Hi All. New here, and would appreciate some advice please. But first the situation: A month ago I got a sales call from Voda, my existing phone provider, offering 20% off my bill. Immediately suspicious I asked what the catch was - longer contract for example. I was assured there was no catch. The contract would not be extended. it was due to 4g and customer retention, said the agent, if they looked after their customers they would stay for the new 4g offering. The agent then went on to say I'd get a free iPad. I re-confirmed that I was not going to be charged and I was assured not. I had no need for an iPad but as it was free I accepted. Roll on billing day and my bill has increased 60%. I called Voda and apparently the extra cost is the new line rental, insurance, data sharer package. I have stated that I agreed to none of these things. Voda insists that I agreed to them all. I spoke to a Voda manager today who may be the most arrogant customer service agent I have ever encountered. He said that whilst he hadn't listened to the sales call, I had agreed to all charges and by the way I was now in a new 24 month contract! He then told me that the call was at an end and there would be no more discussion about it. I have reported the matter to the Chief Exec's office, OFCOM and the Ombudsman and have paid for a recording of the sales call. But I am absolutely livid that this has happened. I am no mug ordinarily and am careful what I agree to, but Voda's sales person has lied to me here. I specifically asked about additional charges and extended contracts and was told that neither applied. The only credit I can give is that it was the most slick con job I have ever been subjected to. Anyone else experienced this? If not, be very careful if you are a Voda customer and get a call offering a discount and free iPad as a customer retention exercise. It's not a genuine offer, and the iPad isn't free, it's the opposite of free, and even if you ask directly what is in it for them, you will be misled. I will report back when I have a response from Voda CE office or the Ombudsman, but in the meantime my problem is that I will presumably have to pay Voda the full bill each month until this is sorted out? I don't want to be cut off. Can anyone suggest how to avoid doing so please - I am happy to pay my regular bill obviously.

The Association of British Insurers and the Government today struck a new deal to develop a not-for-profit scheme called Food Re to make sure flood insurance remains widely available and affordable. The new agreement will put a cap on flood insurance premiums and link them to council bands. Flood re will charge member firms an annual £180 million, representing a levy of £10.50 on annual household premiums. The aim is that Flood Re will be up and running by summer 2015 and last at least 20 years. Until then, ABI members will voluntarily continue to meet their flood cover commitments under the current Flood Insurance Statement of Principles. http://www.independent.co.uk/property/government-and-insurers-agree-deal-on-flood-insurance-for-atrisk-homeowners-8676701.html Flood insurance deal sees fears recede over future cover http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2013/jun/27/flood-insurance-deal-industry-government Flooding deal 'to cap insurance premiums' http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-23082174

I am new to your forum and really would appreciate any advice or tips you can give me on the following:- I have been with Swinton Brokers for three years and have renewed my car insurance with them during that period. Last year they renewed it with Aviva at a cheaper price when I complained about the hike in the premium. Two months ago i had a car accident which Aviva judged to be a no fault claim on myside. AI Claims Solution then contacted me initally to arrange hired car but then told me they were taking over the case. I am in a protracted battle with AI Solutions over the poor repair to my car, damage that their network garage caused whilst the car was in their care which i part witnessed and the fact that my car is still unroadworthy as a result of both things. AI Solutions are trying to say all the problems with my car are pre-existing conditions. my car was serviced and MOT 5-6 weeks before the incident. the garage who service my car are prepared to write a letter to say that there were no problems with my car. I had an independent mechanic inspection as agreed with AI Solutions -who knew who ( reputable national firm) was doing it and on what date. They are not happy with the inspection result and are still refusing to repair the damages as listed. I contacted Aviva who refused to intervene even though my insurance policy is with them and have now informed me that they had not directed AI Solutions to take over my case. The third party in the car incident are also with Aviva. I have contact Swinton Brokers who have explained to me that AI Solutions are part of the insurance deal that I took out and Aviva underwrite them. Swinton Brokers have refused to get involved at all and their head office whilst talking to me told me they had emailed my local broker with instructions of what to do. Turns out those instructions were to do nothing that it is up to AI Solutions. I have legal protection with my car insurance package. Legal Advice i have now found out is on the same tel number as for AI Solutions and I can only have access to it when AI Solutions agree to it. I spoke to the legal firm about my situation who sought permission from AI Solutions to advise me. It was denied. AI Solutions told me that the other party had taken full liability for the incident ( in writing) but when I talked to Aviva they told me that the third party are contesting it and seeking a 70/30 result. i have reported this to AI Solutions who have told me they are going to contest it. AI Solutions have told me they have not received my incident form twice now and have asked me to refill the form in for a third time -I will and send it by recorded delivery this time! I have been emailing AI Solutions complaints department where I had lodged a formal complaint. they will verbally tell me one thing but when I push them they write something completely different. They have written that the independent garage inspection that i had undertaken with their agreement and knowledge is not independent because in their eyes the garage have included items on the inspection that are not a direct result of the accident. I have notified the garage who undertook the inspection They are not happy and will be contacting AI Solutions about their allegations. I have written to Ai Soutions staitng that i am concerned that AI Soutions have a conflict of interest due to the fact that they are also responsible for the garage that casued further dmage. Avia have a conflict of interest as bothe aprties i nthe incident are insured with them -so all the costs will go to Aviva. i contacted the Ombudsman who gave me a reference number and I have notified AI Solutions and Swinton Brokers of this fact. Now AI Solutions have agreed to:- Another garage of my choice assessing my car for the reason why it is still pulling to the left; replacement of 2/4 tyres as their own network garage drove my car constantly miles and miles from the scene of the accident repeatedly and have damaged the tyres - they also swopped the tyres round hence damage to all four. They have also agreed to repair two other items listed on the inspection report. I am still driving a hired car. I have asked in writing for AI Solution to tell when they will be completing the repairs on my car, including all works as detailed in the independent inspection report that they have a copy of ple the replacemt of all four tyres that are damaged. I have a feeling they won't do it all. The garage who is doing the repairs has promised to keep me closely informed. I understand that AI Solutions, Aviva, Swintons Brokers and Silver Back Rymer (legal firm) are all a part of Quindells. Where do I stand with the Ombudsman if only part of the repairs are undertaken but not all? What other actions should I be taking? Really would appreciate any advice that you can offer. Many thanks.

Failure to reach flood insurance deal is 'playing with people's lives' Government accused of game of bluff with insurers as thousands of flood-risk properties could soon lose cover The chairman of a national charity that helps householders affected by floods has accused the government of "playing with people's lives" as it looks increasingly likely that thousands of homes will be without affordable insurance from July. Last week environment Secretary Owen Paterson admitted he was disappointed at failing to secure a new agreement over the insurance of homes and businesses at high risk of flooding. The government has been locked in talks with the insurance industry for months over the future of flood cover as the existing agreement – the Statement of Principles – runs out in June 2013. This agreement between the government and the industry obliges insurers to offer flood insurance as part of standard policies at reasonable rates, providing the government invests in flood defences. The two sides are trying to thrash out a new arrangement, but talks seem to have stalled. In the latest twist to the tale, Paterson raised hopes last week when he was also reported to have said that the Statement of Principles would "almost certainly" be extended beyond June. However, the Association of British Insurers denies this, even though the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs confirmed to The Observer that "a temporary extension is one of the things that is being looked at". http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2013/mar/31/failure-flood-insurance-deal

Hi hoping someone can help. I bought a pay & go mobile phone on o2 shop online and part of the deal was a £20 Argos voucher. It took a month and several phone calls to actually get the voucher and then when I tried to spend it I was told by Argos that it was part of a batch which had been re-called by o2 and I'd need a new voucher with a different code. I spoke to customer relations and they said just to use the chat on o2 priority and they could sort it no problem. Long story short this was beginning of December and despite several phone calls and a 3hour online chat on o2 priority I am still no nearer, they just keep sending the email with the same voucher code. Last time I spoke to them, last night they said they had sent a new code but I haven't received it so obviously a lie again. I have had the same one 7 times now. Spoken to customer services again today and they say all they can do is fill in a form to give to the back office, to re-issue which they already did last time, same code again. I pointed this out and they agreed but said that's all they can do. Totally fed up with the issue now, it's the principle of it. Am I right in thinking that as the gift voucher was part of the deal I am within my rights to tell them I want to return the phone for a full refund as it was in my opinion mis- sold, so I can buy it somewhere else. I intend to speak to customer relations again on Monday but want to know my rights before calling them if possible. Hope someone can give me any pointers.

I have received 2 letters from a company called RUTHBRIDGE which I gather from the Internet are some kind of Debt Collector. To begin with the name on the letter is not my name.The spelling is different. I was once in business as a sole proprietor.This business ceased trading in September 1997. I had mental health issues at the time and are on-going under the care of my GP. I am retired on a state pension. I rent from a housing association. My house was re-posessed by the bank in 1998. I do not owe any money to any person , business, bank or credit/store card companies except accounts which are up to date with payments due. How should I deal with this ? Can anyone offer advice with regard to this company and how to proceed. I cannot afford a solicitor. Thankyou in anticipation.

Hello Everyone, Last weekend we purchased a new car, all was going fine until the dealer rang up requesting more money for an issue he has found with the car we had part exchanged. We were totally unaware of any issues and had the car checked out before taking it to him (as you will see in the emails below). He's now started to turn the screws cc'ing his solicitor in emails. I would really appreciate some views on this case, am I right to push back and where do I stand. Thanks in advance. -------------------------------------------------------- The first communication was a phone call, so no evidence of that, however email number one is the response from us to the dealer, email two is his response this evening to that email. Emails below;.... EMAIL 1 Dear XXXX, I am writing following our telephone conversation yesterday when you asked me to pay £500 towards the cost of repairs to the gear box of the Honda Jazz that you took as part exchange for the Audi that I purchased from you on Saturday 24 November. My position on this matter is; I had no awareness of an issue at the time of part exchange. I took reasonable steps to ensure that the vehicle was delivered in a clean and roadworthy condition for your viewing and testing, prior to completing the paperwork and transaction. As you had a good look around the car, started it and manoeuvred it, I had reason to believe this was your standard process and you were happy with the car, as we went ahead and completed the paperwork. I took the decision to part exchange the car with a professional tradesman to avoid this kind of confusion, as I believed that a lower, but fair price would be offered for the car as it is seen and tested. I agreed to purchase the Audi on the basis of achieving £2,000 in part exchange value for the Honda. I hope you understand that I am unable to take responsibility for any issues you feel have now arisen with the car. Therefore I will not be making any further payment beyond that which is stated and settled in our contract dated 24th November 2012. During our conversation yesterday, you stated that you haven't sent off the warranty documentation and wouldn't until you had heard from me as to whether I would agree to pay the £500 for the repairs to the Honda. Should you choose not to purchase the warranty, I believe that this would be a breach of the contract that we entered into on Saturday 24th November and any warranty claims will become your responsibility under that contract which states the car is supplied with 12 months warranty. I trust that this puts an end to this matter. I would like to thank you for otherwise making the purchase of a new car a less stressful experience. I believe you are a good man operating a good business and I will not hesitate in recommending you to friends and family looking to purchase Audi's in the future. All the best for you and your family. Kind regards, XXXXXXXX EMAIL 2; Dear XXXXXXXX Without Prejudice Thank you for your email dated the 27th of November 2012. I am extremely disappointed with your stance on the matter and wish to put on the record the following as I believe you have been dishonest in your dealing with me for the following reasons: 1. You never brought the part exchange car for me to see on Thursday the 22nd of November 2012, so I had no chance of seeing and testing the vehicle. 2. When you decided to purchase the Audi A4 from me you said you had part exchange vehicle which was in good condition and no mention was made of any mechanical problems. 3. When you came to pick up the Audi on Saturday, you wanted to test drive the Audi and you were happy with the way it performed. 4. The only experience I had with driving your vehicle was maneuvering about 12 inches in my driveway in order to get the vehicle you have purchased out for you. 5. The reason I did not take your Honda Jazz for a full test drive was that you gave me your word that it was in good mechanical order and no mention was made about the gearbox at any time. 6. When you left, about 10 minutes later I moved your car to my compound and found that it was not running as it should have been. I called you immediately to discuss and you denied any knowledge of a problem. 7. I said I would contact you on the Monday the 26th of November 2012 after I had a chance for my mechanic to see it. 8. After my mechanic checked it, he said the 1st and 2nd tooth in the gearbox had broken off and that is why there was a noise. He also said to me that even the most inexperienced motorist would have noticed there was a problem. 9. You also told me that you had the car checked by a mechanic before you took it to me, which I find unbelievable as if there was not any problem why would you want a mechanic to check it over, especially as you were going to part exchange it. You also said to me that he did not test drive your vehicle, and again in my opinion if you were checking it for safety reasons he would have test driven it and told you there was a problem. In my opinion you were fully aware there was a problem, especially after a long drive from Cornwall, you would have noticed the noise from the gearbox. I am disgusted that you have not been honest with me and have instructed my solicitor to deal with the matter. Furthermore the repairs have come to £700.00, which is higher than the £500.00 originally quoted. I have put a hold on the warranty until this dispute is resolved. Also my solicitor will also be requiring the details of your mechanic if we need to obtain obtain any clarification from him. I am an honest motor trader and pride my business on principles and do good by my customers, however if people are unfair with me, I will pursue my rights and will be prepared to go to court in order to get a resolution. Please advise within the next 24 hours on how you wish to proceed as my solicitor is awaiting my instructions. Yours sincerely XXXXXXXXXX

Hi everyone! We committed a wrongful action on xxxxxxxxx We tried to take some items from xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx The value of the total items was xxxxxxx We didin't get the items. We were arrested by the police and at the end we received a caution. On the xxxxxxxx we received our first letters from RLP with different amount to pay without reason ( £130 and £187.50). They said that we had to pay within 21 days but before the deadline, on xxxxxxxxxx we received others two letters with the same amount of xxxxxxx and we don't know why. We shame of us for our bad behaviour and now we are very WORRIED about the consequences. How can we deal with this big problem? Do you think that we have to ignore the letters or we should pay? Is there a remote possibility that the case ends in the Court? Please help us. Every advice is accepted! PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE! Thanks very much.

my son purchased an annual train ticket for the duration of his work placement for his 3rd year of his degree - at a cost of c.£1,800. on one of the days covered by this annual ticket, whilst already travelling, he was asked to show his ticket - he had forgotten his wallet and therefore could not show the annual ticket. he did not have any cash, so could not purchase a ticket for that day's travel. the guard reported the incident and my son received a threat of summons - no mention of any other means of resolving the situation. we wrote a letter, explaining that he had an annual ticket covering the day in question and apologised unreservedly for not being able to show his ticket on the day in question. he received a further letter threatening summons, suggesting that he had travelled with the intention of not paying for the trip, despite the fact that he had explained that he had an annual (expensive) ticket, covering that day, therefore clearly paying upfront for the travel. they have now offered to forget the issue, if he pays £85, otherwise expect to be summoned to magistrates court!! he is a principled soul and does not see why he should pay £85 for 'intending to travel without paying' when he had already forked out £1,800. should he be prepared to go to court and argue his case and see whether a magistrate will see sense or should he pay up and put this down to experience, especially as he could do without another distraction in his final year of university? any advice would be gratefully received.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-19871242

Ive had a notice of baliff attendance today from Rossendales for just over £2000 for unpaid council tax, despite having sent back a payment offer to the council (which they say they received too late / outside the 14 days on the request for financial information form). I've had a bit of a browse through the forums here and many people have mentioned not having to deal with the baliff at all and just dealing direct with the council, and this is how I'd like to proceed, starting with giving them an initial payment now. I've already tried calling the council and the call centre girl just said it had gone to baliffs and i would have to deal with them now. What is the best way of going about this and notifying the council / the baliff that this will be my course of action ?

Guys, Just wanted to make people aware of this... My current three contract is due to expire in the next 30days..Ive already bought a new phone on payg - samsung galaxy s3 and signed up for a 12 month sim only deal also with three. I signed up for the new sim (£12.90 pm, 600mins, 1Gb data, 2000 free to three calls , 5000 sms) contract in-store, I thought was a bargain at the time!!. Anyway about 4 days later I received a call from three customer service offering me a deal if I extend my current contract. I told her I wasn't interested but still offered me a deal..a free samsung galaxy ace with same deal as before but unlimited data for £11 per month..I said ill take the offer however I just need to cancel the 12month deal I just took out. She said she could do that no problems..but about 5mins later said she could because I signed upto the sim contract in store (a big no no). If I had done it via website or phone call I can cancel due to 14 day grace period and distance sellers regs.. but because I purchased in-store I couldn't cancel!! Anyway I soon learnt if i ring customer services back and complain I'm not getting a decent signal I can cancel So I told them I work at the postcode of my gym (I don't !!) - where noooobody on any network gets a signal..they ran a quick test to confirm. He said if they cant resolve the issue in the next 5 days I can cancel the contract at no charge to myself due to the coverage policy!! Anyway im on day 2 of waiting so will let you guys know how i get on Main point - Buy a contract over the phone or internet - As you then get 14days grace and alot more leeway hope this helps somebody

Hi everyone, I stupidly borrowed £400 off these idiots back in December/January which i could not pay off. They kept taking money out of my Lloyds TSB account totaling £100 which put me in a mess with my account and now i owe nearly £1000 to Lloyds for charges and unarranged overdrafts! The problem i have is now 6 months down the line, with no contact at all apart from a couple of texts a few months ago threatening me with the bailiffs, i got a call from a women who worked for them saying i now owe CFO £1000, so the £400 loan is now at £1000. I told her i wouldn't be paying it and why hasn't this been defaulted on my credit file or sent to the debt collectors, the stupid women didn't have a clue what she was talking about and ended up saying she would be happy to accept £550 within 10 days of the phone call. I asked her why letters haven't been sent out and she said it's my fault why the loan is now so high because i never got in contact with them, but i sent numerous emails trying to arrange a repayment plan months before. How do i deal with these people? I don't want to end up paying £5000 on a £400 loan! The idiot even ended up putting the phone down on me. Thanks for any help.

I had a visit from the bailiff today, so I texted him back. A bit of background I have 3 liability orders against my property. one in my gf's name one in mine where they have rejected my benefit claim from way back when one for last year / this year where I couldn't afford to pay - I am paying this one now, to the tune of £135 per month and once that is paid up (before April next year) this years will be satisfied. I now have a job and am doing my best to pay it, but the three amount to over £400 when totalled up - with 3 kids in the house and a girlfriend that doesn't work I can never afford that. Anyway, I texted the bailiff back (its Cardiff Council) and he said "I WORK FOR COUNCIL YOU NEED TO DEAL WITH ME DIRECT" What should my next step be?

Two or three months ago, I sent Natwest a claim on account of their penalties and charges on my friends account - I also included the £10.00 SAR fee, although I didn't try to get interest on that, as it's very recent. They were having none of it, they said "No, we are not allowing this, you cannot use the interest rate that you are using", [it was the one on the claim form downloaded from here, without looking it up, I think it was 28% or similar], "we only charged 19.164%" They then went on to say that the £10.00 SAR refund was nothing to do with them, it would be refunded by a different department, [That's it, pass the buck] They sent a revised amount which was only a few few quid less than the claim, it still left over £200 balance, and I wasn't having any of that! So I sent about two or three further monthly payments of £1.00, and then I calculated everything again, this time using their interest rate of 19.164%, then once again, sticking the £10.00 on the end of the total. It came to £289.42, against a balance of, [their figures], £291.34, a shortfall of £1.92. So, in June, I sent them a cheque for £1.92, and the calculation sheet, told them that I've heard nothing from this "other department" regarding the £10.00 refund, and suggested that as I have no other NatWest addresses to deal with, they should get the "other department" to claim the ten quid from the claim, and do an internal transfer, [saves postage - can't be bad!] Also said that as far as I and my friend are concerned, that's it, we are square. Today, the next statement has arrived - they've cashed the £1.92, I knew that, but they've simply knocked the £1.92 off the total, leaving £289.42 !!! Do you think that they are stupid, not speaking to each other, of being deliberately obtuse? More to the point, what do I do? Sam

Hi - been trying to work this out in my head but wonder if anyone has any ideas about this situation of mine, thanks. I have an interest only mortgage - the arrears I previously had were shown on the statements and increased the outstanding balance, which I understand. The new balance then attracted more interest. Later the lender took me to court and had the arrears added to the security, increasing the balance again. Shortly after that they capitalised the arrears - so - assume the balance went up again. Also added all their legal fees. Does this mean that there has been a double recovery of interest then?

Apologies in advance, this is a bit complicated! Daughter took out insurance on a car she believed her (now ex) partner owned. He was a named driver on the insurance policy. They separated a short while ago and as he is going abroad for a few months they agreed that she would keep the insurance going until he went away. Insurance cancelled from Sunday when he goes away, but unfortunately he had accident on Saturday (car shunts him from behind, pushing him into car in front). Daughter has no other details than this. Their separation was not very amicable and communication between them is nil. My quesion is, who should be dealing with the insurance company, other drivers and their insurers etc? My daughter or her ex-partner? To confuse matters further, my daughter now suspects that her ex never actually got round to changing the owner details of the vehicle registration certificate for this car which he bought around 10 months ago. As communication is non-existent between them and he is quite possibly already out of the country, does my daughter have to deal with this, even though she has no details about the accident?

So, at the end of my minimum term, saw a phone contract that I liked for £20.50 so asked vodafone for my PAC. The next day I recieved a phone call from vodafone offering to almost match that price (they managed to get the same package for £21.00 for 24 months minimum term), and lower the price of the other line I have with them by half (from £20.50 to £10.25) and give more minutes and texts. Now, logging into my account to swap the sim to a micro-sim, the deal I am on says £31, and the other line is still showing as £20.50. There is a good possibility that the discount has not been applied yet, or My Vodafone Account has not updated yet, so I thaught I'd pass this on to the web relations team and see if they can shed some light on this. EDIT: Automated reference number #9297164

Hi all, hopefully somebody can give me some advice here as i'm not sure what my next step is: I left my last employer in March (was let go due to lack of work etc) - they had agreed to continue putting me throuhg my 3rd year of university attending day release. This involves the employer paying my fees and giving me one day off a week to attend during term time. Around christmas time the university claimed they had not been paid - this was down to a university error, they had never sent an invoice. My director at the time sent an email along the lines of: "I can confirm xxxx is in our employment, please confirm the amount due to us and i will provide an address to send your invoice to" This was the last I heard of the matter. A week ago i received an invoice from the university for the full amount of the years fees (£1750). I immediately queried this and was told the employer hadn't paid them. In my mind this is irrelevant to me as the employer has agreed to pay the fee. The university obviously do not see things this way and have in their finance policy that they will pursue the student should his/her sponsor default. I contacted my old employer only to find that the previous director has now left, and there is nothing signed by him to say that the company will pay the fees. I have informed them there was an email conversation going on and they are going to check this out but so far things are not sounding hopeful to me. My written offer letter from the company makes no mention of this as it was to be discussed (which it was and then agreed). All i have as physical evidence is a copy of the email which i detailed above (which is vague). This does however have the directors name and email address at the university that it was sent to (the university claim not to have received this) Where do I go from here, I do not want to be put in a position where I have to pay these fees when a company who ultimately let me go with 1 weeks notice agreed to pay them for me, if they had not done so I would not have attended! To date I have contacted the old employer as above and recently written the university an email requesting a copy of all communication between myself, the university and my previous employer. They have yet to respond and in all honesty seem uninterested. I appreciate I may need to seek legal advice on this but I dont want to spend money on legal fees only to get the answer "Just pay them" I'm also not sure who i need to actually seek out for proper legal advice on this?

Hi, just after a bit of advice here. I have been behind and over my limit for about 12 months but had been making regular payment all be it not enough for my account to be up to date. Today I recieved a letter. It said the following. Overdue amount: £..... IMPORTANT YOU SHOULD READ THIS CAREFULLY Notice of Default served under section 87(1) of the consumer credit act 1974 Youve broken your agreement ........ You must pay the amount overdue shown above. This payment must reach your account within 28 days of this letter. If youve already paid this or have made a payment agreement with - thank you. Please ignore this letter. Then it lists what they will do if I dont do the above ie shut account, chase debt. What I want to know is, I spoke to them monday and paid 70% of the above and agreed to pay the remainder of the arrears by friday. He did mention that a letter had been sent out but told me if I paid this it would be canceled. What I want to know is will they stick to there word?. Is this an actual default notice as I dont remember recieving a warning? Should I ring up and pay it today and argue that I didnt recieve the letter till friday or something because of the snow(foot deep here today). When he says canceled does that mean its already been put on my file and they will just change to satisfied or will it actually be removed or not even be added?. Will they have recordings of the call where he promised it would be removed on payment of the arrears and could I request that if need be?. Sorry to waffle, I know I have been a bit slack with payments but have my reasons and despite my current position, being 29 I could do without any nasty marks on my credit file and the letter seems a bit confusing, maybe deliberate to get me to pay I dont know? Thanks for your time, any advice would be much apprecieted.