. This is new to me too, and it does help knowing that there are other people in the same boat.....'tis a weeeeee bitty scary!

Careless, I know, but I have absolutely no idea how much my bank has taken in charges in the past 5 or 6 years (which is it? I live in Scotland). Will they send you details if you simply call/ email or should I go into writing for this also?. If in writing, is there a template available requesting a detailed breakdown? ps....it would be handy if they would either email or burn details on a CD in a spreadsheet as my charges will be too frequent to type!!! Many many thanks for your advice. JB :-?