I have been reading up on topics posted on the forum and have spent the past few hours reading and following threads ;o I would like some advice on the following; Back in 2000 i opened a Student account with Natwest. They gave me an overdraft limit of £1200... I used this account within the agreed overdraft limit. They upped my limit slowly to £1800 in year 3. After my degree, and still being within my credit limit, they started sending me letters saying I had not made a deposit into my account. I thought it was unfair and decided to ditch the account and move to a bank that doesnt harrass you. Now that ive grown up, and after recently obtaining my credit report from equifax, I noticed the only thing that has been letting me down for so many years is the Default that was registered on my account by Natwest for a balance of £1900 in 2005. (they may have sent the default notice back then, but me being a typical student - Natwest correspondance went straight into the bin) I am however now in a position to pay this debt off, but I have heard that banks do not like to remove defaults. I dont want to settle with marking it settled or satisfied. I do not know how I should go about this and if I will have any chance of success.. If some guru can point me to the right template that would be effective in my scenario, I would be greatful. Also the address to write to as I have no account numbers or correspondance from Natwest from that far back. Thanks in advance.

thanks for taking out your time and responding to my thread. i really appreciate it. dayglo, thanks for listing my dim options. My argument is that I have not taken out a contract. It is up to Orange to find out who did and who didnt. I did not sign any documents nor provide proof. I am not willing to waste my time or "shop" my brother. They should be taking the time out, chasing the documents and finding out what happened. I am going to send a letter as tinkerbelle suggested, call Ofcom tommorow and contact a solicitor to deal with the issue. That way the solicitor can request the neccessary documents and close the case. Orange are more likely to take the solicitors request seriously than me on my own. I look forward to any further suggestions. but for now, this is my exit route

Consumer credit licence - businesses requiring a licence doesnt mention that mobile phone companies dont operate under a CCA. any reference to this? what licence do they operate under?

the problem is that Orange do not give a ..... They have done nothing for all these months. Keep sending me bills. I cant get my voice heard. If the CCA doesnt apply to them, then i have nothing against them. Is there any similar act that applies to mobile phone companies? I dont really see an option other than going through a solicitor.

what should i do about the debt collection agency? about my credit history being affected? I know they wont be able to provide me any documents because i have never filled anything out and i always have my ID to myself

True, whats worrying is that the banks advise people of "things that dont look right at an atm", like a device that may be attached to it. So they DO KNOW about these phishing methods. Why always blame the customer then? Basic practices, ok, but do they expect everyone to be a security expert? How many different atm designs have you seen? how do you know the new "logo" ontop of your atm keypad is not a hidden camera?

Your really fortunate that the person decided to pay you the money back. How did you manage to get the contact details of this person? If i was the customer, i would be worried how you managed to get my personal details.

What i have always found amazingly stupid is how the banks always attempt to blame you if your pin has been compromised. For example, you could have been a victim of someone looking over your shoulder, a device that is overlayed ontop of the terminal, a camera which is positioned above the machine/atm. Even chips can be cloned. why the banks have a chip & pin = you formula, i dont understand. What if the magnetic swipe was cloned and ur pin noted by one of the above methods, and the culprit decided to withdraw money from a cashpoint? the banks would insist it is your fault, but even the banks know these methods are possible, happening and a current risk. Why should you be blamed for high-tech organised crime? Take them to court.

Basically, I moved from my home address a year or so ago, and my brother took out a contract under my name without my authorisation. I have not communicated with my brother for over 2 years since he got married. He obviously didnt have my authorisation, nor any proof of ID's, or anything that would authorise him to use my account/name. Because he "knew" a phone shop, he took a contract out on my name, without providing proofs. He ran the contract for a few months, and paid the bills. i dont know how many months exactly until i visited my parents house and noticed a letter on my name. I called orange up immediately to close the account and wrote them a letter (pasted at the bottom of this email). the letter was send on 23/06/2006. A representative of orange called telling me that my brother was registered as a 3rd party on the account. i was furious. how on earth can they open a contract on my name without my authorisation. They said they will pass the case to the fraud team and they will get back to me. Since then they kept sending bills like normal and today i received a letter from a debt collection agency. I put my case here so that i could get recommendations on what i should do now. I dont really want to be spending money on solicitors, but I may have no choice because Orange will go ahead and ruin my credit history. It shocks me how Orange so easily open accounts on peoples names. can someone advise me on what to do, and possibly refer me to a letter that i can send orange to resolve this issue. --------------------------- Correspondence Department, PO BOX 10 Patchway Bristol BS32 4BQ Recently when I returned to my parents house, I have come across a bill from Orange which is addressed to me. ACCOUNT NUMBER: xxxxxx. I have not authorised anyone to take out any contract on my name, nor have I provided any ID for such an action to take place. This is a fraudulent connection. I want this to be fully investigated and proof of contract to be provided to me with any documents that you have. I am shocked at the way Orange will open an account on anyone’s name without any proofs, signatures or verification of any kind. I would like to resolve this matter as soon as possible. I have ordered my Credit Report and if Orange have damaged my credit rating in any way I will take the matter forward. I have contacted a solicitor for legal advice in this issue; and they have advised me to write to you myself in the first instance. If you would like to get in touch, please write to me at the above address and mark the correspondence “Private & Confidential”. You can contact me on xxxx .if you wish. Regards, ---------------------------